90: [The Holy Lord Who Bestows Blessings and Protects the Home]

Above the sky, the suspended arena seemed unable to recover from the bloody spectacle of 'hand-tearing the Divine Beast' moments ago.

The air was thick with the scorched odor of sulfur and divine blood mixed together, irritating everyone's nostrils.

But this oppressive heat didn't last long. Suddenly, everyone realized the entire world's aesthetic had changed.

If Wu Song's entrance earlier was like adding fuel to a roaring fire, a burst of intense brilliance, then now, it felt as if an invisible hand had forcefully drained all color from heaven and earth.

The once azure sky rapidly faded, turning into a lifeless, ashen gray. Flowers in full bloom withered into ash on their branches before their petals could even fall. Birds still flapped their wings, but their bodies stiffened mid-air; their feathers lost their luster, plummeting silently like stones.

No explosions, no thunderous roars.

Only a suffocating silence remained.

Everyone watching the broadcast felt their hearts clench, a chill racing up their spines from the base to the crown of their heads.

The screen's image eerily transformed into a black-and-white silent film.

Amidst the gray, decaying stillness, a pitch-black figure finally came into clear view.

He wore a tattered black robe, the hood pulled low, obscuring his face. Only two faint, flickering blue flames danced deep within the hood.

He carried no flashy divine weapons or Sharp Weapons, only a rusted scale and a long-handled scythe with a chipped blade, as if freshly taken from a field.

But with each step he took, the stone slabs beneath his feet instantly weathered into fine sand.

[Second Round Combatant: Olympus Pantheon — Death God · Thanatos]

A simple name, yet it evoked more despair than the hundreds of tons of lion from moments ago.

Some remaining fanatics in the West, harboring hatred for Dragon Summer, instantly went mad.

"It's the God of Death! The true God of Death!"

"Hahaha! Dragon Summer is finished! What can that drunkard's strength do now? You can shatter stone, but can you shatter the very concept of 'death'?"

"Physical attacks are useless! This is a spirit! An Incarnation of rules! If Thanatos wills it, harvesting Souls is as simple as reaping wheat!"

As if to confirm these frenzied claims, members of some Western underground organizations, who were intercepting signals via satellite to observe the God of Death up close, suddenly let out piercing screams in their respective bases.

No one attacked them.

They had merely stared at the black figure on their screens for more than three seconds.

Just from 'gazing,' their pupils began to dilate, their life force forcibly stripped away. Even without a single wound on their bodies, their brainwaves flatlined instantly.

[Warning! Detected high-dimensional rule contamination! Do not look directly at the target! Do not look directly at the target!]

Dragon Summer's authorities urgently cut the high-definition signal, leaving only a blurry, distant view.

But this didn't alleviate the panic; instead, the fear of the unknown spread wildly through the crowd.

Chaos began to erupt across Dragon Summer. Although no one died due to the protection of national fortune, this rule contamination still caused physical discomfort in many with weak resistance.

Inside the command hall.

The peachwood sword in Old Daoist Priest's hand began to tremble slightly. It wasn't out of fear, but a cultivator's instinctive rejection of such extreme 'Yin Death Qi.'

"We're in serious trouble," the old Celestial Master's expression was grave enough to drip water. "This thing isn't a living being. You could even say he is the very word 'death' itself. If I throw a Talisman at him, the spiritual power within the paper will likely 'die' before it even reaches him."

"A pure energy entity?" Long Yi stared intently at the screen. "Can we use high-energy lasers or electromagnetic cannons?"

"Useless," Qin Shuangyue typed rapidly on her keyboard. "Data analysis shows his existence lies between the tangible and intangible. Our attack methods are all based on the material plane. Hitting him would be like trying to scoop air with a net."

Everyone's gaze turned toward Su Yun once more.

The young man who had just been cheering for Wu Song moments ago was now sitting quietly in his chair.

Unlike the anxiety of those around him, Su Yun's expression remained as relaxed as ever.

Seeing the expectant looks from everyone, he smiled faintly and said, "In the West, death is the end, an irresistible natural law, the final destination of all things. Its 'prestige' is indeed quite high."

"But in our Dragon Summer, when a person dies, it's just the beginning of the process."

"After passing through the Ghost Gate, one must still walk the Yellow Springs Road, drink Granny Meng's soup, cross the Naihe Bridge, and face judgment from the Ten Yama Kings, checking if your life's performance met the standards, if you did any bad deeds."

"Here, death isn't the end; it's the start of another administrative System."

Long Yi was taken aback. "You mean..."

"I mean, since this guy is also in the 'death business,' we have to follow the rules."

"Does he have a business license? A Soul-hooking permit issued by the Underworld? Did he report for cross-region law enforcement?"

"If he has none of these..."

Su Yun snapped his fingers, and the System interface instantly unfolded before his eyes.

"...then he's a wandering ghost illegally crossing borders, a primary target for crackdowns."

The skill 'Martyrs Protection' lit up once again.

[Detecting host's intent...]

[Skill 'Martyrs Protection' is being released...]

[Judging... Talent 'Territory is Domain' intervenes.]

[Judgment passed. Current coverage area: Entire territory of Dragon Summer and regions linked by Luck.]

[Alert: Detected high-risk spiritual entity target (codename: Thanatos). Does not hold a Fengdu travel permit. Not registered in the Book of Life and Death. System judgment: Wild evil ghost illegally crossing borders.]

[Detected that basic skills cannot handle a violation of this Rank... Extracting foundational essence from 'Underworld Administrative Roster'... Injecting keywords: [Devourer of Ghosts], [Red Robe], [Ugly and Fearsome], [Specializes in Dealing with Flashy Nonsense]...]

[Concept reshaping in progress...]

[Skill mutation complete.]

—

[Ghost Dao · The Holy Lord Who Bestows Blessings and Guards the Home]

[Description: Once a scholar from Zhongnan Mountain, with a leopard's head, round eyes, an iron face, and curly sideburns, possessing a strange and remarkable appearance. Moved by imperial grace, he vowed to rid the world of all Prodigies. Connected to the heavens above, comforted the common people below, and subdued ghosts and gods in between. Wielding a green blade to slay demons and evil spirits, opening a giant mouth to swallow malevolent ghosts. Within the sequence of Eastern culture, he is the bane of all ghosts and evil spirits, the violent enforcer of the Underworld's order.]

[Effect One: Trait · Official Status Protection (Passive). Grants the host and summoned entities the status of 'Righteous Underworld Deity.' Immune to all instant-death rules, curse rules, and Soul-stripping effects not approved by the 'Courts of Yama.']

[Effect Two: Domain · Clearing Illegal Constructions (Active). Forcibly deploys 'God of Exorcism's Demon-Subduing Realm.' Within this Domain, all spiritual entities belonging to non-Dragon Summer Systems will be forcibly marked with the 'Wanted Criminal / Food Ingredient' label.]

[Effect Three: Finishing Move · Devour Alive. When facing spiritual-type enemies, all of the God of Exorcism's physical attacks (including tearing, biting, stomping) will transform into 1000% 'True Spirit Damage.' If the target's health falls below 30%, it can trigger the 'One Bite' execution effect, converting the target into pure Soul energy to replenish the host.]

[Note: Whether you're a god from the West or a ghost from somewhere else, if you don't have a travel permit, in my eyes, you're nothing but a crispy piece of jerky!]

...

On the arena.

Thanatos had already floated to the center of the platform.

He seemed to believe the upcoming, overwhelming battle would be dull. Without waiting for Dragon Summer to send another combatant, he slowly raised his eyes, burning with blue flames, and looked toward Dragon Summer.

He raised the rusted scale in his hand.

On one end of the scale rested a single white feather.

"The balance is broken."

His voice was raspy and grating, like two pieces of rusted metal scraping together, setting teeth on edge. "The Souls of Mortals are too heavy. Only death can grant you lightness."

As his words fell, the scale tilted violently.

A visible gray ripple, centered on the arena, began to spread madly toward the land of Dragon Summer.

Where the ripple passed, space itself began to decay. Even the sturdy defensive barrier fluctuated intensely under the force of this rule.

Western believers around the globe had already begun kneeling in prayer, thanking the God of Death for his grace.

The hearts of Dragon Summer's people were in their throats, a tense mood spreading.

However.

Just as the golden Great Wall's fluctuations grew more violent, and the gray ripple of death was about to cross the boundary line...

"Thwack."

A crisp sound rang out.

It was like the sound of a cheap magistrate's gavel striking a table—not loud, yet carrying an air of unquestionable authority.

Immediately after.

The overwhelming gray Death Qi suddenly halted.

As if frightened by something even more terrifying, it began to tremble and roll back upon itself.

An intensely gaudy, blindingly bright crimson light erupted without warning in the gray-white world.

This red light held no sanctity, only ferocious malevolence.

If Thanatos's gray aura made one want to commit suicide from depression, then this red light made one want to kowtow from sheer pressure.

Accompanying the red light came a series of bone-chilling chewing sounds.

"Crunch, crunch."

It sounded like someone chewing on cartilage, making scalps tingle.

"Which blind fool..."

A rough, irate voice, so loud it made heaven and earth hum, emerged from the red light.

"I was just taking a nap when I heard endless noise by my ear, disturbing my peaceful sleep."

"What lowly rat dares make such a racket here? In such a hurry to be reborn?!"