Chapter 45: The Demon God's Approval

Sunlight shone into the golden phoenix-tree forest, and bird calls came from within the woods.

The girl bathed in the forest lake, lifting her fair arm to block the piercing sun; they say a woman is like water, so what allure would water meeting a woman bring? Her graceful figure, lovely face—the lake water slowly covered her form, and that bewitching look as she turned—who did it stun?

A sound came from the woods; she knew it was bounty hunters capturing dwarves for a reward. Whenever they came here, she would hide or quickly run ashore, wrapping herself in an undergarment to cover her body—but today, what happened? She didn't move; she saw him! Feng Yan gripped the Black Sword, chasing and slaughtering the bounty hunters behind them; the hunters fled in panic, yet the girl felt the boy before her was different from usual, his whole body shrouded in killing intent, making him dangerous and unapproachable. One bounty hunter lagged behind; the boy rushed up and slashed at his back with a sword, then stood motionless where he was, looked around after a moment, confirmed all was safe, and left.

The girl watched the boy's fading back, then said to that silhouette, "Feng Yan, I've come too."

That was Lin Xiyan; she watched Feng Yan walk away slowly, her eyes filled only with worry. She, too, could not leave the game then, nor did she wish to enter Li Guo, so she came to this golden phoenix-tree forest, built a wooden cabin by the lake, settled there, and waited for other adventurers to appear.

Zhang Xiaobo saw the crossbow bolt aimed at Feng Yan and moved to help, but Feng Yan shattered the bolt with a single sword strike. Zhang Xiaobo watched from the side as the events unfolded, the black-clad masked men fleeing, and said with a laugh, "Running into you in the game, Feng Yan—but I truly want that weapon; wouldn't that make me invincible? Looks like I've also made a trip to improve Li Guo."

In the afterglow of sunset, Feng Yan walked with difficulty, leaning on his sword, his black clothes soaked in blood, feeling he could barely hold on. Seeing Chen Hao and Wang You emerge, they rushed out, their faces showing worry then smiles as they said, "It seems we still haven't decided a winner." Then he collapsed heavily to the ground, letting them carry him back to the bed inside the Temporary Palace.

"How is he?" Wang You asked.

Chen Hao examined Feng Yan's wounds; though his whole body was bloody, there were few actual injuries—only a spot on his chest where a spear had struck, but it was merely a bruise. Chen Hao relaxed and told Wang You, "It's fine, just some superficial wounds."

"Feng Yan~~" a voice called.

Feng Yan slowly woke up, constantly hearing a voice repeatedly calling his name. Upon waking, he looked around—pitch black everywhere, yet before him lay an extremely bright path; the voice came from the far end of that road, and he followed it. Along the way he could see nothing around him except the path beneath his feet. As he walked, doubt filled his mind; he recalled collapsing at the gate of the Temporary Palace, yet why was he here?

Feeling uneasy, he stopped and asked, "Who are you?"

"The one who can let you achieve victory!" the voice replied.

Feng Yan continued following the voice until he reached an iron cage; just then the surroundings suddenly lit up, and he saw the "person" inside the cage, involuntarily opening his mouth and widening his eyes.

"You are—" Feng Yan exclaimed in shock, but was cut off before he could finish.

"That's right, it's me, Chiyou." the voice replied.

Then Feng Yan grew irritated and asked, "I said, you've been quiet lately, fine—I almost got killed by them, and you didn't come out to help?"

"I'm grateful that you use your own blood and life to sustain mine, but it's not that I won't help you; while you maintain my life, my soul begins to change." Chiyou said.

This left Feng Yan puzzled, and he asked, "What's going on?"

Chiyou sighed and said, "It's this iron cage before you—you've seen it. I'm locked inside; I can appear only when you bleed, or if you smear your blood on your sword. But I cannot stay too long in your body, or it would place a great burden on you."

"But the past few times I've been conscious, at least I think so." Feng Yan replied loudly to Chiyou.

"Ah," Chiyou let out a sigh and said, "Are you sure? Do you truly want to kill the madman?"

Faced with that question, Feng Yan froze, standing there unsure what to say; his expression slowly turned sorrowful, he opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, repeating several times unable to speak, finally he bit his lip and said, "I don't want to. At first I thought this place was a game, but that person made me realize it isn't—people here are all sorts, every kind, and I truly don't want to, I really don't."

"Then that's correct," Chiyou said. "Our race is born for battle, so our weapons are likewise; we take pride in combat—either the enemy dies beneath our blades, or we ourselves fall to the ground and surrender, which is a disgrace to our people."

Feng Yan nodded after hearing that and said, "It seems this sword does not acknowledge me, does it?"

Chiyou nodded and said, "You are too kind, or rather too indecisive; my sword does not acknowledge you!"

As Chiyou's words faded, the surrounding darkness slowly dissipated and Feng Yan's memories emerged, like a film; he watched them, fell into contemplation, and asked himself, "You are a coward! Others are what they are, and you already know your own heart—why won't you let go? You know it's a lie, yet you still choose to believe all this; even now, do you still intend to reconcile?"

"Hahaha, what is this supposed to be?" Feng Yan asked, then continued, "You're not him, and you could never be him! Go die!"

Having said that, he gripped his sword and thrust straight at the person before him!

Pfft— the Black Sword's blade slowly pierced Chiyou's body; he widened his eyes and asked, "Why? You'll find out, it's impossible!"

Feng Yan pulled out his sword, sheathed it, then the surroundings slowly returned to darkness, and he asked, "Then why is snow white? Because it is the world's last purity; though there is no answer, I know white blood is beautiful."

The "Chiyou" before him slowly reverted to his original form and said, "How did you figure it out?"

Feng Yan smiled and said, "If it were really him, he wouldn't say so much; he'd just take what they want in their way— to them, only battle exists, and it's simple; their eyes fear no intrigue—that is Chiyou!"

Feng Yan sat cross-legged and said, "Because the true Chiyou has always been by my side, while you are merely a vile wretch controlling his body—am I right, Scholar?"

The Scholar clutched his chest, blood continually flowing down, and said, "Is this what an adventurer is?"

"Understood, please disappear!" he said, then swung another sword, this blade slicing across the Scholar's neck; the Scholar's body slowly turned to black smoke and dissipated.

"How did you discover that?" Chiyou asked.

"It's simple—you wouldn't say such things, because you're a hero!" Feng Yan said.

Chiyou laughed and said, "Though it's a bit naive, it's still correct."

The surroundings slowly turned white, then grew brighter, until the light became a blinding white; Feng Yan involuntarily closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he turned his head toward the doorway—it was already near nightfall dusk, the sun had set, leaving a sheet of fiery red afterglow; the red light gradually dimmed, the sky began to darken, night slowly overtook the afterglow, the afterglow retreated, and finally night fully reigned.

Feng Yan slowly rose, saw Wang You beside him, took off his own clothes and draped them over Wang You, softly saying, "Thank you, Wang You; your presence makes me no longer feel like an utterly worthless person."

Chen Hao stood guard outside, worried that if the Prince came to the Temporary Palace it would surely be disadvantageous for them; seeing Feng Yan slowly walk out the door, he said with both worry and relief, "You'd better rest a bit more—today you almost had the game end."

Feng Yan lifted his head, gazed at the black sky, answered Chen Hao's words, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, those black-clad men must be bounty hunters, possibly even ones we've fought before; and yes, the metal given by the Dwarf Tribe's chieftain—do you still have it?"

Chen Hao took it out from his bosom, handed it to Feng Yan, and said, "It's here—take a look."

Feng Yan examined the metal; it gleamed with seven-colored light in the candle glow, and he mused, "This shape—I think it can be made into a spear."

Chen Hao objected upon hearing that, saying, "I want a halberd!"

"But this shape can only be ground into a spearhead," Feng Yan said, while holding the metal up to his eye to examine it.

Chen Hao still wanted to say something, when the Prince arrived with a troop of soldiers and ordered them, "Today, bring me all the adventurers' good stuff! Especially that woman and that sword!"

"Have you come?" Feng Yan seemed to anticipate his arrival, walked up to the Prince, and blocked his path.

"Yo, who was I back then?" the Prince sneered, adopting an aloof air, "Adventurer sir, you have dwarves in your house, right? Please hand them over voluntarily—maybe you can still save a petty life."

"And what if I don't call?" Feng Yan asked.

"If you don't hand them over, then I'll kill you before searching!" the Prince shouted.

After hearing that, Chen Hao clenched his fists and stepped toward the Prince to confront him, but Feng Yan grabbed him; Chen Hao looked at Feng Yan, puzzled why he was restrained, Feng Yan signaled him to step aside, extended his right hand, and the Black Sword flew into his grip, then a blade of black sword qi shot past them, shattering the wall of the Imperial Palace!

The Prince broke out in a cold sweat on his back, yet still forced composure and said, "Hurry up and search for me!"

No sooner had he spoken than Feng Yan kicked him in the gut, sending the Prince to the ground; Feng Yan stepped on his face, twisted it, and said, "Tell your men to get lost, or the next sword will spare you from seeing tomorrow's sun!"

The Prince lay on the ground, his face under Feng Yan's foot, looking extremely terrified, and shouted, "Retreat, retreat—everyone get out! Hear me?"

Watching the soldiers retreat, Feng Yan kicked the Prince away, pointed his sword at him, and said, "Scram—this is the last time I'll let you off!"

Watching the Prince flee in frenzy, Feng Yan breathed a sigh of relief, then a pang of pain struck his chest; with a puff he spat out a mouthful of blood, could no longer hold up, half‑knelt on the ground, bracing his sword tip against the floor to barely sustain himself.

"Are you okay?" Chen Hao ran over and slowly helped Chen Hao back to the Temporary Palace.

Yang Xin sat on the Prince's Mansion, watching the soldiers bring back the news, and laughed, "Is this a serious injury? Looks like, old friend, you're sure to lose this time!"