Abyss Outpost, Bilateral Trade Plaza.
That grand oppressive might belonging to the orthodox gods of the Celestial Court acted like a materialized golden hydraulic press, pinning the Spirits across the entire plaza dead into the scorched earth.
The Heaven-Patrolling Commander stood on his auspicious cloud, looking at the shivering Spirits below, whose very bones were wailing, a trace of disgust and disdain flashing in his eyes.
"Barbarians outside the pale of civilization, knowing no refinement." The Heaven-Patrolling Commander lightly flicked the jade whisk in his hand. "Since the one in charge of this filthy land dares not come out, then this general will act on behalf of Heaven and level this illegal market!"
He raised his hand, and a blinding mass of pure golden "Samadhi True Fire" began to condense in his palm.
Right at this hair-raising moment.
"Exalted Immortal, wait! Spare them from the blade! Ah no, spare them from the fire!!!"
Accompanied by a voice-cracking wail, the portal at the edge of the plaza emitted a violent spatial fluctuation.
The head of the Ten Kings of Yama, King Qinguang (King Yama), scrambled out of the portal, practically rolling. His flat-topped crown was crooked, and his hand was still tightly clutching the iPad used to check the trade flow. Behind him followed Judge Cui, equally out of breath, his official robes in disarray from running.
King Yama's heart rate at this moment had absolutely broken through the physiological limits of the Netherworld.
How could he not be anxious?
This Abyss Special Zone had only been officially open for business for three days!
The tariff flow from the bilateral trade had just given him a glimmer of hope to pay off the Celestial Court's usury! That was all pure white merit!
If he let these bureaucratic lords of the Celestial Court burn down this "Free Trade Zone" with one fire, King Qinguang would have to spend the rest of his life working illegally in the Eighteenth Layer of Hell to pay off his debts!
"Oh my, two Exalted Immortals have graced us with your presence. This little king failed to welcome you from afar. Forgive my sins! Forgive my sins!"
King Yama didn't even have time to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He trotted all the way to a spot below the two Golden-Armored Heavenly Gods, cupped his hands in greeting, bowing so low his waist almost touched the ground.
The Demon-Suppressing Heavenly General coldly looked down at this highest executive officer of the Underworld and gave a heavy snort:
"King Qinguang! You have a lot of nerve!"
"The Celestial Court lent you merit and divine lightning to repair the Netherworld's facilities! Yet you feigned compliance while acting in opposition, privately tunneling through the world barrier to establish a market in this lawless place, colluding with extra-dimensional demons!"
"In your eyes, are there still Heavenly Laws?! Is there still the Jade Emperor?!"
King Yama shivered all over in fright, but in order to save his "cash cow," he braced himself and began to frantically defend himself, deploying the highest level of rhetorical skill of an old slicker in the system:
"Exalted Immortals, clear your vision! I am wrongly accused! This little king is absolutely not colluding with demons! This... this is in order to better repay the Celestial Court's debts; this little king is conducting a 'restructuring of non-performing assets and optimized allocation of cross-realm resources'!"
King Yama held up the tablet in his hand, trying to show that skyrocketing candlestick chart.
"Look, these Spirits are not demons; they are excellent cheap labor! We established the 'Abyss Special Zone' here to attract foreign investment and conduct trade. Every point of merit earned is intended to be used to honor the Celestial Court! This bilateral relationship has just gotten on the right track; everything is waiting to be rebuilt. It absolutely must not be burned!"
The Heaven-Patrolling Commander didn't even look at that glowing board.
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To these high-and-mighty Celestial Court immortals, the economy, livelihood, or so-called trade of the lower realm were all petty tricks that could not be brought to the table. They only recognized the establishment and the rules.
"Utter nonsense!"
The Heaven-Patrolling Commander sharply interrupted King Yama, his eyes filled with the arrogance and bossiness of a superior.
"Secretly communicating with outer realms is a capital offense! Do you think you can cover up your treasonous intentions with a few words of merchants?!"
"Today, this general has received a decree to descend to the lower realm, specifically to thoroughly seal this demon den!"
...
Meanwhile.
At the highest point of the plaza, the Portal Vault.
The Slayer let go of the edge of the stone slab.
He used no deceleration devices, nor did he activate his thrusters.
Like a solid iron ball thrown off a cliff, he plummeted straight down from the hundred-meter height.
*BOOM!*
He crashed onto a towering metal cooling tower on the outskirts of the fortress.
The top of the cooling tower instantly caved in.
The Slayer did not pause.
He exerted explosive force in the collapsed metal ruins, moving like a black-green cheetah, shuttling at high speed between the crisscrossing industrial pipes and overpasses.
*THUD. THUD. THUD.*
With every step he took, his heavy combat boots stomped a deep dent into the special alloy pipes.
That muffled, highly rhythmic sound of footsteps seemed insignificant amidst the roaring steam, yet it carried an irreversible physical oppressive force.
The Abyss Demon Dragon · Praetor Suit on his body was completely awakened.
The barbs on the armor's surface fully extended, like the defensive posture of a hedgehog. Dark red Hellfire spewed madly from his shoulder armor and back exhaust vents; wherever he passed, the air was distorted by the high temperature.
His right hand tightly gripped that Super Shotgun · Yin-Yang Adjudication.
The golden lightning of the left barrel and the blue ice mist of the right barrel, due to their master's extreme fury, had spilled out from the barrel crevices, wrapping around his forearm.
In the vision of his tactical visor, those two high-and-mighty golden energy sources (the Heavenly Gods) had been locked dead by two crimson crosshairs.
Distance: 500 meters.
Distance: 300 meters.
Distance: 100 meters.
...
On the plaza.
King Yama was still begging bitterly: "Lord Commander, please make an exception. Give this little king three months... no, one month! Just until we cash in this batch of Abyss Magic Crystals..."
"Silence!"
The Heaven-Patrolling Commander completely lost his patience. He pulled out a golden scroll exuding endless divine might from his bosom.
"The Jade Emperor's Dharma Decree is here! King Qinguang, kneel and receive the decree at once!"
Divine might is like a prison.
King Yama and Judge Cui's knees gave way, and they were forced to kneel on the ground.
The Heaven-Patrolling Commander hovered in mid-air, slowly unrolling that Heavenly Dao Imperial Decree, and condescendingly began to read. His voice, amplified by divine power, echoed throughout the first layer of the Abyss, carrying an overweening, absolute bureaucratic arrogance.
"Received by the Will of Heaven, the Jade Emperor decrees:"
"It has been investigated that King Qinguang of the Netherworld has unauthorizedly opened a realm gate and privately constructed illegal buildings, violating the fundamental principles of the Heavenly Dao. The Special Inspection Group is ordered to immediately seal the Abyss market and dismiss all laborers. All illegal gains and heretical technologies here are to be confiscated and entered into the Celestial Court's treasury."
"It is further investigated that an unknown green-armored fanatic, acting with outrageous audacity, damaged heavenly secrets and stole Celestial Court divine lightning. King Qinguang is ordered to immediately hand over this fanatic to be sent to the Immortal Execution Terrace, to be cut into ten thousand pieces, his body and soul utterly destroyed."
Reading this, a contemptuous sneer curled the corner of the Heaven-Patrolling Commander's mouth.
He looked at King Yama shivering like a sieve below and closed the imperial decree in his hand.
"King Qinguang, the decree is clear. Hand over that green-armored fanatic and immediately demolish this place. Otherwise, do not blame this general for being ruthless."
"Respectfully re—"
Distance: 10 meters.
That last word, "ceive," was forever stuck in the Heaven-Patrolling Commander's throat.
Because a dark green squall, mixed with the pungent smell of sulfur, machine oil, and a fury capable of igniting the air, instantly tore through the Heavenly God's protective golden light.
The Slayer leaped into the air from a massive exhaust pipe, jumping directly to the same height as the auspicious cloud.
His actions had not the slightest bit of superfluous nonsense.
No warnings of any kind.
And certainly no reverence.
In the Heaven-Patrolling Commander's golden pupils, which widened to their absolute limits, the barrel of that shotgun—radiating the dual violent aura of thunder and ice—was shoved directly into his face, even bumping against his smooth, divine nasal bridge.
*Click.*
Safety off.
That was an ultimate, violent, purely physical rebuttal.
BANG!!!!!!
...
Netherworld, Negative Eighteenth Layer, Control Center.
Daoist Singularity looked at the terrifying mushroom cloud interwoven with gold, blue, and red exploding on the screen, and the half of the imperial decree that instantly turned to ash. He painfully closed his eyes.
He grabbed the microphone, his voice as weak as if he had aged ten years:
"Great Hero... your reply... was a bit too loud..."
"Next Chapter: The Slayer's Response. The imperial envoys of the Celestial Court finally understand that on this land, the only ones who need to kneel are those whose health bars haven't been emptied yet. And the Great Hero specializes in treating all kinds of 'arrogance'."
