Chapter 1578.5- Slicing head

For Cloud Peak, this was a moment of fate—and an agonizingly long one.

Then—

The talisman, mid-flight, dissolved into light, splitting into two strands that pierced Ye Zhongming and the Bear King.

Xia Bai, barely holding on, collapsed. Red Hair closed her eyes. The still-conscious female guard warriors paused, then let out shrieks.

The Bear King, snapping out of confusion, saw Ye Zhongming right before it and lunged to bite.

But then it saw the human raise his sword—not at it, but at himself.

A whisper followed, so soft even the Bear King couldn’t hear it—but the intelligent level-nine lifeform read his lips.

"Goodbye."

Then—

The human severed his own head.

…………………………………………………………

Ye Zhongming kept rubbing his neck. Honestly, decapitating himself hadn’t been a pleasant experience.

Cloud Peak’s forces were cleaning up the battlefield—mostly the Youth Army, since there wasn’t much to collect. They were mainly tending to the female guards’ wounded. As for the two level-nine corpses, their methods weren’t refined enough to process them, even dead ones.

But as they worked, the Youth Army members kept stealing glances at their leader, eyes filled with awe.

They had witnessed everything.

Against the Snow Wolf King, Ye Zhongming’s top-grade bloodline activation, combined with Red Hair’s efforts, had brought the legendary beast to its knees, culminating in blowing apart its jaw, tipping the scales irreversibly.

Against the Bear King, while the female guards and the Undead Dragon-fish had initially stolen the spotlight, the final moment—Ye Zhongming beheading himself mid-air—was something none would ever forget.

From their distant vantage, many hadn’t even seen the talisman. All they saw was their leader committing suicide.

The shock had been absolute.

But it didn’t last long—because moments later, the Bear King, which had been on the verge of victory, suddenly sprouted a bloody line across its neck before its head toppled to the ground, rolling far away.

Confusion reigned. Some, thinking Ye Zhongming had died, were devastated.

Then—

In a faint glow, their leader reappeared, unharmed, even his previous injuries gone.

Later, as explanations spread, their admiration deepened.

Put themselves in his place—could they have done it?

Suicide was one thing. But cutting off their own head?

Too brutal. Too bloody. What kind of resolve did that take?

In the end, Ye Zhongming had linked his life to the Bear King’s through the talisman.

One dies, the other follows.

He chose suicide.

Of course, there had been alternatives—like letting the Bear King kill him. But that carried risks. What if it only crippled him instead? In that gap, the beast might have turned on the others.

So Ye Zhongming took the sure path—decapitation.

A gunshot might miss the heart. A blade to the neck would not.

And thanks to the elixir, granting him a second life, it wasn’t truly the end.

Still, the memory of his head leaving his body lingered. Ye Zhongming kept rubbing his neck to dispel the phantom sensation.

They had won—but it wasn’t even a tough victory.

Against two level-nine lifeforms, not a single Cloud Peak member had died. Only a few low-grade or fragile battle beasts from the female guards were lost.

The rest, though severely wounded, would recover fully with time.

After treatment with healing potions and crystals, only a few dozen female guard members would remain combat-ineffective for five days. Due to their fusion, Xia Bai and Nine Treasures were the worst off.

But others—Yangos, the Icebird, the Undead Dragon-fish, Red Hair—would regain 80% of their strength within two days. The Icebird, benefiting from the frozen environment, might recover fully in one.

With stretchers and tools retrieved, the expedition could continue without delay.

Ye Zhongming personally handled the two level-nine corpses. Aside from its demon crystal, the Snow Wolf King’s body was mostly useless—its flesh desiccated, its hide ruined. Only a few intact teeth from its shattered jaw held value.

Ye Zhongming felt that the destroyed wolf hide was a waste, but the Bear King’s one could work.

The Bear King was a treasure trove. Despite its wounds, the sheer size meant its hide alone could yield twice the material of the Snow Wolf King’s.

The battle beasts had already consumed its blood, accelerating their recovery. The meat would feed the group for months.

After processing everything with his maxed-out harvesting skills, Ye Zhongming approached one last subject—

The spherical lifeform, summoned randomly during his bloodline activation, was rolling playfully in the snow, as if the Bear King’s brutal attacks had never happened.

Somehow, it hadn’t vanished after the bloodline’s duration ended.