Nangong Huaitian's beautiful eyes flickered with complex emotions.
She didn't want to think about the matter.
What she had just said should have been saved for a private moment, under the moonlight or by a campfire, spoken with sincerity and sweetness.
Instead, she had said it now only to evade the battle between Ji Chang and her brother.
She was afraid of the outcome of the fight.
She feared her beloved brother would lose to Ji Chang again, and she also feared that if Ji Chang lost, the entire Nangong clan would be annihilated by Nangong Changkong. Thus, neither victory nor defeat was an outcome she wished to see.
But she didn't want to see it, and yet the outcome would still occur.
...
Nangong Huaitian remained silent. Xu Mu and the others stared intently below the cliff, sensing the terrifying residual power emanating from the vortex. Various Grand Dao laws flickered into existence, only to be swallowed by another law... True dragons coiled, phoenixes cried, the Dao was boundless, the greatest sounds were silent, filling everyone with dread.
Some weaker Domain Lords had already begun to shake their heads. Even if they unleashed their own domains, they might not be able to withstand the attacks of these two.
It was said that there was an insurmountable gulf between Lords and Domain Lords, but the appearance of Nangong Changkong and Ji Chang proved to all that nothing was insurmountable; the inability to achieve it simply meant one lacked sufficient talent.
These two were undoubtedly among the most talented individuals in the world. Were it not for Xu Mu's existence, the last two words could have been omitted.
It was rare to find two individuals of such power, in any era, past or present. Yet, they appeared in the same age.
Therefore, they had to determine a victor.
As the vortex trembled, Ji Chang thrust his spear into Nangong Changkong's abdomen once more.
With absolute, overwhelming dominance, he pinned him to the ground.
Victory seemed clear.
The Holy Son had lost.
Ji Chang remained number one.
"This is impossible!" Nangong Changkong roared, spitting out True Phoenix Sacred Fire. His noble bloodline burned repeatedly, as if without end, pushing his power beyond all limits, much like Ai Yan's Long March, forever climbing.
But no matter how strong he became, he was not strong enough for Ji Chang.
That domineering figure, his spear like a dragon, always shattered the phoenix head-on, only to be stepped on again.
No matter how many times he reborn, or how powerful the Sacred Fire he unleashed, it could not melt Ji Chang's armor, which shone with domineering golden light like dragon scales.
"Move again, and I'll kill you."
After another clash, Ji Chang again had Nangong Changkong beneath his foot. Nangong Changkong's aura surged once more, as if he still intended to resist. Ji Chang then raised his spear again.
This time, however, the spear seemed imbued with a special energy, its life force so potent that the True Phoenix sealed beneath the grand formations stirred.
Xu Mu sensed the familiar fluctuation, and the phantom image of a flower instinctively appeared before his eyes.
It was the life force of the Other Shore Flower.
He had comprehended the Grand Dao of Death from the roots of the Other Shore Flower, while Ji Chang had comprehended the Grand Dao of Life from that small red flower capable of bringing the dead back to life.
It was an existence that could contend with Phoenix Nirvana.
"No wonder you weren't afraid of me."
Nangong Changkong was silent for a long time, then slowly released his grip, extinguishing the flames himself.
He had Nirvana, and Ji Chang had the supreme Grand Dao of Life.
No one knew which of these two abilities was stronger. Only Nangong Changkong himself knew that under the same conditions, he could not defeat Ji Chang, as evidenced by being repeatedly crushed underfoot. Even at the same realm, their combat power was vastly different.
He could not win.
Therefore, Ji Chang had the opportunity to kill him.
"What I said to you before was out of necessity. I apologize." Ji Chang nodded, removing his foot from Nangong's chest, and apologized calmly as he recalled the past.
"Nangong Changkong, you are strong."
"If it weren't for that cultivation technique, I might not have been your match back then."
Ji Chang spoke, a hint of complexity in his rough voice.
Years ago, he had been sent as a special envoy from Great Xia to the Tiannan Academy in the Hundred Races Territory for an exchange. He was also preparing to represent the Great Xia Dynasty in the Ten Thousand Races Assembly.
Just before the assembly began, he broke through to the third stage and awakened a nearly monstrous special ability.
He named it "King's Wrath."
The king's fury, his majesty, his dominance. When a Son of Heaven raged, rivers flowed with blood, and mountains of bones were formed. No one could resist this was King's Wrath.
The reason King's Wrath was so powerful was that upon activation, it could absorb the rage of others. The stronger the absorbed rage and the more it accumulated, the greater the augmentation effect of King's Wrath on oneself.
As a result, the already powerful Ji Chang began to relentlessly humiliate his opponents at the Ten Thousand Races Assembly, solely to absorb their rage.
As the effect of King's Wrath grew stronger, Ji Chang gradually became addicted to the thrill of easily acquired power. He grew more and more enraged, his words more and more arrogant. After crushing many geniuses, he would subject them to countless humiliating taunts, some even being angered to death.
Thus, when Nangong Changkong, the peerless Holy Son of his generation, was defeated by Ji Chang, his Dao heart shattered.
This was because Ji Chang's words were too venomous.
Precisely because of this, Ji Chang offended countless families, inevitably igniting a blood feud. Numerous people from the Hundred Races sought revenge. They killed Ji Chang's entire family, destroyed his clan and relatives within Great Xia, and murdered his childhood sweetheart.
If not for Emperor Xia's protection of Ji Chang and the intervention of that fisherman, Ji Chang would have died long ago. Yet, even after that, he showed no remorse, and refused to apologize even in front of Emperor Xia, insisting on continuing to cultivate King's Wrath.
Consequently, he was exiled to the Realm of Treacherous Night. Emperor Xia told him to come out and cultivate when he finally understood his mistakes.
Thus, he stayed in Treacherous Night for seven years.
Ji Chang looked at Nangong Changkong and said with a complex expression:
"You know, everyone connected to me back then died. So I found the Other Shore Flower and revived three people most important to me, including my master. He was the first to oppose my cultivation of King's Wrath, and he still opposed it after being revived."
"Before, I wouldn't listen to anything they said. But this time it's different. I know what I did might have been wrong. Cultivating to strengthen oneself is one thing, but doing so by any means necessary is another. Otherwise, one is no different from a demon."
"Therefore, I apologize to you today."
"I'm sorry."
After hearing this, Nangong Changkong looked at Ji Chang's sincere eyes and suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly:
"You won, why are you apologizing?"
"And if you truly wanted to apologize, why did you come down here? Why are you helping them!"
Ji Chang: "I owe him a favor, so today I will ensure he lives."
"And His Majesty said that you, phoenix, cannot be released for now."
Nangong Changkong's expression turned cold: "Since when does the Emperor of Great Xia have a say in Nangong family matters?"
Ji Chang shook his head and said earnestly: "The appearance of an ancient divine beast at the Human King level will affect the entire world's structure. Don't tell me you don't know that."
Nangong Changkong sneered:
"In the end, it's all about profit."
"Ji Chang, when did you become a running dog of the court?"
Ji Chang fell silent for a long time after hearing this and said:
"This is because I need to repay the kindness Emperor Xia showed me by protecting me back then."
"Come up with me. Let them mend this rift, and from now on, whatever happens will be none of my concern. You will still be the Holy Son of your Nangong clan, and Nangong Huaitian is still young and will not threaten your position."
"I never thought anyone could threaten me, not even my sister," Nangong Changkong said calmly, shaking his head. He took out the formation eye staff and, with a gentle grip, a pillar of sacred fire erupted, constantly impacting the seal below.
Seeing this, Ji Chang's expression changed drastically, and he roared, "What are you doing!"
Nangong Changkong smiled and said:
"Don't worry, this can only open at most four seals. With the strength of the figures above, they can still suppress it."
"And I will take a wisp of the True Phoenix's soul to travel the world and cultivate, until one day I can completely release it."
"Then, we will battle again."
As Nangong Changkong spoke, he casually tossed the formation eye staff away. Then, a phoenix remnant carried by a soaring phoenix silhouette charged out of the vortex.
Outside the vortex, everyone sensed the change in the seal and their faces turned grim. Bai Yun wanted to intercept Nangong Changkong's departure but was blocked by the increasingly powerful phoenix phantom.
Nangong Changkong's figure gradually disappeared into the horizon. Before leaving, he looked back at the Nangong family, which was gradually being engulfed by flames, and a complex smile curved his lips.
The land of sin could not hold him.
He looked at the True Phoenix he was riding beneath him, stroking its solidified and smooth fur, and chuckled:
"From now on, it will be just the two of us."
"I finally understand what Ji Chang's special ability is. Do you have the confidence to help me defeat him?"
"Li!"
A noble cry echoed through the sky.
It meant, "Of course."
...