Gu Yuena lowered her head, clearly feeling her heart, which had lain dormant for countless years, beating wildly.
It was a strange yet achingly familiar flutter.
"That man named Tang San—"
At last, she couldn't help speaking softly, breaking the silence.
"You really just let him go?"
"The Asura Divine Power within him is no small matter. It's tied to the Divine Realm's karma. If he's allowed to grow stronger, I'm afraid—"
Before she could finish, Qian Ye stopped walking.
He turned to face Gu Yuena, a playful smile on his face.
"Are you worried about him?"
"No—I—"
Gu Yuena was at a loss for words. She wanted to explain that she was worried the Divine Realm's schemes would affect Qian Ye, but beneath his all-seeing gaze, any words she could offer seemed pale.
"I just think you should pull up the weeds by the roots."
In the end, she settled on an excuse.
Hearing this, Qian Ye chuckled.
He raised his other hand and gently brushed the tip of Gu Yuena's pert nose.
The gesture was deeply intimate.
Gu Yuena's delicate body trembled again. The blush on her cheeks spread almost to her snow-white neck.
"Don't worry."
Qian Ye's voice held a reassuring magic.
"She's nothing but an ant. Even with a scrap of a God King's favor, she's still an ant."
"I'm keeping him around for a reason."
His gaze drifted toward Martial Soul Hall City, deep and unfathomable, as if it could pierce endless space.
Gu Yuena followed his gaze. Her heart stirred as she faintly guessed what he meant.
The "reason" Qian Ye had mentioned—could it be for that person?
The girl who had inherited the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, hailed as the Angel God's envoy in the mortal world: Qian Renxue.
"All right."
Qian Ye turned back and took her hand again.
"Let's not talk about such unpleasant things."
"I won't be able to stay long this time. I'll have to leave soon."
At the word "leave," Gu Yuena's heart clenched.
Without thinking, she clasped Qian Ye's hand, gripping it so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"You—you're leaving again?"
Her voice carried a tremor and a plea she hadn't even noticed herself.
"Where are you going?"
"How long until you come back?"
Her violet eyes, usually haughty enough to look down on the world, were now filled with anxiety and reluctance.
Seeing her like this, Qian Ye sighed inwardly.
How could he not want to stay here with her by Lake of Life, and watch ten thousand years of spring and autumn pass?
But there were things he had to do.
"To a faraway place, to settle some old debts."
Qian Ye didn't elaborate. He only patted the back of her hand to comfort her.
"As for when I'll be back—"
"Soonest, in a thousand years. At the latest—hard to say."
A thousand years!
For mortals, that meant several lifetimes.
But for beings like them, it was no more than a flick of the fingers.
Still, to Gu Yuena, that stretch of time felt far too long.
Long enough for the hope that had just begun to kindle in her heart to plunge back into an icy abyss.
She parted her lips, with so much she wanted to say.
She wanted to ask him if he could stay.
She wanted to tell him how tired and lonely she had been all these years, all by herself.
She wanted to confess the longing she had buried in her heart for hundreds of thousands of years—a feeling that had long since surpassed friendship and kinship.
But when the words reached her lips, she couldn't utter a single one.
She couldn't.
The Divine Realm had long since turned its gaze upon Douluo Continent.
Tang San's arrival was the best proof of that.
She couldn't let her selfish feelings drag Qian Ye into the heart of this storm.
She knew he had more important things to do.
The burdens he bore were far heavier than she could imagine.
"I—"
Gu Yuena took a deep breath, forcing down the surging emotions in her heart and trying to make her voice sound calm.
"I'll wait for you."
Just three simple words, yet heavier than any oath.
Qian Ye gazed at her. In those violet eyes, he understood all the restraint and worry she kept hidden.
He smiled, but said nothing more.
He simply drew her gently into his arms.
There was no desire in the embrace, only the purest comfort between two people reunited after a long separation.
A moment later, Qian Ye let her go.
"Take care of yourself."
"Wait for me."
As his words fell, his figure turned into specks of starlight and vanished from the world.
No rift in space. No ripple in the laws.
He simply disappeared, as naturally as if he had never been there at all.
By Lake of Life, Gu Yuena was left standing alone, staring blankly into the distance.
She lifted a hand and gently touched her cheek, still warm from his embrace. Before she knew it, her eyes had reddened again.
"Mm. I'll wait for you..."
She murmured softly. The wind carried her voice away, blending it into the tranquil scenery of lake and mountains.
Meanwhile.
Deep within the Angel Temple in Martial Soul Hall City.
Qian Ye's figure appeared silently inside a quiet room.
He glanced at Qian Renxue, who sat cross-legged on a cushion, meditating with her eyes closed. A softness flickered in his eyes, subtle and barely perceptible.
There was a simple reason he had spared Tang San.
Qian Renxue's path had been too smooth.
As a descendant of the Qian Clan who had inherited the Angel God's divine position, she had a future that was almost entirely smooth sailing.
But no towering tree could grow in a greenhouse.
True powerhouses had all fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Character and will were both indispensable.
Tang San was the whetstone he had chosen for Qian Renxue.
A whetstone hard enough—and mad enough.
Only by overcoming this stumbling block could Qian Renxue shed her immaturity and complete her final transformation.
As for those old fogeys in the Divine Realm—
Qian Ye picked up the teacup on the table and took a light sip.
If they behaved themselves, so be it.
But if they dared to intervene personally—
A cool smile touched Qian Ye's lips.
Then he would kill them.
If a god made a move, he would kill the god.
If a God King made a move—
Then he would slaughter the God King too.
This world was simply too small, and far too dull.
Just then, Qian Renxue slowly opened her eyes.
Sensing that familiar aura, she immediately rose from the cushion and bowed respectfully.
"Sword Ancestor."
Her voice was cool and reverent.
"Mm."
Qian Ye set down his teacup and said calmly, "What did you learn from your battle with Tang San?"
Qian Renxue pondered for a moment, then answered seriously, "Tang San's Sea God Trident was fierce and domineering, striking with sweeping force. It contained the boundless might of the ocean."
"My Angel Holy Sword was no weaker in terms of divine power, but when it came to momentum, I was a step behind."
"If you hadn't bestowed that broken sword upon me, allowing me to understand how softness could overcome strength and how a pinpoint strike could break through a broad attack, I might have lost that battle."
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