Chapter 129: Mu You… Was Afraid

The light dimmed in an instant.

In the boundless darkness, even the sound of breathing was swallowed up, vanishing without a trace.

A single point of silver radiance, a cold glint, suddenly appeared.

It was an eye—an eye devoid of any human emotion, radiating a will of judgment and sentencing. It swept coldly across all the death row inmates present, like a demon from the deepest abyss of hell, ready to unleash despair upon the world the very next second.

It was a gift of despair, given without a shred of mercy or hesitation!

Two, three, four, five… a full thousand!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon had descended!

"Legend says that beneath the Kongsang Tree in the West, there lived a Thousand-Eyed Monster. It was incredibly fragile, shaped like a tentacle, and could only survive by clinging to the trunk and absorbing its sap. Throughout its life, its thousand eyes remained tightly shut, never opening. Later, a divine Phoenix bird sought to claim the Kongsang Tree as its nesting territory. Driven to desperation, the monster opened all its thousand eyes at once. The Phoenix’s divine light was instantly extinguished, and it fled ten thousand miles east to the Fusang Tree, and only then did the matter end."

This was the myth that flashed through everyone’s mind at that very moment.

"Hahaha, look at your pathetic, cowardly faces! If this were a weapon truly crafted from the Thousand-Eyed Demon, it would at least be an Imperial Tool. This is merely made from the molted remains of the demon, but even so, you are all doomed! Demon Eyes, open!"

Whoosh.

As if at the dawn of creation, within the chaos, thousands of sharp blades cut through the air. Silver light intersected, unstoppable, reducing everything in its path to ashes and vanishing into the void.

Screams and flashes of blood intertwined endlessly. One body after another collapsed into pools of gore. It was only then that the survivors realized that besides the four white buildings confining them, the ends of the other tentacles were connected to death row inmates on other floors. Now, due to the rampage of the Thousand-Eyed Demon weapon, they were all exposed to the sky-filling light of destruction while completely caught off guard.

Mu You even saw Xuan Yao, He Jing, and the others, who had just opened their groggy eyes, only to be struck dumb by the demonic death hovering right before them.

"No!!"

Mu You watched helplessly as Quan Xi, who had been high-spirited and casually menacing just moments ago, poured his blood and soul into a desperate defense. Yet, even though he managed to slightly deflect that silver glint, it still pierced through his chest. What shocked Mu You even more was that the attack showed no signs of abating; in a blink, it split into countless smaller silver blades, raining down upon the other dangerous inmates of Building A.

At this moment, Mu You’s vision blurred with red. With a roar, his Blood-Ink Phoenix Wings unleashed an unparalleled shockwave as he charged forward!

"Sovereign Flame’s First Gaze!"

"Burning Void Red Lotus!"

"Nirvana of the Heavenly Pride!"

Transforming into a streak of blood in the high air, Mu You unleashed all his techniques at once. A fire-dragon lotus roared, attempting to swallow all the silver light, but it only succeeded in drawing more of Jing Dule’s attention.

Jing Dule’s attacks were distributed based on his enemies' strength. Seeing that only Mu You had caused an unexpected turn of events while everyone else was overwhelmed, an uncontrollable, nameless rage began to boil within him.

"Why keep struggling? Wouldn't it be easier to just die? Is it really that fun to make me work twice as hard?!"

Jing Dule turned his head, facing Mu You directly. A silver slit cracked open between his brows, and a beam of pure, destructive light shot straight out, piercing the void and striking at Mu You!

"Don't!"

"Brother Mu You!"

"Boss, watch out!"

With his back to the silver light, Mu You could not see the danger, but the cries of those around him made him realize the dire situation. Yet, he could not retreat! He had to intercept all the attacks; these were not things the dangerous inmates—who hadn't even touched the threshold of A-rank—could withstand!

"One Thought, Flowers Bloom; Floating Life, World in Chaos!"

"If the Heart Does Not Die, Roots Take Hold!"

Two powerful shouts erupted from Mu You’s throat. A blood-colored lotus emerged, swallowing the sky-filling silver light. It shrank rapidly; the blood-ink color could not withstand the power of the silver glint and transformed entirely into silver. Piercing through the nuclear-like blast, it reappeared behind Mu You, already transformed into silver lotus roots and chains, rushing toward the lethal strike aimed at his back.

"There's one thing I forgot to remind you. While your 'If the Heart Does Not Die, Roots Take Hold' can absorb the bloodline power of others, and our abilities use blood as a bridge and pillar, if the gap in strength is too great, the energy undergoes a qualitative change. It is no longer something you can manipulate at will. For instance... right now."

Jing Dule revealed a triumphant, cunning smile. To everyone’s horror, that devastating strike behind Mu You suddenly vanished before their eyes.

What!

Even Mu You’s expression changed drastically. Perhaps others didn't know, but as the person involved, he felt it too clearly. This final killing move was a feint. Even an S-rank death row inmate could not control the entire battlefield while simultaneously attacking so recklessly. His true goal was to have his "If the Heart Does Not Die, Roots Take Hold" completely consume his energy, only to be manipulated by him. Even if Mu You fled into the high air, with a mere thought, Jing Dule could shatter him into pieces instantly.

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for caring too much about these subordinates. They are nothing but desperate thugs seeking only survival. To think you were naive enough to block my power alone for these losers—how confident, how stupid can you be! If you're a fool, you deserve to die! Explode!!"

"Brother Mu You!!!"

Xuan Yao let out a shrill scream, which was instantly drowned out by the endless roar of the explosion.

Silver light filled the entire space in an instant!

In his panic, Mu You had no choice but to wrap himself in his Blood-Ink Phoenix Wings.

BOOM!!!

A peerless shockwave threw everyone to the ground. The explosions continued, layer upon layer, making it impossible for anyone to stand.

"Brother Mu You!"

"Mu You!!"

"No!!"

The people pinned to the ground roared, with An Ruxiang and Xuan Yao screaming the most desperately. Ghostly green and demonic purple lights began to swirl around the two women; as their hair whipped in the wind, their expressions and auras began to shift.

"Tsk tsk, performing to the very end—it's no wonder you were able to struggle until now."

Seeing this, Jing Dule sneered with utter disdain.

Finally, the pressure weighing down on them dissipated. They looked toward the center of the explosion with difficulty and trepidation, only to find that Mu You was the only one still standing in the entire space.

He hung his head, his state of life or death unknown. His clothes were completely destroyed, and his body was covered in charred marks—there was not a single patch of intact flesh left. Even more heart-stopping was that the Phoenix Wing on his left chest, which had just been used as a shield, had completely vanished, leaving only blood to drip down in a desolate rhythm.

With a single move, Jing Dule had incapacitated everyone, and Mu You, who had posed the greatest threat, was left utterly broken.

"No!!"

An Ruxiang and Xuan Yao cried out simultaneously, rushing straight toward Mu You.

"Don't move!!"

But at the critical moment, Mu You, who was on the verge of losing consciousness, suddenly barked a command. For the first time, his voice betrayed a sense of fear.

The two women stopped dead in their tracks, looking at Mu You in disbelief.

Since they had known him, they had never seen him fear anyone. Yet, the terror in that command was real.

Mu You... was afraid.