Heavens' Laughter

"Your Majesty... your son is dead," one of the officials said, his voice trembling as he forced the words out. Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

His throat felt dry, and he gulped hard, his nerves betraying him as beads of sweat trickled down his temples.

Bowing slightly, the official kept his hands cupped respectfully before him, not daring to look the Emperor in the eyes.

Silence…

All the officials' hearts pounded against their ribcage as they all anxiously awaited a reaction, any reaction.

They all knew well the fury that could erupt from such devastating news, and the fear of being the target of that wrath made all of their hands tremble ever so slightly.

The Phoenix Emperor, seated upon his throne, leaned forward ever so slightly. His expression was unreadable.

"Dead, you say?" He muttered under his breath.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the official replied quickly, his head bowing lower. "The First Prince has fallen… His head was cleanly cut off…"

The Phoenix Emperor's grip on the armrests of his throne tightened. The sound of his fingers digging made a noise.

"And who," he finally said, his tone like ice, "was responsible for this?"

"Fen — Feng Shen, Your Majesty… He was the one who killed the First Prince…" the official blurted out. The name felt like poison on his tongue, as though even speaking it aloud would invite the wrath of the heavens.

He knew all too well the weight of what he had just said.

After all, Feng Shen's name had become a taboo to say.

The chaos, the bloodshed, and the tragedy — they all traced back to that man, and the hatred he had sown burned in the hearts of every official, guard, servant, and citizen.

And so, the official felt his knees threaten to buckle under the suffocating tension in the room.

'Kill me…' He thought to himself.

The official wanted nothing more than to shrink into a corner, to hide away.

Silence once again followed…

Until…

The Phoenix Emperor's expression shifted suddenly. A wide, unsettling smile. His shoulders began to shake, and then he erupted into laughter.

The sound was loud and manic, echoing through the grand hall. He slapped the armrests of his throne with such force that the gilded wood creaked under the impact.

As the Phoenix Emperor's laughter grew, he began clapping his hands together.

"I see! So the mercenaries — those so-called experts — failed to even guard my son!" he roared, his voice booming:

"To protect him from a mere low-level cultivator! AHAHAHA! What a joke! What an absolute farce!"

The court officials recoiled, their faces pale as they exchanged uneasy glances.

As the Phoenix Emperor laughed, the air around him began to shimmer and distort. Flames erupted from his body, licking up his arms.

The throne beneath him started to char, blackened streaks spreading along.

Yet, tears began to stream down the Phoenix Emperor's face, glistening in the firelight.

They didn't reach his chin, however, as each tear evaporated the moment it touched the searing heat of his skin.

"Pathetic," The Phoenix Emperor growled, his voice low and venomous now:

"All of them — pathetic. My son… my bloodline, my legacy, cut down by a worm, and those sworn to protect him couldn't even lift a finger to stop it."

Slowly, the Phoenix Emperor rose to his feet. "Feng Shen," he repeated:

"That brat dares to actually strike down my son…"

Silence…

Besides the crackling of flames…

No official dared to utter a word or even shift their weight. They stood frozen, rigid as statues.

Sweat dripped down their faces, stinging their eyes and soaking their collars. Some felt their legs trembling.

The Phoenix Emperor sighed heavily. He attempted to steady himself, his fiery Qi flickering faintly as he tried to suppress his flames.

But in the next moment, his eyes snapped toward his officials.

Without a word, the Phoenix Emperor raised his hand and waved it in a wide arc.

In an instant, an inferno of blue flames erupted, consuming every official in the room.

Screams of terror and pleas for mercy filled the air as the flames devoured them, leaving nothing but ash in their wake.

The Phoenix Emperor's eyes were devoid of light as he then began walking.

The guards stationed along the grand hall's pathway stiffened as he approached.

Suddenly, they erupted into flames, their armor melting into pools of liquid metal.

As the Phoenix Emperor stepped outside, a horrible sight greeted him.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the destruction that stretched as far as his eyes could see. His shoulders sagged.

"It's over…" The Phoenix Emperor muttered, his voice hollow. "Everything is gone… Everything my ancestors built… reduced to nothing but ash and ruin."

He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as flames reignited around him, stronger and wilder than before:

"It seems Feng Shen has left me no choice…" The Phoenix Emperor looked upward at the sky.

Without lowering his gaze, the sky above began to ripple.

A fiery ring manifested above him, its edges glowing white-hot as it spun faster and faster, expanding with each rotation.

The ring grew wider, its flames crackling with untamed ferocity, as if they sought to consume the very sky.

The heat was unbearable; the ground beneath the Phoenix Emperor began to smolder, cracks forming and glowing with an orange hue as molten rock bubbled to the surface.

The ring's rotation reached a dizzying speed, and with a deafening roar, it shot upward into the heavens, piercing the clouds and splitting the sky.@@novelbin@@

"If Feng Shen wishes to take everything from me, then I shall summon the wrath of the ancestor. Let him face the firestorm that will leave nothing but ash in its wake."

The Phoenix Emperor spread his arms wide, the flames surrounding him intensifying, their heat warping the very air.

His once-mighty empire, the pride of generations, lay in ruins. But none of it mattered anymore.

"I don't care…" The Phoenix Emperor muttered.

His tears had stopped:

"Let the ancestor strike me down if he dare. Let the heavens themselves punish me for my failures. I don't care… As long as Feng Shen dies… as long as that bastard pays for what he's done…"

The Phoenix Emperor closed his mouth… Until he opened it again and yelled:

"Nothing else matters! My empire, my people, my life — it's all meaningless without my son! And if my life must burn away to make it so, then so be it!"

Suddenly, the fiery ring vanished without a trace.

Two enormous, glowing eyes manifested amidst the clouds.

The eyes narrowed, their disapproval palpable, before they slowly closed.

Then it happened.

From the tear in the sky, an imposing figure descended. He was clad in ancient flame-forged armor, his entire form radiating a primal heat. His towering, muscular frame.

It was the ancestor of the Phoenix family, the very founder of their empire.

"WHO DARES RUIN MY EMPIRE?!" his voice boomed, shaking the very foundations of the Upper Realm itself.

As the ancestor descended, the sheer heat emanating from his body reduced everything in his path to molten ruin.

When he finally reached the man who had called upon him, his flames subsided slightly, controlled.

"Did you allow this to happen?!" the ancestor roared.

The Phoenix Emperor dared not look up. He kept his head bowed.

"Ancestor… forgive me…" he stammered, his voice barely audible. "I—"

Before the Phoenix Emperor could even finish…

Flames engulfed him, his flesh melted away in an instant, reduced to nothing but ash and vapor.

As the ancestor extended his hand, the flames danced and coiled unnaturally, forming a swirling vortex.

The flames delved into the ether, reaching into the fragments of the Phoenix Emperor's memories.

The ancestor's glowing eyes narrowed as he absorbed the truth, witnessing the actions of the one responsible: Feng Shen.

The image burned into his mind, and his rage ignited like never before.

Without hesitation, the ancestor propelled himself into the air, the sheer force of his ascent leaving a massive crater in his wake.

He hovered:

"FENG SHEN! YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

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Feng Shen, his gaze fixed upward as he was observing, could not help but break into a fit of maniacal laughter when he heard his name echoing through the air.

The realization hit him like a tidal wave — the Upper Realm was now irrevocably doomed.

His actions had angered a cultivator from the Nine Skies - realms far above the Upper Realm.

"This is just too perfect!" Feng Shen exclaimed with a grin, his lips curling as he licked them in anticipation:

"So many powerful beings gathered in one place!"

Feng Shen's gaze then shifted to the Two Divine Birds. Their once fierce battle had come to an abrupt halt, and now, they stood motionless, their immense forms bloodied and battered.

Wounds, some deep and others barely more than scratches.

The surrounding forest, which had been their battleground, lay in ruin — trees splintered and scorched, the earth churned into a scarred wasteland.

The moment the new presence made itself known, both Divine Birds had turned in unison.

Feng Shen clapped his hands together:

"Let the total destruction begin!"