Yun You remained silent, saying nothing.

In fact, she had to admit that Hikamu's words before his death were indeed correct.

The thrill of killing certainly existed; it had clung to her since her first kill and had grown stronger and more apparent over time.

Just a moment ago, when she concocted a series of schemes to gradually corner Hikamu, this thrill reached its peak.

It was precisely for this reason that the King urged her to continue following her heart and end her opponent with even more cruel methods.

After all, the King was still a part of her personality, and if this thrill didn't exist, the King wouldn't have spoken as he did.

"Should I follow the King's advice?"

Yun You couldn't help but ponder.

She vaguely felt that she was about to achieve a "breakthrough."

From Tier Two, breakthrough to Tier Three.

In fact, her physical condition had already met the requirements for the breakthrough; it was only because of the existence of the three sequences that she had to meet the requirements of each one.

The requirements of the Mad Dog and the Invisible were easy to satisfy, as long as she trained, but the lord required "Cultivating the Heart."

In the past, Yun You never understood what exactly this so-called Cultivating the Heart entailed.

But now she understood.

Cultivating the Heart actually refers to a major change in one's mindset, a metamorphosis or growth.

It doesn't require Yun You's mental state to change positively; as long as the change is significant enough, it would meet the lord's promotion conditions.

And now, set before Yun You were two distinctly different paths to ascension.

One was to accept the "self," as Hikamu said, to no longer suppress her nature, to pursue the thrill and desire brought by killing, indulging in depravity, or become an extreme egoist.

The other was to restrain her desires, becoming more mature and composed.

She was no longer fighting alone; she had her own force, cherished companions and friends, and she couldn't disregard them just to satisfy her own desires.

Old Jin once told her this—human development, in essence, is about using ever-improving moral laws to restrain those primitive and savage desires.

In other words, humans are higher beings; if they indulge in depravity, allowing desire to dictate their actions, they are no longer humans but beasts that should be driven away.

Though Yun You once promised the King that she would become an existence like him, doing as she pleased, when faced with a choice, she inevitably hesitated, even forgetting the thrill of vengeance a little.

The King said no more; perhaps he had always intended to persuade Yun You to choose to become the King, but at this point, he would still respect the girl's own thoughts.

"Do you think there's a possibility..."

After contemplating for a moment, Yun You's eyes suddenly lit up, and she tentatively asked, "I mean, is it possible..."

"Can I be both a 'King' and a rational 'person'?"

"When I need the King's character and strength, I play the King; and when I need rationality, when I don't want desire to interfere with my thoughts, I play the person."

"Having both sets of faces, mastering both forces simultaneously...could this be a path as well?"

"..."

The King didn't speak, but Yun You could clearly feel that the corners of the King's non-existent mouth probably twitched, and the expression was likely somewhat speechless.

"Good idea."

After a long time, the King reluctantly squeezed out a sentence.

"But here's the problem, how will you do it? Can you split your mind and heart into two, letting them manage different mental states?"

Yun You shook her head.

"Actually, I think things may not be as difficult as you imagine."

"Humans are inherently complex creatures; they can be gentle fathers and mothers, yet also ruthless assassins and butchers. These don't conflict...as long as they use an appropriate mental state at the appropriate time."

"As a human, could I not achieve something this simple?"

"You..."

Hearing this, for the first time, the eloquent King was somewhat at a loss for words.

After a long pause, she finally let out a gentle sigh, knowing that since Yun You had said this, it proved the girl's mind was made up, and no amount of advice could sway her, not even a herd of bulls could change her mind.

"Fine, suit yourself."

The King's voice gradually faded away, but at the end, she didn't forget to remind, "But I must tell you, splitting your mental state is far from as simple as you imagine."

"The consequences are unpredictable...whether the outcome is good or bad, no one knows."

"If you're determined to walk down this path, I can only wish you good luck."

"I hope you won't regret it."

Yun You smiled and shook her head.

"I never regret."

As she finished her words, her momentum soared further; the power belonging to the Death God Sequence continuously broke through!

The shackles of her realm shattered at that moment, causing the strength of her physique and the aura of Sur Particles on her body to strengthen as if nourished by fertilizer like spring bamboo shoots.

Tier Three, achieved!

"Breakthrough during battle?!!"

Witnessing Yun You's skyrocketing momentum, everyone in the Supreme Heaven Purification Field was shaken.

Breaking through during battle is not uncommon.

After all, life-and-death struggles maximize the potential of a Death God, forcing them to break their shackles to seek a sliver of hope for survival.

But the problem was, Yun You didn't face any life-and-death crises; she was in a dominant position from start to finish!

Since when did such a one-sided battle become an opportunity for breakthrough?

This completely defied their understanding.

However, in the arena, Hikamu was obviously oblivious to all this; his dying brain had lost its ability to sense momentum, only knowing that Yun You was slowly approaching to finally end his suffering.

"Come...!"

He sneered and shouted fiercely, "Give me a painful death! Let me remember your face!"

However, what greeted him wasn't Yun You's torment but a swift, clean cut.

Yun You did not continue to toy with his broken body; she merely waved her hand, unleashing a gust of wind, severing Hikamu's windpipe.

"The revenge part concluded just a moment ago."

"As for now..."

Yun You flicked her palm, scattering the remaining blood stains on her hand.

"I am merely fulfilling the duty of a gladiator, ending my opponent's life."

"Don't give yourself undue credit; you and I are completely different."

Saying this, Yun You suddenly wanted to take a good breath of the Duel Arena's air, so she gently grasped her mask but did not completely remove it, only slightly lifting it to reveal her mouth and eyes.

And at that moment, clinging to the thought of "wanting to see what the person who takes my life looks like," Hikamu used his last bit of strength to lift his gaze slightly, just in time to see Yun You's eyes.

They were a pair of very peculiar eyes, with vertical pupils resembling some kind of serpent, and purely red, bright, somewhat like crimson stars, devoid of any emotion.

Human eyes aren't supposed to be this color; at least in unaltered conditions, pupils should never appear this pure red, red enough to be unsettling.

Hikamu always felt that these eyes should have something in them, like stars, diamonds, flowers...or maybe decorative hearts.

Yet in reality, they contained nothing—just pure crimson, without a hint of imperfection. But if you looked carefully, the eyes felt profound, as if hiding something.

"...!"

Suddenly, Hikamu remembered something about these red eyes, a legend.

One that concerned Nest City, no...perhaps the fate of the entire world.

He used to think it was a fabricated lie, a mythical story.

But now it seemed...

The legends might not have been unfounded.

"Calamity...! Calamity...!"

Hikamu opened his mouth wide, eyes widening, as if wanting to say something...

But with his windpipe severed, he ultimately couldn't utter a word, and in shock, breathed his last.

Tier Three Apprentice Death God, Brigitte Hikamu, one of the true culprits of the massacre, deceased.

Died at age 37.