Chapter 824: Seeking Death in Vain

"Oh? You recognize me?"

"Thinking of using the Play God Path to disguise yourself as a referee, you are quite interesting." Kongwang's pupils stared into Chen Ling's eyes and said slowly, "...And thanks to you, I was able to complete the accumulation of dead souls in the shortest possible time."

Chen Ling's brow gradually furrowed...

Chen Ling had found it strange when he saw those souls beside Kongwang earlier, because they were all participants who had died in the Dark Palace. Now, Kongwang's words directly enlightened him.

If Kongwang had been capturing the souls of scattered dead participants in the Old District from the very beginning, the rescue team would have discovered something was wrong as soon as they came to collect the bodies... Moreover, a large part of Kongwang's power came from the captured souls. If he had been discovered by the organizers early on without enough souls to rely on, he would have been in an extremely passive position.

But every time a participant died, their body, along with their soul, would be taken out of the Old District. In this way, it was actually very difficult for Kongwang to capture souls in secret. There was only one location that could satisfy his requirements for capturing souls.

The Dark Palace!

A large number of casualties in a short period, and the rescue team arrived very late... He was able to complete the accumulation of souls in the shortest possible time, and his strength grew to a terrifying degree!

In other words, it was Chen Ling's layout in the Dark Palace that had created the unstoppable Kongwang of today!

And the referees on the side were still completely confused.

Disguised as a referee?

What disguised referee?

"Stealing the fruits of others' labor is not a good habit." Chen Ling said coldly.

Kongwang did not respond to Chen Ling. He just raised his fingertip, and the Force God Path pressed in from all directions, tightly imprisoning Chen Ling in place, as if an invisible hand were slowly lifting his body from the ground...

Creak—creak...!

Chen Ling did not resist, allowing his bones and flesh to twist and deform under Kongwang's power, without a single change in his expression.

"As a token of gratitude, I will treat your soul well." Kongwang said calmly.

"Heh, no need." Chen Ling sneered. "You'd better grind me to dust. Otherwise, as long as I have even the slightest possibility of survival, I will crawl out of hell to kill you."

"Just you?"

As Kongwang's voice fell, he pointed a finger at the center of Chen Ling's brow.

Under the effect of the Ghost Path Supernatural Power, a streak of crimson bloomed at the center of Chen Ling's brow. Pale chains pierced through the void and entered Chen Ling's body, as if searching for something.

Immediately after, the chains received some kind of response. Kongwang expressionlessly pulled his fingertip with force, and an almost transparent soul was forcibly dragged out!

Chen Ling's life force vanished abruptly!

"...Hmm?" Kongwang was slightly stunned when he saw the extremely weak soul he had pulled out.

Before he could react, the eyes of the referees on the side turned red. They had seen with their own eyes "Wang Xuan" being captured, and the fear that had originally filled their hearts was largely replaced by anger. They gritted their teeth fiercely!

"Damn it! There are no reinforcements! We can't run away! Let's fight him to the death!!"

"Attack!!!"

The auras of several referees erupted, and they swarmed forward. However, a few referees still felt fear and dared not step forward. Taking advantage of the chaotic battle, they turned and ran wildly into the distance!

Among the referees fighting Kongwang, there were still two sixth-tier ones. They were much more composed when facing Kongwang. While staying alert for the Ghost Path Supernatural Power that could be activated at any time, they used their domains to coordinate with the other fifth-tier ones to maneuver around him. For a time, the battle was earth-shattering, and all buildings within a radius of several miles were razed to the ground!

Boom, boom, boom—!!

Successive roars accompanied by flames turned the entire sky into a purgatory.

On the ruined earth, Chen Ling's body lay straight in place, eyes wide open, heart stopped, as if he were dead.

"Watch out!! He's going to shake souls again!" A referee saw Kongwang raise his hand to form a seal and shouted immediately.

The referees' hearts trembled, and they immediately turned and ran into the distance, trying to avoid the soul-shaking attack... But after running only a few steps, the expected shock did not appear. Instead, Kongwang's ghostly figure shifted directly behind them, and peak power gathered in his palm, blasting an unsuspecting referee into a blood mist!

Everyone witnessed yet another person's soul being extracted, their eyes filled with astonishment!

"He tricked us?!?"

Kongwang seemed to have seen through the fear in their hearts. By using just one feint, he tore open a gap in the dense siege and easily killed one person!

Just as everyone was still immersed in shock, Kongwang parted his lips again and spat out a word like a thunderclap:

"[QUAKE]!!"

No seal formation, no preparatory movements.

With just one word, the souls of everyone around who were stunned were shaken out of their bodies for a brief moment. All their movements became incredibly stiff, and their reaction capabilities were reduced to the minimum!

In the army of souls, a certain soul glowed slightly, and the power of the Book God Path descended behind Kongwang. He then stepped on the wind and instantly arrived in front of a sixth-tier referee, raising his hand to unleash a stroke of ink!

The ink, like a soft sword, split the referee's skull, and crimson blood instantly splattered the earth!

One second later, the souls of the others returned to their bodies.

"Damn it!! What is going on with his skills?!!" Another sixth-tier referee saw this scene, veins bulging on his neck, and roared in anger.

By now, the remaining referees had completely collapsed. Everyone was terrified by Kongwang's bizarre methods; they either didn't dare to step forward at all, or they turned around and chose to join the army of those fleeing!

Kongwang was not interested in the fifth-tier referees who were fleeing. Those yin-yang pupils locked onto the only remaining sixth-tier referee, and a killing intent locked onto the opponent!

The referee trembled all over, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet to his crown. After a brief moment of hesitation, he cursed under his breath, turned around, and flew into the distance!!

Kongwang watched this scene calmly, took a casual step, and his figure followed closely behind!

……

The environment gradually returned to a dead silence.

The chaotic battlefield shifted into the distance. On the devastated earth, only one stiff body remained, motionless.

I don't know how much time passed, but Chen Ling's eyelids suddenly twitched weakly...

Blood began to supply Chen Ling's body again. He gradually regained vitality, and with a light flutter of his eyelids, Chen Ling slowly opened his eyes...

"Resurrected?" Chen Ling sat up abruptly from the ground!

He looked down at his body and was suddenly stunned...

The broken arm had not recovered, and the audience's expectation value remained at 70%... It was as if he had never died.

Chen Ling felt around his body for a long time, confirming that his soul was still there and confirming that [Mockery] showed no signs of being disturbed. A deep sense of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.

"...Didn't die?"

"That shouldn't be... My soul is still here, [Mockery] is still here, so what was it that he just captured??"