"Hahaha! Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!!!"
From the western sky, Jiang Wuya's maniacal laughter echoed.
He was mocking Yan Shouyi's overestimation of his own strength, mocking the Xuanmen's futile resistance, mocking how, despite all their preparations, they were still toyed with in the palm of his hand.
"This King has long been one with the Divine Peach Tree. What you painstakingly killed was merely a clone of this King!"
Jiang Wuya laughed wildly, "Truly a group of pathetic and ignorant ants. Did you really think this King's millennium of preparation could be stopped by the likes of you ants?!"
The more rampant Jiang Wuya's laughter, the more uneasy everyone's hearts became.
Seeing Jiang Wuya in his current powerful state, everyone couldn't help but doubt themselves: were all the sacrifices we made worth it?
So many people died, only to kill a clone, and Jiang Wuya's true body remained unaffected...
If we want to kill Jiang Wuya's true body, how many more people must die?
Even if we all die... we might not be able to kill him, right?
What they feared wasn't sacrifice, but meaningless sacrifice.
"How could this be..."
Luo Ning couldn't stop her tears; she had already witnessed too many people die before her.
Yet Jiang Wuya was still alive, alive and unharmed.
"Can we really defeat him?" Wang Jíwǎng couldn't help but look at Yan Shouyi. He, who had always trusted Yan Shouyi, also felt a sliver of doubt.
The emotions of everyone were at an unprecedented low. Some were already considering giving up the fight.
Yan Shouyi saw all of this.
He did not loosen his grip on the Zanpakuto.
Shaqi formed wings behind Yan Shouyi, lifting him slowly into the sky. At the same time, the black cloud that Jiang Wuya had transformed into also drifted above West Lake.
"Yan Shouyi, how are you feeling now?" Jiang Wuya sneered, "This King is particularly eager to know how it feels to discover all your efforts were in vain."
Yan Shouyi said calmly, "I do not regret it."
"You don't regret it, but what about them?" Jiang Wuya looked at the despairing crowd below and said, "If they had surrendered to this King, they wouldn't have met such an end. This is all your fault, Yan Shouyi."
If not for you insisting on resisting this King.
If not for you uniting everyone.
If not for you constantly saying there was hope.
They wouldn't have had to die.
Jiang Wuya was skilled at manipulating people's hearts, so now that he had the upper hand, he desperately wanted to break Yan Shouyi's psychological defense. DAFENG NOVEL NETWORK
If this young man, who had always opposed him and even become his nemesis in the end, were to collapse and fall, it would bring Jiang Wuya immense satisfaction.
However, Jiang Wuya's plan failed.
Yan Shouyi remained unmoved, merely staring coldly at Jiang Wuya, "You will die today."
"Hmph!"
Jiang Wuya ceased his laughter, his eyes revealing undisguised killing intent, "This King wants to see what capabilities you, cornered as you are, still possess to kill this King!"
"You just wait."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Shouyi took half a step back.
In an instant, the entire Min Jiao stronghold was enveloped by a massive formation!
Jiang Wuya was startled at first, then sneered, "This must be the great formation set up by Yan Chou. It does have some power, but how many attacks can it withstand from this King?"
When Yan Chou designed the Min Jiao stronghold, he had pre-arranged several formations.
This defensive formation was also one of Yan Chou's masterpieces.
Jiang Wuya began to attack the formation frantically. Each strike caused the earth to shake, but fortunately, the formation was solid. Even Jiang Wuya needed a few minutes to break it.
Yan Shouyi expressionlessly returned to the ground.
The others immediately surrounded him, their faces filled with concern, "Chairman Yan, what should we do next?"
Jiang Wuya was so powerful. If there was no way to defeat him, should everyone give up struggling?
If the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn. Perhaps we can temporarily submit and find a chance to kill Jiang Wuya later?
Yan Shouyi glanced at everyone and noticed that something was missing from their eyes—hope.
Because they could not see hope, their fighting spirit had been extinguished. As the saying goes, "With one surge, the spirit is roused; with a second, it flags; with a third, it collapses." If Yan Shouyi now asked everyone to raise their weapons and fight back, most people would directly choose to give up.
Just as everyone was chattering.
From the rear of the Min Jiao stronghold, a crisp baby cry suddenly rang out!
Immediately after, Tao Hua Ying rushed out and shouted at Yan Shouyi, "Young Master! The baby is born!!"
From the direction of the lotus pond, a celestial phenomenon descended, heralding the birth of a new life.
Yan Shouyi took a deep breath and said to everyone:
"I'll go see the child... Three minutes, after three minutes, I will give everyone an answer."
It was already a moment of life and death. If everyone chose to give up in the end, most people would have a chance to survive.
But Jiang Wuya would surely kill Yan Shouyi.
So from this perspective, these few minutes while Jiang Wuya broke the formation might be Yan Shouyi's final few minutes of life.
Let him have a look at his child in these last few minutes.
Everyone silently made way, and Yan Shouyi hurried towards the rear.
...
Behind the Min Jiao stronghold.
Yan Chou sat in his wheelchair, guarding the courtyard. His mood was exceptionally anxious.
Inside the delivery room was his daughter-in-law who had just given birth, and outside was his son fighting for his life.
Lin Ruofu paced back and forth outside. If he hadn't been worried about disturbing Lin Zitong, who had just given birth, he would have rushed into the delivery room.
Soon, Yan Shouyi returned.
He quickly entered the courtyard. Without time to greet Yan Chou and Lin Ruofu, he went directly to the delivery room.
The baby's cries grew clearer, but Yan Shouyi's steps stopped.
He stood outside the door, his heart filled with complex emotions. After hesitating for a moment, he turned sideways and peered through the gap in the door to see the scene inside.
Inside, Lin Zitong lay on the bed, her face pale, her forehead covered in large beads of sweat.
Beside her, in a warm swaddle, her brother Yan Niantong and sister Lin Si Yi lay together. As if sensing their father's arrival, the two babies stopped crying and tried to turn their heads towards Yan Shouyi.
Their little hands were tightly clasped together.
"My children..."
In an instant, Yan Shouyi's eyes reddened.
This was the first, and last, time he would see his children.
"Goodbye, you little brat. The world will be better without me. Everything I've done is for you and the children."
He gritted his teeth, ultimately not stepping into the delivery room, nor even saying a word to Lin Zitong.
Turning around, he met Yan Chou's gaze and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing three times to Yan Chou!
Yan Chou seemed to know what Yan Shouyi was about to do. He pursed his lips, reached out to Yan Shouyi, and stroked his head.
Everything was conveyed without words.
"Father, your son departs." Yan Shouyi stood up, his back incredibly resolute.
Yan Chou covered his face with his hand, unable to bear watching Yan Shouyi's departing back. Tears, however, slid down his cheeks.
The biggest regret of his life was burdening his child with all his missions, forcing him to watch his own son walk into hell while he could only sit on his wheelchair like a useless person.