As the Divine Throne descended, the air on the Twelfth Layer seemed to be sucked away.
Lu Wenchuan's chest tightened, and the knife nearly slipped from his hand. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip, but the snow beneath his feet slid backward, as if a force were pushing him away from Xu Zhihan's side.
Xu Zhihan reached back and grabbed his uninjured arm.
"Don't back away."
Lu Wenchuan looked at him. "I wasn't trying to."
"I know."
Xu Zhihan tightened his fingers and forcibly pulled him half a step back.
Lu Wenchuan looked down at the hand gripping him, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"We just made it official, and I'm already getting special treatment."
Xu Zhihan said coldly, "Say one more word, and I'll let go."
Lu Wenchuan immediately fell silent.
Shen Yu stood beside the cracked Clock Core, black lines driving into the Judgment Ground from beneath his feet. Like a nail fixed in the heart of the Tower, he let the Divine Throne's white light fall over him from above as his body slowly turned transparent.
"Once the Twelfth Layer opens, the Judgment Ground takes control of every line," Shen Yu said. "Xu Zhihan, it's too late to refuse now."
Xu Zhihan looked at him. "You've wanted me to sit on it all along."
"Because you're the best suited."
Shen Yu raised his hand, and countless images surfaced around the Judgment Ground.
The Xu Family Old Residence, the Photo Studio, Xiaoyu's mother's noodle shop, the Old TV Tower, the Old Clock Tower, the Air-Raid Shelter, the Judgment Hall, the Heart-Questioning Ward. Every place was connected to sin, and Xu Zhihan had dismantled each one himself. The images lit up one by one, finally converging into a path before the Divine Throne.
Shen Yu said,