Chapter 585 - 578: Extraction
Seven Desires took a deep breath and touched the center of his forehead with his index finger.
A flash of gray light flickered from his brow. He had activated the special communication channel built among the Donghua Celestial Beings, which was based on the terrifying abilities of Doctor Nightmare.
’Suspend all in-person handover activities. All information will be communicated through the secret network.’
Using his authority as the head of the Donghua Region, he relayed the order to all Celestial Demons within Donghua’s borders through the secret network of gray threads.
’With Zhou Yuanjue’s return, the situation is unclear. It’s best not to make any major moves.’
After doing all this, Seven Desires exhaled and slowly lowered the finger from his forehead.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Just then, a knock came from the door of the lounge.
Seven Desires quickly adjusted his expression, regaining the calm confidence of a successful man. "Come in," he said.
The door opened, and a tall, beautiful woman in an evening gown walked into the room. She was the personal assistant of Seven Desires—or rather, Yuan Zhihe.
"President Yuan, all the guests have arrived. They’re just waiting for you to begin."
The woman spoke to Seven Desires in a gentle voice, her large eyes seeming to shimmer like water.
In her eyes, Yuan Zhihe was the ideal man: handsome, knowledgeable, composed, and peaceful. He was successful, wealthy, and powerful, standing at the very pinnacle of the masses, yet he was also passionate about charity. She was even willing to give everything for this man.
"I understand. Let’s go. I can’t keep my guests waiting too long."
A nearly perfect, humble smile appeared on Seven Desires’s face. He slowly stood up, walked out of the lounge, and headed toward the convention center’s main hall.
The moment he stepped out of the hallway and into the main hall, the somewhat noisy venue quickly fell silent. All eyes instinctively turned toward him, as if he possessed some kind of magic that made him the natural center of attention.
Seven Desires’s expression showed he was used to this. He slowly walked onto the high stage and stood before the standing microphone.
His gaze swept over the faces below—the elites of Human Society. His powerful abilities allowed him to clearly sense their emotions and desires.
In each pair of eyes was a "color" they themselves had not noticed.
Envy, reverence, ambition, greed, jealousy...
Those vibrant colors were his finest nourishment.
He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling, yet it also left him wanting more.
’These mortals with their fleshly eyes only believe what they can see.’
’They could never know what a more transcendent form lies beneath this glamorous exterior, beneath these so-called acts of charity.’
’A life form far beyond these mortals, a form before which they could only prostrate themselves and worship.’
Under the countless gazes from below, he slowly approached the microphone, preparing to speak.
But at that very moment, his movement came to an abrupt halt.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Faintly, a sound like muffled thunder rapidly approached from the distance, loud enough for even ordinary people to hear.
However, as a First Generation Level being, Seven Desires could feel much more.
It was... an Energy beyond imagination.
Utterly unconcealed, so wantonly brazen, it was like the sky overhead—boundless and infinite.
Then, he clearly felt an extremely terrifying will lock firmly onto his body.
’This is... this is...’
He seemed to realize something terrible.
’Impossible... How did he find me...? There’s no way I could have been exposed.’
A sense of disbelief flooded his mind, followed by an immense fear born from that terrifying will, which pressed down on him like the heavens themselves.
’King Level... and a being who repelled two Ancient True Kings at once! That’s simply an unimaginable monster!’
Under the immense pressure and terror, Seven Desires’s body froze on the stage in full view of everyone. Fear twisted his expression into something ugly and distorted. Sweat streamed uncontrollably down his face, and his body trembled nonstop.
Below the stage, the socialites of Jinhai Prefecture looked on in astonishment, wondering what was happening to President Yuan. They had never seen him like this before.
The beautiful assistant below also wore a look of surprise. Then, seeming to realize something, she thought Seven Desires was suffering from a sudden attack of some hidden illness and was about to cry out for help.
"Damn it!!!"
However, Seven Desires on the stage let out a heaven-shaking roar first. At this moment of life and death, he suddenly unleashed all his Power. The terrifying roar vibrated through everything around him, and at the same time, the multicolored light of the Seven Desires burst forth from his body.
BANG! BANG!
At the same time, his seemingly refined body suddenly swelled beyond reason, instantly doubling in size and transforming into the shape of a rabid monster.
RIIIP!
The pristine, luxurious designer suit he wore was instantly torn apart by his monstrous physique, revealing his body to the crowd. Beneath his skin, seven grotesque human faces, each with a different expression, were now visible.
It was like a wild beast in human skin had instantly burst through its disguise, baring its vicious fangs.
This scene, which defied all logic, instantly caused everyone’s minds to go blank. Not a single person could react appropriately.
WHOOSH!
Seven Desires’s body leaped up, crashing directly through the ceiling more than ten meters high in an attempt to flee immediately.
Only then did everyone snap back to their senses, and an uproar ensued.
"Oh my god! What was that?! How did President Yuan turn into that?!"
"A monster! President Yuan is actually a monster!"
"The Secret Inspection Bureau! Someone call the Secret Inspection Bureau!!"
"..."
For a moment, the crowd descended into chaos.
BOOM!
The next moment, however, a massive boom echoed as a huge shadow plummeted from where he had just escaped, crashing heavily onto the stage.
The ground shook violently. Everyone lost their balance and fell to the floor, letting out piercing screams.
WHOOSH!
Then, a shimmering figure leaped down from the hole in the ceiling, landing on the ground with extreme lightness.
The restrained silver light and the mysterious sigils covering his skin made him look like a figure from mythology stepping into reality.
"Zhou! Yuan! Jue!"
In the massive crater on the ground, the monstrous Seven Desires struggled to get up, gritting his teeth and forcing out an impotent roar one word at a time.
Zhou Yuanjue gently extended his hand. A silvery-white Divine Soul Power was released, pressing down on the struggling Seven Desires.
BOOM!
The immense force instantly caused the ground to sink again. No matter how Seven Desires struggled, he couldn’t move.
This opponent, who had once forced Zhou Yuanjue to fight for his life, was now so utterly vulnerable.
Zhou Yuanjue’s expression was calm, betraying no emotion. To him now, Seven Desires was just a minor character. Once his position was confirmed, everything was a simple matter of catching him; there was no chance for the other party to resist.
TAP TAP TAP!
Under the horrified gazes of the surrounding crowd, he slowly walked up to Seven Desires, who was pinned to the ground, and looked down on him like a god.
Seven Desires met Zhou Yuanjue’s gaze. The look in his eyes shifted from fierce and venomous to fearful and worried, finally transforming into pleading and even sycophancy.
Zhou Yuanjue’s face showed not the slightest hint of being moved. He bent down, his shimmering right hand slowly reaching out to rest on Seven Desires’s head before gripping it tightly.
RRRIP!
A strange sound of a soul being torn from flesh rang out. A terrifying figure shrouded in black mist, with seven faces growing from its torso, was forcibly pulled out from Seven Desires’s body.