Chapter 1293: Oath

Oath

At this rate, in less than ten minutes, the Integration Faction would be completely wiped out.

The icy seawater continuously rose, already submerging Teacher Ye's knees, yet he seemed completely unaware of it. He still sat there quietly, his body beginning to sway left and right under the buoyancy. If Old Wolf hadn't been using his tail to anchor him all this time, he would have long been swept away to who knows where by the waves.

Splash——!!

Another bone-piercingly cold wave slapped over.

This time, among the already few remaining children, several more were missing...

"Little Huan!! A-Hai!! Niannian!!!" Old Wolf's eyes were crimson red. He reached out wanting to grab those children swept into the waves, but ultimately could only touch a patch of emptiness...

Mi Bo and He Chengxuan at the side were even more furious to the point of their eye sockets splitting. They had watched these children grow up with their own eyes, but now they could only watch helplessly as they died in front of them. This feeling of powerlessness made them almost go crazy.

"Damn it!! I told you we shouldn't have come to the South Sea, we shouldn't have come to the South Sea!!!"

He Chengxuan's chest heaved violently. He turned and hugged Teacher Ye's thigh, who was sitting quietly in the seawater, his voice even trembling somewhat:

"Teacher Ye..."

"If you don't hurry up... the children will really all die, Teacher Ye!!!"

...

Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake.

"I want the Calamity of Mockery, Chen Ling, to never step foot into the Human Domains for all eternity."

The moment this sentence rang out, Chen Ling froze in place.

Immediately after,

His gaze towards Chu Changqing once again climbed with anger!

Teacher Ye was similarly stunned, then spoke without hesitation:

"Chen Ling is not an appendage of our Integration Faction. I cannot agree to this request of yours."

"I know... that's why this condition isn't for you." Chu Changqing's gaze looked towards Chen Ling beside him.

Chu Changqing's meaning couldn't be more obvious.

He could let the Integration Faction into the city, but he couldn't just bear the risk... In exchange, he wanted to wipe out a risk to the Human Domains that was even more threatening than the Integration Faction... which was the Calamity of Mockery.

As long as the Calamity of Mockery didn't enter the Human Domains from now on, it meant that the Six Great Extinctions humanity had to face would be reduced to five Great Extinctions. Their pressure would be greatly reduced. Whether it was Chu Changqing himself or the Alliance Council, they would surely agree to this trade.

Chen Ling stared at him fixedly. After a long silence, he finally spoke in a cold voice:

"If I promise you I won't enter the Human Domains, will you believe it?"

"Of course not."

Chu Changqing raised his hand, and a thumb-sized little cyan bug crawled out from his sleeve. A mysterious faint light emanated from the little bug's surface, and even Chen Ling could sense a threatening aura from it.

"This one is the Vow Gu-Insect I expended a great deal of painstaking effort to cultivate."

"Lower your guard and swallow it whole. It will fuse as one with your soul. Once you violate your oath, it will destroy your soul along with it."

"Back then, I was tortured by you for so long, and even fused with a part of you. I understand you too well. My initial purpose in cultivating it was waiting for the day I could use it to take revenge on you... So don't think about using any method to shield it, and don't mistakenly think you can evade its destruction...

It was born to kill you."

The bone-piercing cold wind swept across the Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake, freezing a thin layer of ice even over the originally undulating lake surface.

The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe stood there quietly, his gaze fixed on that tiny cyan bug in Chu Changqing's hand. It was as if only the whimpering sound of the wind remained in his ears...

Chu Changqing had indeed come prepared.

Chen Ling had a premonition that if he ate this little bug today, even committing suicide wouldn't let him get rid of it. He didn't know what Chu Changqing had experienced at the hands of the Calamity of Mockery back then, to actually be able to tailor-make such a thing for him.

"You eat it, leave the South Sea, and I'll let the Integration Faction in... Or, we continue this stalemate." Chu Changqing looked into Chen Ling's eyes,

"Everyone's fate is for you to decide."

Teacher Ye's brows furrowed tightly, struggle emerging on his pale face. He opened his mouth wanting to say something, but couldn't bring himself to say it...

Ever since he decided to come to the South Sea, he had already prepared himself mentally. No matter what price he had to pay, even if he had to kneel and kowtow, he absolutely had to leave a path of survival for the Integration Faction... He understood this student of his; he knew Chu Changqing was fundamentally a softhearted person. As long as he went this far, there was a very high possibility Chu Changqing would accept the Integration Faction.

But he never expected that Chu Changqing's price for deciding to accept the Integration Faction would be Chen Ling.

Although the relationship between him and Chen Ling was said to be teacher and student, Chen Ling had helped the Integration Faction too much, and he owed Chen Ling too much. Teacher Ye didn't want to drag Chen Ling into this... But on the other hand, it was a matter of life and death for the children of the Integration Faction right now. He couldn't just directly refuse Chu Changqing and watch helplessly as the children died.

After struggling for a long time, as if exhausting all his strength, he spoke hoarsely to Chen Ling:

"Chen Ling... although I taught you some things over this past half year, I failed to give you any substantial help, and instead made you step in to help repeatedly. You don't owe the Integration Faction anything; it is us who owe you...

Therefore, you don't need to be dragged down by us."

No one knew what kind of pain and struggle Teacher Ye had to go through to say this sentence. Although he didn't say it directly, at this moment, he was undoubtedly pushing Chen Ling away.

Chu Changqing didn't say anything more. He just quietly watched Chen Ling, waiting for his choice.

Chen Ling smiled.

He didn't even hesitate much before calmly picking up that cyan bug:

"Chu Changqing, you'd better pray this bug is actually effective... Otherwise, one day, I will make you pay the price."

The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe danced wildly in the bone-piercing cold wind. Just like that, under the gazes of the two, he gently opened his lips, and then... swallowed that squirming cyan bug in one gulp.

Actually, from the very beginning, Chen Ling didn't care about the condition Chu Changqing proposed. He had absolutely no interest in the Human Domains whatsoever.

He was a wanted criminal in the Human Domains, the Calamity of Mockery whom everyone shouted to beat. He would forever have to be cautious in the Human Domains. Since that was the case, why must he stay in the Human Domains?

If the Human Domains didn't welcome him, did he have nowhere else to go?

Of course not.

Even if Chu Changqing didn't mention it, Chen Ling couldn't be bothered to go to those other Domains. He had long been thoroughly disappointed with these Domains. From the moment he accepted the Calamity of Mockery, he hadn't considered himself a "human"...

The only downside of being unable to step foot into the Human Domains for Chen Ling was that he might not be able to so conveniently meet some people, meet some old friends anymore.

But to Chen Ling, this was no longer important.

After undergoing Slaughtering the Calamity several times, Chen Ling had already fused too deeply with the Calamity of Mockery... Just as Chu Changqing had said, wherever he went now, he would bring disaster. Whoever got close to him would be affected. It was like this with the Integration Faction, like this with Han Meng, and like this with Little Peach and Little White.

Perhaps Chu Changqing was right.

A person like him should just stay far away from everyone and find a place with no one to stay by himself...

Right,

He deserved to be all alone.

Chen Ling's rationality had already thought everything through. He had found countless reasons to persuade himself to leave. He knew that making this choice was absolutely correct, because he didn't want to hurt the people closest to him...

Therefore, he swallowed that Gu Worm without hesitation. He didn't give himself the chance to regret.

But...

Why...

After he truly made the choice, why did his heart still ache?

Jian Changsheng, Sun Bumian, Jiang Xiaohua, Han Meng, Bai Ye, Chu Muyun, First Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister... As those familiar figures flashed before Chen Ling's eyes once again, an indescribable pain surged into his heart. When he was in the Wuji Domain, these people had once been the motivation granting this "Role" the drive to live on. They were the anchors that allowed him to acknowledge "even a fictional Thespian can still possess a life of their own."

And now, his own existence had actually become the source bringing them disaster.

Since that was the case...

From now on, there would be no need to ever meet again, right?

As the cyan bug entered his stomach, an aura of the Nine Monarchs explosively erupted within Chen Ling's abdomen. The intense pain instantly turned his face incredibly pale, and his entire person hunched over on the ground in agony...

He took a deep breath, and spoke hoarsely word by word:

"I, Chen Ling, swear..."

"From now on, for all eternity, I will never again step half a foot into the Human Domains. Otherwise..."

"I shall have my soul annihilated."