CHAPTER 80.1: HEAVENLY DAO FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT, NEW POWER

How much experience had Qi Yuan accumulated? Even he himself didn’t know.

On the Ascension Platform, the endless waves of lesser monsters had granted him a sea of experience. In Earth's End, the nearly three thousand alien demons had provided another vast surge.

Now, all that experience poured into his body like an inverted ocean, funneled through a tiny opening.

“I am not level 99!” Gripping his sword, Qi Yuan glared at the massive stone. Then, he unleashed every major and minor skill all at once. “Death Radiance! Tyrannical Might! Heaven-Cleaving Sword!”

He released the strongest strike this world had ever seen.

“Kill!”

Blinding white light intertwined with crimson sword aura, exploding with a power far beyond mortal comprehension. Bathed in bloodlight and brilliance, Qi Yuan began to dissolve, the red glow desperately resisting.

Yet, his lips curved into a smile. “Ha! You’re going out faster than me!”

After those words, he weakly closed his eyes. He sat on the steps, his dried blood crusted over, hands still clutching his sword tightly.

***

Moments earlier, outside Earth's End...

The Divine realm experts of Yinyang and Five Elements Forbidden Zone had finally arrived. Their expressions were calm, solemn. Soon, they would face the most terrifying alien demon ever known.

The lunar eclipse still went on. Darkness covered the world.

Suddenly, a colossal tremor echoed from within Earth's End. Everyone froze, staring at one another in shock.

“What was that?”

“Have the alien demons discovered us? Are they coming to slaughter us?”

The red-robed man pointed toward the sky. “Look! What is that?”

A second sun had risen besides the moon.

The world turned bright as day. Everyone looked up, their hearts filled with an indescribable sense of impending doom.

Someone cried out, “Two suns... what’s happening?”

“No! It’s falling! The sun is falling towards the universe!”

“The sun in the sky... day and night reversed... that’s the Great Sun’s resurrection!” Feather’s eyes widened with realization as a tear of blood slipped down his cheek. “So this... this is what certain death truly means.”

The Divine realm powerhouses were horrified beyond words. A sun was falling toward the continent. Though smaller than the one in the heavens, it was still a blazing miniature sun. If it struck the land, seas would flood backward, ley lines would shatter, and all living beings would be reduced to ashes.

“Certain death...” Little Green gazed at the descending sun and suddenly smiled in peace. “Garment Division Master... I no longer blame you.”

Then, all of a sudden, a sword appeared in the heavens.

“What is that?”

“Whose sword is that?”

“What is happening?”

The Divine realm powerhouses were shaken to the core. They recognized the all too familiar sword.

***

In the Moonlight Kingdom, a woman looked up. The moon in her eyes waned into a crescent. “Teacher...” she whispered.

In the Garment Division’s domain, a red wedding garment stumbled and ran, calling out desperately. She fell, picked herself up, and fell once more.

High above, before a great gate, sat a blood-soaked man. He was torn and mangled, looking as though he had crawled out of hell itself. Every inch of him was wounded—assaulted, gnawed, and torn apart by countless demons. His eyes were shattered, yet he still held his sword.

He raised it toward the sun and roared, “I am not level 99!”

With that strike, the world turned upside down.

Half of the blinding white world turned crimson. Bloodlight clashed with radiance, unleashing unimaginable energy.

The red-robed man shouted, “The Garment Division Master! It’s him!”

Dragon Judge gazed at the heavens, myriad emotions flashing in his eyes before he laughed. “He’s the man I believed in. How could he ever run from battle?”

The other cried, “How could he... how could he!”

The Divine realm powerhouses watched in silence. Some were overcome with guilt, others wept hot tears.

They saw that blood-drenched man smile faintly before closing his eyes. “Ha! You’re going out faster than me!”

Those were his last words.

The white light faded, yet the sword aura still relentlessly spread through the sky. The lunar eclipse was cleaved in two. The Great Sun itself shattered into countless fragments.

With a thunderous crash, the gate within Earth's End fell. Of the once mighty two end zones, one more was gone.

All the Divine realm powerhouses turned toward the ruins. Beyond the fallen gate, they saw a blood-covered youth sitting on the steps. He smiled faintly, eyes closed, as though peacefully asleep, dreaming a beautiful dream.

“Garment Division Master!"

They rushed toward Earth's End, some filled with sorrow. How many battles had he endured?

As they drew near, the broken youth faded with the crumbling land. Only a trace of red remained, then vanished.

***

“There is too much history buried in time,” said Seventh Moon.

Though shorter than Jin Li, she carried herself with greater solemnity as she walked beside her.

Jin Li’s eyes dimmed with quiet sadness. She said nothing.

The priestess then said, “Back when the Moonlight Kingdom was first founded, the world held four forbidden zones and two end zones. Now, only one end zone remains.”

Dynasties rose and fell, yet the Moonlight Kingdom had always risen again.

Jin Li’s eyes widened. “There’s still one end zone left?”

She remembered Qi Yuan’s words. He had mentioned that there were four forbidden zones and two end zones.

“What was it called? Where is it now?” she asked anxiously.

Seventh Moon said softly, “According to the ancient texts, that end zone was called Earth's End. Legend says it contained a world-destroying demon, and that a faceless swordsman came to slay it.”

Jin Li grabbed onto Seventh Moon’s arm. “What happened to him?”

“Earth's End was shattered,” Seventh Moon murmured. “It’s hard to imagine such a power. As for him... he perished with the demon.”

Jin Li’s eyes went blank. “He... died?”

“Some ancient scrolls claim the founding of the Moonlight Kingdom was orchestrated by that very faceless swordsman, but later emperors denied it. I don’t know if he was truly tied to our Moonlight Kingdom. Still, he did come here once and his statue remains ahead.”

Jin Li lifted her gaze. A dilapidated temple stood before her. Its southern wall had collapsed, weeds overrunning the grounds.

Seventh Moon asked calmly, “Shall we go inside?”

Jin Li stepped onto the mossy stone floor, her pace hurried yet hesitant. Within mere moments, she entered the temple.

Seventh Moon sighed. “It is a pity. Though the Faceless Sword God was said to have saved the world, his temple receives no incense.”

Jin Li halted, staring at the broken statue inside. Countless memories flashed through her mind.

“Your Majesty,” Seventh Moon continued quietly from behind, “did you see what you longed to see?”

Jin Li reached out and grasped the statue’s left hand. Suddenly, it shattered.

A green wooden hairpin fell into her palm.

She held it tightly, remembering Qi Yuan’s second words to her.

Lifting her gaze to the statue, she whispered softly, "I have seen it, as though seeing you.”

***

In the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone...

The cold wooden floor felt hard and icy beneath Qi Yuan’s back. He reached out instinctively, as though to hold someone, but his hands met only emptiness.

“Little Bride...” he called out, opening his eyes only to find himself alone upon the planks.

He called again, louder. “Little Bride?”

There was still no answer. The bridal chamber was silent and empty.

“Sharing One Robe...” Qi Yuan muttered, casting his ultimate skill, yet nothing happened.

He sat there on the cold floor, head aching faintly. At least, his skills were still there, which meant Little Bride still existed somewhere.

“You’re such a terrible wife.” He sighed. “Going out without even telling me.”

Dragging his weakened body, Qi Yuan wandered through the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone. He passed rows of wedding dresses, but none were as beautiful as hers.

Stumbling, he made his way into the underground palace. He muttered to himself, “They say couples start to resemble each other over time. I can barely walk a few steps without tripping. Were you the same before? Always confused, head full of clutter?”

After an hour’s slow walk, he finally reached the inner chamber. “Little Bride, our divorce is still in the cooling-off period. But since you’re not here, I can’t file for divorce alone. When we meet again, we’ll decide then. For now, you’re still my wife...”

Then, he chuckled. “Or maybe, this will be Chasing My Wife: Infernal Edition. Or better yet, Chasing My Husband: Infernal Edition. That’s even funnier.”

Qi Yuan sat in the dark underground palace, catching his breath. He raised his hand. The moon mark on his skin faded, like the trace Little Bride had left on him.

He looked toward the silent army of the Garment Division. “So, it’s time for me to leave?”

“That Great Sun really clung on. If I had leveled up to level 100 before the battle, his true body wouldn’t have shown up. My game would not have a perfect ending...”

Even with the game complete, Qi Yuan felt an emptiness, like finishing the finale of a long drama.

“Trash game,” he muttered. “I still had a side quest left undone! No, wait... Jin Li’s a player too. She doesn’t count as a quest. A meetup then... Next time, it’ll be in the real world.”

He thought of that snowy day and how he’d waited for days at their meeting spot, but she never came. A thousand thoughts flooded his mind.

Looking at the sealed army around him, he murmured lines he’d once read somewhere, “When I didn't see you, my sorrow piled like snow. The longing of ages deep and still. When I don't see you now, my gaze shines like crystal dew and the longing of ages still intoxicates. When I next see you, I shall not curse the late meeting, nor begrudge time’s brevity.”

The final line had once read, When I don't see you again, life is but a fleeting dream. All dreams from the past to now are void.

Qi Yuan found it inauspicious, so he changed it.

He remembered that day’s great snow. Snow in the game world was immense, it made the Ancient Qichun Tree look like a giant Christmas tree. Without corpses hanging from them, Jin Li likely had found them beautiful.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Qi Yuan turned to the silent army. “I went to the trouble of composing something poetic, make sure you deliver it to Jin Li!”

Then, he burst out laughing. “I really am such a flirt.”