Well done, Jieyin! Well done, Zhunti!

"Mercy beyond the law?"

Niu Ben suddenly laughed upon hearing those four words.

His laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Do you still think that Yang Jian, as your sister's son, refused to repent and instead made an enemy of the Heavenly Court—an act of monstrous rebellion—and that was why you sent troops to surround and suppress him, intending to seize him and bring him to Heaven for public execution?"

"Is that not the case?!"

Haotian abruptly raised his head, glaring at Niu Ben with bloodshot eyes, his voice rising.

"He slaughtered my Heavenly Soldiers, humiliated my Heavenly Generals, and even declared that he would storm the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and split open Peach Mountain! Should I not discipline such a madman?!"

"Ha ha ha..."

Niu Ben threw back his head and laughed, his laughter full of sorrow and pity.

"Pitiful, tragic, lamentable!"

"Haotian, oh Haotian. You are a saint, yet you do not even know you have been made into a chess piece. And here you are, waving the banner and shouting for your enemy. Truly... foolish to the utmost extreme!"

"You... what did you say?!"

Haotian was struck as if by lightning, his entire body going rigid.

A chess piece?

An enemy?

What was all this supposed to mean?

"Enough."

Niu Ben seemed too lazy to waste any more words on him.

"Since you remain stubbornly blind, This Seat will let you see it with your own eyes."

"See just how pathetic a Heavenly Emperor you are!"

As his words fell, Niu Ben raised his hand again and gave the empty air before him a light sweep.

The next moment, ripples like waves on water spread through the air between them.

One crystal-clear scene after another slowly unfolded before Haotian like a scroll of paintings.

The images began