Wrath

On the deck of the Aska, everyone gathered around two bodies. After Zhang Buyao's brother, Zhang Yao, dragged Quan Juehua away, the flow of time returned to normal. Only then did everyone discover that after Chi Feihong, Niman had also met a tragic end. Grief washed over everyone's faces. Nora, Huangquan, Gong Qian, Zhang Buyao, and Little Nora couldn't stop their tears. "Quan Juehua, Quan Juehua, Quan Juehua... I'm going to cut him down! Even if it costs me my life, I will cut him down!" The wound on Zhang Shou's chest had only just scabbed over. Staring at Chi Feihong and Niman's remains, his eyes turned terrifyingly bloodshot. He muttered under his breath, an aura even more desperate than despair surging from the depths of his heart. Aside from his best friend Yu Xian, with whom he shared an unspoken understanding, the person he had gotten along with best recently was Chi Feihong. Whenever the two of them got together, they would brag and shoot the breeze, chasing after any fun they could find. They were two peas in a pod. And Niman was the most perfect big sister in his heart. Whenever he was caught pulling pranks, she would always smile and rescue him, saving him from a beating by the others. What was more, in every battle when he hovered on the brink of death, Niman was always the one who pulled him back, just as she had moments ago, saving him from mortal peril time and time again. Now, both of them were dead. Zhang Shou felt his rage threatening to burst right out of his skull. The veins all over his body bulged from sheer fury, his expression contorting into something more ferocious than ever before. He had already lost everything; these few friends were all he had left. Quan Juehua had truly touched his reverse scale. The next instant, he snapped his head up and shot straight into the sky, swiftly vanishing into the pitch-black void. He was going to find Quan Juehua. He was going to fight him to the death. "Zhang Shou!" Feng Mingge shouted the moment she saw this. Yet in the blink of an eye, Zhang Shou was gone without a trace. Nora rose to give chase, but Gong Qian caught her hand. "Let Zhang Shou go," Gong Qian said. "If we stop him, I'm afraid he might explode with rage on the spot." "Big sister, big sister, big sister, help me! Help me beat that big villain to death, please, big sister..." Spurred by Gong Qian's words, Little Nora's emotions burst forth uncontrollably as well. Sobbing, it cried out continuously toward the space above the Aska. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, it transformed into its Source Form, pleading once again for that mysterious presence to help her. Everyone kept their heads bowed. Only after a long while did Nora wipe her eyes and steel herself. "We definitely won't let Chi Feihong and Big Sister Niman die in vain. Let us cultivate. Next time, we'll take the initiative, track down Quan Juehua, and kill him!" "Right! The most important thing now is to grow stronger. Only by growing stronger will there be no more sacrifices! Only by growing stronger can we avenge Chi Feihong and Big Sister Niman!" Gong Qian stood up as well, voicing her agreement. And so, everyone aboard the Aska entered a state of full war readiness. Casting aside all daily entertainment, they threw themselves into brutal cultivation—as long as it didn't kill them, they would train like mad. *** Deep within an inconspicuous meteorite inside a shattered world of the Tree Universe. Quan Juehua sat cross-legged inside a sealed stone cavern, nursing his wounds. Although Zhang Yao had spared his life, the beating had shaken his divine soul to its core, and faint cracks had begun to form along the rule chains across his entire body. It was safe to say this was his weakest state. If all the Mighty Ones across the Tree Universe could unite, there was truly a one-in-ten-thousand chance they could take his life. A one-in-ten-thousand chance was far too high. Quan Juehua had no intention of gambling on probabilities, so he needed to heal as quickly as possible and restore his strength to its peak. Yet just as he entered deep meditation and began channeling soul energy to mend the injuries to his divine soul, a sharp crack suddenly rang out. A red handprint blossomed across his face, followed by excruciating pain that pierced straight into his soul. This attack was entirely different from Zhang Yao's. Zhang Yao's strikes had been straightforward and violent: a beating was just a beating, and once the pain passed, only difficult-to-mend injuries remained. But this slap didn't inflict much actual harm on Quan Juehua—it was just agonizing. Heart-wrenchingly agonizing. Before Quan Juehua could open his eyes to search for his assailant, his right cheek caught another blow, the agony so intense it made him want to writhe on the ground. This sensation could no longer be described as ordinary pain. Even being hacked by a thousand blades wouldn't hurt as much as those two slaps. Quan Juehua was certain that this was, without question, the most painful experience of his life. "Just who... is it?!" "Who is ambushing me... show yourself!" His face hurt so much he dared not move it, so a mouth split open on his palm, shouting into the surroundings. Yet everything returned to stillness. The one who had struck him never appeared. Only the two crimson handprints on his cheeks and that searing agony confirmed that he had indeed been slapped. "..." Dui Tianji had actually been sitting silently to the side the entire time. Watching Quan Juehua get battered out of nowhere, she suddenly felt that continuing to follow him might bring disaster upon her. The experiences inherited from the Archdemon made her eyelids twitch frantically. Could Quan Juehua have already crossed some untouchable figures whose wrath sealed his fate? *Hiss...* Dui Tianji felt an urge to flee, but feared it was already too late—and now she wouldn't be able to escape even if she wanted to. *** Between Being and Non-Being. The branch Quan Juehua had severed from the Tree Universe was still drifting, and as it drifted, it crossed paths with the Transcender—Whale. After all, the distance was exceedingly short. The Transcender—Whale was actually roaming near the Tree Universe. To the creature, the branch of the Tree Universe wasn't very large, and given its speed, an encounter was virtually inevitable. This time, however, the angle was off. The Transcender—Whale didn't deliberately seek to devour any particular target; it merely opened its maw to swallow whatever lay ahead into its belly, only to blow it out later. And this branch was not directly in the path of its advance, but rather off to the side. Thus, as the Transcender—Whale passed by, a gentle flick of its caudal fin sent the branch hurtling rapidly downward, away from the Tree Universe. Originally, the branch had drifted at an extraordinarily sluggish pace, but that single swat from the Transcender—Whale accelerated it directly. As everyone knew, running through the rain meant getting soaked even faster. Now that the branch of the Tree Universe had accelerated, it would undoubtedly erode far more quickly. What had been a fairly thick branch shrank rapidly as it collided with countless black particles. Many worlds situated toward the outer fringes of the branch, along with the space of the Tree Universe itself, were silently obliterated into nothingness. Yu Xian, still tucked away in the small dark room inside the Zhen Realm, remained unaware of these developments. Yet he had entered an even deeper state. His demeanor had shifted from the initial focus to one of being free of sorrow and joy, clear, quiet, and at ease, exuding a distinct air of returning to simplicity. Deep within his consciousness, however, he was a stone, a towering tree, a babbling stream, and a drifting cloud. He was no longer confined to living things; he could be anything, observing the world and himself from every vantage point. Infinite versions of him formed within his heart, only to merge back into one.