Return

Great waves of chaos surged and churned, grinding away his divine soul while washing clean half a lifetime of violence and bewilderment.

Qian Gu Fenfeng floated in the boundless void, all his confusion, resentment, and melancholy settling at last. Again and again, he looked back on the path he had traveled-his invincibility in his youth had never been for bullying the weak; intimidating Shrek had never been for vicious contests of strength; his arduous study of soul tools and tempering of his staff techniques had never been for hollow fame or dominion.

At last, he found the answer, the true meaning behind his lifelong pursuit of strength.

Growing stronger had never been about standing invincible in the world, looking down upon all living beings.

Still less was it about wearing armor and wielding a sharp blade so that, when everyone else was helpless, he could step forward; when those he loved were trapped in the mire of despair, he could reach out to save them; when storms overturned the world and an age of turmoil approached, he could hold up a corner of heaven and earth and protect everyone he wanted to protect.

He realized that these high-sounding words were nothing but a veneer of peace, nothing but an exquisite trap.

He simply enjoyed the feeling of controlling others' destinies; he simply liked the dying wails of ants.

Yet he had safeguarded his elder brother's peace, living up to the Qiangu Family's nurturing; he had saved the lonely, helpless Qian Chenyue, giving her the only light in her despair; he and Leng Yaozhu had cherished each other as kindred spirits, and as a powerful man, he had respected his opponents and his own heart.

The truth of this moment was precisely the side of him that made him human.

Even gravely wounded today, his divine soul sinking into oblivion, even unable to withstand a single strike from a God King and reduced to this state, he had never betrayed his heart.

His strength had always had a path that could be traced, always been without resentment or regret.

The chaotic torrent that had been relentlessly eroding his divine soul suddenly grew gentle. The shattered essence of his divine soul began to solidify and mend, little by little. Deep within the dim, empty sea of chaos, a strand of brilliant golden light belonging to Qian Gu Fenfeng pierced layer upon layer of mist and slowly lit up, illuminating his endlessly drifting divine soul.

Outside, upon the wasteland left deathly silent after the battle.

Two slender yet resolute figures had long since rushed recklessly to the broken body lying on the ground.

Qian Chenyue knelt on both knees, her usually cool, gentle eyes already red, her normally tranquil state of mind utterly shattered. She gently pressed his icy chest, an unending stream of pure Soul Power pouring into his ruined body as though it cost nothing. Her voice trembled uncontrollably. "Qian Gu Fenfeng, don't sleep... you promised me you would keep me safe all my life. You can't go back on your word."

Beside her, Leng Yaozhu had put away her usual aloofness and cold severity, her peerless face covered in gravity and anxiety. She stood bent over, gathering exceptionally pure Soul Power in her palm to steadily protect the wavering, nearly shattered foundation of Qian Gu Fenfeng's divine soul. It had long since become a heavy weight of concern and reluctance to part. Looking at the man who showed no sign of life, she sighed softly. "When have I ever seen you in such a sorry state... Fenfeng?"

One held a gentle, unwavering attachment; the other, a proud, unyielding concern.

Two utterly different yet equally sincere streams of Soul Power gently wrapped around his broken body and divine soul, becoming the warmest, most steadfast pull from the far shore of chaos.

Deep within the sea of chaos, sensing those two incomparably familiar, incomparably warm bonds outside, Qian Gu Fenfeng's stalled consciousness suddenly returned.

In one thunderous instant!

The entire sea of chaos shook violently. Golden light surged, breaking through every shackle of the void. His divine soul, once on the verge of scattering, instantly coalesced into wholeness. Following the pull of those two streams of Soul Power, it broke through the chaos and surged upstream into his body!

"Humm-!"

The body on the ground suddenly shuddered.

His eyelashes fluttered gently, and his eyes, still for so long, slowly opened.

The bewilderment and deathly stillness faded from his dark, fathomless pupils. After everything had settled, only clarity, resolve, and a hint of tenderness born of surviving life and death remained.

Nearby, in his daze, Yun Ming seemed to see Mu En, the Sea God Pavilion Master from ten thousand years ago, beckoning to him. That beckoning frightened Yun Ming awake right from the brink of death, and the golden leaf in his mouth had already dissolved.

He turned his head with difficulty and saw the concerned gazes of the two women kneeling before Qian Gu Fenfeng. A faint bitterness rose in his heart. He firmly believed that Yali must simply have been delayed by something.

Through his haze, he saw his angel. Yun Ming wanted to move his fingers, but he could do nothing. He saw Yali rushing over in a panic and smiled faintly at her. Beneath his eager gaze, Yali ran and threw herself down before Qian Gu Fenfeng.

"Daddy! Are you all right...?" As she spoke, she began to choke with sobs.

"How could I live without you...? Please don't die..."

"I finished my task today too... I'm still waiting for you to check my results, Daddy..."

Yali rose with difficulty. The Prayer Angel blossomed, and gentle healing Soul Power carefully probed Qian Gu Fenfeng's meridians.

Yun Ming instantly turned to stone.

That faint smile felt awfully numb.

Then he fainted.