The serpent could indeed stir up wind and waves, but strictly speaking, it excelled in some respects and was clearly lacking in others. Yet here, it had forced a whole group of people to give everything they had.
Everything quieted down, and the people fleeing up the mountain all looked toward its foot.
Gongsun Yin propped himself up to look down the mountain, then lay back on the slope, panting, his heart finally settling.
Xu Zichang still had some strength left. He walked over to the Giant Serpent's corpse, looking at the sword still embedded in its body, at its wounds and blood, and at the little marten lying there panting. Only then did he turn to look at Gongsun Yin on the slope.
Thinking back over the past, then over everything that had just happened, he felt as though the junior brother who had grown increasingly harsh since they first met no longer existed.
Xu Zichang suddenly smiled, his heart filled with relief and ease.
"You won this time."
But Xu Zichang had another thought: Junior brother, those arguments of yours have collapsed without anyone needing to attack them, so I haven't lost either!
With that thought, Xu Zichang looked toward Yi Shuyuan, who was slowly approaching, and cupped his hands in greeting.
Judging by Mr. Yi's expression, although he had not intervened, he must have understood the key to the final tribulation long ago. He had not arrived late; he had been waiting quietly nearby for everything to be decided.
Our realms are different, after all. We were all caught in the tribulation, rising and sinking within it. Only Mr. Yi remained outside this world from beginning to end.
Xu Zichang was not alone in feeling this. Gongsun Yin and Zheng Ying-and even Cao Yugao-had felt the same