Because the weight of the slaughter was too heavy, Wang He had become increasingly silent over the years. The blood-scabs on the Sword of Righteous Law grew thicker as well. He didn't know how to pass this trial. When those hundreds of millions of living people appeared before him from time to time, he knew he was about to face a Heart-Demon.
But regardless, his duties in the Hall of Punishment had not stopped, and he was unwilling to stop. He knew that once he left the position, his successor might not be able to perform their duties as impartially as he did. This position held too much power, deciding the life and death of countless cultivators with a single thought. If the incumbent's heart wavered in the slightest, countless wicked people would go free, while countless innocent people would be used as scapegoats or suffer nameless persecution.
This was an incredibly sharp double-edged sword. If used well, it would create an era of peace and prosperity, like the current Nine Domains. But if misused... it would be an unimaginable hell! The Hall of Punishment would become the wicked blade of those with power and money, suppressing the commoners until they couldn't breathe. Even with Qi Ping there, with so many people in the Nine Domains and Qi Ping managing so many things, how could he possibly manage everything? As long as there were dark corners beyond supervision, snakes, insects, rats, scum, and maggots would grow.
A significant portion of those he had slain over the years were such fellows. They always tried to use the old models of trading power for money, but they had encountered Wang He. So Wang He didn't choose to leave the position; he only grew more silent, handling the affairs of the Hall of Punishment with his full heart every day. He would never allow a criminal to escape, and he would never allow an innocent person to suffer. This was the only thing that gave him comfort. Yet when he stopped, the countless lives that died under his blade would resurface in his consciousness.
Suddenly, one day, Wang He discovered that his Heavenly Heart Sword Intent had changed. It had been tainted by a layer of exceptionally bright red Asura baleful aura. Within it were the roars of countless vengeful souls; it seemed that everyone who died under the Sword of Righteous Law had been absorbed into this baleful aura.
His strength also became incredibly terrifying in that moment! Though still in the Nascent Soul realm, he could rely on this Asura baleful aura to erupt with power comparable to the Soul Transformation Stage! At full eruption, it was like hell descending upon the world. Within this domain, those with weak souls would have their consciousness shattered into idiocy by the terrifying pressure!
One had to know that the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent was one of the most pure and extreme sword intents, a type of Great Dao that was nearly impossible to taint or charm. Yet, such a powerful sword intent, within the domain of this Asura baleful aura, was like a lone boat in a massive storm, threatening to capsize at any moment. This showed just how powerful the Asura baleful aura had become. With its enhancement, it wasn't surprising that Wang He could kill enemies above his level.
However, as powerful as this force was, Wang He didn't know when the Asura baleful aura would overwhelm him. Thus, he said to Qi Ping, "If one day I am controlled by this Asura baleful aura, please kill me..."
Facing this terrifying baleful aura, even Qi Ping was helpless. This power was born from Wang He's heart, not added from the outside. Cutting away this baleful aura would be equivalent to cutting away Wang He himself. To this, the only thing Qi Ping could do was say one sentence: "Slaying is for protection, and severing karma is not severing the man. Think of the countless cultivators who live in peace because of you."
Afterward, Wang He used what little free time he had to walk through every insignificant corner of the Nine Domains. In those tiny corners, Wang He saw the lives of ordinary cultivators.
A cultivator who was crippled to the point of losing almost all combat strength was seriously tilling a patch of green spirit fields to support his aging parents and young children. He said, "My lady was ruined by a group of noble cultivators... ruined to death right in front of my eyes. I was nearly beaten to death as well. I thought of dying more than once. But thinking of my two kids who haven't grown up, and Meier's aging parents, I lost the courage to die."
"If they starved to death, how could I face Meier? But what use is my life? I can only grow things cultivators look down upon to support them. But it's better now! The Qing-God Army brought me to the Nine Domains! The Star Emperor's place is truly great. Look, a cripple like me can grow these precious spirit herbs. My kids have good talent; with these herbs, they won't have to suffer as much as we did in our era."
"Also, that Lord Wang of the Hall of Punishment. Everyone says he is an Asura in the world, but in my eyes, he is great. He personally slew the clan that humiliated my lady... like the Star Emperor, he is the person I admire most. Once the kids grow up and Meier's parents pass away, I'll go join her. So many years have passed; she must be scared. She was such a timid person... when I see her, I'll tell her the place where the kids live is wonderful. With the Star Emperor and Lord Wang there, the kids will surely live well."
"I really want to find her sooner, but I'm afraid she'll blame me for not taking care of our parents and kids..."
Facing this crippled cultivator, Wang He was actually stunned for a while. It was only after a long time that he recovered. Before leaving, he healed the hidden illnesses in the cultivator's body; at least in the days to come, he wouldn't suffer from those ailments. As for advising him to live... for such a person, once his tasks were done, death would be his best release.
After leaving that place, Wang He saw many more people. Children tanned dark by the sun, elderly people with white hair, women raising children alone... From that moment on, Wang He seemed to find something different in his heart. Within him, the Sword of Righteous Law covered in blood-scabs began to reveal a trace of a different light once more.
Thus, Wang He walked through countless places for an unknown amount of time. But before he could finish his journey, the war against the demon invasion began. Facing this, he did not hesitate to step into the City of Immortal Slaying, and then charged into the Nascent Soul battlefield!
Relying on that incredibly powerful Asura baleful aura, Wang He frantically slew every demon he encountered! Every time he killed a demon, the Asura baleful aura would devour the opponent to strengthen itself. With the terrifying traits of this baleful aura, there seemed to be nothing it couldn't swallow—demons included.
In this process, Wang He encountered a bizarre demon whom he had killed an unknown number of times, yet the opponent always revived. It was extremely eerie, and every time the demon body was different. But Wang He didn't care; this was not enough to make him feel fear. He had long since lost the fear of death. He only knew that these fellows deserved to die!
Currently, in the World-Domain battlefield, Wang He no longer remembered how many demons he had killed, or how long he had been killing. He only knew that the world seemed to contain only him, and the endless, never-ending tide of demons. But he didn't mind. He only knew that every extra demon he killed would add a sliver of hope for the Star-Sea world's victory, so he could not stop.
But just now, it seemed an extremely special power had rushed into his body. In just an instant, countless thoughts and past scenes surfaced in his mind. In that moment, the blood-scabs covering his body rapidly fell away. Simultaneously, the scabs on the Sword of Righteous Law also began to fall away.
In that moment, within the dark world where Wang He was located, the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling light, piercing through the endless darkness! Immediately after, under the fusion of a mysterious power, the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent and the Asura baleful aura began to frantically interweave and merge. Even the Sword of Righteous Law began a frantic transformation under this power.
However, none of this affected Wang He's slaughter and combat; instead, it allowed him to enter a terrifyingly clear state of slaughter! If there were demons who could previously use bizarre means to sneak-attack him, they all failed in this moment!
Another unknown amount of time passed. When Wang He recovered his clarity, his gaze had completely changed! The past darkness and haze were all gone, replaced by extreme determination! Even more surprising was that his appearance had changed completely. His originally black long hair had all turned white, draping over his shoulders. One of his eyes had become pure white, erupting with the ultimate Heavenly Heart Sword Intent, while the other was blood-red, like an Asura's evil eye! A miraculous mark composed of white and crimson appeared on his brow.
Even the Sword of Righteous Law had completely changed. Its original appearance had vanished; in this moment, it had truly become Wang He's personal sword. Under the power of Good Fortune, using the Sword of Righteous Law as a foundation and merging the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent and the Asura Dao, it became a spirit sword representing ultimate justice and slaughter. Its spirituality had reached an unimaginably high level.
In this moment, the heaven and earth also changed quietly. Strands of golden lotuses rose from within the sub-battlefield, and endless golden light showered from the sky! These anomalies appeared not only in Wang He's battlefield, but across the entire Star-Sea world.
"Golden lotuses rising from the earth, golden light blooming from the sky... is our Star-Sea Continent going to give birth to an ancient sage?" Lin Yue looked at the anomalies in heaven and earth, his eyes full of shock. When Bai Liyun broke through to become a True Demon, the anomalies hadn't been this massive. So who had completed such a breakthrough under the Power of Good Fortune? Even the entire world was reacting!
Qi Ping's original body did not speak, only sensing the source of the anomalies. After a while, he opened his eyes. A trace of a smile from the heart appeared on his face. A true Lord of Punishment for the Star-Sea world had manifested!
"Principal, do you know who it is?" Lin Yue asked.
"It is Wang He. The true Lord of Punishment we have been waiting for has arrived. That is the Heavenly Heart Asura!"
"It's Xiao He? What does Heavenly Heart Asura mean?"
"Naturally, it means he has completely understood the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent and the Asura Dao, and then fused them completely together, reaching an unprecedented level. Such a great talent... it seems he has never appeared before in the history of our Star-Sea Continent."
"What?"
As Qi Ping's voice fell, numerous shocked gazes turned toward him. Fusing the Heavenly Heart Sword Intent and the Asura Dao? One had to know that both were very powerful Great Daos. But even so, both had their own weaknesses, which prevented them from becoming truly top-tier Great Daos.
But a fusion was different. The pros and cons of the two were practically complementary. If the two completed a fusion, no one could imagine how strong it would be. It might even become a true top-tier Great Dao!
"Slaying to protect, and severing the karma but not the man... I understand now!" In this moment, the haze and Heart-Demons in Wang He's heart had completely vanished. With the Heart-Demon broken, what followed was a reborn version of himself.
"From now on, you shall be called the Heavenly Heart Asura Sword! Protecting life through slaughter, and reshaping the Righteous Law of heaven and earth!" Wang He looked at his life-bound sword, now interweaving red and white, and gave it a new name. His sword erupted with a world-shaking sword hum, seemingly very fond of the name.
"If you like it, then fight by my side!"
As his voice fell, Wang He struck out with a single slash. A red and white sword Qi slashed out instantly. The demons blocking him were reduced to countless fragments, which were then drawn back into the sword by a force, turning into even stronger power for Wang He.
But after that slash, his movements did not stop. He struck out again into the void. "Found you. Let's see how you revive this time!"
As he slashed, a bizarre, semi-transparent face suddenly appeared in the originally empty void. Sensing it had been forcibly dragged from the void by this strike, the face became incredibly terrified. It wanted to say something, but it had no time. It was ground to powder by the sword, and its final power was likewise drawn into the Heavenly Heart Asura Sword. In this moment, the Face Demon, who was renowned for being nearly unkillable, perished!
After slaying this bizarre demon that had hounded him for a long time, Wang He showed no emotion. He began to slaughter the demons who didn't even have King-level bloodlines with extreme speed. He planned to kill the enemies on this battlefield and destroy the node as quickly as possible, then break the barrier to help other battlefields. Now, he was completely confident in his ability to break the World-Domain barriers.
Some time later, having completely fused the Heavenly Heart Asura, he used that special ability to kill all the demons on the battlefield! Even the Demon Realm's world node was destroyed in a single strike. But just as Wang He was prepared to forcibly break the barrier, a group of Void-Aether Fish drilled out of the barrier...