This General Won't Pretend Anymore

Amid the billowing white clouds, two figures headed north.

Just as when he had arrived, the Eastern Pole Emperor's appearance had stirred heaven and earth into changing color, with young attendants holding fans at his side. Houtu, Earth Sovereign, on the other hand, wore only a plain long robe and quietly squatted outside the hall, stroking a stray dog.

When she departed, this lady still had nothing but the breeze in her sleeves, standing atop a single auspicious cloud, to say nothing of any Imperial Lord's jeweled carriage.

She looked down upon the quiet mortal world below. With the immortals and Buddhas no longer interfering, though the land was still strewn with wreckage, the common people moving through it lent it a hint of flourishing vitality.

Of course, after listening to Xuanwei Zi's plan in full, Houtu, Earth Sovereign had long understood that, with neither sect daring to relax in the slightest, the scene before her would soon disappear—and be replaced by something even more miserable than at the beginning of the great calamity.

Thinking of this, she glanced sideways at the young man beside her, her expression somewhat complicated.

The people's peace had begun because of him, yet the chaos under heaven had likewise arisen because of him.

"Are you worried that you won't become the Immortal Emperor?"

After misjudging Shen Yi several times in a row, Houtu, Earth Sovereign no longer had any desire to probe him further. The matter had already become a foregone conclusion. Whatever his initial intentions might have been, it would be difficult for one man alone to change anything now.

She was simply curious what such a contradictory young man was thinking at this moment.

"No." Shen Yi answered casually, his expression as calm as ever.

"You are rather confident." Houtu, Earth Sovereign