“It’s over.”
No matter how you looked at it, it was already over.
Luyia watched from afar as Jiang Ke’er held Qiao Xiaoxian, with an expression that warned others to stay away.
This blow was too heavy. Without a doubt, Jiang Ke’er would sink to the bottom from now on. This was no longer a scene they could intervene in.
“Why hasn’t she arrived? Her power is getting stronger and stronger,” Luyia looked at Jiang Ke’er with worry, a trace of reluctance showing on her face.
“Prepare for battle. Prepare to…”
“Destroy the Ancient God!”
Despite a million unwillingness in her heart, she still gave the order.
“It’s too late. Do it,” Luyia sighed softly. Light flickered around her, and the warm sacred light transformed into a scorching, powerful force—a divine power that could evaporate all evil.
Not only that, but the others around her also began to gather their power and killing intent.
And the spearhead of these forces was aimed at Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er looked up at the ancestral masters with sadness.
“So it really is like this…”
Once she became a Heavenly Demon, only blades would meet. Jiang Ke’er felt pain in her heart—oh no, she no longer had a heart. But she still felt terrible.
Seven different auras of destructive power coalesced into one. Jiang Ke’er looked at that power in despair, barely able to muster the will to resist. The light fell.
“Stop!!!”
From the void behind Jiang Ke’er, a frantic, delicate shout suddenly rang out! Moon-white colossal nine-tails surged out in a torrent, wrapping around Jiang Ke’er tightly, protecting her without leaving a single gap! At that critical moment, all that power was blocked by the barrier formed by the nine huge tails, saving Jiang Ke’er from death.
It was the Nine-tailed Dharma Aspect. That woman with peerless beauty, yet aloof and indifferent, who had never shown any trace of humanity or expression.
She suddenly acted on her own, gaining self-awareness.
Jiang Ke’er turned around. The nine-tailed woman looked at her in pain, about to speak, but froze at Jiang Ke’er’s words.
“Suyaya, you’ve finally come.”
The surrounding ancestral masters all opened their mouths wide, as if they had seen a monster. They were bewildered. Something’s wrong.
What’s going on?! Why wasn’t Jiang Ke’er even a bit surprised by all this, and instead looked like she had been waiting for a long time? Holy shit, where had things gone wrong?!
“You…” the nine-tailed woman stared at Jiang Ke’er in shock, as if suddenly understanding something. “Could it be…”
“Yes. I did all of this to lure you out.” Jiang Ke’er nodded.
These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, exploding in everyone’s minds.
The nine-tailed woman burst out laughing—a wild laugh completely lacking in ladylike decorum! How interesting. Jiang Ke’er’s performance was too unexpected!
“Why?” the nine-tailed woman stopped laughing and looked solemnly at Jiang Ke’er.
“Because I like Qiao Xiaoxian.”
Jiang Ke’er’s answer was very concise, but it left everyone even more confused. Jiang Ke’er showed a hint of nostalgia: “No, to be precise, I love her. I fell in love from the very first meeting.”
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Luyia said with a face full of question marks.
“What are you even talking about…”
“I thought I could force myself to let all this go,” Jiang Ke’er said bitterly, “or convince Qiao Xiaoxian to leave me, but…”
Jiang Ke’er suddenly hugged Qiao Xiaoxian tightly.
“But this girl is too persistent. No matter how much I hurt her or harm her, she never holds any grudge against me… I know she loves me, just as I love her, loving me not because of the contract.”
Jiang Ke’er gently pressed her cheek against Qiao Xiaoxian’s, even though this was a body without warmth. Luyia and the others were completely dumbfounded.
“So I understand. I can no longer let go, cannot escape,” Jiang Ke’er smiled.
“I must be with her, together forever and ever, cannot be separated by anything, cannot be interfered with by any power…”
As she spoke, her tone shifted, and she said painfully, “But I cannot.”
“…”
“From the first arrival of the System, to Frost Shadow, to Qing Cheng, to the meteorite of the Ancient God’s power, the bell that sealed the Ancient God, and that arrow that appeared just in time in the Void Realm…”
Jiang Ke’er recounted her experiences one by one, and with each one, the mouths of those around her grew wider with shock.
She had actually… noticed all of it! Even though she had never shown any sign of concern!
“Too many coincidences, as if an invisible hand was arranging my fate. What my future would be, where I should go—everything, everything was arranged by that power!”
Jiang Ke’er smiled wearily: “It is a terrifying power that makes me unable to sleep at night and unwilling to stop training for a moment… There is no free lunch in this world. I know that is the true enemy I will face in the future. What are the Immortals? They’re nothing. After witnessing the System’s power for the first time, I never took the Immortals seriously!”
As she spoke, Jiang Ke’er lowered her head, looking dejected.
“But I understand that no matter how hard I try, I cannot protect Qiao Xiaoxian under such power… I don’t want to drag her into such a terrifying struggle.” Jiang Ke’er tightened her grip on Qiao Xiaoxian’s hand.
“So I wanted to drive her away. Only that could protect her safety. But she’s so foolish…”
We thought it was you who was being foolish…
The surrounding people suddenly felt a sense of shame as if their worldview was collapsing.
“Since I can’t drive her away, I must protect her at all costs, to free her from your schemes! So… I began to plan all of this!”
“…”
Everyone felt their brains were a bit insufficient.
Jiang Ke’er raised her head, looked at the nine-tailed woman, and gritted her teeth as she continued:
“From the computing power of the System Dummy, I knew you would be very difficult to deal with, so this had to be a grand scheme laid out with all my strength and everything I had!”
The nine-tailed woman looked at Jiang Ke’er with full admiration: “When did it start?”
“From the first time I entered the Ancient God Supergravity Training Room.”
[Wait, when did you ever enter the Ancient God Supergravity Training Room?] Even the “Righteous Path” System little girl was dumbfounded.
“She naturally had a way to hide it from you. Since she could tamper with the difficulty of your training ground, what’s so hard about hiding it from you and taking me into the Supergravity Training Room? On the contrary, the fact that I never entered the Supergravity Training Room even once… weren’t you suspicious?” Jiang Ke’er countered.
[……]
The little girl shamefully shut her mouth, but then she suddenly remembered something.
[Last time when the System released the Treasure Pool, that “On the Affinity Between Dragons and Fox Demons,” only my side had the pool open, while the Ancient God’s side didn’t. Could it be…]
“Yes, because I withdrew from the pool in advance that time, that’s why it didn’t appear together with your Treasure Pool.” Jiang Ke’er nodded in admission.
[The contents of the pool, could it be…]
“It’s the Self-memory Modification Technique.” Jiang Ke’er said.
“I had already withdrawn it long, long ago.”
“I know there are countless eyes watching me in this world, even possibly spying on my thoughts and memories.”
Jiang Ke’er pulled out a notebook: “So, my plans are all stored in this notebook, not in my head.”
“And this notebook is usually placed in the Ancient God Supergravity Space—a place you absolutely, absolutely cannot guess!”