Before landing on Ye Zichen’s head, the rain actually made way for him.
When Gu Li saw Ye Zichen’s cold expression, his lips quivered uncontrollably. “Big Brother Ye, your little bro understands his mistakes.”
“Since we’re brothers from the same sect, spare me just this once. I’ll definitely turn over a new leaf.”
“I know this was my fault, I really do. I beg you, spare me just this once.”
If not for Ye Zichen’s Body-Freezing Art, he would have bowed to Ye Zichen.
He was truly terrified.
“Die.” Ye Zichen didn’t waste any time talking to him. He had no desire to hear Gu Li’s insincere apologies. A wisp of sword light appeared in his hands, then swept towards Gu Li’s neck.
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive hand appeared in the sky, blotting out the sun. It swung down towards them.
The massive hand was obviously not there to kill anyone. Its goal was quite clear: it had come to save Gu Li.
Ye Zichen stayed put while the Xuan-yuan sword flew from his hands. He’d already known that the expert from the Upper Three Realms would reappear and rescue Gu Li.
As for why…..
It was because Gu Li possessed the Chiyou Sword.
“Want to save him? How about you leave your hand behind instead?”
A sharp light flashed through his eyes as thousands of beams of sword light shot forth from the Xuan-yuan Sword.
“Hmph.”
Suddenly, a low snort resounded through the sky. Then, before their very eyes, that massive hand clenched shut, crushing the sword energy to bits. Moments later, it changed its target and swiped at Ye Zichen.
Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Fwoosh.
Ye Zichen somersaulted backwards, then lifted his right hand. The Xuan-yuan Sword came flying back, landing right in his hand as if answering his call.
He clenched the sword’s hilt, then stroked the surface of the blade.
“Summon Lightning.”
Crack! Rumble! Boom!
A sudden crack of lightning fell from the skies and merged into the blade of the Xuan-yuan Sword. Soon, its surface crackled with electricity.
“Thunderclap Strike!”
Sword light mixed with electricity crashed onto the massive hand, but it inflicted no damage whatsoever.
“Hah….”
It seemed the massive hand’s owner was mocking Ye Zichen’s ignorance, but the next moment, its movements slowed dramatically.
That move hadn’t been intended to harm him. Rather, it was supposed to paralyze him.
At the same time, Ye Zichen lifted the Xuan-yuan Sword above his head.
“Heaven Plundering Strike!”
There was a loud boom.
A beam of dazzling gold sword light shot forth. The massive, already paralyzed hand tried to dodge…..
Spurt.
There was a burst of deep red blood. The sword light had chopped its little finger right off.
“Brat, I’ll remember you.” A dark, angry roar resounded through the skies. Then the massive hands grabbed Gu Li and disappeared from heaven and earth.
“What a shame.” He’d let Gu Li get away, but Ye Zichen didn’t seem particularly frustrated.
An expert had stepped in to save him. He’d gotten away, but it wasn’t worth getting upset about. It would have been impossible to kill Gu Li in front of such an expert anyway.
He glanced at the finger below. At least he’d made that expert leave a finger behind, right?
“It’s done. When you go back, make sure he focuses on recovery. His soul collapsed earlier. Deer Emperor, Sparrow Emperor, if you have time, you can search for the pieces on his behalf. Who knows? You might very well be able to restore the missing pieces of his soul.”
Ye Zichen removed his hand from the Bear Emperor’s chest. With Ye Zichen’s help, the gaping wound the bear clansmen left in his chest had already recovered. However, since his soul had collapsed somewhat, he was still in a coma even after his soul returned to his body.
“Sorry to trouble you with this, Emperor Ye,” the Deer Emperor bowed gratefully. The three of them had a very deep relationship. It was hard to even imagine what it would be like to lose the Bear Emperor.
Ye Zichen helped him up and shook his head. “I’m the one who ought to be thanking you. If not for your help, even if I’d managed to come back, it might have been too late.”
The Deer Emperor nodded, supported the Bear Emperor, and smiled. “Since you've already returned and the Bear Emperor needs time to recover, we won't disturb you any longer. We’ll be on our way now.”
“Take care.”
Ye Zichen watched as they faded into the distance, then looked back at the battlefield outside Dragon City.
Soldiers of all races were retrieving the corpses of the fallen. They’d died for the sake of the Three Realms. No matter what, they couldn’t just leave their bodies lying there.
They had to return the fallen to their own clans and sects. That was where they truly belonged.
“Emperor Ye.”
At that moment, he heard a woman’s voice from behind. Ye Zichen turned to look and saw Jia Jiayi leading a group of human experts.
“Jiayi.” He nodded at her.
At the same time, she said conscientiously, “I’ve already gathered everyone up. Everyone here is at least a sky-immortal-level expert. They should have no trouble handling the remaining demon soldiers.”
“Good. I’ll have to trouble you, then.”
His expression was indifferent as ever. When she saw this, Li Jiayi wanted to say something to him.
However, before the words could even leave her lips, she swallowed them back down. She said no more. Instead, she simply silently led the experts out of the Beast Region.
After they left, the three Su Sisters appeared before him.
“Big Sister Liu’er, Big Sister Su Zhu.” He nodded at them, but when his gaze fell on Su Yan, he fell silent.
He could see despondence in her gaze, and resentment too. Over and over again, images of his hand piercing through Su Yiyun’s chest flashed through his mind.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
“Lil’ Yan.”
“Mm.” The corners of her lips rose as she forced herself to smile. However, this only made Ye Zichen feel worse. He would have preferred it if she’d cried.
In truth, Su Yan wanted to cry too, but she had already run out of tears.
“So, everything is finally over, right?” Unusually, it was Su Liu’er who spoke up and broke their stalemate. She reached out and tousled Su Yan’s hair, then smiled at Su Zhu, “our little sister is tired. Lil’ Zhu, take her home to get some rest.”
“Alright.” Su Zhu smiled, nodded, then took Su Yan’s hand. “Little Sister, let’s go. We’re going home.”
Home.
When she heard this, Su Yan’s nose ached inexplicably and her eyes welled with tears. She forcefully repressed her tears, lowered her head, and followed Su Zhu away.
“She’s been that way since I woke up,” said Su Liu’er as she watched them leave.
“Yes.” Ye Zichen nodded.
Su Liu’er noted his poor complexion and frowned. “What’s going on with her? Su Zhu wouldn’t tell me either. I just saw her hugging that demon…….”
“Ol’ Three wasn’t a demon,” Ye Zichen interrupted her, his tone icy. His lower lip quivered as he spoke. “Big Sister Liu’er, I actually still have some business to take care of, so I can’t chat now.
“Hey, you brat……” Su Liu’er knit her brows and shouted, but at that moment, she saw a single teardrop fall from Ye Zichen’s eyes.
“Why was he crying?”