Chapter 634 - 627: Bleeding
An eternal instant!
In a flash, a dazzling light tore through the darkness, illuminating the entire night sky.
This scene was fully displayed by the flowing panorama, reflected in the eyes of everyone in the city.
Dong Wanming’s body moved like a beam of light. He seized the moment of Rainbow’s distraction to appear right before him. The dagger in his hand pierced through the now-lax defense. By the time Rainbow came to his senses, it was too late to dodge.
SHHIIING!!
The sharp dagger struck Rainbow between the eyes.
The two figures were locked in a brief stalemate in mid-air.
The tip of the dagger sank into Rainbow’s brow, but it was stopped by the terrifying power that naturally emanated from his body, unable to penetrate any deeper.
Under the terrifyingly high temperature, the finely crafted dagger began to melt rapidly.
Even with such a terrifying burst of power, given Dong Wanming’s strength, truly killing Rainbow was still an impossible task.
The gap in power between them was simply insurmountable.
Someone as strong as Zhou Qian had once burned away his everything, yet he couldn’t even scratch Rainbow. That alone said it all.
However, despite being weaker than Zhou Qian in terms of raw power, Dong Wanming, with this terrifying outburst, had accomplished what Zhou Qian never could.
DRIP!!
A drop of pale golden blood, as scorching hot as magma, trickled from the wound on Rainbow’s brow where the dagger had pierced him, slowly sliding down his face.
Rainbow’s face twitched uncontrollably as a terrifying rage erupted from within him.
BOOM!!
An intense light spread out like a halo, and a terrifying power poured forth. Dong Wanming’s body was instantly sent flying by this force, crashing heavily onto the rooftop below.
The dagger slipped from his hand. He lay face-up with his arms spread wide, and a large amount of a clear, viscous fluid oozed from his translucent body, pooling on the ground.
It was the result of him overdrawing his own cellular energy, causing his cells to become almost entirely liquid, their walls rupturing with ease.
His very lifeblood was spent.
His eyes and his will began to fade rapidly. After one final flicker, his life, like a meteor or a firework in the sky, swiftly fell silent after its brilliant display.
It was unavoidable, irreversible. Even his will was now disintegrating. He wouldn’t even need to enter the Three Rivers Return Path; he would simply break apart and vanish from the world.
In ancient times, this would be called having one’s soul utterly scattered.
He had truly risked everything on that one strike.
And yet, his opponent was not seriously injured.
But now, there was no trace of frustration or regret on his face. Instead, as he looked up at the lofty Rainbow, a gratified smile appeared.
"Foolish!! Naive!! Weak!!"
Seeing that disgusting expression reappear on the face of the man who had exhausted everything and was about to die, the fury building inside Rainbow grew ever more terrifying.
’I don’t know why I’m becoming so furious.’
’Is it the shame of being wounded by a weaker opponent?’
’Is it irritation at his stubbornness?’
’Or... is it something else?’
"So what if you risked everything?! You can’t defeat me, much less kill me! All you’ve managed to do is cause me a minor inconvenience!!"
"Do you see? This tiny little wound will heal in a moment. It won’t even leave a scar! And *this* is the ’value’ you received for throwing your life away!!"
"Your life, your actions, your everything—they are all so cheap in the face of my power!!"
Rainbow’s voice, full of mockery, echoed through the air.
"You wouldn’t understand."
Lying on the ground, Dong Wanming, a faint, peaceful smile on his face, spoke slowly. "In a world of darkness, when humans see a sliver of light and hope, they will stop despairing and begin to struggle, to fight, to strive with all their might."
"And from a human perspective, when a Divine Being bleeds, we know we can surely pull you down from your pedestals."
"Besides, what I’ve brought you is far more than just a ’minor inconvenience’..."
Dong Wanming spoke slowly, his voice growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely. Even in death, the smile remained frozen on his face.
Dong Wanming of the Holy Heart Sect was dead.
And in the very instant Dong Wanming’s will completely vanished...
ROAR!!
Shouts and riots erupted simultaneously from every corner of the city.
Rainbow’s expression changed slightly.
In the sky, the "Scorching Sun"—the symbol of brutality, conquest, and dominion—was shattered by that powerful torrent. This meant the people of the city, who had been tainted by his abilities, had broken free from the shackles of that brutal, conquering will. The drive for human ideals, pursuits, and beliefs, buried deep in their hearts, was reawakened.
The Shanghai Prefecture army, the group most severely tainted by his power, broke free from their shackles and regained their consciousness.
"Go! Go! Get out of this city!"
"Run! Run! Take this chance!"
"..."
The army, originally deployed to prevent civilians from escaping, had regained its will. Instead, they began helping countless citizens flee this den of demons. The Celestial Demons’ power in Shanghai Prefecture alone was completely insufficient to control so many people.
The city plunged into chaos. The foundation of Rainbow’s rule in Shanghai Prefecture was shaken. It would likely take over a week to repair the damage, and now that this riot had occurred, the seeds of that terrifying will were planted in people’s hearts. It was hard to say if he could ever restore his former level of control.
His original plan to advance west would now likely be shelved for a long time.
’A single, weak ant can cause me this much trouble...’
Rainbow took a deep breath and looked at Dong Wanming’s corpse. The translucent body was slowly disintegrating, like a melting block of ice, gradually turning into a puddle of liquid.
"So this is what humanity is now?"
...
...
That night, news of the riot in Shanghai Prefecture and the mass escape of citizens and soldiers spread throughout Donghua. The true cause of the riot soon reached the upper echelons of Donghua and the leadership of the Secret Inspection Bureau, eventually spreading throughout the entire Martial Arts Realm.
The Chief Commissioner, Chen Qingmu, and the others fell into a deep silence as they read the report they had received.
The message read:
On the evening of the 15th at 9 o’clock, Dong Wanming of the Holy Heart Sect infiltrated Shanghai to assassinate the Ancestral Incarnation. Channeling the valor of all ages, he broke the Ancestral Incarnation’s corruption, allowing the people and the army to regain their free will and triggering the Shanghai Uprising. Afterward, Dong Wanming unleashed a Secret Skill, his light illuminating the night sky. He made the Primordial Ancestor bleed, and died in battle on the rooftops of Shanghai.