Since ancient times, love has been the hardest trial; the Underworld King Sword strikes down Long Yeyue (4,000 words)

Sea God Island.

Huo Yuhao's excitement gradually subsided, and he put away the Golden Tree, his aura gradually returning to normal.

Once we get back, we'll Reshaping Old Yi's true form.

"It's all over with Di Tian now. There are just a few loose ends to clean up. Yuhao, if you can't wait, go back now."

Snow Empress came to Huo Yuhao's side and said softly, "Leave this to us."

Knowing how important Old Yi was to Huo Yuhao, she naturally understood his feelings at that moment.

Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, just about to nod, when suddenly a roar came from afar, which could be heard clearly even here.

"Vast Sea Douluo, what do you want to do? Do you want to betray the Federation and let her go?!"

Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and looked at the spot where he had fought with Er Ming earlier.

There are currently four Limit Douluo -level beings present there: Yu Guanzhi, Dong Zi'an, Long Yeyue, and Chen Xinjie. The latter two seem to be playing a game of chess with the former two.

"Chen Xinjie and Long Yeyue?"

Remembering Snow Empress's earlier message to him about Chen Xinjie going to find Long Yeyue, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes.

Previously, his focus was mainly on searching for and taking the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, so he didn't attack Long Yeyue hard, only delivering a Quasi-God blow. In addition, Long Yeyue was in her Holy Dragon Avatar Form at the time, which made her more resilient, and she should have recovered by now.

Now, just like in the original story, is it a case of old age but unresolved feelings?

Huo Yuhao's expression was somewhat strange. He then recalled the subtle aura he had sensed on this battlefield earlier. After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's go take a look. If Chen Xinjie is unwise, without God Rank expert to stop him, his trump cards might cause considerable casualties. Some preparations can be made here as well, so there's no need to return immediately."

As mentioned before, there was more than one Limit Douluo paying attention to this battlefield. Huo Yuhao had also discovered another person who was near Sea God Island.

However, the Federation powerhouse hidden in the shadows should be inferior to Chen Xinjie, whose God Realm has reached the Divine Origin Realm, in terms of direct combat strength, not to mention that Chen Xinjie also has the trump card of briefly reaching the God Rank.

but----

Thinking of the concealment technique that even he couldn't immediately detect after using the Ice Empress Avatar, Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly.

"If Chen Xinjie becomes careless because of rekindled old feelings, he might suffer a great loss."

Let's go back to the time when Long Yeyue was thrown into the Sea God Lake by Huo Yuhao.

What Huo Yuhao considered a light attack was actually combined with the power of Divine Consciousness. Therefore, when Long Yeyue was thrown into the Sea God Lake, she felt an irresistible will invade her soul with that attack, causing her vision to go black, her consciousness to dissipate, and her aura to disappear from others' perception for a period of time.

At that moment, Chen Xinjie sensed that Long Yeyue's aura had disappeared, and that she had been killed by a powerful figure from the Federation. He was immediately disoriented and panicked.

He thought he could face Long Yeyue's death with equanimity, but when it became a reality, he realized that he still couldn't forget her. It seemed that nothing in his life was more important than her.

After realizing his own feelings, Chen Xinjie ignored the battle taking place at the Golden Tree and quickly used his Power of Space to rush to the location where Long Yeyue had the accident.

It could be said that Huo Yuhao had barely left when Chen Xinjie arrived.

When he arrived, he saw Federation warriors clearing out the remaining resistance on the battlefield. Yu Guanzhi noticed his arrival and greeted him.

But Chen Xinjie ignored all of this.

Amidst the curious gazes of the crowd, his eyes searched the surface of Sea God Lake, and suddenly a look of delight appeared on his face as he abruptly looked at a certain spot within the Sea God Lake.

Great! Yueyue isn't dead! (Chen Xinjie's performance is consistent with the character in the original novel; see Chapter 1244 for details.)

All around were powerful Federation members who quickly noticed the anomaly in Sea God Lake. The once calm Sea God Lake suddenly began to churn violently, and amidst the surging undercurrents, a figure burst out of the water!

It was Long Yeyue.

There were still traces of blood at the corners of her mouth that hadn't been washed away by the water, a huge dent in the center of her Battle Armor, and her body was covered in burn marks. Her aura had dropped a level. Her wet, long hair clung to her pale cheeks. After emerging from the water, she swayed noticeably before managing to steady herself.

"Wow, he's pretty tough." Dong Zi'an glanced at it and muttered under his breath, "He went completely silent after that one hit. I thought he was dead, but it turns out he was just playing dead."

However, he didn't focus his gaze much on Long Yeyue, but instead looked at Chen Xinjie with a furrowed brow.

The Temple Master of the War God Temple was acting strangely; his gaze towards Long Yeyue seemed filled with undisguised longing.

Even a rough man like him could sense the almost distraught concern.

Is this guy going to pull off a big surprise at the end?

Yu Guanzhi, who also noticed this scene, immediately raised his alarm and shouted, "Palace Master Chen, calm down! She's a traitor whom Shrek swore would never surrender to!"

Although it was thanks to the Heartless Douluo, even the Vice Hall Master Guan Yue, who had a close relationship with Shrek, was able to maintain his stance and ensure that the overall situation was not compromised in such a major event as the destruction of Shrek Academy.

This War God Temple Master, who is known for his composure and iron-fisted demeanor, must not cause any irreparable trouble at this final moment because of some old grudges—or rather, old feelings.

At that moment, Chen Xinjie ignored everything and paid no attention to Yu Guanzhi's reminder.

His entire focus was on Long Yeyue. Seeing her emerge from the water, disheveled yet still standing, the overwhelming joy of regaining what he had lost, coupled with the heart-wrenching anxiety that followed, almost made him forget everything around him, and he instinctively stepped forward.

In mid-air, Long Yeyue caught her breath and her cold gaze swept over the Federation members who were waiting on the shore. Finally, her gaze met Chen Xinjie's burning gaze.

She was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to be there, nor to have such an expression on his face.

What surprised her even more was Chen Xinjie's subsequent behavior.

Chen Xinjie strode forward and came directly to her. In front of everyone, he hugged her. Long Yeyue was startled and tried to resist, but she heard Chen Xinjie's deep, hoarse voice, as if it had suppressed a hundred years of time.

"Thank goodness, Yueyue, you're still alive!"

The familiar, intimate term of address that existed only in her memory, and the almost overwhelming fear and ecstatic joy of regaining what she had lost in his voice, made Long Yeyue stiffen. She raised her hand to resist, but it froze in mid-air.

Chen Xinjie felt the stiffness in the body in his arms, but he did not loosen his grip at all, only softening his gaze.

At the same time, as if to melt away the coldness around her, or perhaps as an act of uncontrollable emotion, light and shadow flickered around Chen Xinjie, and his beautiful and hazy Thought Materialization!

This is an ability that only Demigod possess: to use Divine Power to present their thoughts and memories in a near-tangible way.

The scene Chen Xinjie presented was none other than his story with Long Yeyue.

Their first encounter by the Sea God Lake, a mutual attraction born of sharp edges; the tacit understanding and trust forged while fighting side by side; the fierce arguments arising from differing ideologies, neither willing to yield an inch; and ultimately, their figures drifting in opposite directions.

And the anxiety of rushing over after realizing that she still loved Long Yeyue.

We used to be so stubborn, both with sharp personalities, unwilling to be subordinate to others, and liking to be in control of everything. This became the reason for our breakup. I thought I had forgotten you all these years ago.

"But it was only in the moment you might die that I realized I had never forgotten you. All that stubbornness, all that pride, all that self-righteous control—it was all worthless in the face of the fear of possibly losing you forever!"

"Fortunately, you're still here."

Long Yeyue stared blankly at him, seeing the pain and deep affection in his eyes that were no longer concealed, and finally lowered her stiff hand.

Her figure became younger at that moment, and Chen Xinjie's eyes lit up when he saw this. He also transformed into a young man, and the two seemed to have returned to the beginning.

Long Yeyue said with a complicated expression, "I really didn't expect to hear these things from a stubborn guy like you at the last moment."

Chen Xinjie shook his head violently, staring intently into her eyes, his voice resolute. "No, this isn't the last moment. I missed it once; I can't afford to miss it again. The rest is up to—"

"Vast Sea Douluo, what do you want to do? Do you want to betray the Federation and let her go?!"

Dong Zi'an roared.

On the shore, the faces of the Federation's powerful figures had already turned extremely ugly as Chen Xinjie recounted his story. The God of War of the War God Temple was both surprised and utterly at a loss.

Their temple master now felt completely foreign to them.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjie turned around, shielding Long Yeyue behind him, his expression returning to its cold indifference.

"I cannot bear the word 'betrayal.' I, Chen Xinjie, have fought for the Federation and the War God Temple for a century, and have never had a selfish thought."

"Now that Shrek Academy is practically destroyed, the life or death of one person is no longer so important. The guilt she bears—I am willing to shoulder it for her! I, Chen Xinjie, will bear all the consequences!"

"But today, I'm taking her away!"

As he spoke, the "Thought Materialization" that had unconsciously manifested around Chen Xinjie due to the surge of emotions and reflected a century of entanglement began to recede and fade away like a tide.

This also means that he will withdraw from his emotional turmoil and face the outside world again as the complete Vast Sea Douluo.

It was precisely in this subtle transition between old and new states, between the introspection and the extroversion of the mind, that Chen Xinjie's intuition was suddenly awakened, as if doused with ice water, and he abruptly detected something "unusual" around him.

That "abnormality" was not an aura, not a fluctuation, not even a fold in space, but a disharmony in "existence" itself.

When did this equally powerful individual, skilled in concealment, approach? Was it when he used his Thought Materialization?

This thought exploded in Chen Xinjie's mind like a thunderclap!

But—it was too late.

An anomaly occurred silently.

Less than a meter behind and to the right of Long Yeyue, the air seemed to have been gently ripped open by an Formless brush, creating a crack.

A slender cross-shaped sword emerged from it, its blade, imbued with the power of a Peak Quasi-God strike, tracing an Ultimate simple gray line.

It was so fast that Long Yeyue, who only realized it at this moment, had no time to react.

Chen Xinjie's "Be careful" had only just begun to utter its first syllable when the deep blue barrier he had been concentrating with all his might had just begun to ripple out from his palm.

The gray line has passed silently.

The complex expression on Long Yeyue's face suddenly froze. She had never imagined that she would encounter such a deadly attack next to Chen Xinjie. She hadn't even noticed the slightest sign of danger.

The speed of the newcomer, the Ultimate concealment of killing intent and aura, and the mastery of spatial techniques involving concealment have reached a state of perfection.

However, she and Chen Xinjie became so engrossed in their feelings for each other that they became careless.

Long Yeyue tried to turn her head to look at Chen Xinjie, but the last reflection in her eyes was the man's face, distorted by Ultimate horror and rage, and—a gray-white expanse that filled her entire field of vision and kept expanding.

Is she dying?

This realization, like the last icy torrent, dispelled all the chaos and confusion at the edge of consciousness.

The Sea God's Ten Thousand Year Plan was not completed.

Shrek's glory could not be restored in her hands----

And then there's that stubborn man who has just set aside his pride, his eyes once again burning with passion—

Regret, like countless fine ice needles, pierced Long Yeyue's remaining senses, and various forms of resentment caused her to let out a silent roar from the depths of her soul.

What exactly did Shrek do wrong? Why is fate so cruel to her?

She didn't even have time to truly touch his outstretched hand before she was about to—

Her thoughts abruptly stopped, and Long Yeyue's vision went completely dark.

There was no sound, no blood, only the deathly silence of life being instantly drained and annihilated.

His head was thrown silently into the lake.

The mangled body of the Light and Dark Douluo slowly fell backward.

"No, Yueyue --!!!"

Chen Xinjie's roar pierced his throat as he reached out and embraced Long Yeyue's corpse, watching it rapidly lose its warmth, his mind going blank.

The sword-wielding figure that appeared in the void succeeded in his attack, his figure retreating like a phantom, his face devoid of joy or sorrow, only a deathly calm.

"Love is the greatest obstacle to one's success. A vast ocean, calm for centuries, can be breached by a single thought of love, causing one to lose their composure and reveal their flaws."

"Chen Xinjie, you've become weak because of love."

The pale-faced, valiant man offered this assessment.

On the shore, Dong Zi'an, who was already Qi and Blood boil and was about to rush forward to question Chen Xinjie sharply or even try to slap him, suddenly froze.

Yu Guanzhi's angry expression froze instantly, his pupils contracted sharply in shock, and he stared at the gray figure along with many other Federation experts.

That figure—that iconic dark gray Four-Word Battle Armor) that seemed to absorb all light—the silhouette of that uniquely shaped gray rapier that had just been concealed—and that aura that remained as still and deathly calm as a Ten Thousand Years icy pool even after such a world-shaking assassination—

"Speaker, have you recalled even him?"

Yu Guanzhi's anger gradually subsided, and his expression became complicated.

There's no mistake!

Although he rarely reveals his true form in public, there is only one person on the continent with this attire and this unique aura that seems to have returned from the underworld!

The continent's number one Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master, one of the pillars of the Federation, the Dark Department Head, Underworld King Douluo - Ha Luosa!