When those words appeared, countless people with guilty consciences turned deathly pale.
How could this be a divine artifact?
It was clearly a mirror that exposed monsters!
It was clearly a torture chamber for the soul!
If they were dragged into this theater, wouldn't all the shameful things they had done be acted out like a play in front of everyone?
This was social death and execution rolled into one!
And that wasn't all.
The words on the Golden Ranking List continued to change.
[New special ability—Judgment Resonance.]
[Specific effects: To be revealed after the number one item on the Rare Treasures Ranking is made public.]
And then it stopped.
The Sky Screen seemed to be deliberately keeping everyone in suspense, leaving a tantalizing mystery at the most crucial moment.
Skywater City, the City Lord Mansion.
Neuvillette looked at the enormous question mark in the sky and shook his head helplessly.
"This Golden Ranking List has learned how to keep people in suspense."
He took a small sip of tea, his tone calm and giving away no hint of his feelings.
Beside him, Furina was now unable to put down the evolved Blade of Still Waters and Judgment, turning it over and over in her hands.
She gave the long sword a gentle swing.
At once, a heavenly opera aria seemed to drift faintly through the air.
"Wow!"
Furina's eyes sparkled like a child's who had just gotten a new toy.
"Neuvillette, look!"
"It's even prettier now! It really suits someone of my stature!"
Lifting her skirt, she spun in a circle before Neuvillette. The long sword in her hand lightly touched the ground as she struck an elegant, haughty pose.
"From this day forth,"
"you may call me—the God-King of Clear Ripples and Judgment!"
Watching her smug little expression, Neuvillette couldn't help but let a gentle smile tug at his lips.
"Very well."
"Your Majesty."
"Then may I ask what Your Majesty would like to eat tonight to celebrate?"
Furina tilted her head and thought it over. She was just about to place her order when the Golden Ranking List high above thundered once more.
A golden light unlike any seen before, carrying an overbearing majesty that seemed capable of suppressing all things, spread across the entire sky.
It was... the radiance of the number one item.
Everyone's breath caught in that instant.
The grand finale was finally about to begin.
Neuvillette set down his teacup and gazed calmly toward the heavens.
The afterglow of the Golden Ranking List had yet to fade completely.
The world fell utterly silent.
It wasn't fear that caused this silence, but a numbness brought on by overwhelming shock.
Outside Jialing Pass, in the Shrek Academy camp.
Tang San slowly released his grip on the Asura Demon Sword.
His palm was drenched in cold sweat.
Just moments ago, he had still been trying to find a flaw in the divine artifact called Radiance of Still Waters, hoping to prove that the glory of Asura God could not be profaned.
But now, he had abandoned that thought completely.
"Third Brother..."
Dai Mubai stepped forward, intending to pat Tang San on the shoulder, but found that Tang San's body was as stiff as stone.
"I'm fine, Boss Dai."
Tang San took a deep breath. The unwillingness and stubbornness that had filled his eyes had somehow vanished.
In their place was a gravity and curiosity unlike anything he had ever felt before.
"Even Radiance of Still Waters, which can sever time and space at will, could only rank second."
"So what on earth is the thing in first place?"
Oscar swallowed and said with a wry smile,
"I've been wondering the same thing."
"That sword was already absurd. What could be even more overpowered than that? Could the number one item really punch a hole straight through the sky?"
Ma Hongjun scratched his head, confusion filling his small eyes.
"Third Brother, do you think the number one item might be that file Neuvillette was holding?"
"In the images just now, he was looking at a file the whole time, wasn't he?"
Everyone was taken aback.
Then they all felt the idea was a little ridiculous.
There was no denying Neuvillette was powerful, but calling a file a divine artifact seemed a bit too absurd.
Tang San shook his head.
"It won't be that simple."
"Furina's sword represents the authority of 'judgment' and 'execution.'"
"If Neuvillette is the one who sets the rules, then the divine artifact in his hands must contain a power of a higher level than 'execution.'"
As he spoke, Tang San instinctively looked toward Skywater City.
A pillar of light soared into the heavens, its divine might vast and mighty.
Though he was thousands of miles away, he could still feel that aura, one that made his very soul tremble.
That was the might of a true God King.
Under this pressure, everyone seemed to have unconsciously overlooked one thing.
Xiao Wu was still sealed inside that enormous block of ice in Skywater City, and her life or death remained unknown.
In the face of such absolute power, personal love and hatred seemed insignificant.
Meanwhile, at Spirit Hall.
In the plaza before the Worship Hall.
Qian Renxue gazed at the enormous question mark on the Sky Screen, the light in her golden eyes shifting restlessly.
The Angel Sacred Sword in her hand was now dim and lusterless.
As the successor to the Angel God, she had always believed that no weapon in the world could rival the Angel Sacred Sword—not even the Clear Sky Hammer.
But today, reality had delivered a harsh slap to her face.
It hadn't just lost to the Asura Demon Sword; it hadn't even made it into the top three.
Especially that Furina.
That girl, who seemed a little crazy and loved to put on a show, actually possessed such a terrifying divine artifact.
"I lost."
Qian Renxue murmured softly, a rare note of dejection in her voice.
"I lost completely."
"If even the second-place item has this kind of power, then the one in first place..."
She turned to look at Shui Bing'er, who was standing nearby and idly playing with her fingernails.
"Hey."
Qian Renxue called out.
Shui Bing'er looked up, a trace of indifference in her sea-blue eyes.
"What?"
Qian Renxue bit her lip, seemingly reluctant to ask, but curiosity ultimately won out.
"You've been in Skywater City all this time, and you're Neuvillette's student."
"Do you know what the number one divine artifact actually is?"
At that, Shui Bing'er gave her a look that said she had expected the question.
She didn't keep Qian Renxue in suspense. Instead, she simply spread her hands, as casually as if they were discussing what to have for dinner.
"What else could it be?"
"Of course it's the dean's Grand Ceremony of Eternal Flow."
Qian Renxue froze.
"Grand Ceremony of Eternal Flow?"
The name sounded like a book or a code of laws, not a weapon at all.
Shui Bing'er saw the confusion on Qian Renxue's face. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes.
"Young Mistress, don't tell me you think someone at the dean's level still needs to fight with swords and spears?"
She glanced around, then lowered her voice, looking utterly mysterious.
"Let me tell you a secret."
"Once, when I was cleaning the dean's study, I accidentally overheard him chatting with his wife—oh, I mean Lady Furina."
Before you continue