Shackles of Humanity

The last person to jump from the airship was an old man. He landed on the ground as if weightless. A silver inverted cross was etched between his brows, and his eyes, which faintly glowed with a white light, were completely expressionless as they locked directly onto Luo Kai.

Luo Kai trembled violently, his face suddenly turning deathly pale. ’Under this old man’s gaze, I feel like an ant that could be crushed at any moment. The feeling is simply too terrifying.’ He instinctively accelerated his Qi and Blood Circulation, stimulating the energy hidden deep within his body to resist this formless Mental Suppression.

The old man’s lips moved slightly, and a cold, hoarse voice rang out, "Evil Energy is violent and chaotic. Once someone resonates with it, they cannot escape the fate of becoming its puppet, known as an Evil Demon. An Evil Demon is powered by resentment and feeds on hatred, venting its endless loneliness through the deaths of all living creatures. This is your fate, and I must be the one to end it. Are you willing to accept Judgment!"

The old man’s words struck Luo Kai’s heart like claps of thunder. His heart rate instantly soared, and he had to focus his entire being to its peak just to withstand the formless impact.

’This old bastard is, in all likelihood, another Body Master.’ He hadn’t paid any attention to all that nonsense about Evil Demons. Luo Kai’s mind raced. ’Xiaoxue predicted that any resistance would mean certain death. The only way to survive is to stop resisting.’ Suppressing the rage in his heart, he asked in a cold voice, "Are you going to kill me?"

The old man said expressionlessly, "I will lock you up in the Forbidden Spirit Prison, for mankind to study."

Luo Kai breathed a sigh of relief. ’It seems I’m destined to spend my life in prisons. Still, being imprisoned is better than being dead.’ He nodded and said, "Alright. But before that, can you let me finish the competition?"

"No," the old man said coldly.

Luo Kai sighed and slowly drew the Severing Blade from his back. "If that’s how it is, then bring it on. I might not be able to beat you, but I can take a few of you down with me." After speaking, he no longer suppressed his thought frequency. The dark clouds that had gathered in the sky were finally unleashed, and a torrential downpour crashed down. Following that, wisps of gray Evil Energy began to converge on his position.

With a shake of his body, the old man repelled the falling rain with an invisible force. A strange expression crossed his face as he asked in surprise, "You can control Elemental Energy as well?"

Luo Kai ignored him. Instead, he unleashed the full force of his Spiritual Will Power, summoning the Evil Energy that was omnipresent between Heaven and Earth. He had no intention of being captured without a fight, even if it meant becoming the Evil Demon the old man spoke of.

A great battle was about to erupt. Just then, Liu Hou stepped into the arena, bowed, and said, "Lord Body Master, might I be so bold as to ask your esteemed name?"

Body Masters represented the highest echelon of power among humans, and this man was a high-ranking executive from the Body Technique Association. Even a High-Rank Martial Artist had to be utterly respectful in his presence.

The old man stated indifferently, "I am Li Hong."

Liu Hou continued, "And might I ask, what constitutes heresy?"

The old man’s voice was bone-chillingly cold. "Anything uncontrollable is heresy. Those who obstruct law enforcement shall be killed without mercy!"

"Heh, what arrogance. Your Body Technique Association has grown truly tyrannical." A figure completely enveloped in white light suddenly appeared. It seemed as if he had casually taken a single step, yet had crossed a hundred meters to arrive in the arena in an instant. Even the legendary Shrinking Inches was nothing compared to this.

Luo Kai could see that it was not Shrinking Inches, but rather that the man’s speed was simply too fast for the human eye to track. ’It’s strange,’ he thought. ’Why is he here? Is he also looking for trouble with me?’

The man in the white light was the City Lord of the Tri-Eyed Race, Su Chengbo. Three people followed behind him. One of them, a beautiful young woman, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Luo Kai and gave him a small smile. It was Sister Su. The remaining man and woman both had blue skin; they were members of the Sea Race.

Li Hong turned, his face grim. "Does your Tri-Eyed Race intend to meddle in the affairs of my Judgement Department?"

Su Chengbo shook his head. "I have no interest in the business of your Judgement Department. I only wish to know how you identify heresy. In your eyes, is my Tri-Eyed Race considered heresy? Or perhaps the Sea Race is as well?"

Upon hearing this, the two members of the Sea Race immediately grew hostile. Large-scale invasions by Fierce Beasts had become rare, and the world had been largely peaceful for over a century. As a result, the struggle for orthodoxy among the various human factions had grown more intense. Conservative powers, represented by the Dongyuan Upper Country, were on the rise. They considered themselves the original humans and were extremely hostile toward Mutants who had undergone genetic mutation, a group that included the Tri-Eyed Race.

The Sea Race, living in the deep oceans, believed they had evolved, transcending their original form of life to become superior to humans. The same was true for the other two branches of humanity, the Titan Giants and the Abyssal Clan, who had long since severed all ties with humankind.

Li Hong snorted coldly. "If you do anything to harm humanity, you will naturally be considered heretics as well."

Su Chengbo sighed. "As I understand it, the concept of heresy originally came about because certain extraterrestrial creatures were parasitizing human populations, looking for a chance to disrupt the progress of our civilization. Yet now, the definition has been expanded to include all uncontrollable things. Have your actions not strayed from the original intent?"

Li Hong’s voice was filled with killing intent. "You are not wrong. But heresy is difficult to identify. Therefore, we would rather wrongly punish the innocent than let a single guilty party escape!"

Su Chengbo fell silent for a moment before looking up. "If I were to ask you to spare this young man, you would surely refuse, wouldn’t you?"

Li Hong’s expression softened. "This matter is not up for negotiation. Once an Evil Demon is born, all life withers, and the world is plunged into misery. Even if he retains his sanity now, he will eventually become a monster of pure evil. The only reason I’m not killing him on the spot is because he is still human. We will imprison him in the Forbidden Spirit Prison for eternity, to allow humanity to study the use of Chaos Energy."

"Father!" Sister Su cried out anxiously, rushing forward to grab Su Chengbo’s arm with a pleading look on her face.

After a moment of thought, Su Chengbo turned back to Li Hong. "As a personal favor, could you grant this young man one last request? Let him finish the competition."

Li Hong glanced at the sky, hesitated for a moment, then said, "I must take him away before dark."

Su Chengbo patted Sister Su’s arm and sighed. "Sister Su, you heard him. The young man’s life is not in danger. This is all I can do."

Sister Su bit her thin lip and turned to look at Luo Kai, her eyes filled with apology.

Luo Kai, however, just smiled and said, "Thank you, City Lord Su. Actually, I also owe you my thanks for saving my life back then."

"Back then?" Su Chengbo looked puzzled, but then something seemed to click. Realization dawned on his face. "That’s right, I’ve seen you before! You were a prisoner on death row on Nanya Island!"

Luo Kai nodded. "Yes. If you hadn’t transferred us death row inmates to the mines back then, I probably would have been killed by the head jailer."

"Hmm... It seems we are quite fated to cross paths. I should also thank you for saving my daughter."

Luo Kai laughed heartily. "Alright! All debts and grudges between us are settled. Now, who will fight me!" His first statement was to say he would not hold a grudge over Su Wenlin sending assassins after him. The last part, however, was directed at the competitors who had yet to leave the arena.

This fighting tournament was a grand annual event with countless participants and spectators, most of whom were still in the arena. They had merely been stunned into silence by the powerful aura radiating from Li Hong. Many were now coming to their senses, but faced with a man so dangerous that a Body Master had personally come to capture him, who would dare issue a challenge?

The arena was silent for a long while. Then, a crisp, female voice suddenly called out, "I’ll fight you."

Everyone was taken by surprise, even Luo Kai was confused. A slender figure leaped onto the fighting stage—it was Yue Han. ’What is she doing getting mixed up in this?’ he wondered.

"Be careful now, I’m really tough!" Yue Han winked at him, then drew a pair of military daggers and attacked. Her assault was ferocious, a veritable storm of thrusts.

Luo Kai didn’t understand what she was up to, so he didn’t fight back, merely dodging her attacks with tight, economical movements. After a moment, as their bodies brushed past each other, Yue Han paused and whispered three words in his ear: "Take me hostage!"

’What’s the point of taking you hostage? That old man is clearly a cold, unfeeling machine; he wouldn’t spare a second thought for the life of a young girl.’ Naturally, Luo Kai didn’t do it.

Yue Han grew anxious. Using the cover of another thrust, she whispered in his ear again, "My father has a large contingent of men stationed nearby. If you take me hostage, he will definitely help you."

Luo Kai sighed to himself. He understood her plan. ’Mushan would never stand by and let his daughter be harmed. But what kind of being is a Body Master? Ordinary Martial Artists are nothing but ants in his eyes. And those five men with the enormous golden swords have incredibly powerful auras; they must all be High-Rank Martial Artists. Even if I were to burn my qi and blood and call upon Evil Energy to possess me, I could at best hold the Body Master at bay. But it would inevitably result in a bloodbath.’ He was just so tired. He didn’t want to kill anymore.

His body blurred as he suddenly accelerated, grabbing Yue Han by the collar and tossing her out of the arena. He then walked up to Li Hong and said, "Alright. Let’s go."