Imperial Ambitions and Grand Designs Turn to Dust (Continued)

However, having anticipated this, Yuezheng Yao reached out and grabbed in the direction Li Ban was fleeing. Instantly, the void trembled, and waves condensed into a wall, making him feel as if he were in a swamp, greatly slowing down his speed.

At the same time, Liu Qingqing also transformed into a streak of blood and shot out. As Blood Spirit Body, she did not need Essence Blood as a guide, nor did she need to perform Hand Seals incantations. Using Blood Escape was as simple as breathing. She caught up with him at a speed no less than Li Ban's, and then, with a quick twist and pull, bound him and forcibly dragged him back.

Li Ban still did not give up struggling. His whole body was filled with blood evil energy, and the veins on his face were bulging, making him look like a demon. His aura suddenly rose, and Liu Qingqing suddenly felt that she could not restrain him.

Shang Yu warned, "Be careful, this is a forbidden Blood Abyss technique that sacrifices one's own Cultivation Body for a temporary boost."

However, Si Ming, who fell from the sky, simply snapped his fingers, which brought the strange changes in Li Ban's body to an abrupt halt.

The snap of the fingers wasn't loud, but it sounded extremely abrupt, like a "reversing, please be careful, reversing" sound being abruptly inserted into a beautiful chorus. It immediately disrupted Li Ban's forbidden technique, causing his Qi and Blood to surge backward, his skin to burst inch by inch, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood before collapsing to the ground.

"Why bother? Such a struggle is too unsightly. If one could simply laugh it off and face death with composure, at least one could leave behind the reputation of a hero, earning the respect of future generations."

Having fought twice, Si Ming had already figured out Li Ban's luck patterns and could use the "Heavenly Emperor's Finger." Of course, if Li Ban was in good condition, this trick would be useless. It was like throwing a stone into a rolling river; even if it splashed up a small amount of water, it would be submerged in the blink of an eye. But if you threw a stone into a jar, you might be lucky enough to break the jar as well.

Li Ban retorted angrily, "Do you think you can show your magnanimity by mocking me with words?"

"I never claimed to be magnanimous. Magnanimity is nothing more than forbearance, and I am not a person who can tolerate things. You almost harmed Qingqing's body, so I will take my anger out on you. An eye for an eye. If others say I am petty and vindictive, let them say so."

"If that's the case, then why should I feign magnanimity and seek a reputation as a tyrant from posterity?"

"Because I don't care about reputation, but you do," Si Ming interrupted, seeing that the other party was about to retort. "Don't rush to deny it. You used the name of avenging Shang Yu to launch a revenge attack on the Evil-Slaying Sword School. Everyone knows what really happened. Saying you don't care about reputation is just something to fool the ignorant. Saying it now only lowers your standards."

Li Ban retorted unwillingly, "I don't care about reputation, otherwise why would I have joined the Blood Abyss Sect? I just want to realize my ideals. What's wrong with a man wanting to achieve great things? A true man born in chaotic times should carry a seven-foot sword and ascend to the throne. Now that my ambition has not been fulfilled, how can I die!"

"If you want to achieve great things, there is a righteous and proper Evil Dao to follow. Why take a crooked route? Have you not heard that it is better to obtain things through honest means than through crooked means?"

"That's easy for you to say. I also want to become a leader of the righteous path, with everyone following my call. But in the martial world, one is not in control of one's own destiny. When I declared my ambition, I was only one step away from becoming the leader of the Blood Abyss Sect. How could I give it up? If we switched places, would you be willing to give up your position as the leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance?"

Upon hearing this, Si Ming laughed loudly, "You are blinded by self-interest, yet you assume everyone in the world is like that. The position of the leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance is nothing but a fleeting cloud in my eyes. What is there to be reluctant about? Even if the entire Heavenly Martial Alliance is destroyed in an instant, there is nothing to regret. As long as I can face heaven and earth with a clear conscience, history will judge me!"

Li Ban scoffed, "High-sounding words, hypocritical and pretentious talk. It turns out the leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance is also a self-deceiving person."

Si Ming wasn't angry. He smiled and clapped his hands, creating a drumbeat, and chanted in harmony:

"Heroes rise and fall with the times, once you enter the world of martial arts, years fly by; imperial ambitions are discussed in jest, nothing surpasses a life of carefree revelry. Sword in hand, riding through a storm of ghosts, mountains of bones startle birds into flight; worldly affairs surge like tides, people flow like water, alas, how many return from the martial world?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ban was struck dumb, frozen in place, repeatedly murmuring the verses.

Not only him, Yuezheng Yao Shang Yu felt a sense of awe and enlightenment. The latter was fine, not knowing Si Ming's background, and having already developed a sense of respect for this leader after his previous "righteous argument", she thought it was reasonable for him to utter such verses. The former, however, couldn't help but feel doubtful. How could a young man in the prime of his life compose a poem with such artistic conception? But now was not the time to ask, so he could only keep it to himself.

"What a magnificent empire, built on laughter and grand schemes! Nothing beats a life lived in a drunken stupor!" Li Ban sighed deeply, filled with emotion. "This is the world of martial arts!"

After saying this, it was as if the last thread of his will had been pulled away. Li Ban suddenly lost all his energy and spirit, aged twenty years in an instant, and lost all will to struggle for survival.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say."

Li Ban shook his head, then looked at Shang Yu and asked in a pleading tone, "Yu'er, do you still love me?"

Although Si Ming knew very well that Shang Yu was the one controlling Liu Qingqing's body, he still couldn't help but feel angry seeing her flirting with others while wearing Liu Qingqing's appearance. He thought to himself, "If you dare to say 'I love you,' I'll punch you to your death right now. The sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reborn. Don't even think about dragging your feet and reminiscing about the past and talking about life."

As if sensing Si Ming's resentment, Shang Yu did not answer directly, but said, "Even now, I am still willing to die for you."

Yuezheng Yao opened her mouth, but then stopped herself from speaking.

"Haha, that answer is enough. At least it proves I'm not completely destitute."

Even after losing everything, there were still people willing to stay with him until the end. Li Ban felt deeply gratified, but he couldn't help but ask himself: if he had known this beforehand, would he have chosen the same path again?

To his sadness, he found himself resolutely unable to give an answer.

"It seems I am not worthy of this love."

Shang Yu shook her head, reached out and touched the other person's face, and said, "No, you and I are actually the same kind of people. Although we love each other deeply, we can't live just for love, and we can't live as simply as those infatuated lovers."

Upon hearing this, Li Ban as if he had been saved and said, "That's right. It's precisely because we are the same kind of people that we fell in love with each other. This is my good fortune, and your misfortune."

Whether one is fortunate or unfortunate is not determined by others; like drinking water, only the drinker knows whether it is hot or cold.

Shang Yu took the Wheel-Turning King Sword from Si Ming, pointed it at Li Ban's heart, and asked, "Are you willing to die for me?"

"After surviving for a few years, it's time to return this life to you."

Just like the previous scene, Li Ban closed his eyes again, resigned to his fate.

This time, he did not resist, allowing Shang Yu to pierce his chest with her One Sword.

Instead of using his muscles to stop the bleeding, he let the blood flow away, taking away his body's warmth. Li Ban's consciousness gradually became hazy. In a daze, he seemed to return to that day when the naive young man met the girl who came to take shelter from the rain in a dilapidated temple.

"If only life could stay on that day forever..."

With a mix of anticipation and regret, Li Ban, the number one figure of the Evil Dao and the Blood Abyss Sect Li Ban, breathed his last, exiting the stage in a manner that could hardly be described as spectacular.

Shang Yu stared at the corpse, as if trying to etch the face into her memory. After a long while, she finally drew her sword and returned it to Si Ming.

"To meet someone like the Alliance Leader at the end of my life is my good fortune... It's a pity that I can only repay this kindness in the next life. My wish in this life has been fulfilled, and I have no more regrets. Farewell."

Without any hesitation, Shang Yu closed her eyes after speaking, her breath vanished instantly, and her remnant soul transformed into shimmering soul flames that scattered in all directions. The most refined part of these flames merged into Liu Qingqing's soul, causing her to fall into a daze.

Liu Qingqing lost her balance and fell backward, but Si Ming quickly caught her.

Yuezheng Yao sighed, "She left so decisively; she's truly a dashing person. It's a pity she met the wrong person..."

Si Ming shook his head and said, "Back then, she probably thought she had met the perfect match. Life is a play full of suspense and variables, and it doesn't follow logic. No one knows what will happen in the future. Usually, we can only see the beginning and can't guess the ending. We can't use a tragic ending to deny the beauty of the past."

After a moment of reflection, Si Ming asked Liu Qingqing, who had regained her senses, "How do you feel?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it. I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger, but it also seems the same as before. However, my memory has improved significantly; I can recall many trivial things from my childhood."