The Fire Dragon King Fled to Natlan After Losing Half His Body! The Grass Dragon Apep Swallowed the Abyss and Defied Heavenly Principles; A Descent over Sumeru

This purge was all too familiar to them.

The Light Screen focused once more.

On a stretch of scorched earth, a colossal dragon wreathed in flames was locked in a fierce battle with one of the "Shadows of Heavenly Principles." It was unbelievably fierce; every breath melted the earth, and every sweep of its tail shattered mountains.

Yet its opponent was far too powerful. The shadow merely raised a hand, and space froze. No matter how fiercely the Dragon Flame surged, it could not harm the shadow in the slightest.

At last, a black spear of light plunged from the sky, piercing half the fire dragon's body with pinpoint accuracy. Flesh, bone, and scales were all annihilated by that single blow.

The fire dragon let out a cry of agony. It did not fight on. Instead, it summoned the last of its strength, dragged its battered body through a tear in space, and fled in a pitiful state to an unknown volcanic land.

[The Fire Dragon King paid the price of having half his body severed and fled to Natlan, where he vanished without a trace.]

Elsewhere in the Divine Realm.

Ji Dong clenched his fists. He could almost feel the agony of a soul being scorched. As the wielder of Extreme Fire, he felt a natural affinity with the fire dragon.

"To survive, he severed half of himself..." Lie Yan sighed softly beside him, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"Better to be shattered like jade than remain intact like a roof tile. But sometimes, you have to remain intact so you'll have the chance to shatter like jade someday." Zhou Weiqing's expression had grown serious, too. "As long as you're alive, there's hope. That fire dragon's one tough bastard."

However, not all the Dragon Kings chose to flee.

The scene shifted to a vast desert. At its center lay a rainforest, heavily corrupted by Abyss Power. A colossal dragon, its body emerald green and coiled like a mass of vines, roared at the sky.

There was no fear in its eyes, only boundless madness and resolve.

[The Grass Dragon King, Apep, chose to charge into the corrupted heart of Sumeru. He tried to devour the Abyss Power and perish alongside the Lapdog of Heavenly Principles who had descended there.]

As everyone watched, Apep plunged into the foulest depths of darkness.

Its body began to twist, strange black patterns appearing across its emerald scales. Its pure life force clashed violently with the filthy Abyss Power. Its body swelled and withered by turns, and its roars grew hoarse and pained.

It was willingly embracing the power it despised most, all to obtain a weapon with which to avenge itself on its enemy.

"Mad... This is madness..." Rong Nianbing murmured. As the God of Emotion, he could clearly sense the sheer despair and hatred in the Grass Dragon's heart.

"To Feed Demon with Own Body... What a tragic act of defiance." Ye Yinzhu shook his head. Beside him, Zi silently took his hand.

"She just... doesn't want to run anymore," Zi said softly.

God of Death A'Dai watched in silence. For the first time, a complicated expression appeared on his wooden face. "When death becomes the only weapon, life itself becomes a tragedy."

Hai Long and Tian Hen exchanged a glance. They had both faced desperate situations and given everything to protect what mattered. They understood Apep's choice. When every other path had been blocked, this was the only road of destruction left.

Shrek Academy.

"I take back what I said before." Bei Bei's face had gone pale. "This isn't about the winners suffering more than the losers. The winners want everyone who dares defy them to suffer a thousand times worse than the losers!"

"Root them out. Leave no one alive." Xu Sanshi had dropped his usual irreverence, a chill creeping into his voice. "Is this the cornerstone of the New Order? Can a throne built on the bones of the old age's kings ever be secure?"

"It's corrupting..." He Caitou stared at Apep's twisted body on the Light Screen. "It's using one kind of corruption to fight another. No matter the outcome, that land will become a place where life cannot survive."

Star Luo Empire.

Dai Hao slammed his fist down on the table.

"Well done, Heavenly Principles! What a purge!" He laughed in fury. "Is this how Deities rule? Those who obey prosper, and those who resist perish! Wipe out every source of instability and build an ironclad realm under absolute control!"

Emperor Xue Ye leaned back slightly in his chair, all color drained from his face.

What he saw was a political purge more brutal than war. Phanes had won the war, but his rule was on shaky ground, especially with his grievous injuries and the Curse weighing on him. So his "shadows" had to clear away every obstacle in the bloodiest and most efficient way possible.

The Dragon Clan was the greatest obstacle of all.

"A brand-new era begins with total extermination..." Emperor Xue Ye's voice was hoarse. "Teyvat's future will probably be even darker than its past."

The Light Screen's image finally settled on the Grass Dragon King Apep's hideous form, so thoroughly corrupted by the Abyss that it was no longer recognizable. He coiled at the heart of the darkness, as if waiting for his enemy to arrive.

Meanwhile, across Teyvat, the surviving creatures trembled as they awaited their New God.

A God whose rule was built on slaughter and the Curse.

Divine Realm.

Chang Gongwei let out a long sigh. "He conquered the world with force, but he'll never conquer the hearts of its people. The seeds of hatred have already been scattered across Teyvat with the Dragon Clan's blood."

Lei Xiang furrowed his brow. "Can a world like this really be said to have been 'saved'?"

Tang San gazed at the Light Screen and spoke slowly, his voice carrying throughout the entire God Realm Committee.

"There are two kinds of order."

"One is all things coexisting and balancing one another, seeking harmony under the Rules. The other..."

He paused, gazing at the land stained with blood and corruption.

"Is the stillness of the dead."

Apep's form, utterly twisted by the Abyss, slowly faded from the Light Screen. But the sheer despair and hatred seemed to pierce through time and space, lingering in everyone's hearts.

The scene abruptly changed. The perspective soared higher and higher, passing over mountains and rivers, until it hovered above the entire continent of Sumeru. The vast, flourishing primeval rainforest stretched as far as the eye could see, a green jewel embedded in the land.

Then, the sky darkened.

It was not the sun being hidden by clouds, but a shadow of a higher order. A colossal object, almost impossible to describe, slowly descended from the highest reaches of Sky Island.

It was hundreds, even thousands of times larger than the "Cold Heaven Nail" that had destroyed the Dragon King's palace. And instead of mere frigidness, it was wrapped in chains of law—four distinct Laws, perfectly fused together.