“End the war in the most dignified way? Only kill those who deserve to die?”

Gu Xiaoman couldn't help but sneer at these words.

War was never dignified.

In these five years, the Three Continents Alliance had lost many lives. They died on the borders of the Northern Continent, on the battlefield of Gu Fort, and amidst the chaotic religious strife of the Southern Continent… She had seen and remembered their sacrifices. The Three Continents Alliance had paid such a terrible price to reach this final offensive. If she chose to sign the soul contract at the Source Tower and take the Fire Seed of Wine, she would be betraying the millions who had died in battle.

Even more, she would be betraying the old man who had entrusted her with Gu Changzhi's last letter.

“Believe me, this is the best choice.”

Qinglong said calmly, “I know you carry a ‘thing’ containing the power of a divine throne. With it, you easily suppressed Gu Xi… but with only a dead object, your chances of taking the Fire Seed of Wine from me are zero.”

“Take the Fire Seed of Wine?”

Gu Xiaoman shook her head.

She gently kicked the detached coffin, sending it sliding to the space between them.

"Creak—"

The coffin opened.

Gu Xi's corpse thudded to the ground. This Source expert had been erased from existence in Annihilation Dream. Now, he lay on the floor, stirring up layers of shattered clouds, quickly staining the temple floor crimson.

Qinglong narrowed his eyes.

Gu Xi's corpse was entwined with a faint golden glow!

He was very familiar with this golden light.

Qinglong smiled. “So, it’s the aura of the Fighting Fire Seed… oh, no, it's Gu Changzhi’s aura."

The five-year divine war had just ended.

He had clashed with Bai Shu and Lin Lei, and had frustrated the Divergent Flow Domain countless times in the past five years!

The Sky Fire Seed had collided and fought against the Fighting Fire Seed countless times…

Qinglong was very familiar with the power of the Fighting Fire Seed. He suddenly understood Gu Xiaoman's confidence in daring to enter the Source Tower alone.

“Gu Changzhi was truly an utterly selfless fellow. Even in death, he didn’t forget to leave behind such a legacy.”

Qinglong stared at Gu Xiaoman for a moment. He could see that Gu Xiaoman’s spiritual aura flowed through her entire body, integrated with her heartbeat. The source of her power was her heart… There, a square object resembling a piece of paper was linked to her heart, radiating a powerful and stable divine force.

Qinglong’s words sounded like praise.

But in truth, they were full of sarcasm.

“In the six hundred years of the Five Continents, I doubt any other divine throne died like Gu Changzhi, right?”

“Giving his all, until his dying breath, his good name passed down through the ages… What meaning did it have? If he hadn’t been so ‘selfless,’ hadn't branded himself as the ‘sun,’ he could have lived.”

Qinglong said expressionlessly, “If he were alive now, would there be so much trouble?”

Five years ago, standing before him wouldn't have been Bai Shu and Lin Lei!

Five years later, Gu Xiaoman wouldn’t have come to the Source Tower!

“Yes…”

Gu Xiaoman reached out and pressed her hand to her heart. She said quietly, “If he were truly alive, would there be so much trouble? I heard that you always wanted to fight Mr. Gu Changzhi. If you were truly sincere, why did you wait until after his death to show yourself?”

A darker shade of malice flickered in Qinglong’s eyes.

He didn’t respond to Gu Xiaoman.

Instead, he stared at the golden light on Gu Xiaoman’s chest.

“So, this is your trump card?”

Qinglong said coldly, “Relying on a ‘divine thought’ left behind by a dead man, plus a little bit of divine power, you think you can challenge me?”

“No… not challenge you.”

Gu Xiaoman shook her head.

She said softly, “What we are going to do is kill you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a deafening thunderclap suddenly erupted from the top of the tower!

"???"

Qinglong’s pupils suddenly constricted. He looked up in disbelief at the source of the thunder. The Upper City had been experiencing continuous heavy rain these past few days. He had just ended the divine war and wasn’t in a hurry to use his authority to dispel the dark clouds, thinking that the rain would dissipate after a day or two. But he never expected the rain to grow heavier and heavier.

Whenever it rained, he always remembered his humiliating experience from years ago.

Who could have imagined that the strongest being, now enthroned on the highest divine throne of the Five Continents, had once been shot into the mud by an arrow, covered in blood and dirt, barely able to recover!

At the convergence of the dark clouds above the Upper City, countless bolts of lightning collided, gathering into a humanoid figure.

The Thunder Realm Walker materialized beneath the sky.

This suit of lightning armor covered Bai Xiu's body, transforming him into a god of myth.

At this moment, Bai Xiu's palm flowed with intense, scalding snow-white lightning. This lightning twisted and merged into the shape of a large bow. In fact, he had already drawn the bowstring… When Gu Xiaoman entered the Upper City, if she couldn’t defeat Gu Xi, he would fire this first arrow to eliminate this troublesome Source expert under the Source Tower's command.

But everything went more smoothly than expected.

During Gu Xiaoman's ascent to the tower, Bai Xiu was able to successfully gather momentum for his arrow.

He could save this arrow for Qinglong.

The most difficult thing to defend against with the Extinguished Candle was the first arrow.

The instant the thunder resounded through the Source Tower, Bai Xiu released the bowstring. The snow-white lightning collided with the long night, but no sound was heard.

The fastest thing in the world is light.

And light kills…

Often without a sound.

In an instant, the lightning-forged arrow pierced through the dark clouds gathering above, pierced through the chilling aura surrounding the Source Tower, pierced through the thick clouds surrounding the outer edge of the Sky Divine Domain. This arrow rapidly magnified in Qinglong’s eyes, finally drawing a straight line across the sky, directly piercing the throne!

The effect of the genuine Extinguished Candle's Achilles Heel domain is different from the fake.

When Gu Shen used the Ruler of Truth to deduce the Extinguished Candle, the effect of the Achilles Heel domain he obtained was to perceive the enemy's weaknesses and inflict piercing damage.

But the true effect of the Extinguished Candle domain is:

Wherever this arrow points, even if there is no weakness, it will become a weakness.

A loud explosion erupted at the end of the Sky Divine Domain, and the throne covered in frost was submerged in a raging torrent of lightning!

Billions of tons of cloud energy were scattered by this arrow!

With Qinglong’s throne as the center, a large amount of cloud energy spread outward like a tsunami!

Gu Xiaoman's expression remained unchanged. The coffin she had erected long ago had now transformed into a sturdy barrier. Annihilation Dream was activated, and the lightning and clouds splashed by the Sky Divine Domain were all blocked and absorbed by the coffin. She cautiously hid behind the coffin, observing the aftermath of this arrow…

The Three Continents Alliance had waited a full five years!

Meng Xizhou had been suppressing the various departments, not allowing them to launch a general offensive!

And now, the most important factor in her agreeing to launch the general offensive was that Master Bai Xiu had obtained the legendary Extinguished Candle!

There was a nightmare in Qinglong’s heart.

That was the fact that he had lost to the owner of the Extinguished Candle Bow when he was young. The previous owner of the Extinguished Candle and Master Bai Xiu were exactly the same, both possessing the Thunder Realm Walker ability. Now that the Extinguished Candle had reappeared, coupled with the fully realized Thunder Realm Walker… If Master Bai Xiu's arrow only injured Qinglong, it would be enough to trigger the entire killing game!

…

…

The air was thick with smoke and dense fog.

The mental power of transcendents was extremely suppressed in the Sky Divine Domain, making it impossible to use.

In this situation, the "naked eye" was actually more useful!

Gu Xiaoman hid behind the coffin, squinting at the scene in the center of the battlefield. She saw the throne engulfed in rolling heatwaves, and it took several minutes for a blurred outline to appear.

A slender, straight, snow-white arrow was embedded in the throne. The tip of the arrow pierced through the throne and protruded out, revealing a very, very small point.

This point was blood red.

"Drip."

"Drip."

The clouds in the Sky Divine Domain were dispelled by the arrow qi of the Extinguished Candle, revealing large patches of the cold divine temple floor.

At this moment, Qinglong’s blood dripped onto the ground along the arrow shaft, making a "pleasant" sound!

Blood!

Qinglong was bleeding!

Gu Xiaoman's expression lit up with joy. She stared intently, and after the clouds dissipated… the man on the throne was very pale, but the scene of the Extinguished Candle arrow piercing through Qinglong’s body, which Gu Xiaoman had expected, did not occur.

That arrow.

That arrow that surpassed Gu Xiaoman's reaction speed—

Had actually been caught by Qinglong with his bare hands!

The narrow, snow-white lightning was frozen in place. The man sitting on the throne slightly turned his body. This arrow didn’t pierce his body because, in that instant, Qinglong stretched out his palm and grasped the arrow… The sure-hit effect of the Achilles Heel had been triggered in a different way.

Bai Xiu was aiming for Qinglong’s heart.

But after the Sky Fire Seed's powerful origin was triggered, the trajectory of this arrow was forcibly raised fifty centimeters.

The upper part of the throne was pierced.

Qinglong’s palm was scorched by the scorching lightning… Blood flowed from the wound in his palm, dripping onto the ground along the lightning-covered shaft.

“Heh…”

Qinglong slowly released his palm, sighing softly, his sigh carrying a hint of self-deprecation and relief.

His expression was very unsightly.

The moment he saw the light of the Extinguished Candle arrow, past memories launched a fierce attack on the master of the throne. Qinglong had felt a moment of distraction. If this arrow had been faster, just a little faster… it might have really pierced his heart.

But alas.

He had still reacted in time.

The hand scorched by the Extinguished Candle recovered at an extremely fast speed after leaving the arrow. It healed completely in just a few seconds. The scab on his palm fell off, eventually returning to an even whiter and purer jade color than before.

This was all the damage that Bai Xiu, with his full arrow momentum, had inflicted on him.

“How frightening…”

Qinglong rubbed his brow wearily and laughed in a hoarse voice.

He looked up at the gathering point of the rain and teased Gu Xiaoman, “Compared to what you just did to Gu Xi… this arrow is a true miracle.”

Bai Xiu's arrow had made him bleed.

Under the attack of a transcendent life that was not a divine throne… he had shed blood.

And this arrow was just the beginning.

The Thunder Realm Walker, sitting in the center of the torrential rain, had already drawn his bow a second time. However, this time, Bai Xiu wasn’t in a hurry to release the arrow. The first arrow had failed… This arrow, which had utilized the perfect combination of timing, location, and people, had been broken in Qinglong’s hand, allowing Bai Xiu to realize what kind of monster he was fighting.

For every subsequent arrow, he had to find the best opportunity.

The Extinguished Candle, a super artifact, was incredibly powerful.

But the price of using it… was also very high.

Each time he drew the bow.

Bai Xiu had to bear a great physical burden and mental exhaustion.

He didn’t know how many more times he could draw the bow, but he knew that today’s battle would determine not only victory and defeat, but also life and death.

Each arrow he fired could be the last arrow of his life.

Qinglong looked at Bai Xiu, then at Gu Xiaoman.

He repeated what Gu Xiaoman had said earlier, with a smile.

“You… want to kill me.”

Two words were key here.

You.

Bai Xiu fired his arrow after Gu Xiaoman said those words. But Qinglong knew that the powerhouses dispatched by the Three Continents Alliance for today’s battle were definitely not just Bai Xiu and Gu Xiaoman.

“I said earlier that I could end this war in a dignified way.”

Qinglong said with a soft laugh, “Bai Shu and Lin Lei just suffered defeat. Are you sure you want to fight another battle?”

His response was a crisp crack!

The lightning arrow fired by Bai Xiu had already pierced through the throne, and the small tip protruding from the pierced throne suddenly exploded.

Countless fluorescent lights floated in the divine domain, and a woman wearing a pure white holy light dress appeared in the divine domain with the drifting holy light. She appeared "without warning" and stood behind Qinglong’s throne, surrounded by spatial rifts and vibrations—

"Meng Xizhou."

Qinglong didn’t turn his head, still sitting on the throne. He sensed the aura of “holy light” coming from behind him.

This seemingly gentle and peaceful light could actually unleash tremendous power.

Qinglong said softly, “In my heart, you are not someone who should be killed. You are very talented and are the most suitable Light Divine Throne for the Fire Seed of Light within the Five Continents.”

“So, you want to persuade me to stop here?”

Meng Xizhou's two hands had already been "placed" on Qinglong’s shoulders.

“Yes… Compared to that alien who fused with the Fire Seed of the Traveler, you should live.”

Qinglong said expressionlessly, “If you attack me, then there will be no room for reconciliation.”

He knew that the Light City had a long-standing ability, "Holy Light Descends."

But relying solely on this ability, it was far from enough to penetrate his divine domain…

Meng Xizhou was able to instantly appear in such a close and fatal position with the help of another person.

At least two divine thrones were needed for the Three Continents Alliance to launch an “assassination” against him!

There were only a few Fire Seeds in the Five Continents.

The Fire Seed of Wine was in his hands.

The Storm had escaped, the Underworld King had been expelled, and Bai Shu and Lin Lei had just been defeated…

The only remaining Fire Seed was the Fire Seed of the Traveler that had been thrown into the furnace by Lin Lei some years ago.

The Traveler was proficient in spatial portal techniques!

It was this technique that tore apart the Sky Divine Domain and sent Meng Xizhou behind him.

“Sorry, I have to reject your kindness.”

Meng Xizhou said coldly, “Because in my heart, you are the one who should be killed.”

Her two hands lightly pressed down on Qinglong’s shoulders.

Thunder resounded, and the highest level of the Source Tower was submerged by the sound waves of countless holy light explosions!

A massive golden glow burst out from the spire of the tower!