146: Chapter 146 I've arrived, and everyone must die.

The sky over the capital had darkened completely, though no one knew when it began.

It was not caused by dark clouds obscuring the sun, nor was it a solar eclipse, but rather a darkness that was far deeper and more unsettling.

It felt as if the entire firmament had been forcibly dragged by an invisible, overbearing will into an independent space devoid of light or sound—a space containing only pure slaughter and destruction.

The air had solidified, thick and viscous like mercury.

The wind had ceased; not even a single fallen leaf could drift.

Time seemed to have been pressed on pause at this very moment.

Whether it was Emperor Xia's imperial guards inside the Imperial City or Commander-in-Chief Wei Zheng's rebel army outside, everyone felt as though their bodies had been filled with lead, making even moving a finger a luxury they could not afford.

The Battle Intent, rage, and fear in their hearts—even Emperor Xia's madness, Commander-in-Chief Wei Zheng's ambition, and Sword Demon Zhang Cheng's schemes—all appeared so childish, ridiculous, and insignificant before this absolute will that had descended from the heavens.

"What... what on earth is this?!"

In the ranks of the rebel army, a general with the cultivation of the Gathered Crown Realm used every ounce of his strength to lift his head with difficulty, his voice trembling violently from extreme fear, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

He saw that in the center of the ink-black sky, a slender figure had quietly appeared at some unknown moment.

He wore simple, faded linen robes, a plain, ancient, and mysterious bronze mask without any patterns, and held a rusted iron sword in his hand that looked as if it had just been dug out of a trash heap.

His entire being seemed to have merged with the surrounding darkness, radiating no earth-shattering Aura and displaying no world-destroying pressure.

He stood there casually, like a traveler who had wandered into this place by mistake, or perhaps an actor about to go on stage who hadn't yet had time to change into his costume.

Yet, this seemingly ordinary figure caused everyone present—

whether they were battle-hardened soldiers, high-level generals, those Earthly Immortal retainers hidden in the shadows, or even those three peerless overlords who already stood at the pinnacle of the world's martial Dao—

to feel a sense of irresistible trembling and submission originating from the depths of their Soul!

It was as if they were not facing a person, but an ancient demon god who had walked out of the Nine Nether Hell, wielding the power of life and death and Reincarnation!

It was the Heavenly Dao, the Law, an absolute will that could not be defied!

It was him!

The man who, by his own strength, had stirred up the entire winds and clouds of the Great Xia!

The stray dog who should have been hunted down by the "Imperial Blood Soul-Chasing Order" with nowhere to flee to heaven or earth!

Sword Ghost!

Yama!

Lin Feng!

Emperor Xia, Commander-in-Chief Wei Zheng, and Sword Demon Zhang Cheng all roared this name in their hearts at almost the same time—a name that had kept them from eating or sleeping in peace, a name they wished to grind into dust even in their dreams!

But at this moment, there was no anger in their hearts from seeing an enemy; there was only endless shock and disbelief!

How could he be here?!

Shouldn't he be thousands of miles away, being hunted down in a pathetic state by those Jianghu factions and bounty hunters who had caught wind of his location?!

How dare he come here?!

This is the capital, the center of the entire chess game, and the final battleground for them, the "chess players"!

As a mere "chess piece," on what grounds, and how dare he appear here?!

"Are you surprised?"

Just then, the figure suspended in the air slowly lowered his head.

The eyes hidden beneath the bronze mask calmly swept over the three faces below, which were filled with shock, anger, and fear, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc, as if he were looking at three corpses about to be buried.

His voice was not loud, perhaps even somewhat flat, yet it seemed to contain a certain magic, as if his words commanded reality itself.

Ignoring the distance of space, it echoed clearly in everyone's ears and in the depths of everyone's hearts.

"It seems everyone is here."

He paused, his gaze sweeping one by one over the three "protagonists" below, like a monarch inspecting his territory.

"Emperor Xia, for the sake of so-called immortality, you did not hesitate to collude with Heavenly Demons and blood-sacrifice the common people. Very good."

"Commander-in-Chief Wei Zheng, for the sake of that supreme Dragon throne, you did not hesitate to launch a mutiny and throw the world into chaos. Also very good."

"And you, Sword Demon Zhang Cheng..."

Lin Feng's gaze finally landed on the green-robed figure who had stood up from the top of the teahouse, his face changing between shades of light and shadow, no longer possessing even a hint of an immortal's demeanor.

"Hiding behind the scenes, manipulating human hearts, considering yourself a chess player—that is even... very good indeed."

He slowly raised the iron sword in his hand, which looked as though it would snap if bent, its blade covered in rust.

He pointed it from afar at the masses below, where the three powers stood in a tripod formation, and at the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and subjects behind them.

His posture was not as if he were facing three peerless overlords and hundreds of thousands of troops, but as if he were facing three slightly larger ants that could be crushed underfoot at any moment.

"Today, I, Lin Feng, shall use the sword in my hand to put an end to this self-directed, ridiculous farce of yours."

He paused, as if giving these three "protagonists" a final moment to digest his last words.

Immediately after, a destructive will, a hundred and a thousand times more terrifying than the previous killing intent, erupted from his seemingly fragile body!

His voice suddenly turned cold, filled with an unquestionable overbearingness and decisiveness!

"Do not even think about resisting!"

"I have arrived, everyone must die!"