"Brother!"
Her tearful call drew closer.
Jiang Ming stumbled toward him.
Her body was still covered in horrifying wounds left by the demonic claws, blood dyeing her dress red, but she paid no attention to any of it. She rushed straight to Jiang Fan's side.
Her little hands trembled as she tried to touch Jiang Fan, yet she feared worsening his injuries.
"Brother! How are you?"
"Don't scare me!"
"Don't die! Don't die!"
Tears the size of beans rolled down her childish face, mingling with blood before dripping onto Jiang Fan's shredded collar.
Jiang Fan struggled to move his eyes and looked at Jiang Ming, whose face was streaked with tears. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, wanting to offer her a reassuring smile, but only pulled at the wounds on his face, making his expression look exceedingly stiff.
"Silly girl, don't worry!"
"Cough, cough..."
"I... I won't die!"
His voice was weak. Every word seemed to exhaust the last of his strength.
"It's just that... there's a problem with my cultivation!"
"I may need... need some time to recover!"
His tone was light as he tried to comfort Jiang Ming.
Yet the heaviness in his heart was like a bottomless abyss.
Everything had originally been settled. They had won the Jietian War in overwhelming fashion and secured first place.
The next step had been to take Jiang Ming to the Upper Realm, fulfill his promise to Jiang Ming's clansmen,
and step into a broader world of cultivation.
Never had he expected that, at this final moment, Mo Lou—an enemy long forgotten—would suddenly emerge.
In the end, he had been beaten into the dust in such a tragic manner.
Now, his cultivation was nearly gone, and his Dao foundation had suffered severe damage. He was no different from