Chapter 969: Chen Yan, I am the only enemy you have left!

Beneath the firmament, there was dead, soundless silence.

The massive shell of primordial chaos shattered amidst the sword light, and fragments of pitch-black malice scattered like a rainstorm, dissolving into wisps of gray mist as they fell into the sea.

In that instant.

Countless people widened their eyes, their throats parched, unable to make a single sound.

"Dead... is it dead?" someone murmured, trembling.

That was one of the five supreme ancient divine beasts, a terrifying existence that had once ravaged the human world and devoured countless living beings, yet it had been wiped out in a single sword strike!

But the problem was.

Had Li Zhiyi not been heavily wounded, and had the Xia Sovereign Sword not already been obtained by Lu Xunyang?

Even the Great Xia powerhouses who had been hunting Li Zhiyi were stunned.

They looked at Li Zhiyi's back, unable to make a decision for a moment.

"What do we do now?"

Someone asked, dazed.

"Continue killing the Five Clans."

Shen Yiwei said in a low voice, then charged directly toward the Five Clans' side.

Even Zong Heng, Zong Huang, and Yu Cheng, who had previously been knocked away by Li Zhiyi, appeared.

They said nothing, immediately rushing toward the direction of Yu Province.

Zhang Ting also appeared, though his arm had been torn off by Li Zhiyi earlier; he was currently drinking a healing spirit medicine with a dark expression.

Jiang Yuan also appeared.

However, Jiang Yuan's legs were now shattered, and he gritted his teeth as he looked at Li Zhiyi's back.

"Yu Province has prepared a mechanical battle armor for you; go find Yu Ming."

Li Zhiyi replied without looking back.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath:

"You're really good to me, huh."

Immediately, Jiang Yuan flew toward the direction of Yu Province.

Chen Yuan frowned, staring fixedly at this scene, his pupils shrinking violently for a moment.

Zhang Xing froze in place, his brain a blank slate; even the process of merging his three physical bodies had stalled.

Jiang Yuan had appeared just like that, and left just like that, without even saying a word, without the slightest pause.

"Good!"

Zhang Xing suddenly laughed:

"A fine Jiang Yuan, a fine human!"

Zhang Xing opened his mouth wide and let out a wild laugh.

The next instant.

Boom!

A golden figure fell like a meteor, instantly smashing onto the bodies of the three that had not yet fully merged.

A terrifying shockwave exploded, the seawater surged ten thousand fathoms high, and the seabed cracked!

Screech!

A hiss from the ancient divine beast rang out, and endless pitch-black malice instantly tainted the ocean.

A behemoth was rapidly taking shape on the seabed, but before it could fully form, it was first met with Lu Xunyang's frenzied suppression and slaughter.

Li Zhiyi waved one hand, tossing the Xia Sovereign Sword into the seabed.

He needed Lu Xunyang to be able to quickly annihilate the Weizhao Void Sacrifice.

And in the center of the great battle, Chen Yuan's gaze was cold to the extreme.

Now, even if people were foolish, they could clearly see that it had been Lu Xunyang and Li Zhiyi putting on an act all along.

Even Xia Hanzhou, at the time of his ascension, had participated in it.

"I originally thought Great Xia had recognized your true face; I didn't expect Great Xia to still be this foolish."

Chen Yuan's icy voice rang out.

Li Zhiyi looked toward the Chen Sovereign from afar, a flash of complexity in his eyes.

"Chen Yuan, you once told me that if I lost, I should return to assist you and complete all your arrangements for you."

Li Zhiyi's voice was extremely calm.

Even Xia Hanzhou and the Yu Sovereign looked toward Li Zhiyi.

Chen Yuan's gaze flickered uncertainly.

He had never said such words to Li Zhiyi.

He had never said them.

He had only said them to one person.

Chen Yan.

That day, by the lakeside.

"If you can survive, perhaps you will truly gain a chance to defeat me and change the human race.

If you lose, you shall return to assist me and complete all my arrangements for me."

At that time, Chen Yuan had said this to Chen Yan, who had lost all his cultivation and become a cripple.

At that time, he had admired Chen Yan.

At that time, he had believed Chen Yan could become another Chen Yuan.

But he was wrong.

Chen Yuan felt a bit dazed; he narrowed his eyes at this moment, staring fixedly at Li Zhiyi.

He wanted to know what exactly Li Zhiyi was trying to say.

"Chen Yuan!"

Where the sea and sky met, clear blue blended with wisps of cloud.

The youth in red clothes and red hair stood suspended in the air, his red eyes like burning stars, his robes fluttering violently as he collided head-on with the wind between heaven and earth.

Li Zhiyi's voice was low:

"I said back then, why do you think that after I lose, I must acknowledge you?"

Li Zhiyi's voice fell.

Chen Yuan's eyes slowly widened, carrying a trace of disbelief.

Even the great battle seemed to have frozen.

Everyone watched Li Zhiyi and Chen Yuan.

They did not know that these two had actually spoken to each other before.

Li Zhiyi smiled:

"I said back then, if I lose, I will die!

I said back then, if I had to live on in humiliation, to endure endless panic and live humbly in submission to fate.

I would rather head toward death; better to be a shattered jade than a whole tile!"

Chen Yuan's body stiffened.

The voice of the youth from the past flooded into his ears once more.

But it was a different scene, and a different person.

Yet it was the exact same sentence.

Countless torrents of information crashed through Chen Yuan's mind, leaving him dizzy and incredulous.

Li Zhiyi's eyes erupted with a bloody red light:

"You always thought that cowering and bowing was the way to survive, that all humility and submission were just natural selection, impossible to change.

I am here to tell you, some people would rather die than submit; as long as he is still alive, he will keep walking forward!"

Li Zhiyi spread his arms, as if embracing heaven and earth:

"Now, I have reached this point!

Are you still going to stop me?!"

With his green robes fluttering, Chen Yuan stood where the wind rose, his gaze suddenly fixed.

In those eyes that had seen through the ages, the profound calm shattered inch by inch, and a ripple of shock washed over the depths of his eyes.

"You!"

Chen Yuan was at a loss for words, feeling for a moment as if a stone were stuck in his throat.

Why would Li Zhiyi say the words that Chen Yan once said?

Could Li Zhiyi not be the second human walker chosen by the Lord of Will after abandoning Chen Yan?

No.

Isn't what is inside Li Zhiyi the consciousness of the Lord of Will?

Something, somewhere, seemed wrong.

Chen Yuan stared fixedly at Li Zhiyi:

"What are you saying?"

Li Zhiyi's eyes were calm:

"Chen Yuan, isn't this scene right now exactly what you wanted to see?"

The youth in red took a deep breath:

"It is enough already; you are going to lose, and you have monstrous crimes—you could well take the lead in the future and be the first to die!

Why ignite the flames of war again and cause the human world to suffer such heavy losses!"

Li Zhiyi spoke persuasively, why fight again?

The end of the human world is approaching; why not unify the front and seek a chance of victory for the future war.

His goal had already been achieved; of the last two supreme ancient divine beasts in the outside world, one was dead and the other was dying.

Lu Xunyang had obtained the opportunity to ascend to the Ninth Rank.

Now, only Chen Yuan remained.

Chen Yuan gazed at Li Zhiyi, with a touch of deep contemplation, and even a trace of bewilderment he had not noticed himself.

Countless streams of information bombarded his mind.

Why did Chen Yan go to Jizhou to die?

Why did he use Chen Yan to lure the Lord of Will, yet the Lord of Will never appeared?

Why did Li Zhiyi and Zhang Huizhi's strength suddenly rise after Chen Yan died?

One "why" after another finally received its explanation now.

"Hahahahaha!"

Chen Yuan laughed out loud, wiping his long hair from his forehead with one hand.

The great battle suddenly went quiet.

Countless people looked at Chen Yuan, looked at Li Zhiyi.

It was as if their next sentence could completely change the course of the great battle.

Chen Yuan felt a myriad of emotions for a moment, yet he concealed them all within the unfathomable depths of his gaze.

He was still laughing wildly.

"Hahahahaha!"

Chen Yuan laughed repeatedly, looking up toward the firmament:

"Not bad!"

"Hahahaha!"

"You!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Chen Yuan laughed long like a madman, but in the next moment, he let out a heavy voice:

"To exist between heaven and earth without an end or beginning is not the way of a gentleman!"

Chen Youqing stared blankly at Chen Yuan in this moment; it was the first time she had seen such an expression on her father.

Li Zhiyi, who is he?

Chen Youqing looked blankly toward where Li Zhiyi was.

Chen Yuan, however, slowly shook his head:

"At the age of thirty, I established the Dao-intent that would span my entire life.

Having endured two thousand years, how could I lose the path I came from at this final juncture?"

Li Zhiyi slowly closed his eyes.

Perhaps he had known all along that this would be the result.

The more steadfast a person's path of the Great Dao is, the less it will ever change.

If it were not so, that person could never have achieved supreme strength.

"Hahahaha!"

Chen Yuan laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha!"

Li Zhiyi laughed out loud in succession.

The two were separated by a great distance.

Even the battle between Lu Xunyang and Wei Zhaoxu had become a backdrop for the two of them.

Countless people gazed at them.

Perhaps they could perceive the intertwining emotions between the two.

Perhaps they could perceive that at this very moment—no, all along—they had been on absolutely opposing sides.

Certainly, one must die and one must live.

As their laughter gradually faded, a trace of gratification remained in the depths of Chen Yuan's eyes.

"You have done very well, very well!"

He sighed aloud:

"In the ten thousand years of the human race, there has never been anyone as brilliant and talented as you!

You can be called unprecedented and unrepeatable!

Xia Zhiyang and Chen Fazhen can only look at your back.

Even the Xia Lord cannot compare to you!"

Chen Yuan sighed long:

"I am right here, right in this place; kill me, and no one can stop you anymore!

Those beings who blocked you before have all been destroyed by your own hands, one by one, trampled under your feet!

You have only one enemy left: me!"