If Xun He hadn't come to find He Li, He Li wouldn't have thought of stealing half an hour from Xun He. It reminded him of when he was trapped inside the Devouring Star Beast's body and had his time inexplicably stolen.
He Li returned to the stone tower, contemplating the upcoming battle while gently chatting with Huai Xi, sharing amusing anecdotes from Earth. Huai Xi was very interested in Earth, especially the variety of clothes in department stores.
Time unknowingly slipped into night.
Under the night sky, the stars were brilliant. He Li sat on the windowsill, his legs dangling outside, gazing at the vast expanse of stars. Among them was a shadow, the guard army of the Desolate Tribe, and some shining stars, the guard army of the Divine Tribe.
He Li stared blankly at the night sky. Was this considered a foreign land? It shouldn't be, as he was a deity. But in the end, this wasn't his home. His home was on that small blue planet, or, counting from Yan Li's era, his home had been destroyed in the previous epoch.
He Li was unsure of his identity in facing these matters. Some burdens had inexplicably fallen upon his shoulders, yet he had to carry them.
He recalled his first time slaying a demon, his first time firing a gun, his first time drawing a saber, his first time killing someone.
He sat on the windowsill, without a trace of confusion, his gaze exceptionally firm. More talk was useless, more thought was futile. Since he had embarked on this path, he should walk it with unwavering resolve.
Only He Li knew that what he had told Xun He during the day was the truth. Weaknesses were not to be feared when known, but rather when hidden and feared to be discovered.
He Li closed his eyes, his thoughts sinking inward. A small spatial cube appeared before him. After placing Xun He's half-hour into the space, he put away the spatial cube.
I am time, time is me.
Time is paradoxical; even time itself cannot alter time.
Xia Min'ao saw He Li from afar, leaning against the window frame like a child, sitting on the windowsill. His crimson robe was truly striking, and a long saber of mediocre quality was always hung at his waist. In the brutal combat of the battlefield, weapons like sabers and swords were impractical.
He clearly possessed a divine saber, yet Xia Min'ao could tell that He Li preferred the long saber at his waist.
Huai Xi came up behind He Li, gently massaging his shoulders in front of him, as if she had something to say.
He Li opened his eyes, patted the windowsill beside him, and said, "Sit."
Huai Xi smiled sweetly, leaned lightly against the windowsill, her back to the night sky, and lowered her head, speaking softly, "He Li, on the battlefield, I cannot hide behind. I am also a Realm God, and I should do what a Realm God is supposed to do. I cannot stay in the rear and be protected by the demon race simply because I am your companion."
He Li smiled knowingly and nodded.
"Perhaps what I'm saying is inappropriate," Huai Xi paused, then continued with determination, "I should not be the one protected under your wings. I am also a Realm God. The golden spear in my hand and the golden armor on my body are testaments to my hundreds of battles."
He Li remained silent, merely nodding with a smile. He agreed and disagreed simultaneously, having no strong opinion, but respecting Huai Xi's thoughts.
Huai Xi stood up, looking at the man's slightly bowed back. After a moment's thought, she bent over, opened her arms, and hugged He Li from behind.
He Li chuckled, raised his hand to pat the slender hand encircling his waist, and said softly, "A woman's courage is never inferior to a man's. She can adorn her face with flowers in the mirror, or she can don iron armor against the cold."
"Take good care of yourself. In the upcoming great battle, I might not be able to look after you."
Huai Xi rested her face on He Li's shoulder, nodded slightly, and then said, "If you are close to dying, if you can't hold on, just call for help, and I will come to save you."
He Li responded with a serious "Okay."
...
The war began.
The guard army opened the divine power barrier above the Divine Tribe's camp. The first to fly into the sky was the Divine Tribe's expeditionary force under Shentu's command, followed by the Divine Tribe's standing army, and finally, the reinforcement Divine Tribe troops ascended into the heavens.
At the entrance of the Divine Tribe's camp, ten Divine Lords, including Shentu, vanished simultaneously from the entrance and appeared before the Divine Tribe's formation.
Shentu spoke no words, reaching out and grasping a black-gold divine scepter from the void, its tip carved with ferocious coiled dragons.
The other Divine Lords each produced their own divine artifacts.
He Li didn't overthink it. He directly drew the long saber at his waist, a plain saber with a blade that gleamed. It was as white as snow, and his Star God power surged, reflecting on the blade, making it exceptionally clear.
He glanced at Xun He and smiled to himself, but in Xun He's heart, it was like a thunderclap.
The divine might emanating from ten Divine Lords, a hundred Realm Gods, and three thousand deities caused the universe of the central battlefield to rumble and the space to tremble violently.
The next moment,
A massive black cloud flew from the horizon. In an instant, the black cloud dispersed, and thousands of soldiers from the Desolate Tribe stood in formation, with thirteen Desolate Lords at the forefront of the Desolate Tribe's army, each clad in bone armor and surrounded by black mist.
"That's Xi Hong," Xia Ye Qi said through telepathy, his gaze fixed on the Desolate Lord on the far left, an old man with two bone hammers floating above his shoulders.
He Li looked at Xi Hong, meeting Xi Hong's gaze.
Xi Hong was very old, much older than any Desolate God or Desolate Lord He Li had ever seen.
He Li nodded and said through telepathy, "You deal with him. Perhaps he knows something. Don't kill him."
Xia Ye Qi asked with a smile, "What if he tells you everything he knows?"
He Li didn't answer but turned to look at Xia Ye Qi, winking with a smile.
Xia Ye Qi nodded, indicating he understood.
Everything was understood without words.
The Divine and Desolate tribes did not confront each other. The moment the Desolate Tribe's army appeared, the Divine Tribe's army began its charge, and finally, the Divine Lords and Desolate Lords clashed.
A massive meteor shower swept across the battlefield, with meteors larger than mountains continuously crashing into various parts of the battlefield.
He Li faced the Desolate Lord who had ambushed him among the eleven Desolate Lords, the one who wielded a sword. Their weapons, the saber and the sword, least suited for battlefield combat, clashed, creating sharp, surging divine power.
He Li let out a soft cry, his toes pushing off the ground, and he retreated. He held his saber upright in front of him. The Desolate Lord pursued with his sword, sweeping it horizontally, creating thousands of ripples of divine power.
He Li's movement suddenly stopped. He slashed down with his saber, splitting the ripples of divine power, and then drew his saber upwards from bottom to top.
The sword-wielding Desolate Lord immediately parried He Li's saber strike with his sword.
*Buzz!*
Divine power exploded between them.
He Li had no intention of getting entangled with him; he was searching for Xun He and Shentu.
Suddenly,
He Li witnessed a scene that shocked him, a scene that caused him to lose focus and take a direct sword blow from the Desolate Lord.
At the edge of the distant battlefield,
Divine Lord Shentu's brow was furrowed, his expression grave. He held the coiled dragon black-gold divine scepter in his left hand and a head in his right.
That head belonged to... Divine Lord Fei Lei.
...