MTLNOVEL Chapter 631: Heavenly Law
That fragment gave the blade a will of its own. It hungered. It could kill, yes—but that was mercy compared to what it was truly made for. With a single, precise strike, it could rip the soul from a body, drain an immortal of their divine power until nothing remained, and shatter their essence into irretrievable pieces scattered across the void.
It was the same dagger Xue Wuheng had entrusted this weapon to Peng Xiu with a singular purpose, a task she ultimately failed. Now, his fingers curled possessively around the hilt as he drove it into Xiang Yu's back.
The runes flared to life, glowing a sinister deep green. The mark on Xue Wuheng's wrist pulsed in response, and the weapon's hunger awoke. Invisible threads latched onto Xiang Yu's core, bypassing his own power and latching directly onto the fragment of Han Xin's divine essence embedded within him.
Xue Wuheng's lips curved into a shadowed smile as the blade began its work, drawing out Han Xin's power in greedy currents, each pulse of theft sending a shudder through Xiang Yu's body while the weapon thrummed in satisfaction.
Xiang Yu's entire body convulsed as an unbearable force wrenched at his core. It was as though his very lifeblood, his internal strength, was being violently siphoned away. Warm, metallic-tasting blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his veins bulging and throbbing beneath his skin in visible waves of agony. He willed his limbs to move, to strike back, but his body refused to obey, as if it no longer belonged to him.
Behind him, Xue Wuheng leaned in, his presence suffocating, drinking in Han Xin's divine power with the hunger of a predator at a long-denied feast. One hand fisted in Xiang Yu's hair, pulling it back and tucking the strands neatly behind his shoulder. It was an oddly intimate gesture, ruined by the sinister smile curling on Xue Wuheng's lips.
"Well," Xue Wuheng murmured, voice low and taunting, "I truly underestimated you. That… is my greatest regret."
The runes etched into the floor blazed to life, casting an eerie green glow that bathed the realm in otherworldly light. The same glow pulsed from the mark on Xue Wuheng's wrist, resonating in perfect harmony.
"You managed to get that stone-faced idiot to imbed a fragment of his divine seed within you," he continued, savoring every word. "Xiang Yu… how I underestimated you."
With a deliberate motion, he yanked the ancient blade free from Xiang Yu's back. A sharp gasp tore from Xiang Yu's lips before his eyes rolled back and his body went limp.
Xue Wuheng caught him with ease, his grin widening into something almost euphoric. The mark on his wrist flickered once then it vanished. His laughter was dark and victorious.
Had he known this method could free him from the Realm of Annihilation, he would have made it his first move. Han Xin was far too guarded, but Xiang Yu? He hadn't even known the treasure he carried within him.
As the mark dissolved into nothing, the very foundations of the realm shook. Crimson skies shivered, and with a groaning tear in reality itself, a rift yawned open beckoning him to freedom.
He burst through the rift like a shadow unchained, the oppressive weight of the Realm of Annihilation falling away from him for the first time in two thousand years. This was no fleeting projection, not a fragment of his soul.
This was his entire being, whole and free. The wind tore past him as he soared into open skies, Xiang Yu limp in his arms like a prize claimed from the depths of hell.
For a brief, savage moment, the sensation was intoxicating... freedom, after an eternity of chains. His wings were his again. But then the truth struck him hard. His power did not answer his call.
Without warning, the strength in his body faltered, his flight wavered, and gravity seized him. They plunged from the sky and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Inside him, his divine veins screamed in protest. Once proud rivers of celestial force, where now nothing more than cracked and brittle channels. Two millennia of restraint had left them parched, their flow reduced to a thin, stubborn trickle.
The seals had starved them, fraying the edges like rotting silk, etching hairline fractures from every failed surge against his bindings. What little power remained clung stubbornly to their walls, dense and stagnant, tearing at him with burning agony each time he forced it through.
Pain lanced his body with every heartbeat. He gritted his teeth, making the coldest of decisions. The dead weight had to go.
Xue Wuheng released Xiang Yu, letting the unconscious man plummet. But before the ground could claim him, a flash of blinding blue streaked across the horizon, sweeping Xiang Yu out of the fall.
Xue Wuheng snarled, forcing the dregs of his power to slow his own descent. Even so, he slammed into the earth hard, tumbling down a jagged hillside. Branches clawed at him, rocks split his skin.
***
Moments ago...
Han Xin descended into the mortal forest in a burst of blinding light, his feet barely touching the leaf-strewn ground. The trees trembled under the weight of his divine aura, each step sending ripples of power through the earth. Behind him, Han Jun emerged from a streak of gold, his voice sharp with urgency.
"What are you doing? This isn't the Realm of Annihilation... besides, you can't enter there!"
But Han Xin gave no sign of hearing. His eyes were cold, unblinking, his body cloaked fully in his divine state. Every word from his father dissolved before it could reach him.
Han Jun was ready to speak again, to drag his son from making a reckless decision, when the air split. Two figures materialised one limp, the other radiating dark malice. In the next instant, Han Xin vanished and reappeared farther off, Xiang Yu cradled protectively in his arms.
Han Jun's gaze darted back and froze. Xue Wuheng fell to the ground, outside the Realm of Annihilation. Impossible!
Rage ignited in the Divine Emperor's chest. With a single step, his menacing power surged, shaking the ground beneath them. He appeared before Xue Wuheng, the air crackling with killing intent. The two locked eyes, a clash of ancient wills.
Han Jun's hand moved just once. Xue Wuheng was hurled across the landscape, his body shattering into the side of a mountain, rock and dust exploding outward. Before he could draw breath, another strike sent him crashing into the earth, carving a second crater.
Pain roared through his body, but Xue Wuheng rose, blood spilling from his lips. His teeth, stained crimson, bared in a manic grin. "Little Jun… you can't kill me. Hahaha!"
Han Jun's jaw tightened, the urge to strike again coiled in his veins. No, he couldn't kill him. But he could ensure every moment Xue Wuheng breathed would be accompanied by extensive pain and suffering.
His eyes narrowed, his mind turning over cruel possibilities. He was thinking of ways to prolong Xue Wuheng's torment, to strip him of even the smallest scraps of dignity he still clung to. The smug, manic laughter echoing from Xue Wuheng's lips only fueled the fire of his resolve.
But then mid-laugh, the sound was cut short. Xue Wuheng's expression froze, eyes widening for a split second before his body split cleanly in two along a perfect diagonal slash. The silence that followed was deafening. Han Jun's head snapped up, stunned, his gaze locking on the figure beyond the falling body.
His son stood there, sword in one hand, Xiang Yu cradled securely in the other. His expression was fierce, carved from unyielding steel.
"You—" Han Jun's voice broke off. Words abandoned him.
Han Xin lowered his blade, giving it a sharp flick to clean the blood before sliding it away with measured precision.
"You do realise what you have just done?" Han Jun demanded, his voice low but brimming with tension.
Han Xin met his gaze, unflinching. "He broke the rule," he said coldly.
Han Jun faltered, confusion flickering in his eyes. His mind raced thinking his only beloved son would be punished for killing Xue Wuheng without the permission of the divine council.
But Han Xin's stance, the calm fire in his eyes, said otherwise. He knew exactly what he was doing.
The truth lay in the Heavenly Law Book, the ancient tome penned by the first divine rulers themselves. Its starlight-woven pages held immutable law. In the final section on realms and punishments, scarlet glyphs blazed over the chapter titled On Those Who Break the Seal of Eternal Banishment.
The decree was absolute: Any immortal who escaped the Realm of Annihilation, by any means, lost all protection under heaven's decree. They were to be struck down on sight. No trial, no council, no plea could intervene.
The executor would bear no guilt, for such an immortal was already erased from the registry of the living.