Calamity of Tomorrow

Listening to Zhou Bai's words, Zi Yang True Monarch didn't respond; he just sneered while the hand signs he formed caused the Array's power that bound Zhou Bai to strengthen again and again, wrapping more and more restrictions around Zhou Bai's body.

He spoke slowly, "Don't be in a hurry. Once I catch you and take you back, naturally, there'll be plenty of time to slowly refine you."

Then they saw rows upon rows of runes emerging on the surface of Zhou Bai's body, as if dozens of layers of confinement were being placed upon him.

Zhou Bai, observing Zi Yang True Monarch's behavior, thought to himself, "Truly befitting of a celestial being; even after losing so much intelligence, he still retains basic thinking abilities."

"But your intelligence is now beneath mine."

Thus, with a shift in Zhou Bai's gaze, the disaster of stupidity was directly triggered.

45 points of contamination were directly injected into Zi Yang True Monarch's body, plunging him straight into a state of delusion.

Under the state of delusion, one's consciousness forms mental traumas, exhibits distrust towards everything, experiences mild hallucinations in all senses, rejects help from others, and may even result in infighting and mutual attacks.

At this moment, in the eyes of Zi Yang True Monarch, Zhou Bai's mouth appeared to grow smaller and larger, as if it were going to split open to the roots of his ears, with sharp yellow teeth protruding from it.

A terrifying surge of Primordial Spirit power burst forth from Zi Yang True Monarch, directly pressuring Zhou Bai before him.

Zi Yang True Monarch yelled with a touch of frayed nerves, "Don't move! Otherwise, I'll kill you right now! Why have you turned into this?"

Zhou Bai looked back at him indifferently, even though he was currently completely suppressed by the other's power, even though Zi Yang True Monarch's combat abilities far surpassed his own, even though his body was bound by layers of the Array's power, he did not seem to be worried at all.

Because the battle had entered a rhythm he was familiar with, and the outcome that followed was no longer related to strength.

"Does my appearance look strange? Take a good look at my face; this is my true form."

Zi Yang True Monarch Intelligence -5

Zhou Bai felt he had completely gained the upper hand and was ready to continue his conquest of the Zi Yang sage, to even harvest his fortune, and using his identity to continue harvesting the fortunes of other celestial beings.

While Zhou Bai and Zi Yang True Monarch were conversing, Christina sighed inwardly, "Is this about to be over?"

Zhou Bai said, "It's almost there. Next, as long as we continue to… not right, as long as we keep having a heart-to-heart with him, comforting him, guiding him, we can turn an enemy into a friend. He's particularly easy to talk to in this state."

Christina seemed somewhat disinterested, "This is not the way I like to fight. Showing off suits me better. Indeed…"

She revealed a self-satisfied smile, "I still prefer the purest and simplest form of showing off. For me, showing off is all that matters, even if it's just the most basic, most clumsy showing off…"

Zhou Bai, "What's there to be proud of about liking to show off?"

Elsa, on the other hand, asked with great interest, "Zhou Bai, Zhou Bai! What you just did is so amazing, is this what you call 'bluffing'?"

"What nonsense," Zhou Bai said. "This is called communication, called having a heart-to-heart, it's about psychological work. Communication is the foundation of all societal operations and the development of civilization."

Zhou Bai proudly said, "Communicating with others, having heart-to-hearts, doing psychological work, along with presenting oneself, promoting oneself, and establishing authority—these are the two great tricks that once allowed me to navigate the world with ease. As long as you master these two tricks, the world is yours for the taking."

Elsa diligently jotted down in her notebook: "...on the importance of bluffing and showing off... but I still like Zhou Bai's way of bluffing the best..."

Just as Zhou Bai was about to continue his conversation with the increasingly downcast Zi Yang True Monarch, intending to gradually, completely strip away the other's ability to think, and then find an opportunity to begin harvesting fortune...

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, the distant sky echoed with heart-wrenching roars.

A colossal sword shadow stretched across the heavens, its blade covered in writhing blood and flesh, while desperate howls of rage emanated continuously from within.

Surrounding the blade, swarms of sky demons clustered like bees or mosquitoes, filling every inch of space, relentlessly assaulting the massive sword.

Even a dozen great sky demons converged, fearlessly grasping at the blade to tear it apart.

Watching the battle between the giant sword and the sky demons, Zhou Bai's gaze suddenly sharpened, "That looks like... the Elder of the Heavenly Sword? No, that can't be right. The Elder of the Heavenly Sword should be with Yun Chonghe and the others, all inside this estate."

The sight sparked a foreboding feeling within Zhou Bai, and he said to Zi Yang True Monarch, "Zi Yang! Lend me a strand of hair from Zheng Wentian, Ying Hui, and Yun Chonghe."

Zi Yang True Monarch wanted to harm him, and Yun Chonghe, Ying Hui, and Zheng Wentian were all supposed to be in this estate, yet the Elder of the Heavenly Sword was far off, transformed and battling with the sky demons.

These events flashed through Zhou Bai's mind, and he now wanted to confirm whether the three were in Zi Yang's hands.

Upon hearing Zhou Bai's request, Zi Yang True Monarch's puppet avatar stiffened slightly. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he partly cast out the bodies of Ying Hui and Zheng Wentian, and two strands of hair snapped from their heads, flying towards Zhou Bai.

Seeing the twisted corpses of Ying Hui and Zheng Wentian, Zhou Bai was momentarily stunned, simply watching as the bodies were slowly retracted by Zi Yang True Monarch.

As the hair drifted down slowly, familiar voices seemed to echo in his heart.

"Zhou Bai, it's okay if you don't win this time at the Daluo Heaven Doctrinal Debate. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Zhou Bai, when will you repay my points..."

It wasn't until the hair touched him that Zhou Bai lowered his eyelids and spoke indifferently, "Is that so... They're already dead?"

On the other side, Zi Yang True Monarch watched the scene in surprise, feeling that his recent action was odd, "Why did I give their hair to Zhou Bai? What's wrong with me?"

But with his current level of intellect, he could not figure out the answer and could only continue to use his powers irritably. The lightning in his hands had already formed into layers of electric cages, locking Zhou Bai in further binding layers.

"Now that you've seen it, I'll just say it directly. Zhou Bai, your only way out is to cooperate with us. Otherwise, no matter if you are the first in the Daluo Heaven Doctrinal Debate or the son of fortune, your life is at our mercy."

Zi Yang True Monarch waved his sleeve, activating the space within, ready to sweep Zhou Bai into it.

However, Zhou Bai seemed indifferent to the scene, suddenly smiling, "Zi Yang, this round... I'll consider it your win. Let's start the second round now."

Zi Yang True Monarch was slightly startled, feeling Zhou Bai's tone peculiar to the extreme, even causing an inexplicable chill in his heart, yet he could not understand why.

The next instant, Zi Yang True Monarch found himself back on the high platform of the Daluo Heaven Doctrinal Debate, with a sermon being delivered, while Zhou Bai held the Sovereign Sword, under the gaze of countless onlookers.

The winner of the first Daluo Heaven Doctrinal Debate had already been decided, entering the final closing phase.

Zi Yang True Monarch furrowed his brows, "I seem to... seem to have forgotten something, something very important."

Despite his contemplation, he could not remember what he had forgotten, and finally shook his head, 'Never mind that for now, today I must capture Zhou Bai.'

He smiled faintly, secretly thinking, 'I won't give you any chance to fight back. I indeed prefer to see my enemies powerless to resist.'