"No... Nolan Dongling, you can't, you can't do this to me."
Serena Feng simply couldn't believe this was real. The man who promised to marry her with a whole empire as her bride price was now, at the edge of life and death, severing her only path to survival.
"Nolan Dongling, you can't do this to me." As her body lost control and plummeted downward, Serena finally realized this wasn't a dream. She really had been abandoned—at the brink of death, that man had let her go.
She knew he had many reasons he couldn't help, but none of those reasons justified him abandoning her.
How much she hated him...
Serena kept falling, and through blurred vision, watched as Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, freed from her burden, easily leapt back onto the cliff top.
In a single instant, life and death split into two separate worlds.
"Ha...ah...ah..." Serena knew it was over between her and Ninth Royal Uncle. Even if she died, she would never forgive him.
If he couldn't hold on to the end, why did he rush over to save her in the first place? She would rather have been kicked off the cliff by the Ghost King and died instantly, than witness Nolan Dongling abandon her.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
She was just falling, she hadn't even hit the ground yet, but it already hurt—every inch of her body was in pain.
Nolan Dongling, you made me hurt—so I won't let you have it easy either.
Serena's vision blurred. She didn't know where she was falling, only that she wanted Nolan Dongling to hurt with her. She wanted him to regret this forever; even if he forgot her someday, she wanted him to feel this pain right now.
Using every last bit of strength, Serena screamed with all her might: "Nolan Dongling, listen to me... I'm carrying your child! I'm carrying your child, do you hear me?"
"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you..."
This life, the next, and every life after—I will never forgive you.
By the end, her voice was barely recognizable. At this moment, Serena had lost all will to survive. She spread her arms, closed her eyes, and let her body fall...
Let me just die. If I die, I won't hurt anymore.
Slowly closing her eyes, Serena stopped thinking, stopped looking. Whatever that burning heat was behind her, she didn't care. She'd fought so hard to survive, but that didn't mean she was weak or afraid of death.
As death approached, Serena—who had seen more death than anyone—could face it calmly. She could accept dying, but the only thing she couldn't accept was that sword swing from Ninth Royal Uncle...
That sword wasn't meant to kill her, but it hurt more than death itself.
Serena thought this was the most heartbreaking, most hopeless moment of her life—but just before she lost consciousness, she actually heard Bella Qin's voice: "Lance, I knew it, I knew you would come save me. Lady Min said you'd definitely come for us."
Hahaha... Lance. Nolan Dongling. Bella Qin's fiancé.
In that moment, Serena hated herself—for hearing too clearly, for understanding too well.
If only she'd been foolish and oblivious, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much.
She really was stupid, so stupid. She'd already had doubts, but just a few words from Ninth Royal Uncle made her let them go.
She trusted him with all her heart, but in the end, what did she get in return?
One corpse, two lives?
Serena couldn't hold on any longer. Her eyes shut tight and she slipped into unconsciousness. She didn't know that at the very moment she hit the ground, a powerful force erupted from her back, forming a vortex with her at its center.
The vortex's force slowed Serena's fall and momentum, while all the flowers, grass, and stones nearby were blasted aside, clearing a path for her...
Just as Ninth Royal Uncle had said, Serena wouldn't die.
When Ninth Royal Uncle swung his sword, his heart ached, but he had already made his choice. He wouldn't regret it—even if he had to do it all over again, he'd still choose the same.
Ninth Royal Uncle kept telling himself that Serena wouldn't die, that his choice was the best one. But when he heard her cry, "I'm carrying your child," his heart twisted violently. He'd just leapt back onto the cliff, and nearly fell again.
"Children... there will be more," Ninth Royal Uncle forced himself to bear the pain. As the Ghost King lunged at Vincent Su, he stabbed forward with his sword.
He'd longed for this child—God knows how long he'd waited.
He was going to kill the Ghost King!
A wave of killing intent surged from behind. The Ghost King had no choice but to turn and block Ninth Royal Uncle's deadly attacks. After several exchanges, the Ghost King realized something was wrong. With the Nine Provinces Token in hand, he tried to retreat, but Ninth Royal Uncle, eyes blazing, attacked again and again, each strike filled with murderous intent. Even the Ghost King couldn't follow the lightning-fast sword.
"You're insane." For a moment, the Ghost King was actually forced back by Ninth Royal Uncle.
"Hand over the Nine Provinces Token and I'll let you die with a whole corpse." Ninth Royal Uncle's eyes were blood-red, his body covered in blood, and even as he spoke, his sword didn't pause.
Right now, he was a killing machine—no pain, no fatigue, only killing!
Kill! Kill everyone in front of him—be the last one standing, and he becomes the king.
He'd endured the blood-soaked training that turned people into human gu. Though he never became a true human gu, those savage, drug-free days were forever carved into his memory.
Kill... endless slaughter, no sleep, no rest. Hungry, he ate raw flesh; thirsty, he drank blood. Corpses everywhere, screams and depravity all around—men and women alike did whatever it took to survive...
The earliest dead were already piles of bones, but the slaughter never stopped. Everywhere—underfoot, before his eyes—were corpses and more corpses, only the stench of blood and rot.
Ninth Royal Uncle's sword moves grew ever simpler—no pattern, only killing blows. The fastest, most direct way to kill whoever was in front of him.
These were the moves he'd used most during that training. He'd sealed those memories away, but Serena's fall—and their unborn child—brought all the blood and cruelty raging back.
Now, Ninth Royal Uncle had lost all reason. His only belief was to kill whoever stood before him.
The Ghost King was strong, but even the strongest can't stand against a madman who doesn't care about his own life. Ninth Royal Uncle was covered in wounds; his left fingers had long been crushed by the Ghost King, yet he still managed to clench a fist and smash it into the Ghost King.
He'd shut off all sense of pain, no thought, no feeling—his injuries meant nothing. At this moment, Ninth Royal Uncle had become the perfect human gu.
The Ghost King was completely overwhelmed and couldn't hold out much longer. Meanwhile, the Ghost Hall killers were being wiped out by Storm Cloud Bu's men—only a few still struggled on.
Seeing this, the Ghost King knew if he kept fighting, he'd die for sure. He tried to flee, but Ninth Royal Uncle flashed in front of him like lightning and swept his sword across. The Ghost King barely managed to dodge, but his ear was sliced off.
The Ghost King glared at Ninth Royal Uncle, clutching his bleeding ear. He struck at Ninth Royal Uncle with his right palm, but Ninth Royal Uncle didn't dodge—he rushed forward and stabbed his sword into the Ghost King's left chest...
Even if it meant mutual destruction, Ninth Royal Uncle would take the Ghost King's life!