Counterattack Toward the Setting Sun

Yun Jingheng turned and ran towards the back mountain.

His steps were steady, so steady that each tremor from his feet was just an ordinary undulation of the ground.

The dark purple tail flames, at the God-Slaying Level, stretched his shadow long. Amidst the burning maple forest and the collapsed ruins, the shadow appeared thin and faint, as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

But he didn't look back, not even once.

Zhuo Shi's clenched fist hung at his side, his knuckles cracking.

Long Yeyue reached out to stop Cai Yue'er, who wanted to chase after them, but she also turned her face away, her silver hair obscuring her expression.

The Titled Douluo stood still, no one spoke, no one moved.

Yun Ming did not give chase. He was the Sea God Pavilion Master, the highest commander of Shrek, and the backbone of thousands of teachers and students. He could not chase after them.

Yun Jingheng pushed him away with light force, but the push landed precisely on the hidden wound in his chest.

My son knows; my son knows everything.

I knew he was injured, I knew he would try to stop me, and I knew that if I didn't push him away, he would definitely follow me.

So he pushed him away first.

Use the force a father knows best to push a son in a spot he knows best.

"All Titled Douluo —enter the underground as planned, and split up to guard the various entrances. There are still scattered Evil Soul Master inside the city, and Qiangu Dongfeng is lying in ambush outside the city. There are still thousands of students waiting for dawn underground."

Yun Ming's voice was hoarse, but every word was as if nailed into the air, without the slightest tremor, "Don't stand still. This is his order."

He paused, looked down at his empty palms.

The hands that held up the entire Shrek dome were now holding nothing. He said, "Leave the nearest entrance open for him to return."

Yun Jingheng walked through the maple forest.

The old maple tree's broken branches made a faint cracking sound beneath his feet, each sound like a reminder: the direction you are running is the Destruction program you designed yourself.

He leaped over a collapsed stone wall and landed in front of a half-collapsed rock face on the back mountain. The camouflage rubble of the Launch Shaft had been mostly blown away by the previous shockwave, revealing the dark gray metal hatch below.

He placed his palm on the identification panel, the hatch emitted a dull hum, popped open, and the control panel automatically lit up.

The launch sequence for the two nuclear missiles was ready, and the automatic triggering protocol remained locked in standby mode—as expected, the automatic triggering was damaged by the shockwave.

He placed his palm on the verification panel in the center of the console, and the iris scanner descended from above his head, while the microphone lit up with a green light.

"Manual trigger confirmation. First missile, target locked—high-altitude self-destruct, intercept God-Slaying Level. Second missile, target locked— Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, top floor of the Heavenly Spirit Tower."

He released his grip, took two steps back, leaned his back against the cold metal wall of the Launch Shaft, and slowly exhaled.

They're all about to die, why would I care if it affects others? What a joke!

He could feel the God-Slaying Level rapidly approaching from above, its dark purple pressure penetrating through fifteen meters of soil and metal shell, causing his skin to tingle slightly.

five.

Should we run?

Forget it, I'm too tired, I can't run anymore. Let's close the door. I have another enclosed room downstairs where I can hide for a while.

Four.

three.

He closed his eyes.

two.

He leaned his back against the cold metal wall and slowly exhaled.

one.

The first nuclear bomb was launched.

"Boom--!!!"

Ya Li stood in the center of the shelter's hall, emerald green healing light flowing from her fingertips as she repaired the wound of an Inner Court disciple whose shoulder had been injured by falling rocks.

Her technique remained precise and gentle, with every bit of Soul Power used where it was most needed.

Every time the shelter door opened, she would look up at it.

This time she heard footsteps, not just one person, but many people.

She was all too familiar with the aura of Titled Douluo.

The door opened.

Yun Ming walked at the very front.

Behind him were Zhuo Shi, Long Yeyue, Cai Yue'er, Feng Wuyu, Zang Xin, and two other members of the Tang Sect.

Everyone's robes were tattered, and their faces were covered in ashes and blood, but none of them wore expressions of relief or joy at surviving a catastrophe.

Yun Ming raised his head and met her gaze across the bustling crowd in the hall.

Ya Li's hand stopped.

It simply stopped, without trembling.

She looked at Yun Ming, at Zhuo Shi's lowered head, at Long Yeyue's turned face away, and at Cai Yue'er wiping the corner of her eye with her finger.

Her gaze passed over them, over the wounded who were being helped in, and over the shelter door.

The entrance was empty; no one came in anymore.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Her tears welled up in her eyes several times, but she didn't let them fall.

She stood there with her back straight, just like she always did when she stood at the entrance of the Sea God Pavilion waiting for her son to get out of school.

But her fingers started to tremble, not with the healing light, but her whole hand was shaking, from her fingertips all the way to her shoulder.

A loud noise came from the open doorway.

Yun Ming turned around abruptly and rushed to the door.

"Etc."

Yun Ming stopped and turned to look at it.

The Good Corpse stepped forward from behind her.

It didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently placed its hand on Ya Li's trembling hand.

Ya Li lowered her head and looked at the hand, a hand formed from Moonlight, radiating a soft silver-white light, with the same knuckles and palm lines as the original. The pressure on the back of her hand was exactly the same as when Yun Jingheng held her hand when she was a child.

Her body began to tremble slightly.

She grasped the Good Corpse's hand, then slowly raised her other hand, her fingertips hovering beside the Good Corpse's cheek.

She didn't ask, "Is he alright?" or "When is he coming back?"

She simply looked at the Good Corpse, at this image formed from Moonlight that had separated from her son, at the seven Soul Ring at his feet that were exactly the same as the original body, and at his face, whose features were blurred by the light but still revealed a stubbornness.

The Good Corpse did not speak, but simply placed Ya Li's hand gently on its heart.

There is no heartbeat there; a body formed from Moonlight needs no heartbeat.

But there was an extremely bright light there.

That was the original light of the Moon Palace, the core of good intentions that Yun Jingheng personally entrusted when he severed the Good Corpse.

As long as this light remains, the Good Corpse remains; as long as the Good Corpse remains, the true body remains alive.

Ya Li felt the warmth of that light—it was the warmth of the moon, not hot, slightly cool, but very steady, like someone leaving a light on in the yard on a late autumn night.

It looked at Yun Ming again.

"The main body said to close the door to prevent radiation from coming in, as it was exhausted and couldn't run back."

Yun Ming's body swayed slightly.

Behind him, Zhuo Shi abruptly turned his head away, and Long Yeyue closed her eyes.

Cai Yue'er's eyes, which she had just wiped dry, became wet again.

Yun Ming opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the Good Corpse did not give him a chance to speak.

"There's a sealed room there, one he reserved for himself when he designed the Launch Shaft. It's safe. He's not dead—the fact that I'm still standing here is proof that he's alive."

The Good Corpse gently released Ya Li's hand, took two steps forward, and stood in front of Yun Ming. "But if you bring people up to dig him now, the Launch Shaft's wreckage structure will collapse a second time. You won't be able to open that door; instead, you'll crush his only safe space."

Yun Ming's lips moved, several words rolled through his throat, but in the end he only managed to squeeze out two words: "... How long?"

"Have no idea."

The Good Corpse said, "He told me to close the door, saying he was going to take a nap and would come back to open it when he woke up."

Yun Ming stood there, his expression changing three times in a few breaths.

The father's impulse to rush out of that door was firmly suppressed by the Sea God Pavilion Master's rationality, which required him to be responsible for everyone.

His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched and unclenched repeatedly, until finally he managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice from deep within his throat. "What... else did he say?"

The Good Corpse paused for a moment, seemingly sensing something through its Divine Power network, before a faint smile appeared on its lips.

"He said the light from the nuclear explosion was quite beautiful, but too bright, it hurt his eyes, and he asked you to leave the door open until he woke up and came back to open it."

Just then, the ground shook violently again.

It was the aftershock of the nuclear missile hitting its target. The first missile intercepted God-Slaying Level in mid-air, and the second missile landed precisely on the top floor of the Heavenly Spirit Tower Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.

The tremor pierced through the earth for miles, coming from the direction of the back mountain, causing dust to fall from the ceiling of the shelter once again.

Several emergency lights swayed violently, casting flickering shadows on everyone's faces.