Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Chapter 183: "Together With Me, Achieve the Future" (Thanks to Alliance Hierarch "Mengdi Here" for the added Chapter)"Your Majesty," Hui Shuhang said softly to him, as if affirming.

The nobles below looked at each other, none daring to say a word.

They had no other choice but to bow down to the usurper on the stage.

Only two people were of royal bloodline.

When Holy Initiation died, Qin Wang, as the Sage Master of the Continent, would be their next ruler.

... Even though rumors said Qin Wang had no Combat Power since childhood, from the earlier scene, it was obvious that his Combat Power was not low.

After Hui Shuhang first picked up her skirt to curtsy, all the nobles too lowered their noble heads and knelt before the new ruler on the stage.

"—Qin Wang would never be your ruler!"

Dan Shuang immediately spoke out, blocking in front of Su Ming’an, "The Revolutionary Army is about to take over this place. It will be the world of the Revolutionary Army, and we certainly will not elect any king. You corrupt-minded nobles, don’t think you can continue your decayed rule!"

Hui Shuhang looked at Dan Shuang, whose face was still wet with tears, looking like a mess, and sighed softly.

Then, she extended her hand.

A burst of golden light exploded, illuminating her pale cheeks with a divine glow, her face bathed in a heavenly light as if made of jade, her cool and steady demeanor carrying a breathtaking unique beauty.

She turned her head against the light, her long eyelashes becoming transparent among the light.

"Boom!"

Similarly to before, the nobles who had not managed to stand for long were "thump thump" pressed down again, and at the same time, the players and soldiers outside the city also found themselves replaying the scenario.

Dan Shuang’s figure suddenly shivered, and then, her upright spine bent a little, but she still firmly stood her ground.

"Hui Shuhang," Su Ming’an said, "Holy Initiation is dead, will you still obey him?"

Hui Shuhang’s eyelashes trembled slightly, then she looked at him, her eyes showing unprecedented solemnity.

"No," Hui Shuhang said, "It’s precisely because His Majesty is dead."

She looked at him, her tone heavy, "...so we need you now more than ever."

Before Su Ming’an could reply, he saw a surge of black air suddenly rising from the corpse of Holy Initiation on the ground.

This black air, very similar to what had emerged after Xu Anna’s death, was much murkier and deeper, almost solidifying into a form.

Su Ming’an immediately moved to dodge, but couldn’t evade it as the black air fiercely entered his body, soon leaving no trace.

He suddenly felt a tearing sensation surging up, a feeling he had experienced when he went on stage before, but now it was even more pronounced, as if a pair of hands were clawing out from inside his body, trying to tear his body into two.

He stretched out his hand and saw at the tips of his fingers something sharp about to break through his skin.

"There’s something we’ve never told you," Hui Shuhang said. "What we actually needed to do today was a ritual."

In pain, Su Ming’an looked up at her.

"A great ritual," she continued, "meant to reduce the concentration of malice across the entire Continent."

"This ritual requires the sacrifice of those who carry malice—though we know you are the carrier with the most malice, in truth, everyone on the Continent carries it to a greater or lesser degree.

Those with abilities have their malice dispelled due to their Awakening, but those without abilities, each of them contains a speck of malice. When gathered, these specks form the malice of the entire Continent... which then leads to the violent Demon Beast frenzy.

Originally, we thought to sacrifice you, to eliminate the largest source of malice, so that after reducing the Continent’s malice concentration, we might survive for a little longer.

But—"}

She stepped forward gently, each step landing softly on the stairs, her long dress trailing on the ground.

"You have touched us," she said, "so we have decided to try a different method."

Su Ming’an tightened his grip.

Just as Hui Shuhang explained everything to him, all the plotlines replayed in his mind, and all clues started to connect...

Like a row of dominoes collapsing, he even imagined hearing the sound of dominoes falling in his mind, forming a continuous line from start to finish, each one revealing the truth to him.

— He finally understood why, in this round, Holy Initiation did not personally come for him.

Because he had truly developed the Talent Bloodline Awakening Formation, and it was an improved version.

Under the awakening of the array, those townfolk who originally harbored malice turned into people with abilities. Their malice would no longer resonate with demon beasts, nor would it bring about any more disasters.

If this achievement were to be disseminated throughout the continent — all would become those with abilities, and malice would cease to exist in them. The source of the world’s calamities would thus be completely eradicated.

"Then why did you ask me to come back?" Su Ming’an said softly.

"...Because what I just mentioned is not everything," Hui Shuhang looked at him with a sorrowful gaze, "Let us inform you now about the real plan we chose today."

Su Ming’an felt a heavy weight in his chest.

After the dark aura surged into his body from Holy Initiation, he felt pain throughout his body at all times, and even the daylight shining on him felt uncomfortable, much like a ghost shunning the sunlight, uncomfortable all over.

"Because we wanted you to live," Hui Shuhang said, "— so, to substitute for you, to reduce the overall concentration on the continent, we had to look for other sacrifices who are equivalent to you."

"Who is that?"

"I, Prophet Xu Anna, all the nobles of the Inner City, the powerless of the Outer City, and..."

Her gaze slowly lowered.

Su Ming’an suddenly realized something.

"Do you know?" Hui Shuhang suddenly said, swiftly changing the subject: "Actually, malice can be transferred between blood relatives. When you were little, your bloodline actually contained the ability component; you were not always useless."

Su Ming’an took deep breaths.

After the black aura surged in, drawing air seemed difficult.

Hearing the abrupt words from Hui Shuhang, he felt as if his whole body had been struck by lightning.

He suddenly recalled what Holy Initiation softly told him before he had not yet drawn his sword:

He understood.

"His Majesty Holy Initiation... He has always hoped to save you," Hui Shuhang said. "Upon learning that you possess the Evil Dragon’s bloodline, the first thing he did was to transplant it into himself — at the cost of, His Majesty must stay in the palace all day, suppressing the bloodline, barring any exposure to light.

His Majesty used to love going outdoors... He loved traveling across the continent, inspecting the regions, improving people’s lives, but soon... he could no longer manage anything else."

She spoke with her hands clasped together, her tone devout:

"Do you remember the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the great hall? The light coming through them wasn’t real light; it was just an array of light I created because His Majesty liked it.

However, it was precisely so, because His Majesty shared your malice, that you were able to live safely until your eighteenth year... without dying prematurely. Afterward, we witnessed what you referred to as the ’true future’."

"He still wants me to die," Su Ming’an said. "If Qin Wang had not developed the Awakening Formation, Holy Initiation would still choose to send him to the sacrificial altar, not because he pitied Qin Wang, but because he could decide his destiny."

"That’s true," Hui Shuhang said. "But haven’t you misunderstood one thing?"

Su Ming’an looked at her.

The young girl’s wine-red eyes were brewing a light sheen, and as she looked at him, her long-held emotions seemed ready to burst forth at any moment.

"... His Majesty, who actively transferred the Evil Dragon’s bloodline, and I who have served by your side for a long time and willingly shared your malice. We two are the greatest sources of malice on the continent."

A fierce swelling feeling rose in his chest.

Su Ming’an clutched his chest.

While enduring the pain brought by the dark aura, at this moment, all clues had been fully revealed in his mind.

Xu Anna is the Prophet, and even though she has abilities, due to her long stay at the Regular Army headquarters, she also harbored accumulated malice.

When she died, the malice she carried surged out, turning into black aura. Although not dense, it indeed substantially existed.

Holy Initiation was the same.

After he killed Holy Initiation, the long-borne, overwhelming malice surged into his body in an instant, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

...No wonder Holy Initiation had never made a move.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to.

Rather, such vast malice had already caused the supreme ruler tremendous pain.

Hui Shuhang’s words were constantly echoing in his mind.

He suddenly realized— in his eyes, that power-hungry supreme ruler, that fanatic who proclaimed to govern the ignorant masses, had actually been ready to die all along.

On this day, besides having to personally deliver him to the sacrificial altar, including Holy Initiation himself, they were all to step onto the altar together. Hui Shuhang included.

Whether Qin Wang was there or not, these two men were destined to die, for the three of them bore the greatest burden of malice as individuals.

It was precisely because Holy Initiation and Hui Shuhang were to die, every ruler was to die, even the nobles in the Regular Army square, still oblivious, were to die. Holy Initiation did not care at all about what the Regular Army would eventually become, or whether it could maintain control. In his eyes, bringing about change for the entire continent was more important than anything else.

Those privileged nobles would all die on this day.

And those taking over the continent would be the whimsical Revolutionary Army.

The Revolutionary Army might not understand, even until their final victory, that their success was not earned through battles fought in blood.

But because the other party had simply handed it over.]

Though both sides were for the sake of the continent, they had used two completely different methods.

He suddenly remembered the sad eyes that looked at him after Holy Initiation killed Chen Yang.

Reversal.

The information Su Ming’an had completely missed in the last cycle was now clearly displayed before him.

In the previous cycle, facing the wasteland as far as the eye could see, looking at the Regular Army square that suddenly transmitted fluctuations, his heart was filled with confusion, not knowing whether the representative of the death ending would suddenly appear and use Qin Wang’s life in exchange for a Prosperous Era’s rule.

But now, Hui Shuhang told him that some people had been prepared to sacrifice themselves from the beginning.

Thus, if Qin Wang really chose to come back, to attend this coming-of-age ceremony, she could take over the future of this continent in glory, after she and Holy Initiation both had died.

They had already paved the way for him.

Su Ming’an held his sword, the tip still dripping with Holy Initiation’s blood.

He remembered a voice he heard at the very beginning when he hadn’t yet opened his eyes, amidst the haze, a voice that was incredibly cold.

...So, from that moment, it turns out that the always seemingly selfish and ruthlessly extreme ruler of the continent, who was intent on pushing Qin Wang onto the altar, had been prepared to die.

Su Ming’an looked down below, where all was silent.

The wind swept snowflakes onto his face, and he could barely hold his sword.

He looked at everyone, kneeling, trembling in anticipation of an unknown destiny.

His sword, he did not know whether to raise or lower it.

Hui Shuhang raised her hand.

Under her silent guidance, the red carpets that covered the square flew up, and beneath those seemingly superfluous and useless arrangements, revealed was a vast, blood-red Array.

The Array was immense, covering the entire square.

"To protect you, besides me and His Majesty who must meet our death, we need many more to take your place," said Hui Shuhang. "After consideration, we decided to let the powerless from the Inner City and Outer City, and the vitality of this continent, replace that portion of malice owed to you."

As she spoke, she cradled his hand, slowly rolling it into the palm of hers.

A familiar warmth transferred to him, sharing his pain, just as she had done on the countless snowy days before.

"Although the malice will still exist within you after we leave, and many places will become wastelands—I believe that you will definitely find a way to completely dispel the source of the evil, before the overall concentration on the continent increases,"

She looked at him, her tone extremely gentle:

"——As long as you are alive, you definitely possess a ’future’."

And for you, the powerless ones of this continent, and for us, we can take a step ahead."

Su Ming’an closed his eyes.

The blizzard grew fiercer, lashing against his face, he saw nothing, his eyelids shutting out all scenes.

"But it’s too late now," he heard his own voice saying:

"I killed Holy Initiation, and malice flooded into my body."

And now, he couldn’t find a second relative to transfer the malice within him.

Holy Initiation had already planned everything and was prepared. Today’s coming-of-age ceremony was truly just a real coming-of-age ceremony—a celebration across the entire continent of the highest standard, imbued with the heavy expectations and blessings of an older brother, filled with wonderful goodwill.

Holy Initiation would no longer require Qin Wang to die, the sacrificial altar, was also prepared just for himself.

Thus, he was unguarded toward Qin Wang. Even though he knew Qin Wang might no longer be the same Qin Wang, he still stubbornly believed that Qin Wang was alive.

And then he was stabbed through the heart by Su Ming’an.

"Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to tell you,"

Hui Shuhang had finally come completely close to him, she was holding his hand, her fingers delicate and warm, the temperature searing:

"Since Your Majesty has died, we can’t find a new method. The evil dragon bloodline has fully awakened, you have been completely soaked by malice, and you can’t suppress it any longer..."

"Qin Wang Your Majesty," she changed the honorific but was extremely serious, as if handing a burden over to him.

In the whirling snow and bitter wind, that gripping spot brewed an intense, intoxicating warmth.

The sensation of tearing grew bit by bit in intensity, he saw the icy white ground below clearly reflecting, and saw the pair of wings that gradually unfolded atop his shadow, like dragon wings.

She lifted his hand and slid a pristine white glove onto it, and then, through that thin layer of fabric, kissed the back of his hand with utmost restraint and courtesy.

Upon seeing the look in her eyes as she glanced over, he felt many strange emotions wildly growing at the bottom of his heart, uncontrollable like weeds.

She looked at him, her gaze extremely deep and calm.

"So, Your Majesty."

She said softly, her tone very gentle, her eyes remarkably bright.

As on the first loop when she first met him, she resolutely took him by the hand and flew out the window, rushing toward freedom, with that utterly clear and unburdened gaze.

But now, she had taken all the burdens back upon herself.

And then, holding his hand, she transferred that intense heat to him.

"...Would you be willing to join me on the sacrificial altar, to achieve the ’future’ for this continent together?"

Though an invitation to die with her,

her tone was as if inviting him to taste the freshly brewed tea from Xizhou she had prepared.

Su Ming’an remembered a previous time when she spoke to him in such a tone.

It was the first loop, after achieving full favorability, when she took his hand and they ran toward the sky.

Like a breeze in the desert, like reviving foliage, like a bird freed from its restraints, she revealed everything at that moment, no longer a manager silenced by responsibility, but a truly joyful and free girl.

But what she had said was clearly:

If it was not for this continent.

They too might have had their freedom and breeze.