The Dao Assimilated, the Bone Shepherd Emerges

At the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain, dark clouds loomed overhead.

At the cliff's edge, the Old Heavenly Master sat cross-legged, his body entwined with thick, ink-like black mist.

The mist writhed like a living thing, relentlessly corroding his flesh.

"Six years... Have I reached my limit...?"

His voice was hoarse and trembling. His once-immortal visage was now marred by pitch-black veins, his sclera stained crimson, yet a glimmer of clarity remained deep within his pupils.

In his mind, a voice—cold, deranged—echoed:

[Heavenly Dao... It's time to fulfill your promise...]

It was the voice of the Bone Shepherd, laced with twisted excitement and greed.

The Old Heavenly Master slowly closed his eyes, offering no rebuttal.

This was his pact with the Bone Shepherd.

After the final cycle of rebirth, he had to merge with the Bone Shepherd—to buy Qin Luo and Su Muwan one last chance.

And now, the time had come.

"Qin Luo... Su Muwan..."

"May you... succeed..."

His murmur was barely audible.

Before the words faded, the black mist around him erupted violently!

BOOM—!

A pillar of darkness shot into the heavens, piercing the sky.

Within the pillar, the Old Heavenly Master's body twisted grotesquely. Bones creaked unnervingly, his skin cracked apart, revealing squirming black flesh beneath.

His consciousness was being devoured—while the Bone Shepherd's will flooded in like a raging tide.

[Hahaha!! At last!!]

The Bone Shepherd's mad laughter shook the heavens.

[Heavenly Dao! You have fallen!!]

[Once I fully assimilate your power... No one in this world can stop me!!]

[And the King... will finally return!!]

[As for Su Muwan... You... must die!!]

...

Half a month later.

At humanity's last stronghold—the Frigid Bastion.

Under a bleak sky, a steel-reinforced wall stretched for miles.

The towering ramparts bore the scars of countless battles, the energy shields flickering an unstable blue, as if on the verge of collapse.

Beyond the wall lay an endless expanse of scorched earth.

Upon it, a tide of abominations surged—an ocean of grotesque forms. Some resembled giant wolves, others twisted humanoids.

Some were nothing more than masses of writhing flesh, studded with crimson eyes and jagged teeth.

The stench of rot and blood hung thick in the air, nauseating.

Atop the wall, Su Muwan stood motionless as a pine.

The Frigid Force, the essence of immortals and demons, the aura of the Heavenly Dao—all merged flawlessly within her, placing her at the pinnacle of human power.

Yet her gaze was grave.

"Director Su! The scouts report!"

An officer rushed forward, his face ashen.

"The abomination tide is twenty kilometers away! Numbers... beyond estimation! And..."

He swallowed hard, voice trembling.

"They've detected... over three hundred S-rank abominations!"

A single S-rank abomination could level a city.

Now, there were three hundred.

And that didn't even account for the rest—numbers so vast the scanners couldn't quantify them.

Su Muwan remained composed, nodding faintly. "Understood. Mobilize all combat units."

The officer hesitated. "Director Su... Can we really win?"

She glanced at him, as if recalling something, and answered firmly: "Yes."

Her voice was soft, yet brooked no doubt.

The officer stiffened, then snapped a salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

Once he left, Su Muwan turned back to the horizon.

Her gaze pierced the gloom, locking onto figures at the forefront of the abomination tide—

Humanoid abominations.

They wore tattered suits, dresses, even gold-rimmed glasses—deceptively human, save for their mouths, split ear to ear with rows of jagged teeth.

"So it's them..."

Su Muwan murmured.

Their presence was all too familiar—foes she had faced in her past life.

"The Bone Shepherd's 'children'... have come."

—The Gluttony Series.

In her past life, these abominations had followed the Bone Shepherd in invading countless worlds.

Each possessed a unique "rule" ability—deadly beyond measure.

And now, they had grown even stronger.

"Keh keh keh..."

Among the horde, a suited male abomination adjusted its glasses, licking its lips with a crimson tongue.

"Su Muwan... Long time no see..."

Its voice was a venomous hiss.

Su Muwan smirked. "What? Did the insignificant trash I crushed with one slap in my past life come back for a second round?"

The suited abomination froze, then snarled: "You dare?!"

It raised a hand—its palm splitting open into a gaping maw!

Gluttony Rule: Soul-Devouring Domain!!

HUM—!

A black domain erupted, swallowing everything within a kilometer radius!

Within it, all spiritual energy would be drained—until nothing remained!

Yet—

Su Muwan didn't budge. She didn't even lift a finger.

"That's it?"

With a scoff, she tapped the ground lightly with her foot.

CRACK!

The Frigid Force surged like a tidal wave—freezing the domain solid in an instant!

The suited abomination's pupils shrank. "Impossible! My rule—"

"Your rules mean nothing to me."

In a flash, Su Muwan appeared before it, her hand darting out like lightning—gripping its throat!

"Last time, I smashed you. This time..."

Her fingers clenched.

"I'll just crush you outright."

SPLAT—!

The abomination's head exploded like a melon, black blood spraying!

The headless corpse staggered back, flesh writhing at its neck—attempting to regenerate.

Su Muwan flicked her wrist.

The Frigid Force crystallized into countless ice blades—shredding it to pieces!

"Next."

Her cold gaze swept over the remaining abominations, brimming with disdain.

Silence.

Both human defenders and abominations stared in shock.

A Gluttony-class abomination—annihilated in seconds!

ROAR—!!

The abomination tide erupted into frenzy!

Dozens of S-rank abominations lunged forward, their rule abilities erupting in unison!

Soul-Consuming Rule! Decay Rule! Spatial Rule!!!

...

A storm of lethal powers hurtled toward Su Muwan!

On the walls, soldiers paled. Some shut their eyes in despair.

Yet—

"Too slow."

Her voice was calm as still water.

HUM!

Time itself seemed to freeze.

Her figure blurred into an azure streak, weaving through the horde—the Frigid Force trailing her like a shadow!

THUD!

A wolf-like abomination had its chest punched through!

CRUNCH!

A female abomination in glasses froze into an ice sculpture—then shattered under a kick!

SLICE—!

A spatial-rule abomination's head flew, its dying expression one of disbelief!

Su Muwan moved with lethal grace—every strike precise, ruthless, without a single wasted motion.

Six years of slaughter, three lifetimes of combat—had honed her instincts to perfection.

She flicked the black blood off her hand, her gaze sweeping over the horde of abominations as she spoke coolly, "After all this time, you lot haven’t improved one bit."

"Is there any trick besides fighting by exploiting the rules?"

The power of rules meant nothing to Su Muwan now.

As her words faded—

[Su Muwan, you’re as insufferable as ever.]

A savage, mocking voice pierced down from the sky, sharp enough to make eardrums throb.

Su Muwan’s eyes sharpened, her head snapping upward.

Soldiers and awakened defenders along the human frontlines also turned their eyes skyward—only for their pupils to constrict in the next second, their bodies freezing stiff.

There, spanning the heavens, an enormous skeletal visage slowly materialized, its shadow vast enough to blot out the entire sky.

Ghostly green flames flickered within its hollow eye sockets, and the grinding of its jawbone sent a bone-chilling click-clack echoing through the air.

The Bone Shepherd!

"So it’s really you…"