Chaotic World Book

Bo'e couldn't fathom that someone would be so incredibly bored as to remain silent throughout a complex and fierce battle of this nature, suppressing their presence entirely! They appeared at the end not to fight but solely for the sake of theft!

A thief even more patient than a top assassin... their existence was purely for stealing, ready to wait until the end of time for the desired prize, completely indifferent to who won or lost the battle.

Ye Wuzong's intended target should have been Xia Longyuan, the underwear being just a jest to mask his true goal, which should have been the Heavenly Book... As it turned out, he made his move so freely, the thrill of stealing from the second-ranked on the Heavenly List no less satisfying than from a waning first place, and the value of the stolen Longevity Heaven God Axe was certainly no less than that of the Heavenly Book. Boasting about it in the Worldly Society even came with a sense of righteousness; he had certainly made his mark...

Fully aware that had he not made an appearance, Ye Wuzong would have definitely attempted to steal from Xia Longyuan, so what exactly was he doing showing up? Acting as a decoy?

This feeling made Bo'e a hundred times more frustrated than just being stolen from, a mix of both fury and resentment, spitting blood in the air before he could even return to his home territory, almost crashing fatally.

Thankfully, Bo'e's resolve was firm and not to be compared with that of an ordinary person. He suppressed the anger in his heart and pondered how to retrieve the Divine Axe on his way back.

Bo'e understood that his intervention had not been in vain. If previously Xia Longyuan had a chance of recovery after cleaning up the mess, now, after being forced to "rally his fading strength" and exhausting his remaining potential, it was almost impossible for him to recover. Even if he didn't die, he likely wouldn't be able to maintain his Imperial Realm status, and at his age, he would no longer be a threat.

The greatest danger from the Divine Continent had been eliminated! The next step would be to sweep through the Central Plains. They had stolen the axe, but would they live to use it?

Regrettably, with the snowy and icy weather, it was clearly not suitable to start a war or besiege cities—surviving the cold would be fortunate enough... But now that the Northwest Pass was open, they no longer needed to continue the struggle at Yanmen, and advancing into the Central Pass would be much easier. He wondered whether to take this opportunity... Another issue was Ba Tu's presence in the Northern Border and Southern Desert region. Unless Ba Tu was removed, that path was difficult to maneuver around... These matters had to be discussed with Tie Muer, the real military commander.

In truth, Bo'e had never been close with Tie Muer in the past. Being second and third on the Heavenly List, divine authority versus military power, intimacy would have been laughable...

In fact, the Longevity Heaven Temple had secretly been suppressing Tie Muer quite a bit. Ba Tu's rise, in some ways, was facilitated by the Temple's laissez-faire attitude. At that time, Zhao Changhe had realized that the Temple cared little for the infighting among the tribes; otherwise, even with Ba Tu firmly established, Bo'e himself could have taken Ba Tu's head without needing Tie Muer to act. But the Bo'e of the past would never have killed Ba Tu for Tie Muer's sake, as tribal opposition only served to reinforce his own authority...

But the situation was different now. The pressure from Great Xia had begun to unite the grasslands, an issue the Xia people had not carefully considered. Under these circumstances, the threat of the grasslands might be even greater than before.

Bo'e pondered all this as he disappeared into the icy, snowy winds, the sky in the east gradually lightening.

Dawn had arrived.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Temple.

Li Shentong, having blocked two of Bo'e's strikes for Xia Longyuan, now sat in silent meditation, knees crossed, not minding the other circumstances around him.

Ying Wu was beating Li Gongsi, or more correctly, utterly humiliating him. A spatial confinement trapped Li Gongsi within it, shattered spatial currents ravaging through in a spectacle of protracted execution. Yet not a single scream could escape from it, making for an eerily bizarre scene.

Yang Jingxiu, having long been prepared to flee, did so amidst the chaos of the Divine Fist's clash, an opportunity no one could have stopped him from seizing.

Opportunities are only for the prepared...

As Wang Daoning also thought about escaping, a Big Broadsword blocked his path: "You shall not pass."

Zhao Changhe was keeping an eye on Wang Daoning from the first moment of realization, how could he let him escape?

"Whoosh!" Wang Daoning didn't bother with words. If Xia Longyuan regained his composure, it would all be over. Furious, he launched a mountain-toppling palm strike that should have been impossible for Zhao Changhe to stop for even a moment.

But like a shadow, the Vermilion Bird followed Zhao Changhe's lead, matching his movements.

As Zhao Changhe blocked a blow from Wang Daoning with his broadsword, causing him to fly back bloodied, the Vermilion Bird's demonic claws grabbed Wang Daoning's back. They not only restrained him but also ignited raging demonic flames, turning Wang Daoning into a burning figure in an instant.

Wang Daoning summoned his Gang Qi to ward off the demonic flames, quickly shaking off the Vermilion Bird's grasp. But suddenly, from Xia Longyuan's direction came a loud "clang" of a bell-like sound.

Realizing the severity of the moment, Wang Daoning couldn't care about his own peril, exclaiming, "Xia Longyuan! You!"

As Xia Longyuan recuperated from his injuries, taking advantage of the fleeting strength that hadn't yet faded, the first thing he did wasn't to stop Wang Daoning... but to grab the Four Spirits Sword.

Li Gongsi, tormented in the confined space, widened his eyes in frantic screams, yet no one could hear what he was yelling.

A loud "clang" resounded as Xia Longyuan viciously struck the swords against each other.

With the first strike, they did not break. Xia Longyuan's strength wasn't enough... not only was it insufficient, but the backlash from the Four Spirits Sword caused him to bleed from the mouth, the rampant Sword Qi tearing into both the interior and exterior of his body, subjecting him to a torment no less harsh than Li Gongsi's.

But Wang Daoning seemed even more frantic than the bloodied Xia Longyuan, shouting desperately, "Stop! The Sword Spirit will counterattack to protect itself, you will die too!"

Xia Longyuan, reckless, struck the swords against each other again.

"Clang!" Cracks spread across all four swords as violent Sword Qi penetrated Xia Longyuan's chest.

Even Zhao Changhe and the Vermilion Bird, who were attacking Wang Daoning, halted, staring somewhat blankly at the suddenly crazed Xia Longyuan. Li Shentong, who was sitting in meditation, opened his eyes, and Ying Wu, who had been controlling Li Gongsi, turned his head to look.

Xia Longyuan's aura diminished rapidly, growing weaker and weaker until he was enfeebled and could hardly walk, his hair white as frost.

"These four swords should have been the swords of the Worldly Society's landscapes, but once they had owners, they were no longer just that…" Xia Longyuan spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and aged, "No matter the design, no matter how they define themselves, they always end up as private gates and family legacies… I used to not dare to act too excessively for the sake of the Aristocratic Family's support… But now, with nothing left to fear… While I still have the strength to destroy them, I should finish the task and not leave it to future generations."

With the echo of his words, the final slash.

"Clang!" The four swords broke simultaneously, and the Sword Spirit fell silent.

Wang Daoning's mouth dropped open, as he suddenly felt a void in his heart, and he turned to look at Li Gongsi, dazed, who was also staring blankly at his own broken sword, his mind a blank white canvas. Then his mind really did go blank, as if watching the meaning of his life disappear, witnessing the future of his lineage broken, he died from extreme shock and unease.

Far in Qinghe, Cui Wenjing spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and sighed softly, "Gone. Qinghe."

Yang Jingxiu, who was on the run, similarly spurted out blood and turned to look north, speechless for a moment.

Wang Daoning felt the world spinning, his voice trembling, "You… how could you dare… They may be privately owned, but in reality, they also protect this land…"

"Much like the Aristocratic Family and I?" Xia Longyuan casually discarded the four broken swords and slowly ascended to his dais, looking up to the sky and laughing, "As for this country, I should die, and so should you. So for my last act, to rid Divine Continent of these two evils, isn't that delightful?"

His steps up to the dais were extremely feeble and unsteady, a stark contrast to his once buoyant ascent, and it took a long time for him to slowly reach the top and sit down cross-legged.

"I… I didn't read much, didn't even finish nine years of compulsory education… This is what I learned here." Xia Longyuan suddenly said a dialect that none but those from Zhao Mansion could understand, then continued, "But I still know some historical tales… Before, Li Shentong said, 'A common man's anger can spill blood within five steps.' I used to like this saying very much and applied it to myself… All the heroes of the world, whether from Aristocratic Families or the untamed lands, whether good or evil, ended up opposing me… I started to think, am I like a Yang Guang?"

No one responded.

Thinking back, it seemed that after Li Shentong made that statement, Xia Longyuan became rather quiet. He was always a lively person, but he rarely spoke during that battle, only speaking more as the situation turned, as if he was struck down by something.

"I thought about it seriously; I am not as brutal as Yang Guang, but it seems the essence is not too different because… I truly didn't regard you as humans," Xia Longyuan said calmly. "But like the grading of a cleared game, being compared to Yang Guang, that still makes one unhappy, doesn't it? Who doesn't want to clear a game perfectly… I'm thinking I've misunderstood one thing. On the Emperor's seat, what should I be doing… Challenging God Demons seems high-minded, but for the job of Emperor, isn't that essentially no different from seeking the path of Cultivation?"

Zhao Changhe finally spoke up: "Yeah."

"So if you want to play the God Demon's game, don't be an Emperor, and if you want to be an Emperor, then do what an Emperor should do, right? That's what you mean, isn't it, Changhe?"

"Right."

"So will you do it?"

"I won't, you have a daughter."

"Heh. She's unlikely to be accepted by everyone. If you can support her, then do so. If not, you'll have to handle it yourself."

Zhao Changhe simply said, "Okay."

"Then back to what an Emperor should do." Xia Longyuan didn't continue discussing that topic but instead said, "Daoning... You think you're slaying the dragon, don't you? But for a long time, the fiendish dragon in my heart was you."

Wang Daoning watched him steadily, saying nothing.

"Since we all want to slay the dragon, then let's do it thoroughly. Daoning, when we used to read together, did you come across this phrase, 'I shall chop the dragon's feet, chew its flesh, so that it cannot return by morning nor rest by night'? When you acted, these words probably echoed in your heart, right? Funnily enough, I thought the same. It's just unfortunate that you didn't turn into the Dragon Slayer, while I did. Now you... Can you not return by morning, nor rest by night?"

Wang Daoning's expression turned very ugly.

Xia Longyuan pointed at Ying Wu and Li Shentong: "You two… also didn't manage to slay it. The only one who could kill me is myself, right?"

Li Shentong remained silent, while Ying Wu candidly responded, "Right."

In fact, Xia Longyuan himself knew that the root of his demise was the world's backlash, but even now, he was reluctant to admit it, dead set on being defiant.

Seeing Ying Wu's response, Xia Longyuan finally laughed heartily, "Then this alliance, it's complete."

No one echoed his statement at that point; Xia Longyuan laughed by himself for a while and suddenly said, "Actually… There's something I want to say, even though it might ruin the coolness, but I still want to say it… The reason I don't take care of state affairs or govern and instead leave it all to a dumb fake, there's a reason—damn, it's too hard, I can't do it! If I did it myself, I might be even more of a moron!"

Zhao Changhe: "…"

Li Shentong: "?"

"In my embrace, there is a page of the Heavenly Book, which is your dowry…" Xia Longyuan's laughter grew lighter and eventually was barely audible, "In the end, I didn't even wish to see Chichi. Am I really too cold-hearted?"

A streak of heavenly light spilled to the bottom of the earth, and Zhao Changhe looked up to see Xia Chichi standing quietly above, watching silently for God knows how long.