World version update

Chapter 293 Royal Angel
Lu Yan's calm, almost arrogant attitude, and his figure perched high on the golden throne, completely ignited the oppressive atmosphere of the palace hall.

After a brief silence came a volcanic eruption of fury.

"Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!" An old duke with a meticulously groomed mustache trembled with rage, his face turning a deep purplish-red. His finger quivered as he pointed at Lu Yan, but he was too furious to utter a complete sentence.

"Insolence! This is the Royal Palace of Victoria, the center of power that has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, not some underworld under your jurisdiction!" Another marquis, dressed in a magnificent court dress, roared sharply, his voice hoarse with excitement, veins bulging on his neck, as if he was about to rush forward at any moment.

"These outsiders are utterly arrogant!"

"I acknowledge your exceptional abilities, but that is absolutely not the reason why you can trample on the dignity of the Victorian royal family and humiliate us nobles!"

More angry voices rose and fell, and some hot-blooded young nobles even subconsciously gripped the hilt of their swords at their waists, their eyes burning with the flames of humiliation. If it weren't for their elders holding them down, they probably would have already drawn their swords.

Their concessions to Lu Yan's existence and demands were largely due to the immense importance of the royal scepter and the power struggles among the nobles and royalty.

The abdication of King Charles I signified a power shift between the monarchy and the nobility, which was the main reason they pushed for this.

In terms of strength, the royal family and nobles did not believe that Lu Yan alone was much stronger than them.

However, at this ceremony that would determine the future of the kingdom, Lu Yan not only appeared in grand style holding the scepter of kingship, but also cast an even higher throne of gold on the king's throne.

This is no longer a simple interference, but an undisguised humiliation and a ruthless trampling on the face of the entire ruling class of the Victorian Kingdom!
If they make no further statement, then from now on, the Victorian royal family and nobility will likely become a laughing stock across the entire continent.

However, amidst this chaos and clamor, two people stood out, their expressions relatively calm.

The first one was Elizabeth. She stood below, looking up slightly at the figure on the golden throne. A complex light flickered in the depths of her eyes, a mixture of surprise, understanding, and indescribable excitement.

As one of the actual controllers of the union, she knew Lu Yan's unfathomable strength and style of doing things better than anyone else present.

Lu Yan's powerful appearance at this moment, although unexpected, completely put her mind at ease.

The other person who remained calm was the old King Charles, who was about to abdicate.

He leaned back in his chair, and his usually cloudy eyes now shone with an unusual light.

He coldly observed the fervent anger of the crowd below, a barely perceptible sneer even appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He knew very well that once the agreement previously led by the nobles was reached, the royal power would weaken further, and he himself would completely lose his influence.

Now, Lu Yan, this unconventional troublemaker, has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, disrupting everyone's plans in such a domineering way, which has aroused his interest in watching the show.

As for Lu Yan's rank being above his? From the moment the Scepter of Kingship was lost and he was forced to abdicate by this young man with just a few words, he had long since lost any unrealistic sense of identification with the so-called authority and dignity of the king.

Amidst the uproar and commotion, someone eventually had to step forward to maintain order, or at least try to save face.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a long robe with purple and gold patterns symbolizing his status as a prince, stepped forward from the crowd.

His aura was calm and his eyes were sharp; he was clearly a third-tier powerhouse.

He walked to the center of the hall, looked up at Lu Yan on the golden throne, and tried to exert pressure with reason in a deep and authoritative voice:
"Your Majesty, the agreement we previously reached with you is limited to the abdication of the current King."

"Your actions today, wielding the scepter and placing yourself upon the king's throne, are you not overstepping your bounds?"

Lu Yan's indifferent gaze swept over this esteemed, veteran prince as if sweeping away dust, without even bothering to offer any verbal response.

He simply raised his hand slightly, repeating the previous instruction, his voice not loud but clearly overwhelming all the noise:

"I said, continue!"

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Yan lightly touched the ground with the royal staff in his hand.

An invisible yet immense power was instantly awakened, and the incomplete uniqueness of the royal path contained within the scepter suddenly erupted under Lu Yan's will.

In an instant, all the extraordinary beings present who possessed the power of the royal path felt an indescribable, terrifying pressure descend from the sky.

It was as if a blurry, incomplete path, exuding an aura of supreme power, descended from the void and enveloped the entire palace hall.

This majesty transcended all worldly authority and cognition, carrying an almost divine will, and pressed precisely upon the third prince who had just opened his mouth to question.

The old prince, with his dignified appearance and extraordinary bearing, suddenly narrowed his pupils to the size of pinpoints.

In his perception, Lu Yan's image on the golden throne was infinitely elevated, as if he had transformed into the supreme ruler sitting at the end of the royal path, overlooking all living beings and things.

The oppressive aura emanating from the top of the path, like that of a deity, crushed his soul and body like billions of tons of seawater.

His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, his knees creaking under the strain, and an instinctive sense of submission to a higher being, originating from the depths of his soul, was frantically assaulting his will.

The core of the royal path is the absolute suppression of class and order. The restraint of superiors over inferiors is an iron law engraved in the rules of the path, which is almost impossible to violate.

Even though he had already entered Sequence Three and was known as a god in the present world, standing at the very top of the royal path, he could not escape the incompleteness and uniqueness of the symbolic path's origin.

The prince's legs bent inch by inch, he gritted his teeth and veins bulged on his forehead, trying to resist the pressure of this humiliation, but all in vain.

boom!
With a dull thud, his knees slammed heavily onto the ground. The incredibly hard marble floor tiles, reinforced with complex and extraordinary runes, were dented by his kneeling, which contained the power of Sequence Three and endless humiliation. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread out.

Lu Yan, who caused all of this, did not even follow the path of royal power.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Yan, who is not a superhuman through royal means, would find it difficult to so easily borrow this incomplete and unique power.

However, as the divine court and underworld order he constructed became more and more perfect and powerful, he was able to use his authority to forcibly pry open and control the power contained in the scepter of kingship, and suppress all extraordinary beings who followed the path of kingship with a dimensional reduction-like attack.

Seeing the third-rank prince kneeling on the ground in humiliation, all the royal family members and nobles in the hall, especially those powerful individuals who also possessed the power of the royal path, turned ashen-faced.

Aside from the Church's creation methods, the majority of the high-end combat power in the entire Victoria Kingdom comes from the royal power methods that symbolize the royal family and nobility.

Because the royal path is the most complete and has the best chance of reaching the pinnacle among all the paths the kingdom has mastered.

But it is precisely because most of the top experts walk the path of royal power that they realize an incredibly terrifying fact.

Lu Yan was able to leverage the uniqueness within the Scepter of Kingship and easily suppress the Regent's Throne, which was in the third sequence of the Kingship Path. This meant that most of the powerful figures present would not even have the ability to resist Lu Yan.

Just as the many nobles in the hall trembled with fear, a sigh that seemed to have traveled through time echoed softly, carrying an ancient and heavy tone. "Your Excellency, you have crossed the line!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Before the words were even finished, an extremely dense and dark aura, like a silent tide, silently spread from the depths of the palace, instantly enveloping the entire magnificent palace.

The air became thick and cold, the light dimmed, and shadows twisted and writhed in the corners.

Immediately afterwards, a tall and blurry figure, seemingly formed entirely from thick black mist and deep darkness, silently appeared in the center of the palace hall.

The phantom's face and form were indistinct; all that could be felt was a suffocating majesty and deathly stillness.

The moment it appeared, everyone in the hall had a strong illusion, as if the earth beneath their feet was cracking open and an endless abyss was unfolding before them, dragging their souls into eternal damnation.

This is a powerful being of Sequence Two. Judging from the aura he exudes, he did not follow the path of royalty!

At the same time, two other equally vast and powerful auras were clearly sensed from deeper underground, locking onto the royal palace hall like sleeping dragons.

Clearly, those two were also genuine Sequence Two Earth Angels, but they were most likely powerful beings of the Royal Path. At the moment, they were being suppressed by the Royal Staff in Lu Yan's hand, which symbolized the origin of the path. Therefore, they did not choose to show themselves directly but instead remained on the sidelines and deterred others.

On the golden throne, Lu Yan looked with great interest at the majestic figure formed from black mist, his eyes showing no fear but rather a hint of inquiry.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, a playful smile curving his lips, and slowly began to speak:

"Styx?"

Yes, Lu Yan clearly sensed the aura of the Styx River from this uninvited guest.

An aged and hoarse voice came from the depths of the black mist, confirming Lu Yan's guess: "Your eyesight is excellent. The path I have taken is the long-lost Styx route."

The voice paused, its tone tinged with a sense of weariness and helplessness:

"The Styx Pathway, which originated from the Styx River that runs through the boundary between life and death, was even closer to the essence of death than the mainstream Dead Pathway."

Unfortunately, the River Styx was stolen by the Undying King, causing the entire source of its power to collapse. I was only able to barely maintain my existence and cling to life until now thanks to the resources of the Victorian royal family.

The aged voice suddenly became sharp: "You should know that I am a second-order Pathway of the Styx and am not subject to the restrictions of the Scepter of Kingship in your hand."

Once I make a move, I can temporarily suppress the power of the Royal Staff.

At that time, the royal family will unleash all its hidden strength, and even with your extraordinary power, you will be unable to withstand it!

"If Your Excellency were to leave now, I, on behalf of the royal family, would forgive and forget what happened today."

The threat was unmistakable in his words.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall reversed again, and the nobles who had been suffocating under Lu Yan's pressure had their eyes spark with renewed hope.

With the intervention of this ancient angel, who is not subject to the restraints of the royal scepter, and the other hidden strengths of the royal family, they might actually be able to force this malevolent star to retreat.

However, faced with this warning that was almost an ultimatum, Lu Yan seemed to have heard something extremely interesting.

Far from being angry, he gently clapped his hands, the crisp sound echoing in the hall. Lu Yan wore a mocking smile.
“That’s well said, but I happen to have an old friend of yours here. Why don’t you talk to him first?”

"Hmph!" The Styx Angel let out a cold snort, clearly believing Lu Yan was putting on an act. His voice was deep and intimidating: "This concerns the very foundation of the Victorian monarchy. Whoever you choose to send is entirely up to you."

He only got halfway through his sentence before it abruptly stopped, as if someone had grabbed him by the neck.

Right behind Lu Yan, a pitch-black rift suddenly tore open without warning!
Deep within that rift, countless chains formed from order, like a net, were tightly binding a terrifying figure of unimaginable size.

It was a giant pieced together entirely from white bones, draped in a wide black robe woven from eternal darkness. The mere sight of its outline exuded an aura of death capable of freezing the soul and an eerie pressure that reigned supreme over all living beings.

The moment it appeared, both the Styx angel in the center of the hall and the two royal angels hidden deep underground simultaneously uttered sounds of disbelief.

"The Undying King?"

The Undead King, bound by the chains of order, also noticed the Styx Angel below as the soul fire flickered in his empty eye sockets.

A hint of undisguised contempt and disdain flashed in his unruly eyes.

Even though he had become a prisoner, this hidden evil god did not take the Sequence Two Styx Angel seriously at all.

Indeed, this is the case. Although the Undead King and the Styx Angel are both Sequence Two, the former has already occupied the uniqueness of the Styx Path and has achieved the status of a hidden evil god. Its strength is far beyond that of ordinary earthly angels.

If not for being suppressed by Lu Yan using some unknown means, ordinary angels on earth would probably not even have a chance to escape in front of him.

The void rift that revealed the imprisonment of the Undying King existed for only a brief moment before quickly closing and disappearing, along with the Undying King's figure.

However, the shock brought about by that fleeting glimpse stirred up a tidal wave in the hearts of all who witnessed it, and it took a long time to subside.

"The Undying King has been suppressed?" a nobleman murmured in disbelief.

"How is that possible? That's a being that coexists with the River Styx, has stolen a portion of its uniqueness, and is a nearly immortal, hidden evil god!" Another member of the royal family was pale, cold sweat soaking through his magnificent robes.

“I remember now. A month ago, there was an extremely violent supernatural fluctuation in the cemetery outside the city. At that time, the church announced that the Inquisition was purging powerful heretics.”

"Now it seems that the incident was the underworld suppressing the Undying King?" A well-informed nobleman connected the clues and came to a conclusion that even he found chilling.

Silence descended once more upon the palace hall, this time a deathly silence tinged with awe and fear.

On the golden throne, Lu Yan's expression remained calm and composed, as if revealing the scene of the Undying King being imprisoned was merely a trivial matter.

Under the watchful eyes of three earthly angels, several living gods and men, and a hall full of dignitaries, he calmly swept his gaze across the entire room and slowly uttered those two words once more.

"continue!"

(End of this chapter)