Did I Let You Go

The masked figure seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.

But just as he was about to burst into laughter, he remembered something.

With great effort, he suppressed the roaring laughter that was about to erupt, replacing it with a deliberately exaggerated displeasure.

“How dare you, mere ants, utter my Lord’s name directly?” His voice was sharp, laced with offended fury.

He looked down with utter disdain, exhaling through his nose as if even glancing at Su Qi would dirty his eyes.

Then, he extended a finger clad in black armor, the dark energy swirling around its tip growing thick and viscous, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction.

“My Lord’s divine will has long enveloped this place, like a blazing sun, watching over every pitiful performance of you insignificant ants.”

“Every move you make, every fleeting thought—none can escape His gaze.”

“That laughable ambush earlier? My Lord saw it all.”

He paused, his eyes sweeping over Su Qi, his tone dripping with contempt: “Did you really think such petty tricks could buy you even a moment’s reprieve?”

“But perhaps my Lord finds this amusing. A slightly stronger ant like you, struggling before death, might add some rare entertainment to this otherwise tedious wait.”

His voice carried a cruel delight in others’ suffering.

Hearing this, Su Qi felt half of his lingering unease settle.

In fact, he could barely suppress a smirk.

If that was the case, things had just gotten much simpler.

The “Lord of Ashes” was watching—that meant there was still room to maneuver.

Expecting this bootlicking servant to recognize his worth was clearly unrealistic.

Su Qi could already picture the absurd scene—

If he revealed his trump card, mimicking the aura of the Lord of Stars, and retorted, “Do you even know who I am?”

The guy would just stare blankly, tilt his head in confusion, and finally jab that destruction-charged finger down with a dismissive, “Who the hell are you, idiot?”

Now that would be the ultimate humiliation, leaving him stewing in frustration with no outlet.

So Su Qi kept up his act.

The more arrogant he appeared, the more credible his words would seem.

“If he already knows, then I’m genuinely puzzled…”

“Who gave him the audacity?”

The moment those words left his lips, the glow on the man’s finger flickered—then vanished.

He froze, uncertain.

Had he misheard?

Aud… audacity?

Did this guy even realize what he was saying?

Or did he have some irreconcilable, vengeful enemy in this world?

Was he planning to drag the entire world down with him and his nemesis?

In that instant—

The dark clouds in the sky parted completely.

The falling ashes dissipated.

“Oh?”

It wasn’t blinding light.

The sky was collapsing… literally.

A rift tore open in the heavens, revealing swirling depths of darkness that coalesced into an ancient, boundless, and overwhelmingly majestic presence.

As if it had existed since time immemorial.

The ‘Lord of Ashes’ had descended upon Earth with his will!

Yet, to all who sensed it, that torn fragment of the sky seemed to become the ruler of this world.

The oppressive aura the masked man had brought with him melted away like snow under this new, overwhelming presence.

The dragon beneath him slowly descended, as if pulled by an invisible force, and the man himself knelt uncontrollably on its back.

From the rift in the sky, a consciousness locked onto Su Qi.

“What an amusing diversion. I never expected to witness something so entertaining.”

“Care to repeat that, right in front of me?”

Su Qi calmly met the gaze of that towering will.

Then his eyes swept over the half-built altar below and the trembling Yun Huang crouched beneath it.

“Control your dog.”

Bold.

Too bold.

The survivors below were stunned speechless by the rapid succession of events, their breaths caught in their throats.

They stared at Su Qi, their minds reeling.

This level of arrogance, this sheer audacity—it surpassed even the masked man’s earlier display.

Chen Yuan, supported by others, gaped in disbelief, his bloodless face blank.

This felt like a dream.

First, a tenth-tier source beast. Then a terrifying entity that seemed like a divine servant. And now Su Qi, openly insulting a being who could annihilate Earth with a mere thought.

This world had gone mad.

Su Qi continued, unfazed.

“When stars crumble to dust between Your fingers.”

“When time curls into scars beneath Your feet.”

“You dare respond to such an invocation?”

“Even if time pays no heed, the stars… I doubt they’d be so forgiving.”

The ‘Lord of Ashes’ faltered, his voice suddenly uncertain, tinged with dryness: “What do you mean?”

Sweat beaded on the masked figure’s forehead.

He could feel the Lord’s divine will churning violently, as if wrestling with some impossible judgment.

After a long silence—

The roiling pressure in the sky eerily stilled.

Then came a resigned sigh:

“Ah… I don’t know where you learned that name.”

“I admit, you almost had me.”

“But why overplay your hand?”

“Blame yourself for knowing too much.”

“Even if you can’t summon the remnants of the stars, I won’t take that risk.”

“I have no choice but to erase this world.”

“Only the dead can keep secrets.”

That sigh, drifting from beyond the heavens, was soft yet final.

A verdict. An ending.

Above, the rift in the sky began to widen.

Not with violent force, but with an inexorable, creeping expansion—as if reality itself was yielding to a will far greater.

The edges of the tear shimmered with a light devoid of all color, hungrily devouring the hues around it, a ravenous consumption of existence itself.

A pressure unlike anything before descended upon the planet.

This wasn’t mere dominance.

It was pure, unyielding law.

The Lord of Ashes wielded the authority to reduce all things to cinders, to guide them into oblivion.

The ground trembled.

Buildings that had survived the source beasts’ rampage and the earlier battles now shed dust like dying breaths. Massive cracks spiderwebbed across the earth.

Not from any physical impact, but because the very fabric of their being was unraveling under this will.

The masked servant remained prostrate on the slowly sinking dragon, his body shaking uncontrollably.

All his earlier arrogance had vanished, replaced by a terror so deep it gnawed at his soul—a fear even he couldn’t suppress.

This wasn’t punishment for a slight.

This was annihilation.

Total, absolute erasure.

Of the world.

Of everything.

Including him.

Everything and everyone who heard those words just now would face indiscriminate annihilation from the Lord of Ashes.

"No…"

A hoarse groan escaped his throat, nearly drowned out by the crumbling world around him. The last trace of color drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale, almost translucent.

The remaining humans fared even worse.

Though they had once faced the fangs of the Origin Beasts, the scene before them now… was entirely different.

This was a god, declaring their end—no room for argument.

The air began to crackle with an unnatural hum, the mournful wail of reality itself unraveling. That faint sound was far more terrifying than any earth-shaking roar.

This planet was about to be erased.

"Tsk…"

So, it had come to this—Su Qi would have to use that card after all.

He had hoped words might be enough to dissuade the other party.

Who knew the Lord of Ashes would be so ruthless?

Annihilating an entire world over a mere disagreement?

"This realm is not yours to command."

"You've overstepped."

In the end, Su Qi activated the card.

No grand spectacle followed—just a faint shimmer of starlight swirling briefly around him.

"Was my warning not clear enough?"

"I gave you a chance."

With just those words, the suffocating aura of death that had weighed upon them all, the oppressive presence of the Lord of Ashes, receded like a tide.

The Lord of Ashes stared at Su Qi, his expression flickering between shock and disbelief.

And that familiar yet alien aura…

A buried terror, dormant for tens of thousands of years, surged through him like a tidal wave.

Why had he accepted that "invocation" in the first place?

There was a saying: the more obsessed one was with something, the more they flaunted it.

That name was etched into his mind like a nightmare.

Given his stature, he normally wouldn’t even deign to acknowledge the offerings of lowly summoners. Only the rarest treasures could pique his interest, and even then, whether he bestowed a fragment of his will depended entirely on the summoner’s devotion—kneeling three times, kowtowing nine times, offering their very life as tribute.

Except…

The summoners of Blue Star were an exception.

Because the moment he heard the line from their invocation—"When the stars crumble to dust between your fingers"—he crossed realms without hesitation.

Hearing countless devotees chant those words around him…

He could already envision the scene.

A transcendent, soul-deep ecstasy, wave after wave, threatened to consume him.

For tens of thousands of years, he had never felt such exhilaration.

Every time he descended, it wasn’t for the pitiful offerings—nothing from Blue Star could possibly catch his eye.

He came purely to hear that one line.

Two seconds later.

The aura around Su Qi faded.

The Lord of Ashes watched him silently.

There was another saying: the longer one lived, the more they feared death.

He dared not strike Su Qi.

Because now, he realized—he couldn’t see through Su Qi’s true level.

Earlier, Su Qi’s power had seemed ordinary. But now, upon closer inspection…

Su Qi still appeared to be at that same level!

Impossible!

Anyone capable of exuding "his" aura couldn’t possibly be just an ordinary human.

He must be concealing his true strength somehow.

Yes…

"He" was fishing.

"He" was looking for an excuse to kill him.

Damn it!

Had he trespassed on "his" domain?

To set such a trap?

Back then, he had been the first to kneel in reverence!

And now, this was how he was repaid?

Wait…

The Lord of Ashes suddenly remembered something.

This world…

Everyone here spoke flawlessly in the "Universal Tongue of Ten Thousand Realms."

At first, he’d assumed it was coincidence—perhaps someone had left the language here by chance.

But now, it dawned on him: could this be "his" homeland?

And "he" hadn’t disappeared—he had "returned in glory."

And here he was, trying to…

"My apologies for the disturbance…"

"I shall take my leave…"

The Lord of Ashes prepared to flee.

The masked figure nearly collapsed on the spot.

He knew—his master had made his choice.

As the words faded, the oppressive will of the Lord of Ashes vanished entirely from his body.

Gasping for breath, drained of all strength, he stared at Su Qi with unprecedented terror.

He had no doubt: had he acted recklessly earlier, he’d be nothing more than a cold corpse by now.

A being who could force his master to retreat could crush him like an ant.

The starlight around Su Qi gradually dimmed, the elusive pressure dissipating.

Su Qi spoke coolly, "Did I say you could leave?"

The words left the Lord of Ashes frozen in place.

He wanted to snap back, "Then what do you want?!"

But what came out was, "Your command…"

Su Qi glanced at the crumbling world. "You made this mess. Expecting me to clean it up?"

The Lord of Ashes seethed—death before dishonor!

To force him, the sovereign of entropy and annihilation, to perform menial repairs?

An utter disgrace!

Yet… he didn’t dare refuse.

He suspected that even the slightest defiance would mean…

Since when had the mighty Lord of Ashes endured such humiliation?

Well… actually, he’d endured it often.

The thought made it slightly more bearable.

A wisp of deathly energy seeped out—no longer pure destruction, but carrying an odd, reversing force that seeped into the shattered land.

Visible to the naked eye, the jagged fissures began to mend, the collapsed mountains rising once more.

The masked figure watched, dumbfounded. The Lord of Ashes… was actually repairing the world?

Like asking a courtesan to turn chaste!

Su Qi observed silently.

Outwardly, he was calm, his gaze detached, even slightly expectant.

In truth, his back was drenched in cold sweat.

Only when the Lord of Ashes truly began the repairs did the tension in his chest ease slightly.

Su Qi’s eyes remained indifferent.

If he was going to act, he had to commit.

His current persona was "him"—the being whose mere memory made the Lord of Ashes tremble in fear.

"Hurry up."

His tone was flat, laced with impatience.

The Lord of Ashes visibly sped up his work.

Rage simmered within him, but deeper still was that bone-chilling dread.

The more casual, the more dismissive Su Qi’s attitude, the more it confirmed his suspicions.

This had to be "him"!

Only "him" would dare treat him this way!

What cursed luck had brought him to "his" homeland, where he’d tried to posture in front of "him"?

This wasn’t just courting death—it was sprinting toward it.

The more the Lord of Ashes thought, the more terrified he became, and the faster his hands moved, not daring to slacken for even a second.

All he wanted now was to fix this ruined world and flee this nightmare as quickly as possible.

Dignity?

In the face of survival, dignity meant nothing.