Chapter 926: Next Candidate

Ying Fu gazed into the Silver King's eyes. After a long moment, he raised the wine glass in his hand and took a small sip.

The deep red wine flowed between Ying Fu's lips, but after only a moment of swirling, he spat it out. Frowning slightly, he threw the wine glass to the ground, where it shattered into several pieces.

"If such dregs are among the best of your collection, then your collection must not be very good," Ying Fu stated expressionlessly, as if mocking the Silver King for his lack of worldly experience.

The Silver King, however, showed no irritation. He simply smiled at Ying Fu and calmly replied, "It matters not if Your Majesty dislikes my wine... I have other items in my collection that Your Majesty might enjoy."

"I hope so." Ying Fu, accompanied by A-Qian, slowly walked forward. "Lead the way."

"Heh heh, is Your Majesty heading to the Boundless Realm now? That's rather impatient..."

"Oh? Is there something else?"

The Silver King slowly turned his head, his gaze shifting to another direction within the Gray Realm. A faint smile played on his lips. "This time, besides Your Majesty, I have another target... If I could bring him under my command, he would be a formidable weapon capable of sweeping through both the Human Realm and the Gray Realm."

Ying Fu seemed to guess the Silver King's target, and his brow furrowed slightly...

Audience anticipation: 5Current anticipation: 72

When these two lines of text floated before Chen Ling's eyes, he abruptly stopped.

"Hmm?" Jian Changsheng, who was walking ahead of him, noticed the anomaly. He looked back at Chen Ling, and seeing his extremely grim expression, his mouth twitched uncontrollably... "Seriously, buddy, not again?!"

"What's wrong?" Sun Bumian asked, puzzled.

"It's the Red Heart again! Every time this guy suddenly stops while walking, or abruptly looks up while doing something, it's never good news! It was like this when Mo Lian targeted him in the Imperial Dao Ancient Vault!" Jian Changsheng couldn't help but complain. "I almost thought he was a radar spirit!!"

Chen Ling: ...

"I bet he's about to tell us to run." As soon as Chen Ling opened his mouth, Jian Changsheng made a confident prediction.

"Run!" Chen Ling didn't bother to argue with Jian Changsheng. After shouting, he was the first to use the Cloud Step and rush forward.

With previous experience, Jian Changsheng had come to trust Chen Ling's "Red Heart sense" implicitly. Almost as soon as Chen Ling moved, he followed without hesitation, swiftly joined by Sun Bumian, who also moved with incredible speed using the Cloud Step.

Jiang Xiaohua: ...?

As Jiang Xiaohua hesitated, Bai Ye grabbed his wrist, swiftly moving across the ground with him, away from the Imperial Dao Ancient Vault. Bai Ye wasn't sure why the others trusted Chen Ling so much, but Mo Lian's mysterious disappearance earlier had pricked at his mind, so he figured it was always wise to be cautious.

The five sped through the Gray Realm, Chen Ling leading the way, his heart sinking to rock bottom... It was as he always said: a sudden increase in audience anticipation never boded well. Before, when they encountered Mo Lian, the anticipation had only risen by 3, but this time it had jumped by 5 in one go. Whatever the case, run first!

Chen Ling's mind raced as he tried to recall previous details, attempting to pinpoint the source of this anticipation. But before he could think for too long, Bai Ye, who was behind him, slowly stopped.

"...No need to run." Bai Ye's hoarse voice rasped from his throat.

Chen Ling snapped back to reality. The group stopped and looked back, confused. "What is it, Senior Bai Ye?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Bai Ye pointed ahead. "We've been running for so long, but we've been running in place... The surrounding space hasn't moved at all."

Chen Ling froze, his peripheral vision sweeping the surroundings. Just as Bai Ye said, they had run in circles, only to find themselves back in the ruins of the Imperial Dao Ancient Vault. "A ghost wall?" Jiang Xiaohua suddenly blurted out.

"No..." A deep bitterness filled Bai Ye's gaze. His eyes fixed on a spot within the ruins.

"This time... we really can't escape."

From the shattered ruins, a figure in an English overcoat emerged, walking like a phantom from the distance. Behind him, Ying Fu and A-Qian watched Chen Ling and the others, their expressions complex.

"That guy's wearing both a vest and an overcoat. Isn't he hot?" Jian Changsheng whispered to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling: ... Chen Ling glared at him, urging him to shut his trap immediately.

Chen Ling didn't recognize the person, but he could sense the terrifying aura that occasionally emanated from them... That aura completely transcended their understanding. Chen Ling vaguely guessed that the person's rank was at least above Tier Eight. But they didn't know this person at all. Why would such a high-tier powerful individual attack them?

"Bai Ye... greets the Silver King." Bai Ye let out a long sigh, then stepped forward, shielding Chen Ling and the others behind him. He slightly pulled down the brim of his white baseball cap, covering half of his face, and spoke in a deep voice.

Hearing those words, a chill simultaneously surged up the spines of Chen Ling, Jian Changsheng, and Sun Bumian, piercing into their minds! The Silver King??? He was the leader of the Usurpers of Fire, the "Thief God of Endings" in the Usurper doctrine, the Chief of the Thief God Path, the Silver King??? Chen Ling had only ever heard of the Silver King through the Usurper of Fire's doctrines; he never imagined he would actually appear before them... What's more, not only did they have a Usurper of Fire traitor among them, but they had also just crippled the Saint Thief Mo Lian... Their feud with the Silver King was undoubtedly a huge one!

At the same time, Chen Ling noticed the two figures behind the Silver King. He and Ying Fu exchanged a silent glance across the distance. How did these two end up together?

"I betrayed the Usurpers of Fire, and I was the one who injured Mo Lian," Bai Ye stated in a deep voice, his face pale beneath the brim of his baseball cap as he watched the Silver King approach. "You can do whatever you want with me, just let the others go." Bai Ye's betrayal was already known to the Silver King, so any further pretense was pointless. He knew he couldn't escape this fate today and only hoped the Silver King would spare Chen Ling and the others.

The Silver King remained expressionless, steadily advancing step by step. Meanwhile, the oppressive aura from the Chief of the Thief God Path, like a looming mountain, slowly drew closer to the group...

Beads of sweat trickled down Bai Ye's cheeks. Before the Chief of the Thief God Path, his power had been suppressed to almost nothing, yet even so, he didn't retreat an inch, stubbornly standing in front of Chen Ling and the others. "Li Laide!" Bai Ye snarled in a low voice. "If you dare touch them, the Twilight Society won't let you..."

The Silver King glanced at him and made a casual gesture. The next moment, a pulsating heart materialized in his palm... Bai Ye's voice abruptly cut off.