When the Demon Dragon entered the Bramble Bird Kingdom.
On the other side.
The border between the Strife Zones and the Mystic Zones.
The Soul Shrieker was being blocked by Black Hound.
Its long, high-pitched shriek slowly faded.
From the blurry fog, every hidden lifeform had their soul absorbed while their bodies were swept away by the wind of the space vortex.
Black Hound wielded the scepter of Death and remained where it was, completely intact.
ăă That is impossible! ăă
The Soul Shrieker stared closely at Black Houndâs scepter, displaying an expression of disbelief for the first time.
ăă That era has long ago ended, the so-called Deities have already left to somewhere unknown. You should be nothing but specks of remnant dust that remained of that time, how could you wield the power of Death!? ăă
This seemed like a complaint, but it also felt like a question.
Black Hound simply stood still with a mysterious smile on its face.
ă Pitiful monster of the Abyss, you know nothing of the past, your understanding of Deathâs power itself is too crude ă
Loudly declaring so, Black Hound then secretly focused its mind on the scepter of Death.
It checked the scepter without changing its expression, but its heart slowly sank.
ââ-there wasnât much power of Death left on the scepter, and their battle had only just begun.
This monster of the Eternal Abyssââ the Soul Shrieker, was a powerful enemy.
Not only did it have the power of the Abyss but it was also the Envoy of [Chaos], capable of utilizing both powers.
To resist its shriek, Black Hound had to use the power of Death that was accumulated and saved over countless years on the scepter.
Ever since the Gods left this reality, ever since âthatâ era, it became incredibly hard to obtain the power of Death.
All the power that remained on the scepter was gathered by Black Hound through countless years, a tiny strand at a time.
ă I donât believe it! The Age of Gods had already ended! ă
The Soul Shrieker howled.
Behind it, endless grey mist swirled and surged, slowly encroaching the sky above.
A voice emerged from inside the grey mist:
âSir Envoy, this one has arrived at your summonâ
Following him, another voice sounded from the grey mist:
âFollowing our agreement, I came at the Envoyâs summon to fight for the sake of [Chaos]â
The voices didnât stop, as if more and more people were showing up within the grey mist.
âIâve comeâ
âHow interesting, sir Envoy is making me show myself so soonâ
âOnce Iâve been summoned, regardless of what kind of entity they are, they will fall at my hands!â
âHas the fight not begun yet?â
The grey mist slowly dissipated.
Over 10 people appeared behind the Soul Shrieker.
ăă I know you, bell ringer dog of the Holy Church of Death, you do not originally have such great power, capable of going up against myself with the power of [Chaos] ăă
The Soul Shrieker continued: ăă Come, if you follow the will of the God of Death, let me see how long you can actually hold off those who carry [Chaos] ăă
It gave the orders.
The summoned carriers of [Chaos] dashed forward from behind towards Black Hound.
Black Hound silently complained but maintained a dignified expression.
Each of these people carry a unique [Chaos] UI, their strength has also surpassed Lord-class, so if I rely on my power alone, it would become a tough battle of attrition.
The Soul Shrieker would then immediately recognize my trick.
ââ-I canât let that happen!
Black Hound raised his scepter of Death and chanted:
ă As all things have a beginning, all things shall end ă
ă What originated from dirt will return to slumber in the dirt ă
ă Only the soul can surpass it all and enter the secret holy sanctuary of death ă
Its voice was suddenly raised:
ă Souls! ă
ă I am your master! ă
Shadowy light came forth from the scepter of Death and accurately illuminated the bodies of the carriers of [Chaos].
The charging carriers of [Chaos] fell down one by one.
Faint figures emerged from their bodies, led by the shadowy light into the air.
The figures were all struggling as much as they could, silently screaming and howling, trying everything they can to return to their bodies.
ă Souls, return to your slumber ă
Black Hound deeply chanted the final verse of the incantation.
Oooooooooooââ-
The scepter of Death emanated harrowing whispers of sorrow.
Facing this Death technique, nothing that the faint figures did was of any use.
They went into the scepter of Death one after another.
In a mere breathâs worth of time.
The magic ended.
All the carriers of [Chaos] collapsed on the ground, no longer breathing.
Even though they each had their own [Chaos] UI, they were still powerless against this technique.
The Soul Shriekerâs pupils contracted and shouted in horror:
ăă Whispers of the Death Deity! ăă
It couldnât help but take a step back, cautiously observing Black Hound.
This was an ancient powerful Deity technique that had been lost to history, only recorded in the bible of the Holy Church of Death, but never once had it been successfully performed for over hundreds of thousand years.
It was because of this that living beings know that the God of Death is no longer here.
But then, how did I see with my own eyes that technique being performed once more?
After unleashing its technique, Black Hound once again stared closely at the Soul Shrieker.
ă If you have any other means, you had better use them now ă
Black Hound waved the scepter of Death and casually declared.
While the other party was stunned, Black Hound used his mind to check the scepter again.
ââto reap the souls of those carriers of [Chaos] just now, all the power of Death stored in scepter had all been used up.
Seeing this, Black Hound slowly felt a sense of uncontrollable fear rising from its heart.
Without the scepter, with Black Houndâs power alone, it had no way to go up against the Soul Shrieker.
It would be devoured whole by the other party.
ă Soul Shrieker, retreat now, in front of Death, you will not take even a single step forward ă
Black Hound maintained a calm expression and spoke with a deep, harrowing voice.
Facing it, the Soul Shrieker was indeed not making any movements.
ăă Bastard, this should be impossible ăă
The Soul Shrieker whispered and kept its eyes on Black Hound.
It is only a servant of a lost Deity; how could it still have so much power?
What other thing is it capable of?
The Soul Shrieker clenched its fist tightly and silently considered the difference in strength between the two of them.
Perhaps, I should probe it first?
While the Soul Shrieker was about to make its impulsive decision, it noticed something changed.
Waitââ
This black dogââ-
Its originally raised tail is slowly lowering and is keeping it close between its legs.
What does that mean?
Is it also making some sort of preparation and is also waiting for the moment I charge forward to strike?
The Soul Shrieker was hesitant and gave up on the idea of charging forward recklessly.
...
On the other side.
Black Crow was bringing Su Xue Er, Anna, and Ning Yue Chan flying through the space vortex.
âDo your best! Crow Deity!â
Anna encouraged it.
âDonât worry, Anna, we will definitely make it to the Bramble Bird Kingdom before the Soul Shrieker doesâ Black Crow informed her.
Annaâs expression turned a bit sorrowful and muttered: âI wonder how the Hound Deity is doing right nowâ
âDonât mind it, itâs been through a lot and is a lot more reliable than it appears, there shouldnât be any issuesâ Black Crow answered.
âBut he has a big weakness, Iâm just afraid that the enemy might see through it right awayâ Anna replied.
âWeakness?â Black Crow asked in surprise.
âHm, he canât conceal his true emotionsâ Anna sighed.
A warm hand placed itself on Annaâs shoulder.
It was Su Xue Er.
âAnna, donât worry, even if the servant of God canât handle it, he would still be able to escape more easily compared to usâ Su Xue Er consoled her.
Anna nodded.
The two of them then looked to the other side.
The female cultivator wearing flowing silk clothing was standing alone in front, observing the endless space vortex.
Anna thought for a bit, then walked up and asked: âI still havenât thanked you for saving usâ
Ning Yue Chan didnât turn around and simply replied: âDonât mind it too muchâ
Su Xue Er insisted: âHow could I not mind the debt of my life? And I have a suggestion for youâ
âSay itâ
Su Xue Er pointed to Anna: âHow about you give the authority of waking up the [Order] to my friend, she and I will continue on our way alone to the Bramble Bird Kingdom. You wonât need to return, as the Bramble Bird Kingdom will surely become a great field of battle very soonâ
After a moment of silence, Ning Yue Chanâs voice gained a bit of warmth: â...Thank you for your consideration, but I must return no matter whatâ
âWhy?â Su Xue Er curiously asked.
Ning Yue Chan lowered her head, then answered gently but resolutely: âBecause the one I have been waiting for is thereâ
This immediately changed the atmosphere between the three girls.
For the girls, this statement contained a topic of girlsâ talk that never got boring.
Su Xue Er and Anna exchanged glances.
Anna tried asking directly: âIâm sorry for asking but, is it your Dao companion?â
Ning Yue Chan turned around and smiled: âNot to that degree, not yetâ
âAhâ-â
Anna and Su Xue Er both uttered the same exclamation filled with implications.
This woman is a soldier of the Bramble Bird Kingdom, which means the one she loves surely belongs to the Bramble Bird Kingdom as well, perhaps a childhood friend, or a fellow soldier.
How strange.
The tense atmosphere of the situation had been defused completely by this topic.
âââtheir situation hadnât gotten any less urgent compared to earlier, but through these words, the three girls all calmed down and even got a bit closer to one another.
Anna pointed at Su Xue Er, then at herself and spoke: âSheâs called Su Xue Er, 18 years old. Iâm Anna, 19 years old, can I ask how old you are currently?â
âIâm a bit older than you two, 22 years old this yearâ Ning Yue Chan replied.
âThen Iâll call you big sisââ- Iâm truly curious what kind of person the man you missed so dearly would be likeâ Su Xue Er smiled a bit and said.
âWhy so?â Ning Yue Chan asked.
âYour Blade technique is too excellent, a normal person wouldnât be able to reach that level, yet your beauty is unrivaled, not to mention your generous and gentle nature. Even I feel greatly drawn to you, so I really want to know what kind of person would cause a person like yourself to fall so deeplyâ Su Xue Er sincerely answered her.
âYou praise me too much. Thereâs no need to focus only on me, what about you two?â Ning Yue Chan felt a bit awkward and avoided the question.
âWeââ-â
Su Xue Er and Anna faced one another, then helplessly sighed: âWe seem to be a bit unfortunate, as we both fell in love with the same manâ
Ning Yue Chan had already noticed this a while ago and asked: âWhat kind of person is he?â
âAh, itâs quite hard to say. Hm, heâs also a cultivatorâ
âReally?â
Ning Yue Chan was a bit more interested and pursued: âWhat kind of path does he cultivate? You should know, it is possible to guess the general personality and behaviours according to the different paths that a cultivator focused themselves onâ
âIs that really the case?â Anna was also interested.
âIndeed, this has been confirmed since long agoâ Ning Yue Chan nodded.
Su Xue Er also felt intrigued and replied: âI guess it doesnât hurt to tell you, in the terms of cultivators, heâs actually a sword cultivatorâ
âA sword cultivator?â
Ning Yue Chanâs long and thin eyelashes raised a bit, her expression turned grim.
Noticing the change in her expression, Su Xue Er and Anna asked at the same time:
âWhatâs wrong with sword cultivators?â
Ning Yue Chan scoffed and replied: âMost cultivators who use swords nowadays choose the path of deviousness. This represents that they themselves are constantly swaying without true allegianceâ
âTaking it a bit further, there are very few sword cultivators who can actually be considered true menââ- personally, I think sword cultivators, in general, are nothing decent regardless of genderâ
With a displeased look on her face, Ning Yue Chan continued: âAnd here I was wondering what happened, turns out it was a sword cultivator who used devious means to make the both of you pledge your true love. Furthermore, making you live in such a tattered and sorrowful state, I hate this kind of personâ
Anna and Su Xue Er were both shocked.
âAh, about that, we actually did this on our ownâ Anna awkwardly denied it.
Su Xue Er also sighed and told her: âThatâs right, he didnât use any devious means on us, itâs just that we were both already in love with him before we knew itâ
Hearing their words, Ning Yue Chan was even more displeased.
She placed her hand on her Blade and casually said:
âThereâs no need for you to make any excuses for this kind of man. Once we return to the Bramble Bird Kingdom, Iâll help you see clearly just how he truly isâ
Intense Blade qi radiated from her body.
Su Xue Er and Anna exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in each otherâs eyes.
Indeed, the first thing Ning Yue Chan did was save the two of them.
And it was also because Ning Yue Chan was worried that they had run into some sort of scum that she was acting like this.
Anna recognized this, and so did Su Xue Er.
That was why they couldnât do anything but stay silent, not knowing how to clear Gu Qing Shanâs name.