CHAPTER 77.2: BASTARD GAME, STABBING MY BACK

It was a fishing line, seemingly about to snatch Moon Maiden away. The little girl was still holding the bowl, foot lifted in mid-step, completely oblivious.

Qi Yuan's sword was planted in the snow. He was still sitting on the stone, watching the snowflakes fall onto his hair.

The line was very sharp and pierced into flesh without spilling blood. The bowl in Moon Maiden's hands crashed to the ground. Her eyes widened, tears welling as she stared at the man before her.

In the next moment, Qi Yuan caught her waist with one arm and seized the line with his other hand. The line pierced through it.

Qi Yuan stared at it, then burst out laughing. "Ha! Bastard game, I knew you'd try to stab me at a moment like this! I was ready. Outwardly, I was admiring the snow but I was watching in all directions, listening on all sides, just waiting for your attack! Hmph, the corpses under this Ancient Qichun Tree already caught me off guard. You think I’d fall for it twice?!"

With a roar, his sword leaped from its sheath. Level 99 power erupted completely. No more pretense, no more holding back. The lackeys were all gone—time to face the true boss!

The great sword no longer restrained itself, baring its fangs at last.

Qi Yuan roared, "Break!"

His sword clashed against the line.

Crack.

No deafening shock, only a clean snap.

The supposedly unbreakable Flesh-Hook, as described by the Five Ancestors, was severed by one stroke. Blood flowed from the line.

Qi Yuan laughed wildly. "That's it?"

He set Moon Maiden down and pulled a wooden hairpin from his robe. He had crafted it with care in Heaven's End, intending to give it to Jin Li as a meeting present. Alas, he had never had the chance.

He handed it to Moon Maiden. "It's called As If Seeing You. Keep it safe, and give it..."

He wanted to say, Give it to the woman named Jin Li. But he hesitated. He didn't know in which timeline she belonged to.

"Leave it where it belongs. Let fate decide."

Moon Maiden accepted the hairpin and stored it carefully.

As Qi Yuan lifted his sword to keep it, a trickle of blood flowed down from his left hand.

Looking at him, she seemed to understand. "Teacher... can I still hold the sword for you next time?"

Qi Yuan gave no reply. Only the howl of the northern wind answered.

She stared at him, stubborn and pained. Looking at the wound in his arm, she made a decision. "Wait."

She leaned down and bit into the wound. The injury, which not even his constitution could heal quickly on its own, closed under her saliva. A crescent mark appeared there.

Her face turned pale, the moonlight in her eyes dimming. Yet, she smiled brilliantly. "It doesn't hurt now, right?"

Even winter's chill seemed to lift. Qi Yuan looked at the mark, remembering Little Bride. Both girls were so sensible it made the heart ache.

He forced a smile. "No, it doesn't."

And with those words, he vanished into the snowy world.

Moon Maiden stood alone in the snow, staring blankly into the distance.

***

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a different place.

"Earth's End...?" Then, he called out, "Little Bride?"

However, there was no response.

"So, slaying the final boss is my task alone. No one else can reach this place."

When he entered Earth's End, he had felt his link with Little Bride sever. The mark on his chest was gone. Only the faint crescent scar remained on his left hand.

"...That's fine too."

Little Bride had always been clumsy, stumbling when she walked.

Now Qi Yuan stood, sword in hand, almost the same as when he had first entered the game. Except now, his level was 99. Despite his overflowing EXP, he hadn't chosen to level up yet.

Before him stood a massive bronze gate, rusted with the passage of countless years.

Qi Yuan said casually, "Open sesame."

To his surprise, the bronze doors creaked open, revealing a vast emptiness. As if floating in the void, there was no ground, trees, or clouds. There was a blazing sun above.

He stepped forward. "So this is Earth's End?"

Someone bellowed in a deep, cold voice, "Those who trespass in Earth's End shall be killed without mercy!"

Far ahead, a metal-armored man stood in the void. He was built like a beast, his face sharp as a sculpture. Metal armor enveloped him, radiating majesty.

Qi Yuan recognized him instantly. "The Celestial God... Metal-Armored God?"

The husband whom the Wedding Garment Empress had waited for a thousand years. The unattainable white moonlight the Flower Burial Fairy had longed for. The master of the Four Divisions of the Divine Court, who swept across the six realms.

Now, he was reduced to a mere puppet—a gatekeeper for the alien demons.

Qi Yuan advanced. "Even if you’re my father-in-law, you cannot plagiarize my words. Actually, you stole the line from my teaching to Moon Maiden. 'Those who cross this sword, shall be killed without mercy.'"

The Metal-Armored God said nothing, eyes cold and empty. He also advanced, drawing his blade.

Qi Yuan mocked lightly, "Oh? So you’re pleading the fifth? Do you admit either all writing is plagiarism, or all our words come from the dictionary, so plagiarism doesn't count?"

The Metal-Armored God marched closer, brandishing his sword.

"Ah, so it's the 'can't say anything back, so swing fists instead' routine!" Out of respect for his father-in-law, he drew his own sword. "Though Little Bride and I are divorcing, we're still in the cooling-off period. As her husband, let me personally send you off.”

There was a flash of blood.

Just like that, the once-supreme being of this world lost his head.

Yet in the next breath, the Metal-Armored God revived whole, unscathed.

Qi Yuan frowned. "Can't be killed, always revives. No wonder Dragon Judge, Pupil, and Feather could never pass this stage."

Again he swung. Again the man died. Again the man revived. Over and over again.

Qi Yuan hacked without stopping. Kill, revive, kill, revive.

After fifty to sixty repetitions, he roared, "Alien demons, come out already! This is too boring. You don't want me endlessly butchering your puppet, do you? Each revival drains your essence, doesn't it?"

His voice thundered through Earth's End. This time, the Metal-Armored God did not advance again.

Instead, someone replied in a kind voice, "Young Friend, since you have come to my abode, I should serve you tea."

A white-haired old man appeared. He exuded the air of a sage, his face youthful. If they had met in Canglan World, Qi Yuan would have thought him a reclusive immortal. But this was Earth's End. And this old man felt stronger than even the 119-level Metal-Armored God.

Qi Yuan's eyes flickered.

[Hu Shan – Level 119 (realm suppressed)]

Without courtesy, Qi Yuan swung his sword. "Alien demon, die!"

The old man stood unmoving, still smiling kindly. "Though I have fallen from the Fifth Realm, a mere Fourth Realm cultivator cannot kill me."

Qi Yuan stared warily, thoughts racing. Even his strongest strike failed to leave a mark. Was it because this being's level exceeded his own? Or because his mastery of power was more refined?

This was a first for Qi Yuan.

Seeing he had stunned Qi Yuan, the old man said gently, "You call me an alien demon, but in truth, I am not. My companions and I came here to save this world. You, Young Friend, have been deceived by villains, misled into thinking of us as alien demons."

Qi Yuan sneered, "Of course the high-level boss has maxed out the Deception skill tree."

The old man sighed. "You still don't believe me? ...Tell me, have you been to Kunwu City?"

Qi Yuan said nothing, pondering how to kill him. He also faintly sensed that there were surely more alien demons here than just this one.

The old man waved a hand. "Then, Young Friend, behold.”

A scene appeared before Qi Yuan's eyes.