As Zhao Zi’s fingers flicked him flying, Jiang Wang strained against the restraints of the sealing formation, yet even with all his strength, he was still but a hair’s breadth from freedom. Faced with Chu Xu’s assault, his physical body could not react in time. All he could rely upon was his divine soul!

If he could not achieve victory on the divine soul level and utterly extinguish his opponent, this contest was already lost.

Thus, without reservation, his first move was the *Face the Heavenly Que*!

This was a profound secret art, potent enough to be wielded even at the True Monarch level. Emperor Qi Wu had used this technique to suppress and slay countless formidable foes. Among all divine soul killing arts, ancient or modern, its brilliance remained unsurpassed.

Its true power was limited only by Jiang Wang’s cultivation, not by the technique itself.

Within the boundless, vast expanse of the primordial spirit sea,

The moment this ancient heavenly *Que* materialized, the Dao Pulse True Dragon, which had carried Chu Xu soaring into the sky, let out a mournful cry. It plummeted abruptly, scales scattering and horns trembling, crashing heavily onto the roof of the Cloud Shrouded Hall.

The dragon’s body shattered like glass, shaking the entire Cloud Shrouded Hall and leaving dense cracks across its roof.

In this corner of heaven and earth, who was the true master?

When the Supreme descended, who dared not submit?

*Face the Heavenly Que* was utterly overbearing, like a reigning emperor barging into a minister’s residence.

No matter how esteemed your family, you must kneel before me!

Chu Xu, however, proved resilient enough to resist the pressure. He kicked away the still-moaning Dao Pulse True Dragon, sending it far off to recover, while simultaneously reasserting sovereignty over this realm of heaven and earth. His divine soul manifestation leaped high, long hair whipping, eyes fixed on the Heavenly *Que*.

Legend held that before the terrifying secret technique of Emperor Qi Wu,

Who could possibly stand their ground?

Yet, this was *his* Chu Xu’s primordial spirit sea, *his* Chu Xu’s inner heaven and earth.

Perhaps all heaven and earth would submit, and myriad beings would kowtow, but he would not submit, he would not kneel.

The Nation of Equality had emerged precisely to shatter the old era.

It was precisely that decay, that injustice, that outdatedness, that had made a world that should be beautiful so shrouded in twilight. In those forgotten corners, cries of sorrow went unheard. The Nation of Equality arose at this historic juncture!

So-called—

“Time’s sharp arrow pierces rusted bones, heaven and earth’s furnace burns beams.
A thousand years of chronic illness, who discerns? Kings and generals, bloodied crowns!”

Zhao Wang, that year, for this bloody poem, had dipped his brush in blood and written, each word a sorrowful howl. There were no grand ambitions, only a sworn heart to eradicate the chronic suffering for the world’s common people.

For that boiling ideal, willing to fight to the death, how could he, Chu Xu, be content to follow others?

In this very moment,

Behind him, a single red banner rose resolutely, fluttering in the wind!

At the center of the blood-red banner, an ancient scale was embroidered. Its body was ink-black, while the trays were pure white, like snow. It symbolized fairness and justice, black and white clear.

The scale was small, like a solitary boat, but the blood-red face of the banner was vast, like an angry sea.

This was the Equality Red Banner!

It was the core symbol of the Nation of Equality, and also the unique divine soul secret technique of the Nation of Equality.

Until this very moment, he had sought to conceal his identity, unwilling to expose his role within the existing power structure of the world, utilizing only the exclusive power of the Nation of Equality.

As this red banner unfurled, Chu Xu’s spiritual sense power suddenly spread like sparks igniting a prairie fire, evolving into countless phantoms of blood riders, arrayed in formation.

In an instant, a thousand troops and horses, charging forward together!

Witness the blood riders surge like a tide, baring fangs and brandishing claws, covering the high heavens.

What supreme heavens, what master of this place, what highest sovereign… The momentum of the Nation of Equality aimed to overturn it beneath its horses. With the resolve to thoroughly shatter the old era, a thousand troops and horses would sever the sky’s king!

That vast redness, mighty and boundless, covering the sky, truly possessed the momentum to change heaven and earth.

Just at this moment, that ancient Heavenly *Que* boomed open—

The male gate of the nine heavens opened, and the supreme ruler of myriad worlds descended into the human realm!

A thousand troops and horses all bowed their heads.

With the majesty of the master of myriad worlds, it suppressed the charge of the red blood riders, forcing the Equality Red Banner to fly backward.

And from beyond that Heavenly *Que*, a pillar of red-gold light violently shone forth!

It skipped the slow process of dimming the horizon and wiping away the irrelevant, completing its power accumulation directly within the Heavenly *Que*. The gate opened, and the light pillar already poured down.

Jiang Wang’s self-created divine soul secret technique, *Cave Gold Tuo*!

The red-gold light pillar, possessing an immortal hue, instantly pierced through the blood-red tide, crashing onto Chu Xu’s unsuspecting body and puncturing his divine soul manifestation!

And at this time, Jiang Wang’s divine soul manifestation, alone, walked out from within that ancient Heavenly *Que*.

It was not the supreme emperor, but a figure with solemn, treasured appearance, the image of a Six Desires Bodhisattva.

Its mouth recited Buddhist scriptures, its resonant voice saying: “All conditioned phenomena, like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew and like lightning, should be viewed thus!”

He had adopted Dou Zhao’s suggestion and specifically learned a few verses from the *Diamond Sutra*.

And one must admit, it indeed matched this technique far better than Jing Hai’s portion of the *Enlightenment Indestructible Diamond Sutra*.

At this moment, the mournful cry of the Dao Pulse True Dragon that reached Chu Xu’s ears, the struggling fluttering of the Equality Red Banner, the sorrowful sounds of the blood riders melting away like snow one after another… all transformed into a kind of cheer.

Countless comrades were cheering, celebrating the arrival of a new era!

Mercilessly suppressed by *Face the Heavenly Que*, and severely wounded in spiritual sense by *Cave Gold Tuo*, Chu Xu’s divine soul manifestation at this moment flickered erratically, his mind beginning to wander.

Before his eyes fluttered the Six Desires Bodhisattva, clearly the Great Zhao King. The expression on that face was precisely one of approving nods towards him. The treasured sword in his hand was precisely about to bestow him honor.

He had established indelible merit for the Nation of Equality, contributing his passionate strength to clear away all that was unequal.

And now he could already see that world where everyone was equal.

He had already arrived at that infinitely bright future.

At this moment, his eyes held hot tears, and his smile was brilliant.

Just like this, in a world filled with love and warmth, he fell into an eternal dreamland.

Within the divine soul world, myriad thoughts surged in a single breath, fierce battles raged for countless rounds.

Outside the divine soul world, only a single blink occurred.

Chu Xu’s taut body, like a strong bow drawn to its fullest, suddenly emitted an intense stringing sound.

*String! String! String!*

As if someone were beating cotton.

That was the powerful energy within his body, lacking guidance and restraint after losing control of his spiritual sense, directly shattering his meridians!

And Chu Xu’s face still held a brilliant smile, his eyes filled with joyful, hot tears.

Just like this, he fell to the ground.

Fell into the world of the chessboard.

Satisfied, he died.

Chu Xu, a protector of the Nation of Equality, by no means weak among divine soul cultivators, was unexpectedly instantly killed!

His physical body continued to emit stringing sounds, as if celebrating him.

Only when the sounds completely ceased did it truly end.

At this moment, Jiang Wang’s body was still flying backward, his eyes fixed on a black holder he was about to collide with. But a streak of red flame ignited across his entire body, instantly coursing through it.

He abruptly stabilized, hovering in mid-air, and looked towards Zhao Zi from afar. The red light in his eyes shone fiercely, and red flames ignited atop Zhao Zi’s head. Unbelievably, in the first moment of breaking the seal, he had once again launched an attack on a contemporary True Person!

He killed Chu Xu, broke the seal, without even a single breath of time passing, and then immediately continued the previous fight, provoking the True Person once more. His martial virtue was truly abundant.

At this moment, Zhao Zi was still locked in an endless struggle with Su Guan Ying. Her left hand performed a thousand kinds of finger techniques, trading blows, fighting with wisdom and strength. Her right hand played chess with lightning speed, placing pieces like flying, having already exhausted a lifetime of learning…

Unbeknownst to her, her beautiful hair had already caught fire.

Although her beautiful eyes simply glanced up, the red fire burning on her beautiful hair was instantly drawn into a circle and moved forward. Only a tiny, bean-sized bright flame remained, stubbornly swaying.

But even her somewhat world-wearweary beautiful face inevitably furrowed at this moment.

Though the time was extremely short, an abnormally ugly shallow depression had already been burned atop her head.

Destroyed hair, were there twenty strands? Fifty strands? A hundred strands?

The smell of burning, the burnt and curled broken hair…

“Jiang Wang, ah Jiang Wang, I finally know why you are the Marquis of Wu An,” Zhao Zi showed a hint of strong emotion for the first time, which made her seem more like a real, flesh-and-blood being: “You are truly reckless!” Her left palm flicked, instantly throwing off the hand that Su Guan Ying was entangled with. Her right hand directly grabbed the entire chessboard and simply flipped it!

Her hair was all burnt, and she was still playing chess?!

Black and white chess pieces flew scattered across the sky.

The world of the chess game retreated infinitely.

The crowd reappeared on Hu Tai.

Zhao Zi flipping the chessboard was, of course, not purely due to anger.

Jiang Wang’s instant kill of Chu Xu had already demonstrated the power to interfere with the chess game.

She abandoned the world of the chess game precisely because it was already impossible to win from within it.

At this moment, the cultivators of the black and white holders all returned to their original forms, reverting back to their identities as examinees, armored soldiers, and governor’s office officials.

Seven corpses lay quietly on the ground, one of which was the Nation of Equality’s protector, Chu Xu. The remaining six were all examinees, who had died within Su Guan Ying and Zhao Zi’s chess game.

Zhong Ming Peng, Qian Chou, and Li Mao, who were fighting, were also unaffected by the changes in the chess game world, fighting in the high sky above Hu Tai.

Only Zhong Ming Peng, who was originally gaining the upper hand, was now pressing Qian Chou and Li Mao even harder, his fist momentum overbearing and unmatched, the sky booming, the clouds low and dark.

The collapse of the chess game world did not interfere with anyone who had left the chess game. Only Jiang Wang, who was uniquely targeted, was completely flipped over by the momentum!

He didn’t simply lose his footing and become unsteady; he was struck at the very foundation of his stance by Zhao Zi using the power of flipping the chess game world.

As his body flipped backward, though there was nothing behind him, the air condensed like brick and stone.

The immense inertia he carried shattered that mouthful of “air brick,” yet his momentum did not cease, producing a continuous, non-stop explosive sound.

Thus, he flipped backward dozens of times in the air before barely stopping his retreat.

Even though he possessed a Golden Body and Jade Marrow, and had newly cultivated the Xuan Tian Liuli Gong, at this moment, he still felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded.

At this moment,

Zhao Zi stood before the overturned book case, her back to Hu Tai, returned to this world, yet seeming even further away from it.

And Su Guan Ying still sat calmly, possessing a demeanor of unperturbed grace, idly watching the clouds rise.

Once the chess game world collapsed, she, as the Governor of Nan Xia, instantly connected with the Nan Xia Governor’s Office located in Gui Yi City, obtaining the national power personally permitted by Emperor Qi Tian.

Without speaking of a True Monarch, she temporarily could not utilize the national power of the Southern Border to that extent, but relying on it to suppress the strongest True Person of the Nation of Equality posed no problem whatsoever. In this game, the Nation of Equality had no reason to win.

But Zhao Zi clearly did not think so.

She did not look at Su Guan Ying, nor did she look at the fight between Qian Chou, Li Mao, and Zhong Ming Peng; she still only stared at Jiang Wang, who had barely stopped his retreat, and drew a sword finger!

An immense sense of crisis surged in his heart. Jiang Wang’s toes tapped the air, moving at extreme speed, instantly folding and turning hundreds of times, leaving behind afterimages that drew a group of extremely complex three-dimensional green lines in the heaven and earth.

But he stopped abruptly.

In this instant, roaring sword qi circled around him, making him unable to fold any further.

A red line of fire rapidly swung open across his entire body. Jiang Wang decisively held his sword upright before his face, like a heaven-supporting sword peak!

His reaction was undeniably fast, his response undeniably strong.

But the invisible sword qi still crashed into him.

The body of Long Xiang Si’s sword was entirely pressed back towards his face, its edge injuring him.

The Tian Fu Body manifested at this moment. In a thousand urgent hairs’ breadth, Jiang Wang forcibly twisted the sword body, changing the edge pressed against his face to the sword spine, and then extended his left hand in parallel with a sword finger, blocking horizontally on the sword spine.

The sword spine pressed against his finger, the two fingers striking his forehead, emitting a light sound, narrowly avoiding shattering his forehead bone! This series of actions flowed like water, cleverly resolving the contemporary True Person’s killing move.

Who wouldn’t praise the Marquis of Wu An upon seeing this?

But Jiang Wang only felt a slight coolness on his scalp.

All of this happened too quickly.

Until this moment, the afterimages left by his frantic movements all disappeared, and at the same time, so did… the bundle of black hair atop the Great Qi Marquis of Wu An’s head.

To be precise, the entire top was shaved flat, while a circle remained around the sides.

Zhao Zi looked at him and said in a light voice: “After I saw you last time, I just wanted you to be bald once.”

With a layer of hair shaved off like this, it was of course incredibly ugly.

But there was not half a ripple in Jiang Wang’s eyes. To him, he had already entered a state of slaughter. As long as his brain wasn’t shaved off, it wouldn’t affect him continuing to fight.

“All examinees, Ting Qi, officials, all withdraw from Hu Tai, withdraw towards Gui Yi City! Your primary duty is to stabilize the order in Gui Yi and prevent civil unrest. This place has this Marquis!”

As he spoke, the light of his five mansions’ divine abilities swirled around his body, making him dazzling.

He stepped on the air, a brilliant fire domain opening around him, his body like a meteor chasing the moon, he already held his sword and went straight for Zhao Zi! He of course did not overestimate himself to the point of being able to force a contemporary True Person, but he believed that Su Guan Ying would absolutely not miss the opportunity to fight. And he was certain that he could influence the balance of the fight between Su Guan Ying and Zhao Zi.

He was very sober, and also very confident.

Even though, at this moment, with the top of his head shaved, he truly couldn’t be called handsome.

Su Guan Ying’s beautiful eyebrows were tightly locked, and she only shouted: “Marquis of Wu An, retreat first!”

Jiang Wang did not know the reason, but subconsciously chose to trust her. The momentum of his sword had just risen, his person was mid-air, and he had already drawn a curved rainbow, folding and turning outwards.

His combat skill was truly at its peak, only then allowing for this kind of free collection and release.

The matter of having his hair burnt could be big or small. But no matter how, it would not be more important than the task of the Nation of Equality.

Zhao Zi still had the leisure to bicker with Jiang Wang at a time like this.

Su Guan Ying felt that it was her strong confidence. Where did this confidence come from?

She called back Jiang Wang and then stood up herself, suddenly raising her head to look at the sky.

Above the fight between the three contemporary True Persons, Qian Chou, Li Mao, and Zhong Ming Peng.

The dome of Nan Xia, at this moment, the wind and clouds changed.

A huge human face suddenly appeared. It was unclear if the sky formed this face, or if this face replaced the sky.

It horizontally spanned the vast dome, as if it had already existed for a very long time.

This human face had square and proper features. It gave people a sense of heavenly impartiality and earthly order, even just looking at it once felt immensely rewarding, making one want to bow and worship.

Infinite majesty descended!

No other reason would appear in the world.

This was the only truth, this was the only eternal.

Among this, there was great terror.

While fighting Qian Chou and Li Mao, Zhong Ming Peng, who was courageously strong, sent his two opponents flying with a single punch, then suddenly turned, pushing his speed to the limit. In an instant, he left the fighting group and flew towards the outside of Hu Tai.

But…

As he rapidly flew into the high sky, the cloud qi surged like a sea, instantly condensing into a huge palm, sticking to him like a shadow, pressing down with a single palm!

Without a single point of resistance, Zhong Ming Peng’s sturdy body was directly pressed into the ground. Only a huge palm-shaped concave pit was seen in the original place. And in the very center of the concave pit was a deep human-shaped cave, its depth unknown!

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