CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 114: SPECULATION! AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Belia’s eyes filled with tears. She nodded repeatedly, her voice choked with sobs. "No more fighting... I’ll never fight again, brother. As long as you can come back to life, we’ll find a secluded place..."

Belia couldn’t finish her sentence. The immense grief was like a powerful hand strangling her neck, making it impossible to speak and even difficult to breathe.

Struggling to lift his arm, its bone shattered, Chen Pingchuan gently stroked Belia’s hair. "Don’t be sad, and don’t be upset. After all..."

Just then, a sharp female voice cut him off.

"After all, our Lord Spirit God can come back to life, can’t he?"

Hearing Ji Hongxiu’s words, Chen Pingchuan’s entire body went rigid. His right arm, which he had been straining to keep up, suddenly went limp.

Belia raised her tear-streaked face, pale as a sheet of paper. Staring fiercely at Ji Hongxiu, she shouted angrily, "It’s all your fault! You did this to my brother, and now you’re gloating! Don’t you know he’s dying?"

Ji Hongxiu was taken aback. Though she was worried about Chen Pingchuan’s safety, she forced herself to maintain her prideful expression. If she recalled correctly, during the final great battle, just as she had despaired and resigned herself to death, the world had rewound by a year. The experience was so vivid it felt real, leaving a lasting impression on her. So she suspected that although the Spirit God had just awakened, he must possess the ability to travel through time.

To test her suspicion, Ji Hongxiu said coldly, "Such a gullible little girl. Ask your precious brother if he would die so easily. He is my Lord Spirit God, a god who toys with the world. How could he possibly be slapped to death by me? How utterly ridiculous."

After she spoke, Ji Hongxiu’s eyes remained fixed on Chen Pingchuan. Honestly, she wasn’t sure herself, but what was done was done. If Chen Pingchuan was truly the omnipotent, all-knowing god from her memories, then he wouldn’t die so easily.

Hearing Ji Hongxiu, Belia turned her gaze back to Chen Pingchuan, her eyes filled with both worry and hope. She didn’t voice the question in her heart, because to her, it seemed impossible. Even with the world’s most advanced technology, they might be able to clone an identical Chen Pingchuan or give him a mechanical body. There were many possibilities, but none could bring a man with a body full of shattered bones back to life.

This time, Chen Pingchuan didn’t lift his arm. He simply looked at Belia’s delicate face and nodded with all the strength he could muster. "She’s right. We will meet again."

Ji Hongxiu’s words confirmed his earlier suspicions. He had a feeling that under normal circumstances, someone as insignificant as him couldn’t possibly attract so much attention from all these people and factions. What he didn’t know was whether the simulator’s glitch had occurred only once or if it was an ongoing issue. If it was still ongoing, what were the conditions for receiving simulated memories? These were all questions he needed to verify one by one.

Hearing Chen Pingchuan’s affirmation, Ji Hongxiu, who stood a short distance away, breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she silently cursed the man she had accidentally injured. How many romantic debts must Chen Pingchuan incur before he’ll stop? Why can’t he just be my god? And gods these days are getting more and more playful, starting to role-play in ’hero saves the damsel’ scenarios. Who knows what this will evolve into in the future.

Just as Belia and Ji Hongxiu began to relax, Chen Pingchuan’s vision flashed from black to bright. His soul then soared upward like a balloon. From a divine vantage point that allowed for a 360-degree, unobstructed view of all creation, he saw everything around him, including his own body, which was gradually growing cold.

"Brother, what’s wrong? You said you wouldn’t die! Why... why did you lie to me?"

Belia clung tightly to the stiffening body in her arms. At that moment, her spirit completely collapsed. The grief in her heart burst forth like a flood from a broken dam, utterly uncontrollable. She wailed loudly. After her father’s death, her face had become an emotionless, icy mask. It was only after Chen Pingchuan entered her life that her world regained a flicker of warmth. But now, it was all gone.

Belia’s cries stunned Ji Hongxiu, who stood nearby. A wave of panic hit her. According to my theory, we should have rewound time by now. But as she sensed the coldness of Chen Pingchuan’s body, she began to doubt her own conclusion. She had invested countless efforts over the past year. Under her management, the Holy Spirit Sect had flourished, its congregation growing daily—all of it built on the foundation of Chen Pingchuan being alive. He was her spiritual pillar. Proving her excellence to him was the very motivation that had kept her going. But now, everything was gone.

Watching the two women grieving for him, Chen Pingchuan’s heart filled with a storm of emotions. Both Ji Hongxiu and Belia had powerful personality flaws. And, guided by his divine self, they had also become tools for him to use. They had made him the anchor of their hearts. As long as he was around, their futures would have meaning, expectation, and aspiration. The Chen Pingchuan who had made them this way felt no joy. In his heart, he believed every person was an independent individual. There was no such thing as living for someone else. The reason they had become like this was, apart from the problems with the world itself, mainly because of him. It was he who had turned Ji Hongxiu into a maidservant. It was he who had exploited Belia’s psychological vulnerabilities. It was he who had altered the course of their lives. Divine self, you really deserve to die. Indeed, once humanity is stripped away, a person is no longer a person.

His unexpected death this time forced him to reflect on his own actions.

Just as everyone was lost in their own emotions, another unexpected visitor arrived. She wore bright, blood-red metallic armor, with a red blade sheathed at her right hip. She stood tall and straight, her long hair streaming out from behind her faceplate and drifting in the air. At first glance, Chen Pingchuan thought Xia Qingxue had arrived. But on closer inspection, he noticed the differences between the two. Not only were there subtle variations in the armor designs, but their auras were also vastly different. Even in her Valkyrie Battle Armor, Xia Qingxue still exuded a cold, arrogant, and unapproachable air, like a queen enthroned high above. But this girl was different. Her laughter was crisp, her youthful energy palpable even from a distance. Her vibrant eyes suggested a cheerful, sunny girl was hidden inside the Mecha, making one feel an involuntary urge to get closer.

"Hee hee hee, it’s so lively here today! Let me see who we have here... Ah, isn’t this my own Grand Elder Ye Hu of the Blood Beast Ban? Or perhaps I should call you Lord Divine Attendant of the Holy Spirit Sect."

The girl then turned her gaze to Belia. Noticing her pale cheeks, she couldn’t help but tease, "Looks like you all have been hurt quite badly."

Belia seemed not to hear her, still caressing Chen Pingchuan’s cheek. Ji Hongxiu, on the other hand, was furious. Having found an outlet for her pent-up anger, her figure blurred. She instantly reappeared at her opponent’s right side, her fair hands raking across the brilliant red armor. But contrary to what she expected, her attack merely tore open the armor and failed to inflict any destructive damage. At the same time, it seemed my opponent knew my secrets. This opening must have been a deliberate trap, meant for this very moment.

"AHHH!!!"

Ji Hongxiu clutched her right side where crimson blood was already seeping out between her fingers. Through the gashes she had created in the armor, she discovered something was wrong. There was no pilot inside.

"A hound from Celestial Palace One," Ji Hongxiu spat through gritted teeth. The situation had spiraled completely out of her control. A remote border town not only has a mole from the New Sequence Group who can take on a level-eight powerhouse, but now a level-seven Mecha Warrior from Celestial Palace One has also shown up. The irony is staggering.

Ji Hongxiu glanced around but saw no sign of Major General Hu. If Major General Hu were here now, I’m confident I could take down this enemy. What she didn’t know was that Major General Hu had already been scared off by the bizarre Chen Pingchuan and had made a run for it. There was no way to find him now. Ji Hongxiu realized this as well. Such a commotion should have drawn him out. It was one thing for others to fear getting caught in the crossfire, but Major General Hu was a master of the Level-Seven Unified State; he wouldn’t be concerned about a few aftershocks. His absence meant he was no longer here.

Her mind racing, Ji Hongxiu instantly understood her predicament and acted completely out of character. Instead of taking an offensive stance, her expression showed no trace of despair. Instead, she asked, "Did your master send you?"

"What wisdom do you have to share, sister? I advise you to surrender. My Young Palace Master showed mercy and let you go before out of respect for the Blood Beast Ban’s reputation," the girl in the armor replied. "But not only were you ungrateful, you deliberately broke the rules he set for you. Now, it looks like you’ll be coming back with me to Celestial Palace HQ as a prisoner."

Ji Hongxiu sneered. "Hahaha, how amusing. You shouldn’t be worrying about me. You should be worrying about yourself. Your master’s Heaven’s Chosen is dead. By the way, isn’t it a rule in your Celestial Palace that all Heaven’s Chosen are to be killed by your own people? Why did you make an exception for him?"

"What did you say?"

Even in her mechanical body, Hongkai’er was utterly stunned by Ji Hongxiu’s words.