"I Am Seven Emperor, Also Called Xiangyang."

Eternal Night receded.

Dawn broke.

The enormous wooden board of unknown origin had splintered. Bits of flesh lay scattered across it, some embedded deep in the wood. Xiangyang had returned.

Meatworm Wraiths were born able to fly. It was not that they wanted to; the wind carried them.

Before they parted,

Huang had poured all the strength he had accumulated over the years into Xiangyang, then hurled him far, far away. Only at dawn had he returned.

But what greeted him

was a battlefield already silent, wreckage everywhere, and no trace of Huang.

Xiangyang stood dazed on the board. He looked around and found nothing. A crushing loneliness suddenly closed around him, as though he were the only one left in the world.

He had only just met Huang.

He did not know why Huang had done it.

Nor did he know what to do next.

He had lost contact with Jiu Wu and the Mortal Domain.

Faintly,

he heard voices carried on the sea breeze from dozens of kilometers away.

"What luck. An intact Wraith Venerable and five Ghost Emperors, there for the taking. Still, that Wraith Venerable was far too weak. Couldn't even beat five Ghost Emperors, and ended up dying alongside them."

"And the Wraith Venerable was a Thorn Strange Entity. First time I've seen one reach that level."

"Don't damage it. His Majesty specifically ordered us to preserve this Wraith Venerable Thorn Strange Entity as a specimen. Once we reach Beyond Heaven and establish the Nightbringer Kingdom, it'll stand as proof of our achievements."

"Right. We're almost at Eternal Night Continent, too."

"Eternal Night Continent will be easy enough. But His Majesty said other continents held by Night Awakeners are on their way here. They may all be Night Awakener nations, but who ends up in