"Truth"

The black spear that pinned the Shadow Assassin to the pillar vanished into black mist. The Shadow Assassin dusted himself off and stood up, joining Lu Li who was playing the role of Sloth) and King of Fear Dark River.

"So you weren't working with me before, but thinking about it, that makes sense." Fu Bin's expression changed, and he immediately realized that the mask was brought by the Shadow Assassin. Wasn't he the one who had been deceived from beginning to end?

"So now that we've come this far, can you answer some of our questions? After all, you've been planning this for so long, and it's almost over. Aren't you going to tell us and show off a little?" Old Hu stepped forward and said, secretly clutching a scarlet stone in his hand, remaining vigilant.

"So you're here to extract information? Well, since you've asked so sincerely, we'll mercifully tell you." The Shadow Assassin's tone was smug, as if he were absolutely certain that Old Hu right, having planned so much, and he seemed particularly proud of himself. "To prevent... ugh."

"This story begins with the last Mask Battle Royale," the Shadow Assassin said reminiscingly. "The last battle took place in another dimension."

At this point, Lu Li, playing the role of Sloth, paid special attention to Old Hu and found that although he was surprised, he did not seem confused. Obviously, he, or rather the country, knew about this alternate dimension.

"The seven Mask Host were far stronger than you are now. Of course, this is also related to the fact that you have had the masks for too long. That Mask Battle Royale was the closest we ever came to success. The hosts fought to the very end, and as Sloth said, he was the final winner."

"But after collecting all seven deadly sins, I discovered that they couldn't truly merge. Becoming a god wielding the power of the seven deadly sins was out of the question. My body was also destroyed that time, and I could only eke out a living by clinging to the mask. So I studied it carefully and discovered that the seven deadly sins alone were not enough. There should be other powers to harmonize them," Sloth interjected. "Afterwards, with the help of some people from the Shadow Clan, I used the Mask of Original Sin to create three new masks: Fear, Hatred, and Destruction."

"With these three abilities that exist outside the Seven Deadly Sins, combined with the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, we can definitely create a new Tree of Human-Gods and become a new god," Sloth said excitedly. "Unfortunately, because we created three masks, we have once again exhausted the Seven Deadly Sins' originally abundant energy, and we will need to have a new Mask Battle Royale."

"But the original alternate dimension is unusable due to an accident, so we need a new location," the Shadow Mask continued. "And in this real world, there's practically no place better than Leping City. Only here will we be least subject to interference."

"Aren't you afraid of being affected by that being?" Old Hu thought, considering the veracity of what the other person was saying, before asking his question again.

"So you're just mortals. If you want to become gods, you must give up something. We can't possibly know the thoughts of those beings. They might become obstacles, but they might also become helpers, and perhaps even increase your chances of success." Lu Li read the script, while also pondering the beings behind him. What kind of purpose did they have?

"But it seems you've made a mistake. There are only three of you now, and according to what you've said, there are three more hiding in the shadows." Old Hu's face was cold, and he was constantly calculating in his mind. If the previous intelligence was correct, Li Yuanfeng was one, then there were two others hiding.

"That's right. Besides fear, Hatred and Destruction have escaped our control, and they've also taken away Greed from the Seven Deadly Sins." Lu Li said "helplessly", "Hatred's characteristic of Hatred everything makes it impossible for it to walk with others, Destruction's self-centered personality also makes it impossible for it to be with us."

"They're probably watching us from somewhere right now, so I have a suggestion." Lu Li turned to the Mask Host and said sincerely, "The mask ritual doesn't necessarily have to kill other hosts; we can also merge into one."

"A single human being is far too shallow. Once we initiate the ritual, we will merge together, everything about us will merge, forming a new human being... no, no, forming a new... god!"

"Abandon our meaningless human egos. Only by truly becoming a god will you understand how insignificant you are and how great a god is." Lu Li's words were very tempting, but he knew that these people would never agree. Original sin had penetrated their hearts, making them exceptionally self-centered. They would never agree to his words.

As expected, all the Mask Host shook their heads. Lu Li, feigning Sloth, wasn't disappointed. Instead, he looked at Old Hu and said, "Now you know what you wanted to know. So, can you unfreeze your anger and leave this place? We promise not to spread the battlefield."

"I'm sorry, Leping City is an inherent territory of our Great Yue Dynasty. We must stop all illegal gatherings there, let alone the damage you've caused. Our Great Yue Dynasty has no habit of compromising with enemies." Old Hu shook his head, his eyes sharp. When he spoke of Great Yue, he always used the term "Dynasty" instead of the "Country" he usually uses now.

Lu Li knew that what Old Hu was true. Since its founding, the Great Yue Kingdom had never compromised with anyone. Although compromise might be the most correct and profitable option, Great Yue never compromised. They were confident that one day Great Yue would stand above all other countries and have all nations pay tribute. Therefore, many people in Great Yue referred to Great Yue as the Great Yue Dynasty, rather than the Kingdom.

"The abilities used by ability users generally lose their effect after the user dies," Lu Li said indifferently. "Since you don't agree, then we'll have to resort to unconventional methods."

Old Hu sighed. He didn't completely believe what the people opposite him were saying. Although there were no loopholes and it sounded reasonable, one should never completely believe what others tell the truth, even if the truth is very reasonable. To be honest, he didn't want to fight at all. Perhaps reaching a compromise with the people in front of him and retreating would be the best option, but that was not the option for the Yue people.

Old Hu took out a bottle and tossed it to Fu Bin. Then he crushed the scarlet stone in his hand, and a surge of blood-red energy flowed into Old Hu's body, suppressing the hidden injury he had suffered a year ago and unleashing his full power.

"If you won't compromise, then let's fight!"