Chapter 26 - The Price of Mercy

Chapter 26 - The Price of Mercy

Wutian, who had already lost consciousness, was now no different from a cripple. His Infernal Mantle Core had been destroyed, his bones shattered. He had no choice but to materialize using his soul fragments to escape.

"Ugh… this is difficult. Many powerhouses will definitely discover me if I emit even a bit of soul power."

Wutian muttered to himself, contemplating whether to escape or maintain his current body. But right now, his body was completely useless. The Infernal Mantle was nearly impossible to repair—it was a crucial foundation for advancing to the higher realms.

Staring at his broken body, Wutian shook his head and sighed.

"This girl is really terrifying..."

His remnant soul, barely holding together, turned toward Ella, whose beauty was still captivating even in his dire state. The sight of her in that red dress was regretfully mesmerizing.

"Tsk… I need to escape. My current situation is really bad. I need to find a new body to possess."

Wutian made his decision. Using a technique to erase his presence completely, he stealthily fled.

Ella, who was still stomping on Wutian's body, didn't notice his remnant soul escaping.

"Huh? He's dead?"

Ella was confused. She had promised not to kill Wutian, yet it seemed she had accidentally done so. Still, she crouched down and inspected his body, kicking it back and forth.

But there was no sign of life.

The Lesser Gods watching from a distance shuddered in terror.

"This girl is really ruthless… she didn't even let off a dead man," one of them muttered.

Even those who usually remained indifferent felt the same. Meanwhile, Olivia, who had been watching Wutian's corpse intently, spoke.

Ding!

[System Notification: Critical Entity Termination Confirmed]

Entity: Wutian

Status: Deceased

Cause of Death: Infernal Mantle Core Annihilation – Irreversible Collapse

[Analyzing Core Fracture…]

[Confirming Soul Integrity…]

[Warning! Residual Soul Energy Detected]

Remnant Soul Status:

— State: Severely Weakened (Integrity: 28%)

— Condition: Unstable – Unable to Reform Physical Vessel

— Escape Attempt: Detected

[Tracking Soul Displacement…]

[System Lock: Partially Engaged]

[Force Interference: Unknown Energy Signature Identified]

System Response:

— Soul Beacon Activated – Monitoring Persistence Probability

— Failed to Fully Suppress Escape – Continuous Surveillance Required

— Assessing External Influence…

"What?! The system detected Wutian escaping?!" Olivia exclaimed in shock.

She hadn't expected that sparing Wutian would still allow him to escape.

"This is bad! Eri will definitely scold me for this!"

Panic flashed across Olivia's face. She had originally planned to kill Wutian with her own hands—especially after he had dared to groom her twin in that ridiculous bet—but now her plan had completely fallen apart.

"Ugh… Eri was right. Wutian is really slippery. I need to make sure I completely annihilate my enemies in the future."

Olivia clenched her hands into small fists, looking adorable despite her deadly intent. She had learned a valuable lesson today—to completely destroy both body and soul to avoid future troubles.

Meanwhile, Ella was still inspecting Wutian's body.

"Damn… is he really dead?"

His body was lifeless, so she assumed he had perished.

Flying into the air, Ella approached Olivia. Olivia, seeing that Ella wasn't questioning the system, breathed a sigh of relief. If Ella had checked, Olivia would have been scolded for being careless.

At the Grand Arena, the atmosphere was silent.

No one had expected Wutian to fall so quickly—with just one punch. He had died without even having a chance to fight back.

Murmurs filled the air, and those who had lost descendants to Wutian's past slaughter wore delighted expressions.

However, one person was unfazed. Yula.

Her face remained calm, but her eyes burned with killing intent.

"You dare to escape after treating my daughter like that?"

Yula's expression grew colder. She glanced at the clan elders who had groomed Ella earlier and uttered a single word.

"Perish."

Without warning, the elders disintegrated.

"Ugh—what's happening?! Hel—"

Before they could even finish their words, they were gone.

Due to the chaos in the Grand Arena, no one noticed their silent deaths. It was as if they had never existed.

After dealing with them, Yula reached out, touched the fabric of space, and tore open a rift, stepping inside and vanishing.

Meanwhile, Wutian, the former Demon Emperor, was fleeing at full speed.

He had already traveled ten thousand miles away from Ella and Olivia.

"Hahaha! I finally escaped! I still have a chance to rise again! Just you wait, you brats—I'll make you regret letting me escape!"

Wutian laughed gleefully, feeling relieved that he had gotten away.

But suddenly—

Silence.

Everything around him became eerily still.

His instincts screamed in warning.

Scanning his surroundings, he failed to detect anything.

"Who's there?!" Wutian called out.

He was certain that no one had noticed his escape… yet now he felt something.

A voice answered.

"Hmm… impressive. You actually noticed me. As expected of an old remnant pretending to be a youth."

The air shifted.

A woman materialized before him—her golden hair cascading down like a waterfall, her blue eyes mesmerizing even to Wutian's soul.

For a brief moment, even in his weakened state, Wutian was dazed by her beauty.

But he quickly recovered.

He could feel it.

This woman was dangerous.

"Who are you?" Wutian's tone turned ice-cold.

The woman simply smiled.

"You don't need to know. You just need to die for daring to offend my daughters."

Wutian's expression changed.

"You… how did you get here?! Even Solara Realm powerhouses can't penetrate the rules of this Secret Realm! Who are you?!"

The woman's gaze turned indifferent.

"Solara Realm? Hah… I am an entire realm beyond that. Now—die."

With a mere flick of her fingers, Wutian's soul disintegrated.

But he wasn't dead.

A weaker remnant of his soul still remained.

"Shit! I need to run! I've already used up all my soul power!"

Yula frowned.

A small fragment of Wutian's soul was still escaping.

She raised her hand—and time slowed to a crawl.

Wutian screamed.

"No… no way! You—you reached that realm?! Are you… are you from the 80th Heaven?!"

Yula didn't respond.

With another flick of her fingers, time completely stopped for a few seconds.

She reached out—

And Wutian's soul was erased. Completely.

Deactivating her ability, Yula stared at her palm.

"This should be enough. My Time Core still needs refinement… I need to grow stronger, or else I won't be able to protect my daughters."

She blushed slightly, imagining her daughters hugging her.

"Don't worry, babies… Mommy will take care of every threat you can't deal with."

Her tone was chilling.

Her expression, devoid of emotion.

Yet the soft blush on her cheeks made her even more terrifying.

---

Back with Ella and Olivia, the two were still floating in the air. Ella, now suspicious, turned to the system for confirmation regarding Wutian's fate.

Ding!

[The entity with immense fate has been completely erased. No traces remain.]

Ella frowned."What the hell? That was it? So weak. I thought I'd need careful planning to kill him, but it turns out the so-called Demon Emperor had a pathetic soul." She muttered, losing interest. Since Wutian's body was truly lifeless, she assumed his soul had perished along with it.

Still, a flicker of doubt remained. She turned to Olivia. ""Vivi, I don't trust the system. Did you see any remnant soul or something suspicious?"

Olivia, feeling a chill down her spine, shook her head multiple times. "Nope, I didn't see anything. I was asleep at that time," she said with an exaggerated yawn, lying through her teeth. She knew she'd be scolded if Ella found out she let Wutian's soul slip away.

Ella stared at her for a moment but ultimately sighed. "Ah, forget it. I have more important things to do." Her expression suddenly changed into one of feigned exhaustion and pain. "Ugh, that fight drained me. I nearly died saving these lesser gods… someone should compensate me."

Her gaze locked onto Jun, who was still recovering from his wounds. His head was hazy, but he immediately stiffened under her stare.

"You," Ella said, pointing at him. "You're from the Jun Clan, right?"

Jun straightened up, forcing a polite smile. "Yes, Young Sister. What can I do for you?" He kept his tone respectful, knowing full well that offending Ella would only bring more trouble.

Ella smirked. "Gather compensation from those who survived. I nearly died back there, you see. I exhausted all my means saving them, so naturally, they owe me."

Jun's brow twitched slightly. This lady is unreasonable. He thought to himself but didn't dare say it aloud. He had neither the strength nor the authority to refute her.

With no other choice, he sighed and began moving among the surviving lesser gods, preparing to collect treasures on Ella's behalf.