Divine Emperor of Death

"Disruption! The Candidacy will officially begin at the Grand Immortal Mountain Peak nine days from now!"

"!!!"

A voice that belonged to neither a man nor a woman or both resounded in the minds of every Candidate present in the First Haven World, causing tumultuous waves to spread across their hearts.

In Davis's mansion, Evelynn's third eye opened in shock while Isabella and Shirley dropped their jaws, turning to look at each other.

"What the…" Shirley uttered, "I haven't even perfected my Divine Techniques yet…"

She had utmost comprehended one Divine Technique and was working on the others but she felt she was nowhere near close to comprehending them.

"It doesn't matter." Evelynn narrowed her eyes, her third eye closing, "I don't think we'll meet a match here since we're too powerful for our own good."

"I'm not worried about the participants but the challenges waiting ahead." Isabella shook her head, "What if our prowess is suppressed, leaving only the other skills we learned to the test? Do you honestly think we can beat inheritors who have spent hundreds of years cultivating their martial arts and battle instinct in a suppressed state?"

"…"

"Besides, their Law Intents are way stronger than us because they have been Immortal Emperors once and have comprehended higher intents, leaving us at a disadvantage. I'm not so arrogant as to think I can take on multiple of them at once since we already concluded we're going to be targeted from the get-go."

"Then true— we'd be at a significant disadvantage…"

Evelynn nodded but shook her head, "However, I still don't think we have to worry. As long as we three stay together, nothing can shake us."

Isabella and Shirley smiled, knowing that was also true.

"So- what about Davis? Is he fine?"

"Well, he is gone again from my senses for a while now but I don't think we need to worry since we got an answer in the form of early Candidacy. Something must've- oh, he's back…"

Evelynn smiled while everyone in the hall sighed in relief.

Now, Evelynn, Nadia, Everlight, and Eldia knew not to instantly panic if he disappeared from their soul radar. After all, if he disappears, he always comes back. They began having such confidence in him nowadays, especially after the World Master didn't throw him out, even though she said she would.

They were worried but knew he would come back, so they sat tight, expecting his return.

However, not many were as confident as they were regarding the candidacy.

Numerous inheritors complained. They cursed out, some feeling they did not have enough time while a few others wondered what was going on with the soul tug and all. They were already forced out of seclusion when that happened, so receiving this news right now made them feel something was amiss.

Yi Feng, the young man who triggered the start of the Candidacy, was running around his seclusion chamber in a panic.

He had barely reached Level Four Immortal King Stage even though he cultivated fast with the help of the Starmantle Family's resources.

Nine days…? That wasn't even enough time for him to reach the next level unless he overdid his cultivation. It seems like he would amount to nothing in the Candidacy, making him feel like this was unfair.

"No… no… mother…"

He held his head, looking like he was about to cry as he remembered the fun and peaceful days he spent back in his family. He was convinced that he was going to die in the Candidacy first out of everyone else.

Like him, some felt unsure.

They wondered what the challenges were going to be like since they knew nothing about the Candidacy.

Would it be fair? Would it be insanely difficult?

They didn't know and wouldn't know until they were there, and by that time, it would already be too late for them to prepare. All they could prepare was for the most likely scenario of facing one-on-one with the other cultivators, honing themselves in a proper way so they could unleash their full potential.

"Wait!"

In another place, Davis and Myria, who were about to leave after the World Master sent them out, were called out by Saintess Lunaria.

Myria had woken up but she didn't talk about anything as though she was waiting for the last moments, unaware that the World Master let them go.

They were still at the entrance to her palace, causing Davis to first step out before he turned to look around.

"Can't show my back to you, can I?"

"…"

Saintess Lunaria pursed her lips.

She had just calmed the Guardians, who were panicked as to where she went suddenly, but it was only for a minute, so they hadn't gone to check elsewhere. As soon as she saw Davis and Myria return to the entrance, she chased after them.

However, as soon as they heard her voice, they jumped out of the palace as she was going to trap them.

"I don't have other traps, and I don't intend to harm you." She tried to make it clear to them, her voice low.

"What do you want?"

Davis coldly asked, no longer appearing respectful.

"What did the World Master say? I'm receiving reports that the Candidacy is nine days away, but I can't understand."

"You don't need to. Why is there a need when you have no one close participating in the Candidacy, and you're going to leave anyway?"

Davis scoffed, "I don't have time for this bullshit. You made your choice when you decided to kill me, and I can understand your actions. I won't forgive you, but the truth is, I don't need to. You'll get by fine with the sect you created here and probably even established in the true immortal world since you have so many strong disciples like the Frost Cloud Empress, not to mention the World Master adores you."

"…?"

Saintess Lunaria narrowed her eyes in confusion.

The way she saw it, she had disappointed the World Master, not to mention hurled insults against the World Master when she learned that they were the cause for throwing the apex treasure into this world.

Still, she reached out her hand, indicating for him to wait as she closed her eyes.

"Whether I can get by or not doesn't matter. I personally hurt you, and I would like to apologize with sincerity. I'm sorry if you perceived me to be infallible with the way the world looks at me, but I also make mistakes… I'm also human… so would you not find it in your heart to forgive me…?"

Saintess Lunaria's voice trembled, but she kept her eyes closed as though she didn't want to see his gaze.

"…"

Indeed, Davis still stared at her with a cold gaze.

He understood Saintess Lunaria's intentions very well. She wanted to save the world and also save him, which was what he would expect of her, but the way she went about it absolutely incensed him.

It would've been fine if he retaliated by not explaining himself and then she trapped him but he went to explain himself, believing that she would understand but instead, he got trapped but also got nearly killed, all because of some misunderstanding and some hasty decisions from fear.

She couldn't even look him in the eye while apologizing, so he could also feel she regretted her actions, but he shook his head. The seething rage in his heart wanted to slap her, but how could he raise his hand against his benefactor? She and her sect had done much more for him that if she had sent him on a suicide mission, he would've accepted it without expecting a payment.

However, she just had to-

Davis took a deep breath, "No matter what you say today, I'm still going to hold it against you. If you still want to apologize despite your grand stature, you better do it another day."

"…"

Saintess Lunaria opened her eyes, watching him leave.

Did he also want to rectify relations with her? It gave her a bit of hope as she didn't mean to hurt him, only wanting to save him from the grasp of the apex treasure that could've possessed him to commit malicious atrocities.

However, she also saw Myria's back, feeling hurt inside. She considered Myria her rival, but she didn't say one word about what she did, making her feel worse than remorseful.

Only after what she did could she think about other perspectives and see how worse her actions were. It was indeed no different than a cold-blooded backstabber, making her hate herself.

Nonetheless, while this happened, the World Master stood in front of a particular set of beings floating in the air beside the giant obsidian ship that reeked full of deathly air. They corroded the atmosphere and indirectly warned all beings to stay away from them.

They didn't even need to warn because all the wild, magical beasts in the vicinity ran away at the first wave of their undulations. It was an instinct that they couldn't escape.

However, the World Master didn't appear to be sacred one bit.

She stared at the three of them.

Their height was no different than an average human, but they were clothed entirely in black robes, that concealed their form. When they moved, their clothes didn't even flutter but floated with an unsettling grace, their movements silent or even deliberately silent as though they wanted to strike fear into the hearts of those who had sight of them. Their faces were also veiled behind dark, featureless masks, obscuring any semblance of identity, which added to their terrifying aura.

The World Master narrowed her eyes, trying to see through their masks, but she couldn't peer as though they were clad in the perpetual shadow of death.

It was the same last time when she first created her universe and these fellows came up as though discovering new land, and even now, she couldn't see through them.

It was about a few minutes since they started their staring match, and neither party gave in.

"Divine Inquisitors of the Reincarnation Dimension, if you have nothing to say, then I must ask you all to leave my universe."

"Do you think you can make such a request when you're borrowing the Reincarnation Wheel from us despite still being at odds with— the Will of the heavens?"

The Divine Inquisitor at the center raised his chin, his voice appearing to be that of a man as he coldly asked.

"The reincarnation cycle is of utmost importance to my universe."

The World Master raised her hands and respectfully clasped, "Without it, no soul can be reincarnated into my universe ever again, causing an end to the perpetual cycle of reincarnation here and causing some souls to be lost which I'm sure the Deity of Death would hate to look at- but, I sincerely ask that the Divine Inquisitors continue to let the reincarnation cycle find its way here until this universe's demise."

"…"

The three Divine Inquisitors slowly looked at each other before the one on the left opened their mouth.

"Your worry is unfounded."

It was the voice of a woman, clear and melodious, unlike her eerie appearance, "We are not capable of taking away the Reincarnation Wheel from you as that belongs to another jurisdiction. However, we detected an anomaly here where around four quadrillion souls were momentarily pulled away from our Reincarnation Wheel, causing us Divine Inquisitors to be dispatched in order to investigate it."

"Indeed." The Divine Inquisitor on the right continued, also appearing to be a woman, but her voice was authoritative.

"If you are not related to this matter, then it would be in your best interests for you to let us find the source so your universe can continue enjoying the privileges of the Reincarnation Wheel."

"…"

The World Master went silent, feeling like she cannot let the Divine Inquisitors find the source. She didn't know what they might do but most likely felt they would eradicate the source, which meant put an end to Davis and Myria's lives.