"Even in fairytales, 'love' is a bit far-fetched, right?"

Outside Xiematai in the Abyss Sea, the massive silhouette of a Flying Bird hung high like a flying vessel.

Atop the silhouette's spine, a gigantic man over three meters tall sat cross-legged next to a pile of empty cans. He popped open a beer can with a snap, tipped his head back, and chugged it down before wiping his mouth. "Feels like something out of a cartoon."

In silence, Xuan Niao slowly lowered the forefinger he had raised for a long time. Watching the young man turn into a white light and fly out of Xiematai, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Isn't that a good thing?" the old man asked cheerfully.

"It's pretty good, but I just don't get it," Kua Fu scratched his head, puzzled. "I've looked into Xiao Xian's problem too. Wasn't Liberator ineffective before? If it was useful, I could have borrowed Cupid's Arrow from Rome too."

Xuan Niao looked at him with pity for a long time before sighing helplessly.

"Now I understand why you're still not married."

Kua Fu was stunned for a while, countless question marks appearing above his head. "What does that have to do with me not being married or finding a girlfriend, old man? Don't you disrespect people without cause!"

Xuan Niao shook his head helplessly and sighed.

"That young man's Soul Ability is indeed the transformation of Source Substance into iron. He turned his compassionate love into iron, coating the Sword Blade with it. With a sacrificing strike, he completed what Xiao Xian lacked the most as a human, allowing her to refuse the Abyss and not become a monster. From this perspective, the approach we took before was indeed somewhat flawed."

As he spoke, the old man raised his finger, his expression solemn, "But you missed the most critical point."

"What?" Kua Fu was clueless.

"Love, you see, is mutual!" Xuan Niao glared at him as if he were hopeless. "You can't just accept it when someone suddenly jumps out and says they love you, right?"

Kua Fu really wanted to say he could, but he didn't want to be thrown off by the old man, so he could only sheepishly keep his mouth shut.

Xuan Niao knew full well what this simpleton was thinking. He was too lazy to even get upset with him. It serves a brute like him, who only knows how to hack and slash, right to be lonely for life!

He finally understood what happened to Kua Fu every year at the Social Security Bureau's mixer.

After scratching his head and thinking for a while, Kua Fu suddenly had a revelation, "Are you saying Xiao Xian took a fancy to that kid?"

"..."

The old man couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Whether she fancies him or not is debatable, but at least Xiao Xian is willing to change from a monster back into a human for him, and that's a huge step forward. That child, at last, has experienced the joy of being human."

He paused for a moment, recalling the sight he saw through the Eye of Stars, and started to feel a headache coming on again. "But that young man is about to be wrapped up in red strings like a sticky rice dumpling! He'll have bad romance after bad romance from the age of eighteen to ninety... Whether he's a cad or not is another matter, but however you look at it, he doesn't seem like a good match. I'll have to think more about this matter. And—"

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Xuan Niao suddenly said, "Underage drinking is not allowed."

Behind the empty cans, Zhu Qingyu moved his hand away from the beer pile as if electrocuted and pretended to start feeding pigeons.

"What's there to fear?" Kua Fu asked nonchalantly. "If underage kids can kill and set fires, why can't they smoke and drink? If you ask me, Sublimators aren't afraid of alcohol, and drinking a little is no problem."

Xuan Niao narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sorry, I didn't say anything."

Kua Fu wisely shifted his gaze away, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Xuan Niao sighed.

Dealing with this group of problem children, I always feel I might one day have a brain hemorrhage... Thankfully, there are still some kids who bring peace of mind.

BOOM!

Inside Xiematai, a final thunderous explosion sounded.

The three people above the silhouette exchanged glances, each revealing a knowing expression.

"For a Fourth Stage to hold out this long against a Fifth Stage, even with the White Wolf Hook in hand, is no small feat," Kua Fu remarked as he stroked his stubbly chin. "That girl is getting more and more formidable."

Xuan Niao saw right through it. "A defective Sun Witch and a stillborn, stitched together are but a deformed monstrosity. They're still far from the Fifth Stage's ability to act with the authority of heaven. But no matter what, the child Xue Ya has had a tough time."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Thinking on it, it should be about time, right?"

「Meanwhile, within the borders at the Edge of Huangquan.」

In the cold, majestic hall protected by numerous Manjushage, a helpless sigh came from the steps below the throne. The Left Minister bowed his head, his handsome, almost ethereal face revealing a hint of melancholy that evoked compassion at a glance.

The situation had indeed deteriorated to an irreparable point.

The final effort had ended in failure.

From behind the throne's curtain, in the dignified darkness, came a panicked voice, childlike in its alarm, "What—what should I do now?"

"With things having come to this, we can only ask the Duke's Commander to make a move," the Left Minister bowed his head, respectfully prostrating on the ground. "I ask Your Majesty to endure this disgrace for now and to wait for the right moment."

"Are you talking about... the General?"

His Majesty behind the curtain seemed stunned. He grasped at the statement like a last resort, yet was also filled with unease and fear.

Ever since the balance between the Duke and the Wu Family was disrupted ninety years ago, who hadn't feared that name? Even the traditionally exalted Emperor could no longer check the tyranny of the brutal Duke's Commander...

The irony was that the title 'Duke' was originally used to refer to the Rulers of Yingzhou, the noble Emperors as high as heaven. Now, whenever people mentioned this title, what came to mind was the dark figure who had brought fear to countless people.

—Ghost Duke.

It signified a ruler as ferocious as the legendary Giant Ghosts: brutal, tyrannical, powerful, and yet, invincible.

In Yingzhou, "ghost" did not refer to formless Ghosts or wronged souls after death, but to terrifying creatures beyond human strength—like the savage mountain god transformed into Shuten-doji, or the fallen dragon god taking the form of Ibaraki-doji. They were the nightmares formed after lofty Masters had degenerated into demons, monsters that no mortal Power could resist.

For ninety years, that heaven-sent General with a fearsome smile had crushed and shattered the conceited Rebels time and again with military force, usurping the authority of today, overturning tradition, trampling norms, stepping on who knows how many corpses to become one of the de facto Rulers of Yingzhou.

If it weren't for the strong support of so many families and the inheritance of Yingzhou Phylogeny's Source, today's Emperor would likely be nothing more than a joke.

A humanoid seal, a ludicrous ornament.

Ready to be replaced at any moment.

The moment he was suddenly mentioned, the voice behind the curtain became even more panicked.

"Why—why has this happened?" the Emperor asked. "Didn't the Left Minister say it was foolproof?"

"Variables are hard to predict."

The Left Minister knelt on the ground and kowtowed. "It is your subject's miscalculation."

"Miscalculation?"

Outside the main hall, a hoarse voice came.

The towering old man strode into the hall, his hair and beard bristling, his waxy yellow face and large nose reddened with rage. "Because of your miscalculation, His Majesty, so precious, must bow to that uncultured warrior? Do you not know the principle that if the master is insulted, the servant must die! Now that imperial power is weak, if you show weakness so easily, can you bear the consequences that will ensue, Left Minister!"

With that, the Right Minister sternly advised, his large eyes glaring at the figure above the royal steps, "Your Majesty must not do this!"

"Right—Right Minister?"

The Emperor was incredulous. "How have you returned?"

"If your subject had not returned, Your Majesty might have suffered deception at the hands of vile villains and made a grave mistake!"

The Right Minister's breath was ragged, the dust on his robes not yet wiped away, as if immediately after returning in a hurry, without even washing, he had burst straight into the main hall.

"Your Majesty is the sovereign of a nation; you cannot bow to that warrior for such a trifling matter!"

The child behind the curtain was stunned for a long time, still uncertain. "But... the Sun Witch..."

"Does Your Majesty still not understand!"

The Right Minister suddenly yelled, rudely interrupting the Emperor's words, his angry voice almost uncontrollable. "The plan to plant the Sun Witch again in Xiematai, after all, is nothing more than a pipe dream of those seeking favor; you should never have gambled on such luck! If we do not make a firm decision now to cut our losses, shall we throw an egg against a rock and engage in war with the Dongxia Genealogy! Wouldn't that be playing right into that barbarian's hands? With Your Majesty's mandate, how could he not act recklessly! Although the losses we've suffered are severe, in the end, they are merely a Border, the remains of a prematurely deceased child, and a few Sun Witch's Philosopher's Stones. Why can Your Majesty still not see clearly?"

"...No, it's not just that."

After a long silence, the Emperor on the royal steps spoke softly, "I, I... I also used the thing... left by my mother..."

The Right Minister was stunned, as if struck by lightning.

"Your Majesty, did you really..."

Realizing he had finally grasped the worst-case scenario, he stared in disbelief at the silhouette behind the curtain, his complexion paling as he could barely stand.

"Did you also use the things left behind by the late Emperor in it?"

The Emperor nodded timidly.

In the deathly silence, the Right Minister staggered backward two steps. He raised a trembling finger, pointed at the Left Minister who was prostrate on the ground with his back to him, and then, with a further breach of etiquette, pointed towards the Emperor's figure. He opened his mouth several times, his face turning abruptly crimson, and finally collapsed to the ground, devoid of any strength.

Only a single tear trickled from the corner of his eye.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were bloodshot and filled with ferocious anger. He drew his sword and charged at the Left Minister, "You scoundrel! Today, I shall rid us of you, this blight!"

In that instant, he saw a mocking smile flicker across the Left Minister's face as he looked up.

「A quarter of an hour later, the tightly shut doors of the palace opened again.」

The old man with a vacant expression lay on the ground, unconscious. He was hurriedly removed from the palace by the summoned attendants, still clutching the broken Tachi in his hand even as he passed out.

A line of blood-red streaked the fractured edge of the Tachi.

Like tears.

"The Right Minister has grown senile, unable to understand Your Majesty's ambitious aspirations to revitalize Tianjin. His behavior in Your Majesty's presence was so disgraceful, it truly pains one's heart."

The Left Minister knelt on the ground, grief-stricken as he implored, "Please, Your Majesty, show Mercy, and allow the Right Minister to return to his homeland to enjoy his remaining years in peace."

"...Is—is that so?"

The young figure atop the royal steps finally recovered from the terrifying struggle, nodding hurriedly. "Ah, it's fine. I... *cough cough*, I can also understand the Right Minister's earnest intentions. Then grant him generous rewards!"

"Your Majesty is merciful!"

The Left Minister praised dutifully, "Please, Your Majesty, make a decision soon..."

After a long silence, the figure on the throne suppressed the panic in his heart and finally made up his mind.

"Someone, bring forth my Seal..."

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