The battlefield is cruel, and its cruelty lies in never knowing who will die or when.
Among the cultivators who arrived with Chen Xia, few remain. Not many Saints survived, those of the Heaven Mending Realm were completely wiped out, and only a handful of Great Saints barely managed to cling to life.
One Saint, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere, roared and wept, begging to return to his homeland.
The Great Emperors naturally wouldn't allow his departure. If they set a precedent for cultivators to leave, the morale of those on the frontline would become unstable.
So Emperor Tianhe stood guard at the frontline's perimeter, restraining the Saint with one hand, halting his advance.
The Saint's emotions were on the verge of collapse. His decades-long cultivation had been worn down by the recent life-and-death battles, to the point where he dared to point at the Great Emperor's face and roar:
"I am a Saint, a revered being in the Star Region, worshipped by thousands! I'm not your expendable cannon fodder to be sent to die!"
At these words, the surrounding Saints fell silent.
Looking back at the past decades of fighting, these ordinary Saints indeed seemed no different from cannon fodder, having no control over their own fate, possibly perishing on the frontline any day.
Emperor Tianhe's face grew stern as he questioned gravely:
"This is a battle against the Way of Heaven. Not just your lives, but even my own life is insignificant in comparison."
"What does being a Saint matter? In this battle, even more than ten Great Emperors have fallen. If Saints can die, and Great Emperors can die, what makes you think you're exempt?!"
"I... I..." the Saint stammered, unsure how to respond. His head lowered, visible panic crossing his face as his eyes darted about, his voice breaking as he continued:
"But I never know when I might die. I've been fighting on the frontline for three hundred years. I want to go home, I want to return—at least let me die in my homeland."
"Who doesn't?" Emperor Tianhe countered, then addressed all the cultivators present:
"If everyone thinks this way, we might as well stop resisting the Way of Heaven's judgment. Go ahead, return to your homelands."
"I am one without a home to return to, so I don't share your attachments. At worst, I'll charge into the Dark Invasion alone, killing as many as I can."
"But what about after that?"
The Saints remained silent, unable to formulate a response.
Emperor Tianhe's voice grew louder, resonating like a magnificent proclamation as he addressed the Saints:
"Then the Way of Heaven's judgment will proceed unopposed, from the highest heavens to the lowest realms. All Star Regions, all cultivators will perish!"
"Those who don't wish to die can only become remnants of darkness, puppets unable to control even their own consciousness, until they're completely absorbed after the Way of Heaven's judgment!"
These words rang true, leaving the assembled Saints without any counter-arguments.
Emperor Tianhe stood straight, his eyebrows raised, and finally declared:
"Those who wish to leave, I won't forcibly stop you. Behind me lies the path away from the frontline. For those who fear death..."
"You may pass!"
The Saints fell into profound silence, heads bowed in deep thought.
At that very moment, coincidentally,
A figure descended from the battlefield—it was Chen Xia, fresh from combat. His blue robe was completely red, its original color indiscernible, and he bore numerous wounds.
Holding his celestial sword, he landed shakily and limped forward, still managing a light smile as he asked curiously:
"What's all the commotion about?"
The Saints looked at Chen Xia, none daring to answer, most of their eyes flickering with shame.
Emperor Tianhe shook his head and replied: "Nothing much, just some people who can't take it anymore wanting to go home."
"Ah?" Chen Xia's expression froze momentarily, as if not quite processing the information. His blood-covered celestial sword trembled, scattering droplets of battle-worn blood.
The Saints hurriedly tried to explain to Chen Xia: "We just miss home terribly, so..."
Their words trailed off, too embarrassed to continue in front of Chen Xia, who stood before them covered in blood.
Chen Xia put away his flying sword and limped forward.
The Saints instinctively made way, watching as he walked to the front to stand shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Tianhe.
Chen Xia wiped the blood from his face, then smiled gently at the crowd:
"Missing home is natural, and returning home is good too. Go back if you want to, it's fine. But after you return home, will you want to come back here?"
"Fighting on the frontline is about protecting your homeland. I hope you understand this principle, after all, none of us wanted to come here."
At this point, Chen Xia's expression dimmed slightly, and he shook his head with a bitter smile:
"Actually, I miss my homeland too. Don't laugh, but I'm probably the one who least wanted to come to the frontline. I'm naturally lazy, something of a good-for-nothing."
"But in life, there are always things worth risking everything for. Without such things, I think life would lose much of its flavor."
Chen Xia's brow smoothed as he smiled again, asking the crowd:
"Don't you agree?"
Some Saints raised their hands and called out, "Chen Saint's words come from the heart. I do miss home, but I'm willing to fight alongside Chen Saint!"
Others negotiated: "Could we return to the Star Region just once, see our homeland once, and then come right back?"
"I also want to return home, but afterward, I'll fight at the very front!"
"..."
The Saints' voices continued.
"Shh." Chen Xia placed his finger to his lips, gesturing for silence, quieting the crowd of cultivators before continuing:
"If you want to leave, you may, but leave behind your spirit stones, pills, and magical treasures. Those who don't wish to return must also pay additional tribute of pills and magical treasures each year. I'll keep a list, and once you're registered, you can leave."
These were Chen Xia's terms.
In the end, nearly half the cultivators left. How many would return?
No one could say for certain.
Emperor Tianhe looked at Chen Xia beside him and frowned:
"Just let them leave like this?"
Chen Xia shook the still-wet blood from his clothes and quietly replied to Emperor Tianhe:
"Those who should come will come, those who should leave shouldn't be kept. Better to let them return than wait for them to betray us on their deathbeds and turn to the Dark Invasion. This way, at least we show some humanity. If we can't hold out in the end, none will escape anyway."
This was the seventieth year of the battle.
Half of the cultivators remained on the frontline.
Fatigue was showing.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
