Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Father!
the Flaming Sun Princess cried out with tears streaming down her face. She tried to rush over to her father the Fire Emperor, but she was too far away to make it in time.
And so, she stood there helplessly watching the Fire Emperor’s body, completely engulfed by the roaring flames, as it fell heavily down to the Golden Temple.
….
Boom!
The Fire Emperor’s body suddenly exploded, and the fire of the Flaming Dragon surged out in all directions, creating waves upon waves of scorching fire. The whole Imperial Palace then turned into an infernal sea of flames. No one dared to approach the palace, much less enter to put out the fire.
The Flaming Sun Princess stood in mid-air, motionless and despairing, her face drained of all color.
….
Everyone else there had fallen silent as well. They were all stunned and at a loss as to how they should be responding. Their faces were heavy with solemnity and their eyes, full of respect and awe, were locked on Xu Que.
They realized that it was this young man who had awakened them from the Fire Emperor’s grips and saved their lives. It was also this young man who had killed the Fire Emperor with his own hands!
A majestic and powerful dynasty had now fallen into ruins—thanks to this young man!
Ding!
Congratulations host ‘Xu Que’ for defeating a high-level Infant Transformation Stage opponent. The reward is 2 million experience points!
Ding!
Congratulations host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 180 Acting Tough Points!
Ding! Congratulations host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 210 Acting Tough Points!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
A long series of system messages popped up and rang in Xu Que’s mind, until the very last one was revealed—it was the biggest reward among all the others!
Ding!
Congratulations host ‘Xu Que’ for acting righteously tough in the name of justice and completing new achievement! The reward is 800 Acting Tough Points!
In a matter of seconds, Xu Que’s Acting Tough Points skyrocketed! He checked the total number of Acting Tough Points on the interface screen and discovered that in the blink of an eye, he’d accumulated more than 8,000 Acting Tough Points!
But of course, if you take into account the 8,000 Acting Tough Points that he still owed the system, then he was in fact still very poor—but who cared?
……
At the same moment, the Imperial Palace was already ablaze with fire. The corpse of the Fire Emperor had long been swallowed up by the flames, so not even his ashes were left by then. Then, the Golden Temple began to creak and whistle in the fire—it was going to collapse!
Princess!
Zi Xuan called out with a soft voice as she dropped back to the ground and followed the Flaming Sun Princess.
The princess slowly turned her face towards Zi Xuan, yet her face was a stony mask without a thread of emotion in it. She would have seemed cold and unfeeling then, if it weren’t for those eyes brimming with grief and sorrow.
She stared blankly at Zi Xuan for a while, then burst unexpectedly into maniacal laughter.
I guess you can run away from misfortunes caused by the act of God, but never from the mistakes of your own doing!
she yelled.
Xu Que! Whatever my family owed you was all paid today! You’ve definitely won!
The moment she finished her sentence, the dignified princess transformed into a white shadow and rushed straight into the Golden Temple, which by then was nothing more than a sea of flames.
Princess, no!
Zi Xuan cried out for the princess at the top of her voice, but it was too late—she couldn’t stop her in time. All she could do now was watch helplessly as the princess was swallowed up by the terrifying Flaming Dragon, and vanished completely from sight.
Boom! Crash!
The Golden Temple had now been completely reduced to ashes. Even the vast Imperial Palace had now been annihilated by the fire, bringing down the once powerful family of the imperial dynasty with it, which had now also been burned to ashes by the flames!
Xu Que closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could sense that the aura of the Flaming Sun Princess had now been completely extinguished.
That calmed his mind. He was glad and relieved now. Although he had once been in an intimate relationship with the princess, she and her father had always done everything she could to bring him harm.
Therefore, he couldn’t pretend to have mercy on these people!
Perhaps the Flaming Sun Princess had known that Xu Que would never let her off lightly, so she had chosen to commit suicide rather than die by the hands of Xu Que!
Well, it was all over then. Xu Que would no longer have to worry about the Fire Emperor and his daughter.
Meanwhile, the sight of the Flaming Sun Princess taking her own life had moved a considerable portion of people in the crowd to tears. Zi Xuan herself had collapsed to the ground weeping in grief for the dead princess.
…
After a long while, the crowd dispersed, leaving only a few people still lingering around the area. It was a strange feeling, seeing the grounds where the imperial palace once stood so proudly, now transformed into ashen wasteland.
Then, the Water Empress let out a sigh and turned to Xu Que.
Now that you’ve exacted revenge on those who have wronged you,
she said to him,
what do you plan to do next? Would you follow me back to Sky Incense Valley?
Xu Que considered it in silence for a while, then smiled and shook his head.
A man’s dream was to travel the whole world,
he said,
and for that I need the world to be a peaceful place. Therefore I plan to go out there and save the world!
But if you go back to Sky Incense Valley with me,
the Empress began, trying to convince him,
you will no doubt reach the Infant Transformations Stage within a few years with your qualifications. You could easily become the youngest Infant Transformation Stage warrior in all five countries!
No,
replied Xu Que. then shook his head and began to tell the Water Empress a half-truth he had just come up with.
I’m a wanderer by nature. I can’t stay in one place for too long! I’m not suitable for a place like Sky Incense Valley, I’m like the wind that gets blown to a different place everyday and must never stay still!
Well, at least that was better than telling the Empress of his plan to dig the dragon veins! He might somehow end up in the Water Nation after digging the dragon veins someday—wouldn’t she suspect him then if he told her what he was up to now? No, it would be wisest for him to keep it a secret for now. Besides, what he had told the Empress was partly true anyway. He couldn’t stay in one place for too long as it would have a big effect on his Acting Tough Points.
With Xu Que’s current reputation, not only would everyone in the imperial city recognize him, but at this point he might be renowned throughout the entire Fire Country! And who knew, perhaps his fame would even spread around the five countries after a while.
This kind of situation wasn’t particularly suitable for the King of Acting Tough like Xu Que, so he had to always wander to different places all the time anyway.
Besides, Sky Incense Valley was just too small. He had no desire to stay there at all, although he was enthusiastic about visiting the other countries.
As for the state of the realm, Xu Que was no longer worried about anything, as the Fire Emperor’s death had earned him two million experience points!
Xu Que had just risen to the eighth level of Original Infant Stage, so these points had certainly made it possible for him to take a soaring leap and move much closer to the ninth level of Original Infant Stage!
With this boost, the Infant Transformation Stage was no longer all that far away anymore!
We’ll meet again, my lady,
said Xu Que.
It’s what the wise men called ‘fate’—this shall lead us to cross our paths again someday. But I must bid you farewell for now.
After acting tough in front of the Empress by turning down her invitation, it was time for Xu Que to say goodbye to her.
It was an elementary technique in seduction – you’d refuse them to leave them wanting more!
Xu Que had miscalculated this step though, as the Empress had not taken the bait and said nothing more to persuade him to follow her. Instead, she just nodded and smiled.
You’re right,
she said.
Fate will bring us back together again. I hope that by the next time we meet you would have changed your mind about joining Sky Incense Valley!
We’ll… see about that. Goodbye, my lady!
Xu Que turned around smoothly, then took off into the distance at a lightning speed, disappearing into the distance in the sky.
The Empress stared at the shadow of Xu Que drifting away as a mixture of emotions began to stir up inside her. What a fascinating man he’d turned out to be—and he had come and gone just like the wind!
She remembered the first time they had met at the Sky Incense Valley Tower. He was like a stinky tofu that smelled horrible yet tasted bizarrely delicious when eaten. That mighty spiritual power, the way he said ‘my lady’ every time he addressed her, that enigmatic smile playing at the corner of his lips, that earth-shattering talent, that rejection after he’d exacted his revenge, that wish to travel the world and to save the world….
Oh! It was just too much for her to handle!
The Empress then began to sink deep into her own thoughts as she watched Xu Que’s figure gradually vanish from view. She sighed gently as if in relief, then a faint smile began to crop up in the corner of her lips.
Yes, my friend,
she murmured,
Fate will bring us together again.
