"Ning Xicheng, I entrust the mission of defending Wuling City to you!" A cry filled with despair came from afar, followed by a massive explosion.
Boom!
Everything seemed to return to peace...
Above the inner city gates, a group of warriors supporting one another all had bloodshot eyes. Their faces were heavy with grief, yet etched with an unyielding, fierce tenacity as they clenched their teeth.
"The Guardian... has fallen!"
"This is already the tenth Guardian. Two months, in just two months, a million of our sons of Wuling City have spilled their blood on this land."
"Heavens! Is this millennium-old city of our heritage truly destined to perish?"
"We have failed Wuling-xiansheng. Not even a thousand years have passed, yet we cannot even hold our ancestral land!"
Ning Xicheng stood at the very front, gazing in the direction of the explosion. Beneath his sleeves, his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
The Human Emperor is hateful!
The Heavenly Demons are hateful!
The Blood Demons are hateful too!
Yet with just my own strength, how can I possibly hold Wuling City?
Senior Shi, Xicheng fears he will fail your trust!
"Brother Xicheng, are you alright?"
Qingning looked at Ning Xicheng with worry. Though her expression was exhausted, it was filled with deep concern. She was no longer that little girl from the past; she understood all too well how grave the current situation was for the man before her. On his shoulders rested the lives of all the people of Wuling City, and the final entrusted will of Guardian Shirong.
Ning Xicheng pressed his lips together, then forced a faint smile, raised a hand to stroke her head, and said, "I'm fine. I just worry that I'll drag you down with me."
Since I have accepted this trust, I must shoulder the responsibility.
Perhaps this Wuling City will be my final burial ground.
Clearly you are not human, yet because of me, you stand here to protect humanity. Clearly, all you need do is return to the Demon race, and all the calamities of this world would have nothing to do with you.
Yet because of me, you have stepped into this hell.
"I am not afraid of death, Brother Xicheng." Qingning hugged Ning Xicheng to comfort him.
Then, turning to the other recovering warriors, she said, "Look, we have so many people sharing this mission. We share a common faith; we are fighting for protection, fighting for the world! Even if we die, our deaths will be meaningful, our deaths will be glorious."
"Because we have stayed true to our Dao! Though I do not fully understand what the human Dao entails, I believe that the Dao of protection is surely the Dao most recognized by the Heavenly Dao!"
"Just like Guardian Shirong and the others, they are heroes—heroes as brave as the soldiers of Master's Seventh Army, heroes worthy of being remembered by the world for ten thousand generations. Never for a moment have I wanted anything less than to fight with all my might to overcome everything. I want to stand with Brother Xicheng and avenge the heroes!"
"And I want to stand with Brother Xicheng to protect the people behind us! Only if we survive can we pass on the Dao of Guardian Shirong and the others."
Qingning's resolute gaze and words startled Ning Xicheng.
Then he smiled faintly. "Qingning, you've grown up."
Yet I still cannot see through things as clearly as you do!
Pulling himself together, Ning Xicheng quickly gathered the warriors with lighter injuries, discussed the situation, and rearranged the defenses.
No matter what, we must give it our all!
***
Elsewhere, atop a snow-capped mountain, before a solitary grave.
A figure sat cross-legged, picked up a wine flask, and filled two cups before the grave.
Then, raising one of the cups, he poured all the wine out across the gravesite.
"Little Feng, wait for your brother to return."
With those words, he turned and walked down the mountain. Behind him lay a scattering of footprints, which were quickly covered by the wind and snow as his solitary figure faded into the distance.
The entire snow mountain remained a sheet of pristine white, as though it were the last remaining pure land in this world.
***
In Jingyun City, amidst a landscape of ruins, rivers of blood flowed. A miasma of slaughter surged into the sky as far as the eye could see, though few corpses remained—only fragmented remains floating in the blood-stained earth, barely identifiable as human.
Perhaps because it had been ruined for a long time, the stench of rotting flesh emanated from the sea of blood, making the entire Jingyun City resemble a living hell.
A man dressed in white, with a white silk blindfold covering his eyes, stood suspended in mid-air.
After a long while, he let out a long sigh.
"In the end, it still happened."
"Is shattering the void truly that important?"
"Since you gaze with these eyes and obliterate all living things, then I shall take these eyes back!"
With that, the man sped away into the distance. Judging by the direction, it was none other than the location of the Human Emperor Palace. If Yeyun were here, he would surely recognize him as the long-missing Teacher Lishang.