One Fragment of the Future: The Path of the King Sovereign
Dojo, an invisible pressure emanated like solidified tide.
Lv Yingxin continued speaking, her clear and cool voice flowing as if recounting a magnificent epic.
"In the future, you will venture into Foreign Lands alone."
"It didn't infiltrate; it descended with unstoppable force."
"And then... he rose to prominence because of a single sword strike."
"Before an ancient altar, you pulled out the broken sword embedded in the bones of Myriad Races. As the sword rang out, half of the capital city of this Foreign Lands felt a tremor deep within its bloodline."
"You have become the King Sovereign. The first Human Race in the history of this Foreign Lands to ascend the throne."
Qin Wangchuan's fingers twitched slightly, but he did not interrupt.
This information is very useful.
Lv Yingxin's gaze remained unfocused; she seemed lost in fragments of memory from a distant time and place.
"And then, you began your path to annihilate the kings."
"That road is difficult to travel."
"The Black Mist is constantly eroding your body and Divine Soul. The forces under those King Sovereign are deeply entrenched, and you... are all alone."
"At least initially, you were almost all alone."
"But even so."
"You still killed the first King Sovereign, beheaded him with that broken sword, and hung his head above his royal city."
"The second, the third... When you slay the third King Sovereign, the entire Foreign Lands finally realized that you were not an insect that could be crushed at will, but a catastrophe about to engulf everything."
"For the first and only time, all the remaining King Sovereign, those beings who have fought each other for millions of years and wish the other would die immediately, have united."
"They jointly issued a kill order."
"The entire Foreign Lands, all races, and all forces must participate in the hunt for you."
"That was the largest and most brutal hunt in the history of this Foreign Lands, with only one target: a Human Race had ventured into this Foreign Lands alone and dared to attempt to annihilate all the King Sovereign."
Qin Wangchuan's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
He could almost see the scene: beneath a sky shrouded in Black Mist, countless eyes of Alien Race lit up in the darkness, like a dense array of stars, each one gleaming with a chilling Killing Intent.
"But you held on."
For the first time, a faint hint of admiration appeared in Lv Yingxin's voice. "Not only did you hold on, you grew stronger with each battle."
"You infected and conquered more and more Alien Race in the battle. They began to believe in your 'unification of the two realms' and the future you depicted."
"Your power grew like a snowball. Finally, one day..."
She paused.
Those golden eyes were focused on Qin Wangchuan's face, yet it was as if through him they saw another person from another time and space.
You stand before me.
"At that time, I was the heir to the [Banquet Royal Court], Princess from Foreign Lands, and one of the King Sovereign."
"We've faced off countless times."
"Sometimes I'm the one hunting you down, sometimes you're the one besieging me. That final battle lasted a full ten days and nine nights."
In the end, I lost.
"You didn't kill me, but captured me, intending to exploit my identity and abilities."
As Lv Yingxin finished speaking, she suddenly chuckled softly.
Later, over time, feelings developed between them.
She repeated those four words, her voice as soft as a sigh, "And so I became one of your concubines."
Not just concubines, but only one of them.
Is this the predetermined path for the future?
Qin Wangchuan listened quietly, but his brows furrowed slightly.
What she described was not the "future of our time" that he cared about, but rather a possible fragment on a distant tributary of time.
It offers almost no reference value for my current choices.
Not to mention...
Qin Wangchuan raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as he looked at her, his tone tinged with doubt, "Feelings developed over time?"
He has always adhered to the principle of "no debts, no obligations" when it comes to relationships.
Without special causal entanglements, the so-called "love growing over time" could never happen to me.
It's an obvious scam.
Lv Yingxin met his gaze, and the faint smile on her lips deepened slightly.
"Of course it's not just a simple case of feelings developing over time."
"But at a certain moment, I was moved."
Her voice gradually softened, as if leading one into a long-ago dream:
"After I was captured by you, the Banquet Royal Court began hunting you down—to reclaim me, and also to kill you."
"Our enemy was too strong. You were seriously injured in our battle. We had no choice but to flee."
"After fleeing for seven days and seven nights, they finally escaped to the edge of the Royal Court's territory, to a Foreign Lands, exotic mountain range called 'Thousand Skull Mountain'."
"By simply crossing this mountain path, we can rendezvous with the reinforcements who are coming to meet us and temporarily escape the pursuit."
My opinion of you changed within those mountains.
In the distant future.
Foreign Lands Thousand Skull Mountains
The mountain is a dark, blood-brown color, with jagged rocks that resemble twisted bones piercing the sky.
The Black Mist was exceptionally dense here, almost solidifying into a viscous liquid, slowly flowing between the rock crevices.
A group of about thirty people were struggling to make their way through a narrow mountain crevice.
The one leading them was Qin Wangchuan —but that was Qin Wangchuan from another time and space.
He had multiple wounds on his body, the bloodstains of which had long since dried and turned black, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's.
In the middle of the group, Lv Yingxin's hands were bound by dark gold rune chains, her black hair sticking messily to her pale cheeks.
She walked steadily, but the slight rise and fall of her chest betrayed her exhaustion.
Those golden eyes stared blankly ahead, as if they were indifferent to everything.
"Quick! The rendezvous point is just across this mountain!" a scaly-tailed Alien Race roared hoarsely. "Damn it, after being chased for so long, we're finally safe."
The team's spirits lifted, and they quickened their pace.
The mountain crevice was so narrow that only one person could pass at a time; the Rock Wall were slippery and cold, and only a sliver of pale light shone overhead.
Finally, the light of the exit appeared ahead.
"We've arrived!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
However.
Before us, at the end of the mountain crevice, was not an open space, but a stone chamber.
Countless pale skulls were roughly inserted into the soil and rock crevices, densely packed, stretching to the horizon.
The empty eye sockets stared intently at the path they had come from, gleaming with a chilling light in the dim glow.
The group Deathly Stillness for a moment, then murmurs broke out.
"It's the Bone Clan's sacrificial site..." an Alien Race follower from another race in the group said in a hoarse voice, "This clan has a custom where, after a member dies, their skull is hung outside for descendants to examine and worship, while the body is buried in the ground, returning to their ancestral land."
The other companion didn't care about any of that.
He quickly stepped over the skull, touched the Rock Wall at the far end, and shouted excitedly after exploring it.
"The Rock Wall isn't too thick! With our combined strength, we can break through it! Once we get through here, we can immediately rendezvous with our reinforcements and shake off our pursuers." As he spoke, the man looked at Qin Wangchuan with burning eyes, waiting for a single command.
All eyes were on him.
The sounds of panting, the faint distant sounds of pursuit, mingled with the eerie Deathly Stillness of the place.
Qin Wangchuan's gaze slowly swept over the silent skulls, and he remained silent for a moment.
Then, he uttered four words, clear and resolute:
"Take a detour."
Those few words were like cold water poured into boiling oil.
The team instantly erupted!