Chapter 993: Dad, Mom! I'm Home!

Bai E stared at Li Zhiyi, looking at the phantom of the Saint-Breaking Tree behind Li Zhiyi.

He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to roar.

But at this moment, he saw Li Zhiyi's pair of scarlet eyes.

Immediately, that pair of turbid, remnant eyes looked toward the vast human world.

He saw martial artists with flowing light like weaving, facing death as if returning home, and heard shouts where sorrowful weeping and heroic songs intertwined.

At this moment, he calmed down.

For the first time in one hundred thousand years, he was this calm.

One hundred thousand years of hatred and madness receded like a tide at this moment, revealing the original heart beneath that had long been riddled with holes.

So, this is what calm feels like.

So, it is like this.

He seemed to understand something.

Endless struggle emerged within his eyes.

"What... am I... to the human race?"

Bai E's voice was hoarse and trembling, as if he had exhausted his last bit of strength.

He looked at Li Zhiyi beside him; the scarlet eyes reflected golden-red flames, and also reflected his own withered, ghost-like reflection.

His remnant eyes slowly widened, looking at his own outstretched, withered and charred hands.

"What am I, Bai E... to the human race...?"

Endless pain appeared in his eyes, as if he were fearing Li Zhiyi's next answer.

"No... don't tell me."

He stretched out his hand and shook it slowly.

Li Zhiyi, however, was staring at Bai E:

"My Master is the witness to the suffering of the human race, and also the firewood for the human race's nirvana."

Bai E was stunned; he slowly looked at Li Zhiyi, carrying a trace of confusion and bewilderment.

"My Master is great!"

Li Zhiyi spoke:

"My Master is the founder of the path of Thought Power, and the true founder of the three auxiliary martial paths: Elements, Arrays, and True Intent.

And also the true creator of my Chen Yan Saint-Breaking Tree and the Evil Realm Saint-Breaking Tree!"

Li Zhiyi was not wrong.

The path of True Intent originated from the Pure Evil Ancient God-Beast.

The path of Elements originated from the Elemental Ancient God-Beast.

The path of Arrays originated from the Array-Condensing Ancient God-Beast.

And these three ancient god-beasts were all created when Bai E and the Xia Sovereign contended.

Bai E looked at Li Zhiyi, tears mixing with blood-grime sliding down.

"Heh... hehe..."

Bai E began to laugh, the laughter gradually turning from hoarse to desolate, dissolving into the wind of this night.

He raised his withered claw, pinched with one hand, and a wedding candy was grasped in his hand by a strange power, then stuffed into his mouth.

He could not bear to bite it, just calmly holding it in his mouth.

So sweet.

So sweet.

Delicious.

It really is too delicious.

Jet-black light marks appeared upon his phantom.

That massive physical body that had emerged from the Sea of Malice began to show signs of disintegration.

Long marks spanning one million miles appeared.

No pain, no roaring, no anger.

Bai E savored the sweetness of the wedding candy.

"Brother, walk slower."

"You run too fast, Brother."

"After we go back, I'm going to tell Mother that you bullied me."

Little Sister's voice, crisp as a silver bell, rang out beside his ears.

"Did you hear it?"

A smile appeared in Bai E's eyes, as if he had felt the most blissful thing.

Li Zhiyi looked at Bai E, watching as jet-black flames began to burn on Bai E's body.

He was self-immolating, heading toward annihilation, yet without a shred of pain.

"I heard it, Master." Li Zhiyi's voice was gentle.

"You heard it too..." A look of pleasant surprise appeared in Bai E's eyes:

"Little Sister, Little Sister has come to find me."

He slowly stretched out his hand, his remnant eyes full of gentleness:

"Little Sister, I won't run anymore."

His fingertips turned into specks of starlight, dissipating into the void.

Bai E, however, did not care in the slightest; he spat out the candy in his mouth and placed it into his other hand:

"Big Brother has something delicious here, let me wash it for you to eat."

He smiled, immersed in endless happiness.

One step, two steps, he walked forward.

"Hahaha."

"Hahaha."

It was as if the night had vanished.

In the firmament, bright sunlight emerged.

The wind, carrying the scent of green grass, swept across the wilderness; the felt tents in the distance looked like white mushrooms scattered on a green carpet.

Bai E's figure darted forward like an arrow, the hem of his dark blue robe fluttering in the wind, his pitch-black hair tips dusted with fine grass clippings.

"Big Brother, walk slower!"

The little girl behind him was panting, her small pink boots sinking into the soft meadow, stumbling with every step she ran.

She clutched her skirt and chased with all her might, her pigtails bobbing high.

Bai E stopped running; he halted and looked back at his younger sister:

"I won't run anymore."

The little girl ran up to him, panting:

"I don't care, I'm still going back to tell Mom that you bullied me."

Bai E took out the candy he had been holding in his palm and stuffed it into the little girl's mouth.

"So sweet, what is this?" The little girl widened her eyes, savoring the sweetness in her mouth.

"Tastes good, right?"

The little boy raised his head, full of pride:

"Follow Big Brother, and Big Brother will let you eat candy every day from now on."

"Big Brother is so good to me."

The little girl hugged the little boy.

"Hahaha!"

The little boy smiled happily.

"Hahaha."

"Hahaha."

Crisp laughter rang out across the grassland.

At this moment.

Bai E's phantom image dissipated completely.

The aura of that massive true self vanished rapidly.

He turned into specks of starlight, sprinkling down upon the human torrent rushing toward the battlefield, like a silent send-off.

One hundred thousand years of imprisonment, one hundred thousand years of madness, ended here.

Li Zhiyi knew that at that final moment, Bai E was happy.

Endless happiness.

At that moment, his emotional threshold was infinitely elevated, and he obtained his own final salvation.

With a *pop*.

A piece of candy fell into Li Zhiyi's hand.

Li Zhiyi stood still where he was, gazing in the direction where the starlight had faded, his eyes trembling as he bowed deeply.

"Sending my Master on his way!"

On the grassland.

The boy holding his younger sister seemed to have heard Li Zhiyi's voice.

"Big Brother, someone called you Master; who is he?"

The little boy named Bai E had tears falling from his eyes:

"He is me, another... me."

As he spoke, the tears in his eyes could not be stopped, and he choked with sobs:

"So good... so good."

"Big Brother, don't cry; how about Big Brother gives him some candy to taste too?"

The little sister asked naively.

"No need... no need..."

Bai E wiped his tears and waved at the person invisible behind him, then looked affectionately at the little sister in his arms.

"Going home."

"Mm, going home."

He began to run on the grassland, running faster and faster.

As if he saw home.

As if he saw Dad and Mom stewing meat at the doorway.

That mouth-watering aroma drifted over.

Making him run even faster.

"Dad, Mom!"

"I have returned!"

…………

At the same time.

Hum!

Strands of the power of rules swirled around Li Zhiyi.

Vast to the extreme, unfathomably profound.

Li Zhiyi's scarlet eyes trembled as he bowed once more:

"Chen Yan of Green Mountain, gives thanks to my master!"

Li Zhiyi bowed, lingering and refusing to stand up.

At this moment, he seemed to feel the one hundred thousand years of struggle and pain from Bai E.

As well as the relief of this moment.

Who says Bai E is not the supreme being of the human race, who says Bai E is not the Master of Martial Dao!

At this moment.

The rules belonging to the four great Martial Daos—the Ancient God Path, the Element Path, the Array Path, and the True Intent Path—entered Li Zhiyi's mind.

It was unimaginably vast.

If the main body of Chen Yan did not possess the Emperor Fruit and had his wisdom elevated.

He would have found it difficult to digest these Martial Dao rules in a short time.

Aside from the Martial Dao rules.

There was also that sliver of causality.

The causality rule for ascending to the Ninth Rank!

The Ninth Realm of Martial Dao, the Death Realm.

Not only must one have sufficient internal reserves, but one also needs to slay a supreme Ancient God Beast.

Because the human Martial Dao was born for the purpose of slaying Ancient Gods.

Only by slaying a supreme Ancient God Beast does a martial artist have the qualifications to ascend to the Ninth Rank.

The reason the Soul of the Life Chapter could allow Xia Hanzhou to ascend to the Ninth Rank.

Is because the Soul of the Life Chapter contained the remnant soul of a supreme Ancient God Beast.

Xia Hanzhou killed the remnant soul within the Soul of the Life Chapter and also obtained that sliver of causality.

But such an ascension is actually fundamentally inferior to a natural Ninth Rank ascension.

At best, it can slightly suppress a Universe Master.

The main body, Chen Yan, ascended to the Ninth Rank by using all the Ancient God Beasts of the Evil Realm as a sacrifice.

He obtained that sliver of causality rule required to enter the Ninth Rank.

And now.

Li Zhiyi, this avatar, can also ascend to the Ninth Rank.

Because Bai E bestowed that layer of causality upon Li Zhiyi.

Moreover, it can allow not only Li Zhiyi to ascend, but also another person.

Li Zhiyi merely pondered faintly before choosing to give the other opportunity for ascension to Zhao Zhugui.

Zhao Zhugui will be the key to Chen Yan's future slaying of the Mother God.

To put it bluntly, Li Zhiyi and Zhang Huizhi have already revealed their cards.

Since the cards are revealed, it is impossible for Li Zhiyi and Zhang Huizhi to pose a great threat to the Mother God.

But Zhao Zhugui is different.

Li Zhiyi's intent flashed, and the sliver of causality rule for ascending to the Ninth Rank flew toward Zhao Zhugui on the other side of the world.

As for himself, he sat cross-legged in the void and began his ascension.

At the same time.

Jin Province.

On top of a high mountain.

The Sovereign of Ji stood there, dejected and soul-lost; she had been like this ever since the destruction of Ji Province.

Zhao Zhugui had been sitting cross-legged not far from the Sovereign of Ji the entire time, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with him.

Yet at this very moment.

Zhao Zhugui opened his eyes, and strands of causality rules entered Zhao Zhugui's body.

He remained calm, appearing to have no changes at all.

But within his body, earth-shattering changes were occurring every single moment.

Martial Dao memories from the main body, Chen Yan, and the other two newborn bodies were continuously poured into the depths of Zhao Zhugui's mind.

Even, after the disappearance of 【Return to One】, Zhao Zhugui had already awakened the Will Path, becoming a newborn supreme being of the human world.

But no one discovered it.

To the Sovereign of Ji, and to everyone in the outside world today.

Zhao Zhugui had already reached a level that no one could peer into.

So much so that the current Zhao Zhugui was clearly preparing to ascend to the Ninth Rank.

Yet no one discovered it.

The next moment.

Zhao Zhugui stood up.

"You..."

The Master of Ji looked sharply at Zhao Zhugui:

"Where are you going?"

"To walk the world once more," Zhao Zhugui said calmly.

He intended to revise the Eternal Calamity Counter-Blood Grand Array that covered the entire world.

Not only with a new, more powerful array path.

But he also had to infuse it with powerful Martial Dao rules.

To prepare for the battle to come.

The Master of Ji was stunned:

"They... have all gone to Ji Province..."

"Will you go?" Zhao Zhugui asked calmly.

The Master of Ji was momentarily bewildered:

"But Ji Province... is already gone."

PS: One chapter today; I teared up writing it, truly teared up, let me take a moment.