1 Prologue

Shadows flickered in a gigantic, ornate hall. Bloodstained paintings and broken sculptures were scattered about, along with seven dried-up corpses on the ground.

The corpses wore broken armor that had a shine to them unbefitting an armor of a corpse. And despite the condition of the armor, the corpses themselves seemed as if a millennia had passed since their untimely doom.

The shadows flickering in the room were encircling a person in the center of the hall. The person knelt on the bloody ground, their face covered by their drooping hood.

On the ground, near the man, was an arm holding a pitch-black sword. Blood trickled down from his side as he silently stood up, and revealed his face and figure. A handsome face showed itself along with cold black eyes tracking the shadows in the room.

The breeze from the shadow's movements caused the man's cloak to gently flutter, revealing his severed left arm. Despite the wound, the man's expression was calm.

"So, after all that's happened, he sent you guys? Heh...." the man lightly chuckled at the situation.

The flickering shadows in the room kept moving, but their voices resounded in the great hall.

"We can no longer afford to take chances."

"We will seal you here and now, before you grow anymore, monster."

The man's lips curved upward as he raised his right arm and what remained of his left arm up.

"Then come!" he arrogantly shouted.

The shadows shot towards the man in a spiral formation. The obscurity faded away, as nine figures, dressed in fully decorated armors of gold, unveiled themselves. In their hands were various holy weapons as they swung at the man in the center.

Suddenly, the man's left arm twitched a bit and swiftly flew back, reattaching itself cleaning in a matter of milliseconds. With his sword arm back, and right in the nick of time, the man parried the figure across from him.

He pushed on, and overpowered the figure, before quickly rotating and striking the figure to his right. However, the person to his right was no slouch, and blocked the attack. As the handsome man's blow landed, four figures closed in on his back.

His eyes narrowed as he kicked away the person in front of him and single-handedly blocked all four blows. The crystal ground under him cracked as he withstood their blow.

"Tough like they say!" he exclaimed through his grit teeth.

"God Butcher, your time ends now!"

A holy light came from behind, and the God Butcher's eyes contracted. The four figures in front of him kept up the force behind their blows until the very last moment. As the holy light drew near, they disappeared, leaving the God Butcher to meet the attack behind him head on.

Holy light filled the hall, and for a moment, there was silence. However, a loud BOOM suddenly erupted as lightning and flames spewed out of the epicenter of the blast. The nine figures backed away, forming a ring, and looked at the blast carefully.

"Emperor's Divine Wrath! He's definitely heavily injured after that."

"We need to use the Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda quickly as possible."

The nine figures sent out telepathic messages to each other as they watched the blast consume everything. Suddenly, a siphoning force came from the center of the hall, and the figures gasped in shock.

"Back away!"

"He's using Life Extinction!"

Pale golden hues appeared in front of the nine figures as they put out their hand to protect themselves. They formed a sort of barrier as everything inside of the zone they created began to disappear.

Holy light dissipated rapidly and the crystals in the hall lost their color. The God Butcher's body began to reform. Out of nothing, tiny specks of blood formed, and the blood converged into one location.

The clump of blood rapidly changed as it quickly morphed into the exact appearance of the God Butcher before the attack.

"The God Emperor even taught his personal knights how to use Emperor's Divine Wrath?" the God Butcher remarked as he brushed off the dust coming onto his robes.

The nine figures charged back in and began their attack once more. The God Butcher was ready, and met their attacks equally. Despite nine people attacking at the same time, the God Butcher lost no momentum, and kept up his defense.

He calmly moved his arms to the perfect spot, blocking and parrying the knights one by one, as if he were a well-oiled machine, and not a human. His eyes were constantly moving, as he tracked the knights' movements.

Despite the outstanding quality of the knight's weapons, and the constant clashing, the pitch-black sword in the God Butcher's hand showed no damage.

A few minutes passed, but the knights were unable to create an opening. They backed away and turned into shadows once again, encircling the God Butcher.

"Why are you fighting so carefully? I'm sure that the old fogey knew what he was doing when you sent you bunch," the God Butcher spoke casually.

The nine knights showed no response as they encircled the God Butcher. However, they sent telepathic messages to one another on what to do.

"We won't be able to kill him without the pagoda!"

"Send a signal for one of the Grand Generals to come, we can't take chances now!"

A golden light came from one of the shadows and shot out into the sky. The God Butcher's eyes flickered as he glanced at the golden light flying into the distance. Despite it being already thousands of miles away, he could accurately see what it was.

"A token... I need to wrap this up quick," a pitch-black materialized aura blasted out of him, forming a torrent around him.

The God Butcher looked at the nine figures surrounding him and shook his head as if he was sad. His aura storm was engulfing his figure as well as the knights themselves.

"Requiem," his figure disappeared from their sight.

Their eyes constricted as they realized that the God Butcher's presence had suddenly disappeared. The knights looked around frantically, trying to spot him, while moving around in an awkward pattern to throw the God Butcher off.

"Rest."

The God Butcher's voice resounded in the broken hall. One of the knights looked down at his chest and saw a gaping sword wound. Before he could even say anything, the wound grew at an alarming rate, consuming what was left of his body.

A golden orb was all that remained once the body dissipated. The orb immediately whizzed through the air, trying to get away, but the pitch-black aura dulled the mind and soul, and the orb inadvertently went in a circle.

A hand appeared from the midst of the torrent and grabbed the golden orb, dragging it in, to never be seen again.

The remaining eight knights suddenly felt that a tie to them had been severed, and reeled back in horror as they realized what had happened. They fully went on the defensive and got out their protective artifacts.

"Oh, Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda, cleanse this world, and get rid of this terror," one of the figures clenched their hand and slowly unfurled it.

A tiny pagoda with an orange hue magically appeared on the palm of their hand. The pagoda rapidly grew in size, and it sucked in all of the God Butcher's aura, revealing the other knights, and the God Butcher.

"What?!" the God Butcher's brows furrowed at the sight of the pagoda.

The pagoda grew bigger and bigger, releasing a suffocating pressure on the God Butcher. The God Butcher, who was in the air with the other knights, slowly lowered to the ground, and fell on his knees.

Cracks began to form under him, and the ground crunched up under the violent pressure. Veins popped up on the God Butcher's forehead as he budged his head up to look at the pagoda above him.

"A Primordial Treasure?! Did he go mad?!" the God Butcher let out a guttural and pained voice.

Chains attached to short spears appeared in the eight knight's hands. They took aim and hurled the spear at the God Butcher on the ground. The God Butcher's body was struggling under the pressure as he gripped his sword tightly.

"This Primordial Treasure won't save you," the God Butcher spoke coldly towards the eight knights.

The spears stabbed the God Butcher's body, and numerous inscriptions on the spearheads moved inside his body. The God Butcher other knee fell as his body collapsed, and was merely held up by the chains.

The eight knights pulled on the chains, and a violent force erupted inside the God Butcher's body.

"Arghh!" he roared madly, his eyes turned bloodshot in response to the extreme pain.

The eight knights tugged once more, and the God Butcher's body jolted.

"YOU!" he screamed.

Blood began to flow from the God Butcher's pores as he found his vision weakening. The pagoda was slowly becoming more and more brutal to withstand, while the spearheads threatened to rip his soul into pieces.

The God Butcher gave out another agonizing cry as the eight knights arduously tugged once more. Damage to the soul resulted in pain that was countless times greater than that to the body. But despite the pain, the God Butcher's grip on his sword didn't weaken.

He sucked in a deep breath, readying himself for the next pull. And sure enough, it came, as the knights exerted themselves.

"ARGHHHH!"

The God Butcher examined his soul and found that things were going south. Despite his personal strength being far greater than any of the nine knights could have imagined, the treasures that the 'old fogey' had sent were too strong for him.

The Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda was a treasure formed from the primordial breath of chaos, and could even suppress a Sacred Lord, much less the God Butcher. The spear and chains, that the knights used, were riddled with formations and inscriptions. Though the inscriptions and formations weren't on the level of a Primordial Treasure, they were handmade for the God Butcher's qi.

"Time..." he muttered.

The knights shook a bit as they heard his words.

"Reversal!" he finished.

A warping force immediately engulfed him, but the pagoda shimmered, dispelling the warping force. The God Butcher's face scrunched up as he grit his teeth.

'Time Reversal won't work against a Primordial Treasure... hah...' he lamented at his useless attempt.

There was only one other way to get out of the situation, but the method wouldn't be pretty. A black ring appeared on his finger and gave out a white aura. As if responding to the white aura, the orange aura from the pagoda grew stronger and twirled around the white light.

However, despite the evident strength of the Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda, its power was actually struggling against the black ring's force. The ring slipped off the God Butcher's finger and rose in the air. The pagoda responded by rising up as well, and an even more intense struggle between the two objects began.

The pressure on the God Butcher disappeared as he let out a sigh of relief and grabbed two of the chains inside him.

The eight knights were caught off guard at the God Butcher's sudden revival and two of the knights were easily pulled to him. He snatched their heads and the space around their heads distorted. In a matter of milliseconds, the visible skin beneath the helmet shriveled up and turned black.

The God Butcher licked his lips at the feast and threw the lifeless bodies onto the ground. White aura constantly erupted from the ring on his right hand, fighting back the pagoda.

"Impossible!" one of the knights finally cried, revealing their horror.

"Another Primordial Treasure! How did you get it!"

"How?! You killed the Princess of Divine Yin?!"

The knights immediately knew that their chances of winning plummeted. A black aura released itself from the God Butcher again, and covered the entire area. Their vision shrouded, the knights desperately hoped for one of the Great Generals to come quickly.

A few minutes passed, and the black aura receded. The God Butcher was the last man standing, and all around him were the withered corpses of the knights.

Far above him, the two Primordial Treasures were still fighting intensely. Their auras had completely separated them from the normal spatial plane and they were battling in another dimension.

Just as the God Butcher was about to recall his ring, an incoming presence shocked him. He was familiar with the person coming, far too familiar. His face turned serious, and he braced himself for the arrival.

Millions of miles away, an old man adorned in military gear was shooting towards the distant world like a comet. He ran his hand through his long gray beard as he felt the last knight die. Explaining the situation to 'that' person would be difficult.

The old man sighed as he covered the countless miles in a blink of an eye, and the giant world entered his view. A colossal, collapsed hall split the world down the middle, and on the ground, a handsome, gloomy man looked straight at him.

A smile came on the old man's face as he saw the handsome man.

"Official Xin, I knew that it was you," he nodded his head as he spoke.

Despite the incredibly long distance between the two, the God Butcher's ears twitched as he heard the old man's words.

"Great General Dragon, I haven't been called that in countless of years," the God Butcher pointed his sword at the old man, who was now piercing through the atmosphere.

The old man, Great General Dragon, stopped in the air, a few thousand feet away from the God Butcher. The old man glanced at the destroyed hall and the wrecked landscape around him.

"You completely threw this world into chaos, how unbefitting of the prestigious official I recall," the old man laughed, his words striking at the God Butcher, Official Xin.

"Great General Dragon, you still support the old fogey?! After all that he's done?!" veins bulged up on the God Butcher's forehead.

"The Celestial Emperor has a vision far beyond that of mortals and low level beings. Who are we to judge his actions, when he has conquered this universe so wonderfully?!" the old man raised his hand as he praised the emperor.

His gaze towards the God Butcher turned belligerent.

"War will consume all! The strong will rise above! Official Xin, it disappoints me to see your lack of understanding," the old man spoke with deep disappointment.

"You warmongering old fool! He has driven half of the worlds he conquered into nothingness! He will end the prosperity of the universe!" the God Butcher roared.

"Just like you have driven this world into the apocalypse?" the old man asked calmly.

"These fools had it coming! They brainwashed their people and wiped out most of the races here!" the God Butcher rebuked fiercely.

"And who are you to decide that they must die?! You and the Celestial Emperor are the same! Come and atone for your crimes peacefully, and instead of living the rest of eternity in pain, you will simply live feeling nothing! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the old man laughed crazily as a giant halberd forged from the stars warped through space and appeared in his hands.

His body burst into flames and condensed. It was as if the old man had turned into a humanoid made out of the sun, with his human form outlined by his military gear. He swung his halberd casually, slicing a large gap in space and time.

"It's pointless arguing with you! Come!"

The God Butcher's pitch-black aura erupted, but instead of veiling the entire area like before, he condensed it. His face became covered by a helmet, and a full-body suit of pitch-black armor covered him.

It was apparent that the God Butcher was playing around with the nine knights from before. Though, he was caught off guard by the suppression of a Primordial treasure.

The two didn't bother to use tactics, and simply shot towards each other. The pitch-black sword and the star-forged halberd clashed, and the world lost its color. The rivers and seas in the world stopped flowing forward and began to go back in reverse. The mountains and trees gently lifted up a few inches and hovered in the air, along with bits of dust and earth.

However, that was just the initial impact of their clash. The compact force between the two's attacks exploded out and a bright light rocked the world.

The water in the rivers and seas all shot out, seemingly flipping the world. Did the earth become the sky, or did the water become the earth? Enormous bodies of water filled the skies. Furthermore, the mountains and trees exploded into pieces, flinging everywhere. A massive gust of wind picked up and a violent spiral of all the earth and water in the world was created.

Despite the shocking events surrounding them, the God Butcher and the Great General paid no heed. Their eyes were locked onto one another's as they clashed again. And again, and again... their slow clashes became faster and faster until their figures couldn't even be seen anymore at their intense speed.

The world crumbled under the intense pressure from their blows, and it seemed that the world core would collapse at any time.

"You've gotten quite strong! If you had a few more million years, you could've become a Sacred Lord like the Celestial Emperor!"

The God Butcher remained silent and the two kept on fighting.

"Say, how did you get so strong? Last time I saw you, your strength was a meager Astral level! But now, you're almost at the peak for a Empyrean! HAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"Death Oath!"

The God Butcher interrupted the Great General's words as a gigantic beam shot out of his pitch-black sword.

"Sun's Zenith!"

The old man responded likewise with his own move. He slashed down with his halberd, cutting open a gap in space and time. Out of the cut, a giant torrent of Sunfire shot out furiously, meeting the deathly beam from the God Butcher.

The Sunfire overpowered the deathly beam, swallowing it, and nearing the God Butcher. The God Butcher looked at the incoming attack with apathetic eyes and took a stance...

Half an hour passed, and the world that the two were previously fighting on was completely turned to dust and particles. In the vacuum of space, the God Butcher's unconscious body floated. The old man supported the Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda with his own power, and the ring was eventually overpowered.

The ring flew away and quickly disappeared into the distance. The old man gave it a glance before turning his head towards the unconscious body in front of him. He grabbed at the spear and chains in another part of space, and brought them to him.

"Official Xin... Official Xin... it really was unfortunate that you had to go down this path."

The old man lamented as he threw the spears one by one. The spears impaled the God Butcher's body and the chains floated into the Golden Heaven-Sealing Pagoda, bringing the body with them. The pagoda shrank and went into the old man's palm.

"Your Mythical Art really is too powerful, we won't be able to kill you. However, we'll arrange something else!" the old man looked at his palm with a ruthless gaze.