Directly ahead stood a golden knife rack, crafted in the form of two dragons entwined around each other, their heads raised, mouths wide open. Resting flatly within the gaping maws of the dragons was a long, blood-red, peerlessly fierce blade. After James Carter entered, he only swept his gaze across the entire area once before being drawn to this long knife.

This blade was different from the ghost-headed broadsword that James Carter usually wielded. Its long blade seemed to shimmer faintly with traces of lightning. The broad surface of the blade, though, shared a similar design with the ghost-headed broadsword—its sole purpose was to make beheading easier. The black hilt, however, looked as if it were lined with sharp teeth, exuding a savage aura, as if grasping it would mean being devoured by a ferocious beast.

Stepping forward, James Carter grabbed the black hilt in one swift motion. Instantly, an overwhelming, frenzied killing intent surged toward James Carter's mind like a tidal wave. Mixed within were countless wails and howls, as if the vengeful spirits of thousands slain by this blade were all madly expressing their rage.

“Why should I fear the dead when I don’t even fear the living?” James Carter sneered coldly, paying it no heed. The surging killing intent, upon reaching James Carter’s mind, seemed to suddenly encounter a firewall, instantly subsiding, unable to stir up even the slightest ripple.

The fierce blade seemed somewhat surprised, and another wave of crazed will was transmitted: “Submit to me, and I will lead you to slay countless Luo Tian immortals! Even if a Great Luo Golden Immortal stands before you, your killing intent will make them tremble!”

It was undeniable that this fierce blade had slain countless powerful immortals, and possessed a natural suppressive killing intent against them. James Carter felt a chill run through his body, an involuntary shiver overtaking him. This was the normal reaction of an immortal facing the Immortal-Slaying Blade.

But after all, James Carter had once been a Great Luo Golden Immortal. With just a momentary daze, he regained his composure, and his boundless, formidable will began to contend with the blade’s own.

No one knew what kind of scene awaited inside the Immortal Execution Platform, and James Carter had not expected that, after entering with a mortal body, he would encounter such a major ordeal.

The fierce blade had actually developed its own will. For an ordinary mortal entering here, there would be only one outcome: submission to the blade, becoming a slave on the Immortal Execution Platform under its control.

“Submit to me!” The savage will pressed down again, and James Carter’s body, unable to withstand the pressure, collapsed to his knees. Facing the mountain-like surge of killing intent, James Carter had to muster all his strength just to keep his mind from being overwhelmed.

Scenes of past grievances, humiliation, and frustration flashed before James Carter’s eyes, prompting a cry from the depths of his soul: “I will never submit!”

The beautiful face of his master at the moment of her death reappeared, giving James Carter a sorrowful smile, which instantly shifted to the happiness he felt when he first obtained the Mingguang Sword.

“You are just a blade—I am the executioner!” James Carter finally shouted, forcing himself back to his feet.

Chapter 8: I Am the Executioner (Part 2)

Boom! All the killing intent and spiritual force surged into James Carter’s body, and James Carter absorbed it all without reservation. In his mind, James Carter remembered only one thing—the words he had just shouted: I am the executioner!

James Carter’s body became a brand new battlefield. But now, the situation was completely different from before. If previously it was the blade’s will, from within the blade, trying to influence James Carter and make him submit, now it was the blade fighting on foreign ground, having entered completely into James Carter’s body.

“Submit to me!”

“Surrender!”

“I will lead you to slay immortals!”

…

No matter what temptations or threats came, James Carter held fast to the clarity in his heart. I am the executioner! This single phrase determined who was master and who was servant. No matter what methods the blade’s will tried, it could do nothing to James Carter’s true self.

At last, the blade’s will grew weaker and weaker. As James Carter steadfastly guarded his heart, it began to merge with the killing aura within him, accumulated from slaying over a hundred people in the mortal world.

Once this merging of killing auras began, it could not be stopped. The entire process was completed as smoothly as breaking through bamboo. In no time, the blade’s will was completely dissolved into James Carter’s own killing aura.

“I am the executioner!” James Carter’s eyes gradually brightened as he spoke these words with absolute conviction. The fierce blade in his hand now rested obediently in his grip, feeling as natural as an extension of his own body, with nothing else remaining. Lifting the blood-red long blade, James Carter narrowed his eyes and added, “You are nothing more than the blade in the executioner’s hand.”

A series of changes and the fusion of killing intent had occurred, yet James Carter hardly noticed what had changed within himself. Standing there gripping the fierce blade, he felt an overwhelming killing aura surging forth. His entire body seemed shrouded in a faint, hazy red glow. With every blink, sharp waves of killing intent radiated from his eyes, sending chills down the spine of anyone who saw him.