Volume finale: The usurper

In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed since that great battle.

When the first snowflake of winter fell, the entire Guifang Kingdom fell into complete silence due to the arrival of the harsh winter.

However, the planned human sacrifice ultimately failed to materialize due to various reasons.

Moreover, what Li Boyang was unaware of was that the aftereffects of his initial sword strike were far more severe than he had imagined.

"The Roaring Heaven Clan hasn't responded to us for a long time..."

Still seated on his throne, King Chongming of the Guifang Kingdom spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

Beside Chongming, the high priest of the Guifang Kingdom and the chief priest of the Roaring Heaven Clan remained silent.

In less than a few months, the once spirited high priest had aged terribly.

What do you mean by that!?

A nobleman sitting to the lower right of Chongming immediately stood up, his eyes flashing with indescribable fear.

As the most active deity among the Gods of the Five Directions, and also the ancestor of the Guifang Kingdom, Roaring Heaven Clan not only grants every request, but also rarely refuses the communication of priests.

"The king means... perhaps the Roaring Heaven Clan is already dead."

Before Chongming could speak, the dejected high priest took over the conversation and answered.

That earth-shattering sword strike... perhaps utterly killed a god.

The gods are not immortal; this is a truth that everyone present knows.

However, the gods who had died in the past were all enemies of the Guifang Kingdom, so they never imagined that the Gods of the Five Directions would also die.

"Impossible! How could Roaring Heaven Clan be dead!"

This time, it wasn't the noble forces of the Roaring Heaven Clan on the table, but rather the followers of the Green Wood Clan.

Although the various factions within the Guifang Kingdom may occasionally have disagreements, they are absolutely united in their attitude towards the gods.

"Since that battle, the Roaring Heaven Clan has never responded to us again; this is an indisputable fact."

He slightly raised his eyelids and Chongming in an unquestionable tone.

"The Guirong Clan has issued a divine decree: from this day forward, we are forbidden from setting foot on the Hundred Lands Mountain Range."

"That place will be a forbidden zone for our Guifang Kingdom. Does anyone have any objections?"

Chongming had already used divine pronouncements to pressure people, the noble representatives present naturally had no objections.

Or more precisely, the moment Chongming mentioned the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, everyone thought of the formidable cliff that separated the two places.

"We in the Swallowing Tide Faction have no objections..."

"We, the Guirong Faction, will of course obey the divine decree..."

"Our Green Wood Element is the same; we also have rules to govern our members."

"We, the Tufang Faction, have no objections either, since we're not responsible for capturing slaves anyway."

After the noble representatives from various factions agreed, everyone once again turned their attention to Chongming.

Because Chongming is the representative of the Roaring Heaven Faction, and is the leader of the Roaring Heaven Faction who was jointly pushed to the position of "king" by all factions.

"In that case, let's adjourn this meeting here!"

Ignoring everyone's stares, Chongming simply spoke in a low voice with a calm expression.

"Next, I will meet with the high priests to discuss the food shortage and the situation regarding next year's spring planting..."

"So unless there are special circumstances, please don't disturb me before spring."

An hour later, in the king's palace.

After seeing off all the priests, Chongming did not immediately return to the inner hall to rest.

"Priest Aoki, is there anything else you wish to say?"

Gently raising his head, Chongming looked at the Green Wood Clan priest who had returned to the main hall with slight surprise.

Is it because of a shortage of herbs?

"Don't worry about that. I've already sent people to buy herbs in advance; there's enough to heal everyone's injuries."

"I now need to focus more of my energy on the food issue..."

"The previous theft and that major battle almost depleted all the food reserves we had accumulated over the years."

Chongming's voice revealed obvious fatigue.

He was racking his brains trying to figure out where to find extra food to help the Guifang Kingdom survive the winter.

"No, I didn't stay because of that."

Slowly shaking his head, the old priest of the Green Wood Clan stared at Chongming with a complicated expression before finally speaking.

"My disciple, Xuan Hui, died in the calamity five months ago..."

"But his soul dissipated, and his body was severely damaged, making it impossible to recognize his original appearance. Do you know what happened?"

As he said this, the old priest's eyes never left Chongming's face.

How could I possibly know such a thing?

He unconsciously turned his head to the side, but Chongming's tone remained unchanged.

"I have a lot to deal with..."

"If you're only coming to me for such a trivial matter, I don't think it's necessary."

"If you want to train new apprentices, I can help you select some good candidates."

After gazing silently at Chongming for a long time, the old priest calmly turned around and refused.

"No need for that, I was just asking."

Chongming did not speak again until the old priest's figure disappeared from the hall.

How much do you think he knows?

A streak of blood appeared out of thin air in the main hall, then transformed into the appearance of a young man.

This young man was none other than You Zhong, who had once transformed into the Blood Demon You Chong.

Of course, he is now neither the Blood Demon nor You Chong, but an avenger who only wants to take revenge on the gods.

"How much he knows isn't important; what's important is that he hasn't told anyone."

As they were speaking, Chongming's appearance suddenly changed, and he transformed into the form of Xuan Hui.

"Compared to the death of a true god..."

"The death of a mere priest candidate is hardly a big deal."

"Only someone as close as him would investigate the cause of my death."

After speaking, Xuan Hui suddenly stared intently at You Chong opposite him and warned him in an unquestionable tone.

"Don't do anything unnecessary without my permission, and definitely don't lay a hand on him."

"From this moment on, if anything happens to him, no matter how slight, I will hold you responsible."

He paused slightly, and Xuan Hui's serious expression showed his current focus.

"Believe me, even if you are favored by the Guirong Clan and are fortunate enough to become their incarnation in the human world, you would never want to be my enemy."

He chuckled and shrugged, while You Chong shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unconcerned.

"Of course I wouldn't be foolish enough to become your enemy, after all, we share the same goal..."

"At least in the early stages, we're teammates on the same side, aren't we?"

"I take revenge on my gods, you reform your religion—this is a more steadfast alliance of interests than any friendship."

His figure transformed into a bloody shadow once more, and You Chong left behind only one sentence in the main hall.

"Usurper, I look forward to the day you fulfill your promise!"

Monthly Pass / Recommendation Pass

P. S.: I won't be writing a separate chapter here. This book will be officially available for purchase at 12 PM on May 6th.

Thank you all for your support. Without your continued reading, monthly tickets, and real money, this book would never have achieved its current success.

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As for more?

On one hand, it depends on the support from the big shots in terms of subscriptions and monthly votes, and on the other hand, it depends on how many drafts I can accumulate in the next few days!

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My current drafts have all undergone three rounds of review.

I coded the first draft, revised the details after each volume was completed, and the final version is what you see now.

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