CHAPTER 54: A SHOT LIKE LIGHTNING AND THUNDER

A heavy, indescribable emotion hung in the air.

Jin Li couldn't help but ask, "How is he?"

The Red Bridal Armor replied as if expecting her question, "Master is well."

As those words fell, the red armor seemed to lose all of its spirits. It said nothing more.

Jin Li felt a measure of peace. She knew they were a battalion of the Garment Forbidden Army, brought back to life. They’d once been an army of veterans who’d fallen on the battlefield.

Finally, she turned to the Emperor realm demon.

The demon was staring back at her in utter shock. "Impossible... absolutely impossible! The Four Divisions of the Divine Court were destroyed long ago, buried in the dust of history! Not a single Garment Forbidden soldier should remain in this world! You’re nothing but projections—phantoms of heart demons! How dare you disturb my supreme heart! Die!"

With a roar, the demon prepared to hurl himself at the Garment Division, about to shatter them with a single punch.

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, he froze, turned, and bolted toward the skies outside the city.

One of the ten Grand Commanders of the Garment Division noticed this. He reached for the longbow on his back and took aim.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew before he had even drawn fully, breaking the sound barrier with a thunderclap as it streaked across the heavens like a blazing scar. In the blink of an eye, the lightning-fast shaft slammed into the fleeing demon.

The demon turned back in disbelief. "Peak... Emperor!"

Boom!

The arrow detonated, and so did his body.

The mighty beast, one of the top ten in all of the Demon Race, had popped like a balloon.

The sight left the gathered civil and military officials shaken to their core. Even Sima Ting was dumbstruck. Beside him, the scrawny Emperor realm cultivator trembled uncontrollably, eyes wide with disbelief.

That demon was nearly at the level of a Peak Emperor, making him one of the Demon Race’s foremost elites. Yet a single arrow was all it took?

He lifted his gaze skyward. The Garment Forbidden Army hovered like heavenly soldiers, the very sight of them extinguishing all thought of resistance. The ten at the front each radiated an aura as unfathomable as the sea.

The army comprised ten Peak Emperors, nearly a hundred Emperors, and tens of thousands of troops—none of them mortal. The weakest among them were Innates, without a single Postnatal.

Who in this world could possibly stand against them?

The scrawny cultivator wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground, crawl inside, and flee back to his sect.

However, Sima Ting suddenly burst out laughing, full of madness. He’d completely lost it.

"Why?! Heaven, you damned thief, why do you always toy with me!" He swung a trembling finger toward the scrawny cultivator. "He is from the Heaven-Fate Holy Sect! All of this, all of it, was their scheme!"

Even though Jin Li had long suspected so, she still felt a pang of shock and bitter disappointment at hearing it confirmed. The so-called sacred land of humanity, the Heaven-Fate Holy Sect had truly fallen...

She turned to the Garment Forbidden Army, her thoughts drifting to Qi Yuan, still somewhere within the forbidden zone.

Jin Li made her decision. She’d borrow the Garment Division’s power to sweep away the crisis in one fell swoop, then meet that man as promised.

The Ancient Qichun Tree, divine tree of the Moonwatch Continent. Legend said that when devoted lovers met beneath its boughs, the tree would grant them its blessing.

Jin Li's face turned cold. "Kill them!"

She’d play the role of an empress once more. Raised under the worship of her people, she owed it to her nation to fight for them.

The silent army marched at her command. A Grand Commander brandished a long spear, nailing the scrawny cultivator to the ground with a single thrust.

When the commander withdrew the spear, his body dissolved into nothing. Sima Ting met the same demise soon after.

The court officials, drenched in blood and terror, didn't dare to flee. They only trembled, kneeling, begging for the empress's mercy.

However, Jin Li stared mercilessly at them. The true threats lay outside the city walls.

With a majestic expression, she commanded imposingly, "Soldiers, to battle!"

Seventeen years of grievance and endurance erupted in that single moment.

If only... if only she could see him, everything would be complete.

***

Qi Yuan stood in the pocket of space, gently patting her. "Little Bride?"

Little Bride was curled around him like an octopus, fast asleep.

Qi Yuan gazed at her, lost in thought. "What a pity... if only you had a face."

He didn't disturb her, noticing she’d also used too much energy and hadn’t recovered. It was his first time seeing her in such a state.

His expression grew complicated. Maybe, he really shouldn’t be so reckless in battle and lay low when necessary.

Just then, Little Bride stirred. If she had eyes, he’d see her long lashes flutter before opening.

He smiled softly. "You're in trouble. You've left the Garment Forbidden Zone, and won't be able to meet your kin again for some time."

After all, many other Wedding Garment spirits still dwelled within. Little Bride only pressed closer against him, like a clingy little pup.

Qi Yuan murmured, "I wonder if you'll be able to adapt. The place we're headed to next is called the Five Elements Forbidden Zone. I don't know if there are monsters there as well."

He decided then and there that if there were, he’d rely less on Little Bride and fight on his own as much as possible. Hadn't he already carved a bloody path through the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone without her help?

Besides, Little Bride was clumsy and was always bumping into things, tripping for no reason. She was small and delicate, fragile almost. If he depended on her too much, he feared she’d break.

His thoughts drifted briefly to a scene from a TV drama he had once watched. A brother who swore he could fight even without his sister's sword, only for the sister to ultimately sacrifice herself, and the brother failing in battle. That was an ending Qi Yuan wanted no part of.

"The Five Elements Forbidden Zone... here I come." Clasping Little Bride's cool little hand, the two of them finally stepped inside.

The Five Elements Forbidden Zone was utterly different from the previous two forbidden zones. There was no trace of flowers, grass, or trees. Not even a monster in sight.

The world itself was divided into extremes. On one side, magma bubbled with roaring flames. On another side, ice spread out with fountains of frigid water. Elsewhere, golden sands shimmered like liquid metal, flowing in rivulets.

The Five Elements Forbidden Zone was the gathering ground of the five elements.

Qi Yuan clung tightly to Little Bride's hand. With her airheaded clumsiness, what if she slipped into the fire and burned her clothes off? Wouldn’t she expose herself? More importantly, what if she got seriously hurt?

Suddenly, someone said in an aged voice, echoing in his ear. "Garment Division Master. I have awaited you for a long time."