Three top warriors joined forces to surround and kill the Demon Emperor, yet they fought until exhaustion without killing him, a feat that's truly embarrassing.

But it was actually to be expected: Smiling's transformative Divine Abilities could be conjured and dispelled at will. If he attempted to attack, he might have flaws, but when he focuses solely on defense, who could easily breach his defenses?

Smiling's nine-layer protective Gang Qi was not a spur-of-the-moment Combat Skill, but the result of years of practice, initially forming one layer, then two, then three... until now he could conjure nine layers instinctively.

If Smiling had decades more, he could upgrade the nine layers to eighteen layers of hell, and by then Cha Huan and the others might not even be able to breach his defense.

The so-called protective Gang Qi is actually Smiling transforming air into 'steel walls'. Nine layers stacked up are nine layers of steel walls, and whether it's Bullet Storm or Energy Gathering Light Cannon, they are worn away gradually. Penetrating them with physical means is extremely difficult, the only solution is to use Spiritual Power to disrupt the divine abilities Smiling applies to the air.

Therefore, Cha Huan and the others could only use spiritual light burst to break through the protective Gang Qi. If the light burst's intensity was insufficient, they couldn't breach the defense; even if they managed to penetrate the Gang Qi, they would only have a very brief window to harm Smiling because in a flash, Smiling would regenerate the nine layers of protective Gang Qi.

They were attacking with full force, yet could only inflict barely superficial injuries... Thus, although Cha Huan and the others were exhausted, Smiling wasn't seriously injured. At most, he had some skin peeled off, merely looking intimidating.

When Cha Huan and the others stopped to chat, Smiling, who had been silently defending, chuckled softly, "Need a rest? I can wait."

Xie Chenyuan and Yu Ke glanced at Cha Huan, whose mouth twitched, showing a hint of embarrassment.

Xie Chenyuan and Yu Ke still had energy, but Cha Huan was truly exhausted—both spiritual light bursts and Combat Techniques were deep integrations of spiritual power, requiring significant energy consumption.

It's natural for the body to age; even though Cha Huan tried to keep up, his physical condition couldn't match his younger self. But he could compensate for age with more efficient Combat Techniques, fighting fiercer, faster, and stronger. As long as he knocked down the enemy before exhaustion set in, no one would know he was tired.

Cha Huan never imagined himself becoming the weak link in the battle. Though embarrassing, he had to stop and rest—failing to keep up with the combat pace due to exhaustion would break their perfect Military Strategy coordination, and Smiling's counterattack would certainly lead to their artistic demise.

Abandoning Smiling to support elsewhere was out of the question.

Not to mention Smiling might escape, once the three of them split up, Smiling would definitely fixate on one and attack until death. Both Smiling and Cha Huan understood a fact: throughout Yanjing, only the three of them could restrain the Demon Emperor.

As Xie Chenyuan said, if they couldn't kill the Demon Emperor tonight, he'll become more cunning, stronger, more cautious, and all of Huiguang will be his hunting ground, becoming a true living Immortal, his commands twining the fate of the earth.

Then the only thing humanity could do is pray for the Holy Sword to shine.

Therefore, no matter what, tonight they must turn this place into the Demon Emperor's coffin, the ultimate burial ground for the Behemoth, and the eternal resting place for the Demon Race's ambitions!

"However, you'd better not rest too long," Smiling teased with a gleam in his lone eye, "In terms of recovery, you're not even comparable to ordinary members of the Demon Race, let alone Behemoths like me."

In just a few seconds of pausing the fight, Smiling's wounds stopped bleeding, and some old scars began to scab over. As Smiling said, even though he was a naturally handicapped small Behemoth, his recovery far surpasses humans.

Cha Huan restored some mana, not only filling his mana to the brim but his health as well! If Cha Huan and the others were max level with full gear, Smiling was that and more—a big item and an extra skill, and Smiling was still a late-game tank hero!

Ordinary people facing such an enemy would've despaired long ago, but Cha Huan and the others only slightly furrowed their brows, never showing fear. Xie Chenyuan suddenly declared, "Do you think this is our full power? When dawn comes, you won't last even a minute."

"When dawn comes, you humans will be drained," Smiling replied, "Maybe we won't have to wait for dawn, soon someone might come to assist. As long as someone distracts you, I'll completely erase your fatigue, granting you eternal rest."

Though both sides were bluffing, everyone knew the only way to break the stalemate was the battlefield balance outside.

The stalemate didn't last long, soon a blood-drenched figure walked into the dozens of times desecrated ruin.

"I killed Mo Yu."

Judge Cui Yan's announcement was earth-shattering: "He turned into a werewolf and helped me kill that grass brute... but after eating the grass brute's brain, he still chose to attack me. However, this time 'Purple Grudge' didn't disappoint, although my left hand was paralyzed, it ultimately freed Mo Yu."

"Freed?" Smiling chuckled, "Actually, the demon transformation only lasts one night. Once dawn arrives, the transformation ends. Unexpectedly removing a Yanjing warrior was quite a pleasant surprise."

Cui Yan's expression froze, Yu Ke shook his head: "Urgency prioritizes, who cares about the details? Grand Minister of Justice, the Demon Emperor's words are hard to discern, don't waver."

"I'm not wavering," Cui Yan replied, his face awkward, "Even if it ends by dawn, I'm unashamed. Mo Yu attacked me, and I defended in rightful safety—where in this world are defenders guilty for retaliation... I thought you'd dealt with this enemy, didn't expect you to chat instead, need help?"

"No!" Xie Chenyuan immediately replied, "We don't need you here, go find Bai Letian or Silver Bell伯—no, find Bai Letian, kill that wild brute and bring its head to show the Demon Emperor!"

Smiling sneered, "You think using the head of a fellow creature can anger me, causing me to slip? Does the emperor care about a citizen's life? Does an Immortal notice ants at their feet?"

"Harming family, harming friends, harming mentors has always been our Statistical Department's practical tactic," Xie Chenyuan calmly stated, "Fact proves few can truly let go, while many can't be ruthless. Cui Yan, go."

Though unclear what transpired, having dealt with the Statistical Department many times, Cui Yan trusted Xie Chenyuan's skill and resolve, choosing to follow his command and leave.

At this moment, the world echoed a long sigh: "Stop."

Cui Yan halted, not because of words, but sensing an overshadowing deadly threat. A strong intuition warned him if he dared taking another step forward, survival would be impossible.

Xie Chenyuan looked at Smiling: "Demon Emperor, are you teaching our human Minister of Punishments to act? Cui Yan, leave, I'll ensure your safety!"

Yet Cui Yan was more afraid to move, seeing Xie Chenyuan wasn't blocking him from Smiling, but positioning to intercept better—euphemistically, this is attacking a must-defend; bluntly, using him as bait to lure Smiling!

"Our tribe, unlike you humans, has no hierarchy distinctions."

At this moment, Smile said softly, "In the tribe, there are only two identities: one is a compatriot, and the other is a mentor."

"The so-called mentor is one who imparts teachings, resolves doubts, and not only educates disciples but also protects them. Mentors are the most respected beings in the tribe and the reason why the tribe survives."

"As a mentor, three things must be achieved: one must pass on their knowledge without reservation, must propagate their descendants without reservation as much as possible, and must protect their disciples without reservation as much as possible."

"So," Smile's bloodshot eye stared fixedly at Xie Chenyuan, "you won."

"That is to say," Xie Chenyuan reached out and stopped Cui Yan, "Demon Emperor, are you willing to surrender?"

"If you don't stop him, he will go to kill Shi Pantuo; then the battle will become one-sided, with your Yanjing's martial figure occupying the high ground, and I will only be trapped here by you, my demise at dawn; if you want to stop him or even kill him, I won't be able to constantly maintain the nine-layer defense. You will seize the opportunity to severely wound me, but the battle won't turn in my favor because of it."

"From the moment I was trapped and killed here by you three, I had already lost the ability to influence the battle." Smile looked back at the courtyard behind: "I even prayed for a miracle…clearly, fate did not heed my unreasonable request."

"An immortal should become someone else's miracle, not pray for a miracle," Yu Ke couldn't help but laugh.

"You're right." Smile nodded, looking at Cui Yan: "From the moment Cui the Judge appeared, I knew I lost…if any other race had come, the situation would have been completely reversed. Unfortunately, it is your humans who came, and the scales of victory have already tilted towards you."

"The outcome that follows is nothing more than a defeated army collapsing like a mountain, the remnants reaching their end."

"So…go."

Everyone present felt as if a chain had broken on them, and simultaneously, a red light burst from the ground, flying into the distance.

...

Meanwhile, Shi Pantuo, who was contending with Bai Letian, the deputy commander of the twelve royal guards, saw a red light flash before him, and in the next second, there was a blood-colored stone pulsing like a heart in his hand!

Smile's voice echoed in his ear: "Go, return to the tribe, breed more monkeys."

Shi Pantuo froze on the spot, but Bai Letian did not miss the chance, stabbing towards the golden-furred demon ape with a spear like stars!

Poof!

Only the sound of mist dispersing and smoke clearing could be heard; four golden-furred demon apes fled in four directions, leaving Bai Letian frozen on the spot—he couldn't tell which was real at that moment!

Shi Pantuo did not stop even once, completely avoiding the fight; when encountering human interception, he would simply use his clone to escape, not stingy with his divine abilities.

It wasn't until he ran out of Yanjing that he couldn't help but look back, then lowered his head to look at the pulsating Blood Essence Stone, a murky tear sliding down his hairy face, hitting the Blood Essence Stone.

...

Looking at Shi Pantuo's escaping silhouette, everyone knew what Smile was doing, but no one could stop it—not to mention catching up to the demon ape, but now with Smile's determined suicidal desire, it's clear he wouldn't allow anyone to ruin his final plan.

They not only dared not move but even had to continue guarding here, preventing Smile from suddenly storming off with the martial figure—if they showed a flaw, Smile would definitely tear them to pieces!

"Why go this far?" At this moment, Xie Chenyuan played the good guy instead: "Even if one must escape, it should be you as the Demon Emperor. Although I don't know how high that brute's status is, it's certainly not higher than yours."

"You won't let me leave alive, but if I don't take this chance to protect Shi Pantuo while he is still alive, the tribe truly loses its hope."

"You should have that brute create a chance for you to leave, not the other way around," Xie Chenyuan said, "Even though the chance is slim, 'letting others live one hundred percent' and 'giving oneself a chance to live', a normal person would choose the latter, right?"

"Hiding disastrous intentions in good ones, hiding malice in kindness…you still want to persuade me to call Shi Pantuo back. If I had half your cunning, Xie Chenyuan, perhaps the Demon Race would have already risen." Smile half mocked, half praised, "Fortunately, I am not you. Unfortunately, I am not you."

"But as a mentor, protecting disciples is dictated by heaven and earth. Without the mentor's self-sacrifice, there would have been no immortal Demon Emperor today. Of the three disciples I brought from the tribe, one betrayed, one turned into a new grave, and this last one, I must ensure he survives and returns to the tribe."

Xie Chenyuan laughed: "But what good will it do when he returns? Only you can revive the brute."

"If mentors think like you, the tribe would have been extinct long ago." Smile said, "The strong will eventually age, the weak will eventually grow, those who can revive the tribe are always the young Demon Race, as long as there is a next generation, there is always hope…and moreover, he will undoubtedly learn from my lessons when he returns, become more cunning, more cautious, stronger, and then make a comeback!"

"The tribe can lose a failed Demon Emperor but cannot have a selfish mentor…over two thousand years ago, weren't your humans propagating just like us?"

Xie Chenyuan originally wanted to say something, but was silenced by the last sentence.

At this moment, Smile's body emitted a blood-red glow, as if about to ignite; others thought he was going for a desperate fight and instantly tensed up into combat readiness. But after a few seconds, Smile made no special move as Cha Huan suddenly realized: "He is offering his Primordial Spirit…He is remotely returning his vast vital spirit to the Blood Essence Stone!"

Although Xie Chenyuan immediately acted to try to interrupt him, it was already too late.

Smile sat cross-legged on the ground, his body aflame with blood-red light, howling to the sky:

"Burn my remains to thank heavenly grace, henceforth my life is not my own."

"Burn my remains to thank mentor's grace, how could we be heartless people?"

With the unending echoes of his long howl, the Demon Race's last Demon Emperor swiftly aged and dissolved in the blood light, turning into a handful of ash, flying away with the wind.