Just Call Me... That Person

Members of Fan Domain bustled along Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1, laying copper pipes across the city walls as altars and God-Slaying Cannons were swiftly mounted atop the parapets. Standing on the battlements, Chen Fan looked out over the scene in silence. The Jiangbei Defense Line had only been redeployed here as temporary reinforcement. Before night fell, it would have to return and hold down Jiangbei. Tonight. Nearly every ghost tide would launch a coordinated night assault on the front lines. They had bypassed secondary defensive lines; after all, sneaking forces past to strike those secondary positions entailed unnecessary troop losses. When an army could breach the front lines directly, bothering with secondary lines was utterly redundant—like dropping one's trousers to fart. However... Once the enemy realized there was such a gaping hole at Western Desolate Isle's Jiangbei, the ghost tide would certainly not hesitate to infiltrate and raid Jiangbei by night. Therefore, the Jiangbei Defense Line had to begin its journey back today. Before leaving, all he could do was reinforce Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1 as much as possible to buy ample time for the rear to evacuate. As for the other defense lines... the Eternal Night Continent was simply too vast. He could not look after them all. Fortunately, before the ghost tide's night raid, Eternal Night Hall had caught wind of the news in advance and promptly alerted every defense line, preventing them from being caught completely unprepared. Through the dispatches from Eternal Night Hall, he had also learned that That Person, who had been trapped in a certain region by the Ghost Clan for all these years, had been freed the previous night. "Leave the pots and pans behind!" Black Tortoise Plain, Black Tortoise City. Inside an ordinary house, a middle-aged man was packing his belongings into large and small bundles, hurriedly stuffing quilts into sacks. "Once we reach Western Desolate Isle, we can fill our bellies with wild grass or whatever. The main thing is to bring padded coats and quilts!" "With so many people fleeing to Western Desolate Isle, how could Jiangbei Fan Domain possibly keep everyone warm?" "It's the dead of winter right now." "Freezing cold." "Who knows how many will freeze to death?" "Hurry, hurry! Let's go!" "Husband..." Behind him, a woman wearing a floral padded jacket stroked the doorframe, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice trembling slightly. "Do we really have to go? Will the Ghost Clan really reach Black Tortoise Plain? We worked so hard to put down roots in Black Tortoise City, and now we have to leave just like this..." "Nonsense!" The man snapped in anxious fury. "The front lines are practically gone! You think they can't reach Black Tortoise Plain? As long as we're alive, there's always hope. Move! Fan Domain's teleportation arrays have already ferried away batch after batch!" This scene played out in every corner of Black Tortoise City. Whether noble factions, ordinary townsfolk, merchants, or butchers, everyone gathered what they deemed most precious. Under the organization of the Black Tortoise City Lord's Estate, a massive sea of people hurried toward the teleportation arrays outside the city. Group after group dissolved into white light, making multiple transfers via teleportation arrays to reach Western Desolate Isle. Amid the crowd, a rugged man carried heavy bundles slung over his shoulders while pulling his wife and child along. His wife also carried several parcels, while their half-grown child, hair tied in a braid, tightly clutched a rattle-drum and followed nervously behind his father. The child did not understand what was happening; he only knew that his father seemed unusually panicked today. "City Lord, it is time for us to leave as well." Atop the walls of Black Tortoise City, an old man climbed the battlements and looked toward the back of the middle-aged man standing there, murmuring softly, "Madam, the children, and the attendants are waiting in the courtyard. They can set out at any moment." The middle-aged man said nothing. He simply stood on the wall, gazing down quietly at the fleeing crowds. Black Tortoise City had stood on Black Tortoise Plain for decades. It had never fallen even once. He was immensely proud of this city. Anyone who visited Black Tortoise Plain and saw his Black Tortoise City could not help but praise it. His entire life's work resided in Black Tortoise City. Forcing him to leave was no different from taking his life. With his hands clasped behind his back, the man was silent for a long while before speaking softly. "Take them and head to Western Desolate Isle. I will stay here. I want to see this city meet its end with my own eyes." He gently caressed the stone surface of the battlements and murmured, "If everyone leaves, an old friend will be lonely." "I'll stay behind to see him off." The hunched old man behind him fell silent for a moment before replying in a raspy voice, "Understood. By your orders, City Lord, the ghost fire outside the city has been laid. This old servant... will protect Madam with his life." Gradually, the evening glow crept across the sky. This Black Tortoise City, which had once practically defined the Black Tortoise Plain, grew increasingly desolate. Fewer and fewer people could be seen. Yet the middle-aged man did nothing, neither eating a grain of rice nor drinking a drop of water, standing motionless upon the city wall. In his mind's eye, he seemed to see his childhood self, clutching his father's hand as they climbed the wall, asking with wide-eyed wonder how his father had managed to build Black Tortoise City. His father had chuckled and answered that he had only forged a rough foundation; the rest would be up to him to complete. Back then, he had not understood what building a city entailed. He had only replied in a childish treble that he would definitely turn Black Tortoise City into the greatest city under heaven. After who knew how long, the man suddenly laughed. So be it. Outside the city, the patriarch of Black Tortoise City's Tang Clan stood by the teleportation array laden with baggage alongside Tang Yue and a host of clan members. He gazed up at the city lord standing on the battlements, remaining silent for a long time before saying hoarsely, "Time to go." "Can we ever come back?" Tang Yue's eyes welled with tears. Only now did she realize that the person who had once claimed to be a guild president was Chen Fan of Jiangbei Fan Domain. And the Western Desolate Isle he shielded was now the final safe haven on the Eternal Night Continent. "We will." The Tang Clan patriarch gently patted Tang Yue on the shoulder. "Let's go." The next instant— The Tang Clan group vanished into thin air. Inside the vast Black Tortoise City, not a single soul remained. It was entirely deserted, leaving only a scattered mess of discarded belongings around the city gates as testament to the crowds that had once been there. Night fell. Eternal Night arrived right on time. Almost the exact moment darkness swept across the horizon, the earth began to violently shake. The continuous mountain ranges encircling Black Tortoise Plain began to slowly collapse. This meant that the "array manifestation" which had shielded Black Tortoise Plain for so many years had begun to fracture. Black Tortoise Plain had never needed a defense line simply because its nodes had remained intact. Yet now, as the adjacent regions fell one after another, the Black Tortoise Plain's nodes wedged between them began to shatter in unison. The continuous mountain ridges that had stood for countless years gave way all at once. The ground quaked violently under the strain. Countless ghost tides surged through the dust, hurtling onto Black Tortoise Plain with hideous grimaces! This was the seabed ghost tide's first landing on Black Tortoise Plain. After who knew how long, the middle-aged man on the wall slowly collected himself. He looked out at the points of ghost fire ignited across the outskirts of Black Tortoise City as Eternal Night descended. Hundreds of lit ghost fires allowed him to clearly see the massive ghost tide charging from the distance. Yet, even though those ghost hordes charged with all their might, they only drifted farther and farther from the city. Not a single ghost creature managed to reach the base of the wall. "Heh." The man let out a chuckle. He instinctively suppressed his smile to regain his usual composure, but quickly realized there was no one left to see him, so he laughed again. "Nothing more than this." The next instant— A shrill, piercing shriek suddenly echoed from the ghost tide, ringing across the sky. Immediately after, as if breaking through some invisible restraint, the ghost tide accelerated, surging toward the wall and closing the distance at terrifying speed. The smile slowly froze on the middle-aged man's face. A stench so thick it felt almost tangible rushed toward him. Countless ghost creatures drew closer and closer. It was the first time he had ever witnessed a ghost tide of such scale. Right then, the cannon towers mounted on the walls opened fire in succession, smashing one ghost creature after another to dust. However, Black Tortoise City was an inland settlement after all—a city forged by a faction, not a specialized defense line. And the horde before him was a ghost tide that had breached the front lines. The sporadic cannon fire was like children throwing stones, failing to kick up even a ripple. Almost in the blink of an eye, countless ghost creatures weathered the cannon fire and swarmed onto the city walls with overwhelming force. By this time, the city lord had long returned to his estate. His hands trembling faintly, he lit three sticks of incense inside his ancestral hall and faced his father's memorial tablet. A first bow. The city was breached. A second bow. Countless ghost creatures poured into Black Tortoise City. A fiendish ghost creature with glowing eyes burst into the ancestral hall, sneering as it raised its scythe toward the man's shadowy back. The man let out a soft sigh. A trace of lingering attachment flickered in his eyes. A third bow. Flames soared into the heavens from the heart of Black Tortoise City! Across the entire city, scarlet patterns swiftly illuminated the bluestone pavers. In an instant, Black Tortoise City was consumed by a scorching orange-red blaze. The agonized howls and shrieks of countless ghost creatures pierced the night sky. From that day forth, the name of Black Tortoise City ceased to exist in this world. Countless ghost creatures were buried with it. Black Tortoise Plain was declared fallen. *** Western Desolate Isle. The night was deep. Yet the Fan Domain Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line was bustling with frantic activity. Today it had received a massive influx of resources and refugees. A large contingent of Logistics Pavilion members piloted giant ghosts across a newly erected Level-10 defense line, swiftly installing copper pipes, altars, God-Slaying Cannons, and other defensive structures. A single Level-10 Fan Domain Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line was far from enough to shield Western Desolate Isle. They needed more Level-10 defense lines. A second, a third, even a fourth! The more, the better. The ghost tide had yet to arrive here, but tonight, several more territories across the Eternal Night Continent had fallen. Time was slipping away. Many Fan Domain members had not slept a wink since the previous night, driven by nonstop labor. Meanwhile, Chen Fan rushed back and forth between three defense lines. Foundations for Level-10 defense lines sprang from the earth one after another, rapidly completed by the Logistics Pavilion members following in his wake. He had not slept since the previous night either. No matter how fast he could build, it still took time. He could not build in his dreams. Right now, he had just completed a new Jiangbei Defense Line No. 2 in Jiangbei—also Level 10, spanning 170 kilometers, positioned directly behind Jiangbei Defense Line No. 1. "Are two Level-10 defense lines enough?" On the battlements, Quehou's voice trembled slightly. This was a general offensive; on the New Continent, even seven Level-10 defense lines had fallen. "Not enough!" Chen Fan drew a deep breath and said heavily, "I've set up a hundred new brick kilns in the Jiangbei Wasteland. Have the Logistics Pavilion quickly settle the incoming refugees, select capable hands, and train them to pilot giant ghosts. Use those giant ghosts to stack up one or even two more defense lines across Jiangbei." "The more, the better." "Young Master..." Quehou's heart skipped a beat. The Young Master was truly so exhausted he was growing absentminded. "The bricks made from those kilns have very low durability... They can't stop a ghost tide at all." "I know." Chen Fan looked at Quehou. "But as long as they reach two hundred meters in height, we can disguise them as Level-10 defense lines. If the ghost tide perceives them as troublesome, they might hesitate and delay their assault, buying us precious time." "Receiving and processing resources takes time." "Building real defense lines takes time as well." "As long as we bluff the ghost tide for a while, we can replace the fake defense lines with real ones." "Understood!" Quehou grasped the logic instantly and turned to carry out the orders. Fortunately, Fan Domain had weathered many grand crises. Its members were all battle-tested. Even with such a sudden flood of refugees plunging Western Desolate Isle into temporary chaos, Fan Domain maintained its operations and avoided collapsing in a single stroke. Soon, thousands of giant ghosts began lumbering across the Jiangbei Wasteland. Beneath the veil of night, their steps were unsteady at first. Yet they quickly grew surer. The brick kilns situated on the Jiangbei Wasteland began churning out giant blocks of stone, each towering several times the height of a grown man. Aside from using giant ghosts, ordinary mortals could never have moved them. A fake defense line stretching 170 kilometers was an enormous undertaking. The scale of this labor was even greater than Chen Fan personally raising a genuine defense line. However... If Western Desolate Isle lacked for anything right now, it was not manpower. As more and more giant ghosts stepped onto the field, a fake defense line 170 kilometers long gradually rose into the air. Standing on the battlements, Chen Fan watched the spectacle in stoic silence. Evacuating people could be done via teleportation arrays, but moving heavy resources required flying boats and high-speed rail, which were much slower. He had not actually received much in the way of resources yet. Most of the supplies were still on the road, having yet to reach Fan Domain. He had to put up this bluff first to discourage the ghost tide from deciding to eliminate Fan Domain at any cost, crossing the waters to strike Western Desolate Isle. Dealing with that would be exceedingly difficult. As for whether it would work, he had no idea. All he could do was try. The teleportation arrays leading to the New Continent operated in rapid, relentless succession, sending the elderly, the weak, women, and children across to the New Continent. The three-year limit had expired. Those who had never been drenched in the golden rain could now cross over to the New Continent as well. The remaining young and able-bodied were quickly absorbed by Fan Domain and dispatched to various posts. This ghost tide was unlike any before. He had to prepare for the possibility... that the undersea tunnel might be destroyed. Once the undersea tunnel fell, travel between the two continents would rely solely on teleportation arrays. But teleportation arrays could only transport people, not bulk cargo. That meant food and provisions would effectively be cut off. Putting the thought aside, he reached into his robes, pulled out a pill bottle, and popped a Cooling Pill into his mouth. His mind cleared instantly. He boarded a flying boat and headed toward Defense Line No. 7 on the Guandong Plain; he needed to construct another Level-10 Defense Line No. 7. Just then— A miniature azure blade streaked in from the horizon, coming to a steady halt right before Chen Fan. *** The Eternal Night Continent. The night was deep. Yet tonight was unlike any other. Even under the cover of darkness, countless flying boats and high-speed rail trains surged toward Western Desolate Isle. Eternal Night Hall had dispatched nearly all of its flying boats on a single mission: transport resources to Western Desolate Isle. Flying boats, usually a rare sight, flew back and forth in an endless stream across the skies above the Yellow Springs Mouth area. Far in the distance, in the southern reaches of the Eternal Night Continent, stood Eternal Night Southern White Tiger Front No. 4. A middle-aged man clad in green robes stood atop the ruined defense line, while beside him two colossal, scarred crocodiles lay on the ground, panting heavily. The shattered fortifications were heaped high with the carcasses of countless ghost creatures. Ahead of him were the ghost hordes that had made landfall from the sea, swelling in number. Yet they did not charge; instead, they massed in tight formation. "How should I address you?" A titanic Ghost Emperor strode forward from the horde. Perched upon its shoulder was a diminutive ghost creature who gazed across thousands of meters toward the middle-aged man, its voice booming across the sky. "Give me a title." "Just call me... That Person." The middle-aged man stood on the ruined ramparts, looking down at the three-foot azure blade in his hand with a soft laugh. He had no name. He had always intended to find a fitting moment to choose a proper name, but that moment had never come. Since everyone called him That Person, he might as well go by it; it rolled off the tongue easily enough. "That Person." The small ghost creature on the Ghost Emperor's shoulder spoke with an impassive face. "In all my countless campaigns, this is the first time I have seen a fallen Heavenly Dao take human form—and even possess its own emotions. You have held us back for two days and one night." "We cannot kill you; you have transcended samsara and become an undying existence." "However..." "I have countless ghost creatures under my command, whereas your blade seems to have dulled." The middle-aged man said nothing. He kept his gaze fixed on the azure blade in his hand, instinctively turning his head toward the northwest. That was Jiangbei, which was something like... his home. Eternal Night Southern White Tiger Front No. 4 had fallen on the very first night the Ghost Clan launched their general offensive. He had merely been passing by. Seeing the scene, he had intended to pretend he had seen nothing, to hurry back to Jiangbei, visit home, and let the two fellows who had suffered with him for so long see their child. But... halfway through running, he had turned back. He still could not bear to watch ghost creatures butcher mankind on a massive scale. He had fought from last night until tonight. Two days and one night of slaughter. A seventy-eight-kilometer defense line, an endless ghost tide—he had held it all on his own. Only... his body seemed to have run out of strength. It seemed he might not make it back. He had not returned to Jiangbei for a look, had not sat in a daze on Nameless Mountain again, had not looked on helplessly as those two fellows competed over who could dig a bigger, deeper latrine pit. The only good news was that after escaping his imprisonment, he had seen that the little fellow was alive and well, staying in Jiangbei. Especially after learning that Fan Domain guarded Jiangbei, that the Eternal Night Continent had initiated a great evacuation, and that all humanity and resources were retreating to Western Desolate Isle, he had even more reason to hold this line. "Does it have any meaning?" A sneer touched the lips of the small ghost creature on the Ghost Emperor's shoulder. "Even if you hold us back, can you look after the other defense lines?" The middle-aged man turned toward the tiny creature talking to him and suddenly laughed. "You really are... tiny." "Insolence!" The creature's face instantly darkened. "In our Royal Clan, the smaller you are, the higher your status!" "Is that so?" The middle-aged man's smile broadened. "Then why stand on that Ghost Emperor's shoulder to speak with me? Afraid I wouldn't be able to see you?" The small ghost creature's eyes flared with even greater savagery, yet it still held back the order to charge. The mindless ghost creatures from the seabed dared not throw themselves against this man; he could only order his own elite army forward, and it pained him to lose even a single one of his subordinates. "Never mind." He suddenly smiled as well. "Humans have always been better at glib talk. If you want to waste time here, I'll waste it with you. I am in no hurry." "We can play this out slowly." "Wrong again." The middle-aged man shook his head. "I am no human. That is your first mistake." "I had no intention of wasting time here with you." "That is your second mistake." The next instant— The man looked up at the tiny creature thousands of meters away and smiled once more. "You are standing too close to me." "That is your third mistake." The small creature's expression changed drastically. Almost instantaneously, it leapt off the Ghost Emperor's shoulder and fled toward the depths of the horde. Over the past two days and one night, it had clearly gauged the man's maximum attack range and knew it should have been safely beyond reach. Yet it was already too late. It suddenly felt enveloped in a shadow. Instinctively looking up, it saw an unimaginably colossal hammer hanging abruptly overhead, crashing down with apocalyptic weight! *Boom!!* The earth quaked and the mountains trembled. A massive crater formed in the center of the horde. Under that single hammer strike, the tiny creature, the abandoned Ghost Emperor, and every ghost creature in the area were pounded into paste! With that single blow, the surrounding ghost tide scattered toward the sea, just as they used to do when he guarded Jiangbei. "Mm." The middle-aged man watched the scene, a smile flickering in his eyes. "Finally waited for you to show your head. So tiny, yet you talked so big." In the distance, the hammer rapidly shrank and streaked back toward him. The man caught it and tucked it into his robes. Only then did he lift the three-foot azure blade again and walk toward the next defense line; tonight, this front no longer required his attention. At the horizon, crimson clouds gathered at some unknown moment, piercing the Eternal Night and raining blood. A faint sorrowful sound echoed through the world. Seeing this, the man curled his lip. He had only burned a tiny bit of Heavenly Dao essence blood; this cosmic phenomenon made it look as though he were dying. Besides, he really wanted to dispel a rumor. First of all, cosmic phenomena only appeared when sentient Ghost Kings or Ghost Emperors perished; the mindless Ghost Kings and Ghost Emperors from the seabed produced no such signs when they fell. Most importantly, who on earth had spread the rumor that the cosmic phenomenon was heaven and earth weeping for a fallen Ghost King? What utter nonsense. The Heavenly Dao here was the Eternal Night Continent's Heavenly Dao. Why would it weep for the fall of a Ghost King? It was celebrating, all right? Honestly, who knew who had spread such baseless rumors. Heaven and earth weeping, indeed. A mere ghost creature didn't deserve it. "Hey." "You sure you don't want me to send you two back?" He glanced sideways at the two crocodiles following beside him. "Don't call us 'Hey.'" One of the larger crocodiles grumbled sullenly, "Does that Chen Fan know how to name anything? Why did he have to name my kid Weiwei? What kind of garbage name is that?" "Every time I hear that word, it makes my blood boil." "Exactly." For once, the other crocodile did not argue, nodding in agreement with righteous indignation. "Was the name I came up with, Little Flower, not good enough?" "Honestly, both are pretty mediocre." The middle-aged man chuckled as he strode forward, each step carrying him several li. A Heavenly Dao could not be slain. Yet if its Heavenly Dao essence blood burned out, it would die all the same. He had two drops left. Not bad. Enough to use. He often felt he was an anomaly. By all rights, a Heavenly Dao should possess no emotions, yet he had them. By all rights, after his self-detonation last time, he should have perished, yet he lived on in this peculiar state. He did not know what he was either. But let it be. Good enough. The two crocodiles bickered as usual for a while before the larger one fell quiet for a long moment, unable to hold back any longer. "Boss, Chen Fan and the others found a New Continent. It should be your continent, Boss. You used to be the Heavenly Dao of that land." "Why don't you retreat with Fan Domain to the New Continent?" "That's your home." "That isn't my home." The man shook his head, speaking in a casual, quiet voice. "The Heavenly Dao there is already dead. For me today, the Eternal Night Continent is home." "Boss, what did it feel like being the Heavenly Dao?" "Quite boring. A blink of the eyes and several centuries would pass." "As the Heavenly Dao, couldn't you do whatever you wanted?" "You think too much. A Heavenly Dao has no emotions or desires. It doesn't even have physical substance. It doesn't do anything at all." "That does sound pretty boring. Sounds even more boring than being trapped all those years." "If you compare it like that, it was far more boring than your situation. At least you two had each other to fool around with. Back then, I had nothing to play with at all." "Hey, Boss, the way you say that sounds really weird." "Don't call me 'Hey'!" "Boss, you just called us 'Hey' a moment ago!" "That's one thing, this is another!" *** Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 7. Tonight was the second night of the ghost tide's general offensive. Forty percent of the Eternal Night Continent had completely fallen. No reinforcements. No logistics. Every defense line was fighting with its back to the wall. And Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 7 had reached the end of its rope. There was still an hour until dawn, but the ghost stones stored at this front were nearly exhausted. The cannon towers sputtered out one by one. More and more ghost tides charged without restraint. The breach of the city hung by a thread. "It's our turn to take the stage." Sitting cross-legged on the battlements, Old Qiu slowly rose to his feet, deliberately stripping off his upper garment as though peeling away dry tree bark. As the last scrap of cloth slid off, his emaciated upper body was bared to the winds of the Eternal Night. He was old. Very old. His ribs protruded sharply, rising and falling faintly with his heavy breathing. Though his flesh was withered, it clung beneath his skin like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, tracing stern, rugged contours in the dim light. "How is it?" Old Qiu glanced sideways at Tian Yi beside him, patting his own shoulder with a grin. "Old as I am, the build still looks decent, eh?" "Your demeanor is as magnificent as ever, Master." "Not what it used to be." Old Qiu let out a long breath, stretching his limbs in the cold wind with a distant look in his eyes. "I haven't achieved much in this life. Pretty much a failure." "Back then, your mistress told me to conceal the fact that our child was a Nightwatcher. She didn't want him joining Eternal Night Hall. But I was stubborn back then, always thinking: if other people's children can make sacrifices, why can't mine?" "After that, your mistress parted ways with me." "She died in a strange land." "Sometimes when I look back, it really was foolish. Did Eternal Night Hall truly lack that single Nightwatcher?" "Forget it." In the biting wind, Old Qiu's lips moved, but he hesitated, letting out a soft sigh as if drawing a final period at the end of his life. Discontented though he was, this was how it ended. Drawing a slow breath, he straightened his hunched spine inch by inch. His joints popped like roasting beans. Immediately after, a golden-red, scorching radiance swiftly surfaced beneath his skin, as though magma had begun to surge once more through his dried veins. "I'm off." Old Qiu left those final words behind, as if bidding farewell to an old friend. He broke into a run. He dashed northward along the battlements. At first he was slow, but after three strides, his speed surged abruptly—a resolute burst that condensed an entire lifetime into a brief, blinding acceleration. Flames began spilling from his body. With every step, a ripple of fire blossomed on the city wall. Until... When his speed reached its peak, Old Qiu's figure was nowhere to be seen. Only a golden-red sun hung high in the sky, resembling a golden meteor blazing in reverse, plunging straight into the ink-black depths of the ghost tide. Wherever it passed, countless ghost creatures were reduced to ash before they could even scream. Tian Yi stood in place, gazing silently at the retreating back of his master. He vaguely recalled when he had first joined the Eternal Night Hall Western Operations Group. A couplet hung on the wall, showing only the first line without the second: *"Though the mayfly plunges into the sea..."* He had asked his master where the second half was. His master had said he hadn't thought of it yet, and that once he did, he would make it the motto of the Eternal Night Hall Western Operations Group. Later, he had supplied the second half, saying: *"How about 'I shall still burn my blood to incinerate the heavens'?"* His master had been delighted, laughing and saying that was the one. Later, that very phrase was hung at the headquarters of the Eternal Night Hall Western Operations Group. Only later did he learn that his master was also a special cultivator—a Fire-walking Sun. That was why his master had loved the second half so much. Tian Yi turned his gaze toward the north, toward Western Desolate Isle. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly. Those days were truly fond memories. What a pity. He had actually quite liked farming. In a daze, golden flames began to flow swiftly within him, an immense power flooding his body. He cast one last glance toward his master's departing silhouette and murmured softly, "Though the mayfly plunges into the sea, I shall still burn my blood to incinerate the heavens." As the golden light on his skin grew ever more dazzling, until it wrapped his entire form into a walking sun in human shape, his breathing grew ragged. Every breath he exhaled sprayed a golden mist laced with sparks. He began sprinting toward the southern end of the defense line. Faster and faster, until he too leapt into the sky, soaring like an eagle through the vast heavens before crashing down into the ghost tide. At this moment, two suns blossomed across Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 7. Along the fortifications, countless defending soldiers watched the spectacle in solemn silence. They knew that figures of such standing had countless ways to survive; if they had wished to evacuate, they could have retreated to Western Desolate Isle on the very first day. Yet these great figures had not fled. They had chosen to stay behind and cover the retreat alongside them. Someone had to hold the rear, after all.