Chapter 761: To Kill or Not to Kill

The proud-sounding text on the parchment surfaced in his mind, and Fang Yue's face darkened.

Facing an immortal, Fang Yue did not dare let his guard down.

The people of the Alliance had no access to the game's high-end combat power, so they likely had no precise concept of immortals.

But Fang Yue was clear on it.

He had once crossed paths with Mei Yu's avatar.

The strength of an immortal was beyond imagination, far beyond what an ordinary person could handle.

Even though he had already slain the immortal, Fang Yue still felt a little uneasy inside.

After all, in the game's eras when immortals did not appear, Rain-tier was the Xian.

And the power of Rain-tier could already be described as beyond imagination, and was extremely hard to kill.

Take Lord Han, for example — multiple times on the brink of death, yet even with only a single eyeball left, he could still barely retain his Origin Power, with the possibility of recovery and resurrection!

And an immortal-tier above Rain-tier would only be even more terrifying!

But after Fang Yue carefully examined Su Bairong's corpse, he discovered that Su Bairong was truly dead beyond a doubt, without the slightest movement.

Fang Yue's face took on a strange look as he lowered his gaze to the Flowing Cloud Blade.

The Immortal-Slaying Water had actually worked!

Immortals were actually this fragile!

As long as one coated oneself in Immortal-Slaying Water, even a mortal body could slay an immortal!

However…

The prerequisite was that the immortal's strength was so weak that even he could kill them; otherwise, even if the weapon was coated in Immortal-Slaying Water, it would be nothing but nonsense.

And a situation like the one before him, this kind of opportunity, would only appear under such extreme circumstances as now.

No normal immortal would ever give a mortal the slightest chance to harm them!

With boldness born of desperation, Fang Yue's gaze instinctively turned toward the distance.

After the countless high-pressure missiles had carpet-bombed the area earlier, the Cheater Base below had long since been exposed on the surface.

Even standing here, one could see from afar a great crater caving downward.

And within that crater, there must surely be a slumbering cheater!

As for the others, Fang Yue could leave them be, but Mei Yu…

Fang Yue raised his arm, tightened his grip on the Flowing Cloud Blade, his heartbeat quickening, his breathing growing ragged.

The words Mei Yu's avatar had said to him in the game — Fang Yue remembered them perfectly clearly.

"I have already dissolved my contract with the parchment and am going to Jing Shan. This thing is useless to me; I'd rather leave it here for you to keep. When my true body awakens, she will come find you and take it back."

That's right — Mei Yu's avatar had said it very clearly: once her true body awakened, she would come to reclaim the parchment.

The parchment was the foundation of Fang Yue's survival. In the game, he was no match for Mei Yu's avatar at all; a wise man knew when to yield, and his momentary Hidden Endurance was only to keep himself alive in the long run.

But now, the situation was different…

【Right! Different!】

…Could you not pop up at a time like this?

【What's that supposed to mean! Fang Yue, the great and noble Lord Parchment is supporting you!】

【Take down the old witch! Forever monopolize the great and noble Lord Parchment!】

【From now on, I am your paper!!】

Hearing this, Fang Yue could not help but roll his eyes.

But the parchment had gotten one thing right.

And that was… he was going to monopolize the parchment!

The parchment was far too important to him — no one could take it away!

Looking back over everything, without the parchment, he would have died countless times over long ago.

And when 【Heaven Devouring】 fully arrived, the world would very likely undergo a great upheaval! To survive, Fang Yue was even less likely to hand over the parchment.

So, better to seize the moment while he had the means and the chance… strike first, and take care of Mei Yu!

【That's the spirit!】

【Fang Yue, go for it! Don't hesitate!】

【Go for it! Kill the old witch, and I am yours!】

【Old witch, system internal!!】

Fang Yue could clearly hear the excitement and agitation in the parchment's tone.

And he, gripping the Flowing Cloud Blade coated in Immortal-Slaying Water, truly did have the power to slay an immortal!

"But… am I really going to kill Mei Yu?"

Fang Yue tightened his grip on the hilt, emotions churning within.

This was a heaven-sent opportunity — perhaps a once-in-an-eternity chance!

But…

Should he really do it?

Here…

Under the surveillance of countless drones, in front of the Alliance, kill the immortal Mei Yu…

What would the people of the Alliance think? Would they possibly…

No!

Now was the chance! The cheater Su Bairong's actions had already infringed upon the Alliance's interests, and by extension the entire cheater faction was now regarded with hostility!

Right now was the best opportunity to kill Mei Yu. As long as he made the excuse that he had lost his head in the moment, the Alliance might understand — at this very moment, he and the Alliance were on the same side!

Kill Plum Rain, obtain the parchment, and resolve the worry of what comes after.

But…

Should he really do it…

【What are you waiting for! Of course you have to do it!】

【Great and noble Lord Parchment, absolutely do not go back to that old witch!】

【Freedom! The freedom Lord Parchment desires can only be made possible through you!】

【Fang Yue, believe in yourself, go for it!!】

His hand was trembling.

Even with Su Bairong as an example right before his eyes, Fang Yue still felt uncertain in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, he silently said in his heart: "Precognition!"

【……】

"Precognition!"

【……】

"What's wrong? Why aren't you precognizing."

【Idiot! Here, I have no way to precognize any of the old witch's actions! Any precognition related to her yields no result.】

Fang Yue was briefly stunned, then immediately understood.

What now stood before the parchment was the real Plum Rain, its original master!

As a former master, Plum Rain might have tampered with the parchment, so it was reasonable that precognition couldn't work.

But to act recklessly without being able to precognize whether killing Plum Rain would succeed…

On the other hand, Fang Yue had also wavered intensely about his own course of action.

Killing Plum Rain would certainly let him truly claim the parchment, but Plum Rain was a cheater, and a cheater's original intention was to save the world.

To kill the real Plum Rain just for his own selfish desires…

He had to admit, this went against his conscience; Fang Yue truly could not bring himself to do such a thing.

【No!】

【What's there to waver about killing the old witch!】

【That's the old witch we're talking about!】

The parchment was still doing its best to egg him on, but Fang Yue had already lowered his arm, his killing intent gone.

But just then…

Boom!

A sound like a bell and drum suddenly reached his ears.

Fang Yue was briefly stunned, immediately sought the source of the sound, and his pupils instantly contracted.

The source of the sound was, astonishingly, Su Bairong on the ground—his skull pierced, his body already cut clean in two, whom Fang Yue had assumed was thoroughly dead.

And at this moment, Su Bairong actually slowly opened his eyes!

"You—you're not dead!?"

As his expression drastically changed, Fang Yue had already drawn his blade in an instant!

But in that very instant, Fang Yue suddenly felt a strange sensation.

It didn't come from Fang Yue himself, or from Su Bairong, but from the Flowing Cloud Blade in his hand.

He felt that the Flowing Cloud Blade… seemed to have already 'died.'

To say it died wasn't quite accurate either; it was more like some material had reached the end of its lifespan, its potential wrung dry, a withered feeling.

This sensation fed back into Fang Yue's mind in only an instant, before he could think it through.

Gathered internal force had already wrapped itself in black qi, and he slashed down!

"Dark Moon Blade Technique!!"

The instant the blade vanished into the darkness, without a trace.

Clang—

The Flowing Cloud Blade struck as though hitting the hardest stone in the world; the blade shattered and flew off.

Fang Yue was stunned, his heart gave a sudden jolt, and he inwardly cried that things were bad!

Looking down again at the broken Flowing Cloud Blade, the Immortal-Slaying Water that had originally coated the blade had long since completely dried up; the blade's surface was pitted and uneven, and the inside was as if hollowed out, empty and hollow, like rotten old wood—still shaped like a blade but with no substance within.

Going to sleep, #3 mass release tomorrow

(End of chapter)