Chapter 1072: Was It Stolen?

Will I die?

This thought surfaced in the Silver King's mind.

The last time he felt such despair between life and death was countless years ago, when he was being hunted by the Gray King. At that time, neither of them had ascended to demigod status, and the Gray King wasn't yet the Gray King. On that occasion, he was chased by the Gray King, fleeing all the way from the South Sea Domain to the Aurora Domain, narrowly escaping death several times.

Since attaining demigod status, the Silver King had almost never considered that he might die, for he was immensely powerful. He wielded the complete Way of the Thief God, making him virtually omnipotent. After establishing the Flame Usurpers, he even proclaimed himself "The Thief God of the End," the pinnacle of the Way of the Thief God!

He believed he had transcended the realm of mortals and become a "god," so he never truly considered the safety of ordinary humans. After all, even if the Gray Realms converged and domains perished, he could still preserve himself unscathed. What he pursued was only a more powerful, higher level of existence. Only what belonged to him was truly real.

But the Red King's appearance shattered all his illusions.

"No... I won't die." The Silver King coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, directly "stealing" his own heart and clenching it in his hand.

The Crimson Đồng path possessed the ultimate "item theft" ability, allowing one to extract a heart from a distance without dying. After stealing his own heart, the Silver King used a piece from the Way of the Game God to block the wound, directly sealing the injury and preventing his life force from continuing to drain under the Gray King's Moonlight Blade. Then he reinserted his heart.

"I survived back then, turning the tide at the last moment in desperation... This time, I can do it too!"

A sharp glint flashed in the Silver King's eyes. He didn't entangle himself with the Gray King, nor did he think of confronting the Red King. Instead, he directly raised his hand, tearing open a gap in the chessboard, and vanished in a flicker.

Enveloped in moonlight, the Gray King narrowed her eyes at this sight.

The injuries she inflicted on the Silver King were already fatal, but the Silver King was, after all, a demigod of the Way of the Thief God. To completely eliminate him with a single assassination attempt was almost impossible. Ultimately, while the Gray King now possessed demigod-level power, she lacked divine self-attestation, meaning she wasn't a true Tier Nine.

What the Gray King hadn't expected, however, was that when the Silver King was severely wounded, a clear opportunity for a killing blow appeared, yet the Red King made no move.

"He's returned to the Wuji Domain." Her cool voice sounded. She turned to look at the opera-robed youth standing not far away. "From what I know of him, he wouldn't be content to just flee like that... Unless something unexpected happens, he should be heading to..."

The Red King did not reply.

He merely watched calmly in the direction the Silver King had departed, his thoughts unknown.

Through a haze, Chen Ling slowly opened his eyes.

"Junior Brother, you're finally awake?" Ning Ruyu looked at him worriedly. Seeing Chen Ling awaken, a hint of joy flickered in her eyes. "How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?"

"I just..." Chen Ling propped his forehead, sitting up from the ground, his mind struggling to recall.

Chen Ling only remembered losing consciousness after shooting the farmer, feeling muddled until just now. This familiar sensation immediately made Chen Ling realize something.

Advanced?

Chen Ling looked down at himself. He was now emitting a Tier Five aura, and his mind contained new information about skills. It seemed he had indeed entered a state of advancement out of control.

"It's nothing, Junior Brother, nothing major happened," Mo Jiao softly reassured him from the side.

Chen Ling stood up, scanning his surroundings. He noticed that a few Arbitrator Proxies looked at him with subtle expressions, but everyone else seemed normal. It appeared he hadn't done anything astonishing during his moment of uncontrolled advancement. Then again, he had only advanced to Tier Five. With so many Tier Eight individuals present, and his senior brothers and sisters keeping watch, it would have been hard to cause any significant disturbance.

"Red Heart..." Jian Changsheng leaned close to his ear, speaking with a strange expression, "You're really not acting human, are you?!"

Chen Ling: ???

Jian Changsheng recalled that the last time Chen Ling lost control and went wild, he at least maintained a proper human form. This time, he had directly transformed into a mass of red paper monster. Could it be that the "not-human" path from back then was finally coming true?

Just as Chen Ling was about to ask him something, Cui Ran, the assassin nearby, suddenly spoke: "The 'Bridge' is complete. Civilians can begin evacuating."

Hearing this news, the eyes of the Heaven-reaching Star wielders present lit up.

"Let's begin then. Although there are no major threats left in the Wuji Domain now, the Silver King is still unaccounted for. It would be troublesome if he pulled any more dirty tricks," Li Shengmen nodded slightly.

"What's the 'Bridge'?" Jian Changsheng's attention was drawn, and he asked curiously.

Facing a question from a "Twilight Society member," the Heaven-reaching Star wielders wore somewhat strange expressions. After all, from a positional standpoint, they were undeniably enemies. But remembering that they had just fought side-by-side, they still answered:

"It's a void passage that can transfer civilians to a safe place outside the city."

"Spatial teleportation? Has your Heavenly Tower already developed something so incredible?" Jian Changsheng's mouth dropped open.

"Not teleportation, but rather building a bridge in the void... You can think of it as entering another dimension after stepping onto this bridge, where you won't be attacked by the real world. However, to get from one end of the bridge to the other, you still need to walk across yourself."

"Oh..."

After dealing with the Arbitrator Proxies and gaining control of the Wuji Domain, the atmosphere among everyone lightened considerably. The Heaven-reaching Star wielders busied themselves with the civilian evacuation, while the Twilight Society members started bickering and mocking each other. Sun Buming and Jiang Xiaohua, on the other hand, lay peacefully on the ground, one on each side, as if they had been deceased for some time.

Chen Ling's peripheral vision caught the Butcher walking directly towards him, extending a hand.

"...What do you want?" Chen Ling blinked.

"Mr. Chen, thank you very much for awakening us and helping us regain our memories... But that knife is the foundational secret treasure of our Way of the Strength God, and also a crucial domain heritage... So..." The Butcher pursed his lips, a rare hint of awkwardness appearing on his stiff, fleshy face.

"So... please return the secret treasure to me."

"Oh, oh... The foundational secret treasure, right?" Chen Ling nodded repeatedly, then fumbled around on himself as if searching for something. "Just a moment, let me look for it..."

Seeing Chen Ling so readily willing to return the bone-cleaving knife, the Butcher looked a bit embarrassed. However, after a full half-minute, Chen Ling was still rummaging through his belongings...

"Strange, I distinctly remember putting it here..."

"Oh no..."

Chen Ling looked up into his eyes, his tone unusually serious. "It seems your foundational secret treasure was stolen by the Silver King."

The Butcher: ????