Two words exploded like a thunderclap.
In that instant, the hearts of the Tiger Guards and Qin Heng alike felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized them in a crushing grip.
An invisible, boundless, irresistible force poured down from above, blotting out the sky and earth, sweeping over everything.
It was not true qi, nor killing intent, but a purer, more fundamental pressure upon the mind.
A Grandmaster was still flesh and blood, but his mind had long since ceased to be human.
Wherever his will reached, ordinary mortals were utterly crushed.
The air in Taiji Hall froze, and time seemed to stop. In that instant, everyone felt an immense terror.
Swept by Zhou Cheng's cold gaze,
even the Tiger Guards, brainwashed, trained, and raised from childhood to be killing machines, forgot their orders and froze in place.
They dared not move. They dared not move a muscle.
Their instincts-the most primitive survival instincts of living creatures, etched into their very bones-screamed frantically, warning them: move, and you die.
It was not just the Tiger Guards.
Everyone throughout Taiji Hall stood frozen, cowed by that immense terror.
Li Yunrui and the Empress Dowager beside Zhou Cheng fared somewhat better, feeling only a stifling tightness in their chests and some discomfort.
But below the Palace Steps, the Crown Prince, the Eldest Prince, the Second Prince, and every civil and military official felt their bodies weaken and tremble.
They felt a mountain pressing down on them, threatening to squeeze the last pitiful scraps of air from their lungs.
No one could remain standing. Even the Crown Prince, unwilling to submit, turned pale as paper and crumpled, trembling.
The officials who had only just risen sank to their knees again, quaking all over as they prostrated themselves.
They felt it more