The anguished plea of the Skydream Ice Worm echoed in his ears.
Blood still flowed from Li Zhexian's lips, yet when he heard it, there was not the slightest wavering in those pitch-black eyes of his.
His bloodstained white robes and black hair whipped violently in the wind.
"I… will not…"
As the two words fell—
A sound like shattering glass rang out.
The three Domains that had reached the limit of their stalemate collapsed.
The destructive energy that had been compressed to the extreme lost all restraint, bursting forth like a breached galaxy.
Elemental catastrophes swept across everything in their path—light was stripped away, space twisted, and all living things were annihilated.
The earth was torn apart as if a sandbox struck by a colossal wave, layer after layer scraped away. Mountain ranges melted like ice under a blazing sun.
A gigantic crater more than ten kilometers wide formed instantly at the collision point. At its depths lay vitrified, searing earth, exhaling an aura of pure destruction.
Three figures shot toward the distant horizon like falling meteors.
Bibi Dong smashed violently into the cliff face of a mountain peak.
The mountain shuddered, boulders cascading downward, as wisps of black qi seeped out from the towering dust cloud.
The Slaughter King crashed through the summit of another mountain, filthy crimson blood-qi flickering amid the ruins.
Li Zhexian's fall was the most devastating of all.
His white robes soaked in blood, he plummeted helplessly from the heavens.
He struck the ground first, the remaining force dragging him more than a thousand meters before his body finally came to a halt against the rocky base of a mountain.
Buried beneath shattered stone, his presence had become barely perceptible.
"Zhexian!"
Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, Feng Bailong, and the others had eyes splitting with fury.
Those already hot-tempered became completely unhinged—after blasting their opponents back with a single strike, they charged straight toward Li Zhexian.
But in the very next instant—
The six Hall Elders attacked again.
"Get back!"
Sword light and a sweeping serpent tail forced Golden Crocodile and Azure Luan to retreat several steps.
"Stop!"
Golden Crocodile transmitted solemnly to Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, and the others:
"This is a battle on the level of the Limit Douluo—you cannot interfere!"
"If something happens to you, it will only distract Li Zhexian!"
"Do not... let Li Zhexian's painstaking efforts... be in vain!"
…
Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, Feng Bailong, Gu Rong, and Yu Yuanzhen all trembled.
How could they not understand…
Why Li Zhexian fought to the death without retreat.
Thinking back to the battle at the Pope's Palace years ago—
They had protected the boy, then still a fledgling eagle, behind their backs.
And now, that former fledgling had grown into a roc soaring the heavens—yet was willing to sacrifice his life and future in exchange for their slim chance of survival.
At this thought—
Tears streamed down the old men's faces.
The Heaven Dou soldiers and Spirit Empire Spirit Masters stopped fighting almost simultaneously, staring blankly at the towering smoke pillars raised by the fall of the three Limit Douluo powerhouses.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence.
Hundreds of thousands of Heaven Dou soldiers stood wordless, an incomparably heavy grief spreading in silence.
Everyone could see it clearly…
Li Zhexian was the most gravely injured.
Yet to fight two Limit Douluo alone and push the battle this far—
No words were needed to prove his strength.
Li Zhexian had truly done everything he could.
With the body of a youth, he had shed the very last drop of blood for Heaven Dou.
"Zhexian!"
"Brother Zhexian!"
"Li Zhexian!"
Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Shui Bing'er, Xiao Wu, and Huo Wu—all deathly pale—rushed desperately toward the place where Li Zhexian had fallen.
Yu Tianheng, Feng Buyu, Huo Wushuang, Feng Xiaotian, Oscar, and the others followed closely behind, panic written across their faces.
In their minds…
Scenes from the past flickered involuntarily…
Li Zhexian's occasional melancholy, and how the one who loved lively gatherings the most had fallen into unusual silence when the "one-year promise" was set.
"Did he… already foresee this day…"
"Knowing it was a dead end…"
"Yet still doing this for us… for Heaven Dou…"
At the thought of it—
Their hearts broke completely.
"Who asked you to be a hero… I only want you to live…" Huo Wu's former brightness was gone as she screamed hoarsely.
...
Boom—!
Boom—!
In the distance, mountains split apart as dust and smoke shot skyward.
The places where Bibi Dong and the Slaughter King had been buried exploded outward. Two figures rose once more into the heavens, wreathed in surging demonic flames.
Their bodies were covered in wounds, yet their auras were even more terrifying than before. Spirit Power like interwoven blood-red and black flames surged above their heads, as though demon gods had descended upon the world.
"Hahaha… hahahaha…"
Bibi Dong covered her face with her remaining right hand, laughing madly as she trembled. Through her fingers, her gaze was venomous as blades.
"Li Zhexian… I told you… today you would surely die!"
"But death is far too cheap for you!"
"I want you to watch with your own eyes as the people you fought to protect die one by one before you!"
As her words fell—
She raised her hand and clenched it in the air.
A Rakshasa Scythe, wrapped in sinister purple evil qi, condensed in her grasp.
The next instant—
The scythe transformed into a deathly arc of light that tore through the sky, slashing toward the charging Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan… Yu Tianheng, and the others.
How could they possibly withstand a strike from a Limit Douluou?
Before the scythe even arrived—
The annihilating killing intent alone crushed down on them, chilling their bodies to the bone and freezing them in place.
At the critical moment—
A bloodstained sword light suddenly stretched across in front of them.
The instant the sword light shattered—
The youth staggered to the ground, his white robes completely soaked in red.
Yet, he still forced himself to swing the Qinglian Sword True Body, hundreds of meters long, and managed to slash the demon scythe flying back.
"Zhexian!!"
The crowd cried out in shock, wild joy surging into their eyes.
"Go… go quickly…"
Li Zhexian's voice was hoarse.
Chaotic currents of time and space swirled wildly around him.
He tried to rewind his injuries.
But when he had clashed Domains with Bibi Dong and the Slaughter King—
The time in that area had already fallen into chaos.
It was as if that segment of the river of spacetime had turned muddy.
He could no longer rewind to an earlier moment.
He could only barely stabilize his wounds, yet his shattered body was still on the verge of collapse.
"Zhexian… don't worry about us… you can definitely escape on your own…"
"Don't try to persuade me."
Looking at Bibi Dong and the Slaughter King, whose auras pierced the heavens—
Li Zhexian turned his head, sweeping his gaze over his friends. A smile rose on his blood-soaked, deathly pale face.
"The one-year promise…"
"I will definitely keep it."
After speaking—
He looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who neither cried nor shouted, her beautiful face as still as eternal night. A trace of tenderness and pain flickered in his eyes.
"Zhuqing, don't do anything foolish."
His voice was as light as the wind, yet every word weighed heavily.
"Believe me… one year from now… I will definitely return."
"Pass my words… on to Xue'er."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, speaking slowly and firmly:
"I'll wait for you for one year."
She said no more.
But everyone present understood.
If Li Zhexian did not return after one year, she would not live on alone.
Li Zhexian clenched his hand tightly within his sleeve.
Suddenly, he turned back.
He no longer looked at those familiar faces.
With a sweep of his sleeve—
A gentle yet overwhelming force surged out like a tide, sending everyone a thousand meters away.
Bibi Dong and the Slaughter King had already arrived, carrying overwhelming killing intent.
Yet not a trace of fear appeared on Li Zhexian's face.
The fifth Spirit Ring beneath his feet lit up with a cold, pale-platinum glow.
"Fifth Spirit Ability— Vengeful Retribution."
Ever since the battle at the Pope's Palace, he had never been injured so severely.
And at this moment—
All pain transformed into the fuel of vengeance, feeding back into his Spirit Ability.
Behind Li Zhexian—
A colossal blood-red Yazi, sword clenched in its jaws, stepped forth, blotting out the sky…
...
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