"What use would I have for your life? Let's go. Since we're already in the Heavenly Court, we might as well pay the old Jade Emperor a visit."
Axel rose to his feet and swaggered through the battlefield as if the chaos around him had nothing to do with him. Without even glancing at the fighting Heavenly Soldiers, he walked straight toward the Hall of Supreme Heaven.
Yang Jian let out a cold snort and followed behind him with the Bull Demon King and the others. None of them paid any attention to the surrounding Heavenly Gods, many of whom were clearly holding back instead of truly fighting.
Nezha moved first, stepping onto his Wind Fire Wheels and streaking across the sky in a trail of blazing fire. By the time the group arrived before the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, frightened celestial maidens were already rushing out from inside.
The fairies scattered in panic, constantly looking back at Axel and the others as if trying to remember the faces of these monsters who had forced their way into Heaven itself.
Watching them flee, everyone instinctively turned to look at Axel.
Axel noticed their gazes and grinned before stepping forward.
But the moment he moved, a strange figure descended from above and blocked his path. The man had wings on his back, fire wheels beneath his feet, and a blood-red hand attached to his head.
The instant Axel saw him, he tilted his head toward Zhu Bajie.
"Bajie, didn't you say this bird-man slandered you before? He doesn't even have a mouth. How did he manage that? Did he write complaints with his hands?"
"He's carrying the old Jade Emperor's hand on his head!" Bajie cursed loudly. "That thing represents the Emperor himself. Whatever he sees, the Jade Emperor sees too! I've wanted somebody to deal with this bastard for ages!"
The moment he finished speaking, Bajie raised his nine-toothed rake and charged straight at the five hundred Spirit Officials standing behind Wang Lingguan.
At the same time, the Spirit Officials shouted in unison.
"Qingyuan Miaodao True Lord Yang Jian, Third Lotus Prince Nezha, Great Bull King of Flame Mountain, Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Bajie! You have all accepted heavenly titles yet now rebel against the Heavenly Court. By heavenly law, your crimes deserve death. Surrender immediately and await judgment…"
"I'll judge your ancestors!"
Before the official could finish speaking, Axel appeared in front of him.
His hand shot out instantly and grabbed the Spirit Official by the head.
In front of countless Heavenly Soldiers, Star Lords, celestial maidens, and Divine Generals, Axel tore the man's head clean off.
Blood exploded across the sky.
The corpse twitched violently while blood splashed across Axel's face and armor.
His armor's spiritual consciousness automatically circulated immortal energy, wiping the blood away from his face before it could drip further.
Then, under the horrified eyes of everyone present, Axel grabbed his own left wrist with his right hand.
Crack!
With a brutal twist, he snapped his own hand off.
Holding the severed hand casually, Axel glanced at the corpse in front of him.
"I finally understand why the Jade Emperor ripped Wang Lingguan's head off."
He sneered at the surrounding Spirit Officials.
"If all of you talk this much, then every one of your heads deserves to be ripped off too. Since the Jade Emperor can't be bothered to do it properly, I'll help him out."
Axel raised the severed hand.
"You people love talking so much, right? Then keep talking."
With that, he rammed his detached hand directly into the neck of the decapitated Spirit Official.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Axel shook the corpse around mockingly, but naturally, the dead official remained motionless.
"Tsk. Looks like my hand isn't as useful as the Jade Emperor's. His hand can replace a head after all. Maybe if I stick it onto someone's back, it'll turn into wings too."
A vicious grin spread across his face.
"But now I'm curious. What happens if I shove the Jade Emperor's hand up Wang Lingguan's ass? Think it'll start vibrating?"
The moment his words fell, Axel charged straight at Wang Lingguan.
Wang Lingguan roared and swung his golden mace downward, but Axel caught it barehanded.
With one violent yank, Axel tore the weapon from his grip so forcefully that Wang Lingguan's arm shattered instantly from the strain.
Before Wang Lingguan could react, Axel slammed the golden mace downward and pinned him to the ground.
Ignoring the violent struggle of wings and claws beneath him, Axel grabbed the blood-red hand attached to Wang Lingguan's neck and ripped it free.
Crack!
Blood burst into the air.
Nearby, Zhu Bajie burst out laughing.
But Axel was not finished.
He kicked Wang Lingguan's corpse over onto its stomach, glanced at the severed hand in his own grasp, then casually hurled it toward Wang Lingguan's backside.
Pfft!
The blood-red hand lodged itself upright in place.
It even twitched slightly.
The battlefield instantly went silent for a moment.
Even Bajie stopped laughing.
Nezha, however, nearly doubled over from laughter.
"Big Brother really keeps his promises!"
"Haha, don't praise me yet," Axel replied while laughing. "Wait until we head down to the lower realms later. Then you can praise me properly."
He pointed toward the towering heavenly steps ahead.
"For now, stop wasting time. We're going into the Lingxiao Treasure Hall."
Axel stepped over Wang Lingguan's corpse and headed toward the 129,600 heavenly steps leading upward.
At the very top stood the magnificent Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
But just as Axel passed by, the blood-red hand suddenly dissolved into starlight and disappeared.
Seeing this, Axel laughed and flicked his broken wrist.
"Who can't regenerate?"
A moment later, the right hand attached to the distant corpse vanished and instantly reappeared on Axel's wrist.
At the same time, countless Spirit Officials and Heavenly Generals charged toward them in fury.
Thunder roared.
Divine fire exploded across the battlefield.
Yet Axel simply walked forward with a smile while Yang Jian, Nezha, Bajie, and the Bull Demon King guarded him from every direction.
The four fought fiercely, forcing open a bloody path straight toward the hall.
Unlike the earlier Star Lords who had been deliberately slacking off, these Spirit Officials were fighting with everything they had.
The Star Lords acted like corrupt officials protecting their own interests.
The Spirit Officials, however, were fanatics loyal to the Jade Emperor.
Every strike they made carried killing intent.
Soon, the heavenly steps were completely drenched in blood.
The surrounding Heavenly Gods could no longer continue pretending to stand aside. One after another, they joined the battle alongside the Spirit Officials.
But many were still clearly unwilling to truly risk their lives.
Kui Mulang suddenly grabbed a Spirit Official and hurled him directly toward Nezha.
"You're too slow. Let me help you!"
The terrified Spirit Official had no time to react before Nezha's Fire-Tipped Spear pierced straight through his chest.
Seeing more and more Heavenly Generals gathering into battle formations, Nezha gritted his teeth.
"So this is the pressure Sun Wukong faced back then?"
Yang Jian swung his three-pointed double-edged spear and laughed coldly.
"He had it much worse. Back then, you and I were standing against him too."
As he spoke, Yang Jian unleashed his Heavenly Hound.
Wrapped in golden lightning, the black hound crashed into the battlefield and sent dozens of Spirit Officials flying.
Immediately afterward, Yang Jian summoned his Mountain Splitting Axe.
The gigantic axe slashed downward and forcibly carved open a path through the heavens for Axel.
Not to be outdone, Nezha spat blazing Samadhi Fire across the battlefield before transforming into his Three Heads and Six Arms form.
The Universe Ring, Huntian Ribbon, Fire-Tipped Spear, Purple Gold Brick, Yin-Yang Sword, and Devil Subduing Staff appeared simultaneously in his hands.
For a time, Nezha became a whirlwind of destruction, crushing through the endless tide of Heavenly Soldiers and Spirit Officials.
Then, from the direction of the South Heaven Gate, the Four Heavenly Kings finally arrived.
Their massive figures towered over the battlefield as they looked down helplessly at the chaos below.
"Why did things end up like this?" one of them sighed.
But despite their frustration, they still raised their treasures and joined the battle.
Their bodies were simply too large to fake it properly. Even if they wanted to hold back, it was impossible.
At the same time, the Bull Demon King slammed his iron staff against the ground and roared toward Axel.
"Brother, leave these bastards to me!"
With that, he leaped into the battlefield and activated his Law of Heaven and Earth ability.
In an instant, a towering white buffalo giant appeared amidst the heavenly battlefield and charged straight into the Divine Army beside the Four Heavenly Kings.
===
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