Li Yunbing knelt in a deep kowtow, his body weighed down with guilt.
[His soul was transferred into the body of Jiang Chenghuan, and he became the new Jiang Chenghuan. Aided by demonic techniques, he completely took control of Jiang Chenghuan's physical body, bloodline, and Nascent Soul.]
Li Wei could not imagine what Li Yunbing must have felt upon waking. Yet, in his heart, he felt a selfish sense of relief that Yunbing had survived, even if the methods of those demon lords were wicked to the extreme.
Now, whenever Li Yunbing came to the Ancestral Hall, he would always be lost in a daze. He could see that this matter was the thorn in Yunbing's heart that he refused to touch, and so he had never mentioned it to him.
With the Li family's current power and status, they could have openly revealed the truth of what had happened, and the Jiang family would have been powerless to do anything. Yet, Li Yunbing continued to present himself to the world as Jiang Chenghuan.
After the events of that year, how many of the clan's children did not carry their own hidden sorrows, just as Yunbing did?
He, their Old Ancestor, could only silently support the children's decisions from the shadows.
"Thank you for your understanding, Old Ancestor. Your descendant takes his leave."
Li Yunbing walked out of the Ancestral Hall, scenes from the past echoing in his mind.
On that day, he had awoken in a blood pool within the Thunderfire Demon Cave. He saw the demon lords kneeling before him in joy, and he saw Jiang Chenghuan lying at his side, clinging to the final thread of his life force.
He wasn't even certain himself whether he had intentionally led Jiang Chenghuan to the Thunderfire Demon Cave to seize that one sliver of a chance for survival, or if they had simply fled in that direction by pure chance.
He truly didn't know. The people of the entire Azure Cloud Region called him the most cold and emotionless man in the world.
He couldn't even remember the exact circumstances of that time. It was entirely possible that his hazy consciousness had led him to bring Jiang Chenghuan to the Thunderfire Demon Cave. Perhaps, deep in his heart, his intention had been for the demon lords to swap his soul with Jiang Chenghuan's.
Because that was the kind of person he was.
He only remembered that in his final moments, Jiang Chenghuan had spoken to him one last time of the vision they had once shared. Jiang Chenghuan had said he wanted to ensure the people of Azure Cloud would never be oppressed by anyone, and that the Jiang family would endure upon the lands of Azure Cloud for thousands upon thousands of generations.
Jiang Chenghuan said that, in his entire life, Li Yunbing was the only person he could truly open his heart to.
He said that he wanted Li Yunbing to carry out his final wishes onward.
In his final moments, Jiang Chenghuan was as magnanimous as the day he had first risen to power in the Azure Cloud Region.
He watched as Li Yunbing took possession of his body, uttering not a single word of complaint. With his hopes and visions for the future, his Nascent Soul finally dissipated in that sunless place, the Thunderfire Demon Cave.
More than a hundred years have passed. To this day, Li Yunbing still dares not set foot in the Thunderfire Demon Cave again, and the soul-swapping demonic technique has become a forbidden technique in the Azure Cloud Region.
Beneath the sunlight.
Li Yunbing slowly walked out of the Ancestral Hall, his shadow stretching long behind him.
The shadow looked just like Jiang Chenghuan, as if it had never left Li Yunbing's side. Together, they would walk out of Merit City and return to the throne in the Region Prince's Mansion.
Day after day, they would command the million soldiers of Azure Cloud, lead its numerous cultivators, and guide the entire Azure Cloud Region ever onward, to greater heights...
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