The End

In the dark expanse of her mind, a scene lit up without warning.

Su Yuehe witnessed the birth of chaos. The first star ignited in the darkness, its light crossing billions of years of solitude to reach her eyes.

She saw countless galaxies gather like dust, spin, collide, and sketch magnificent nebulae across the canvas of the universe.

The scene raced forward.

On a sapphire-blue planet, lava and lightning ruled over a primeval wilderness. Giant beasts roared as the gods of the heavens cast down their cold, indifferent gaze.

The spark of civilization was kindled. Small and fragile beings carved their totems into stone walls.

Mighty cities rose from the earth, only to be reduced to ruins by natural disasters and the follies of mankind.

Countless races, countless civilizations, countless heroes and villains—all acted out the endless cycle of prosperity and decline upon this planet.

This was everything Baal, Chief of the Demon Gods, had personally witnessed over the course of his long life.

Su Yuehe’s consciousness was forced to experience it all at a speed beyond time itself.

She became a slave beneath the scorching sun, building pyramids for the pharaoh. The searing pain of the whip across her back was painfully clear.

She became a charging knight, raising her sword for the sake of hollow glory, only to have an enemy spear pierce her chest.

She became the emperor of an empire, seated upon a freezing throne and tasting the loneliness of eternity.

An entire era was no more than an instant to her senses.

The rise and fall of a civilization was merely foam vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Joy, sorrow, rage, despair, love, hatred… The torrents of emotion belonging to billions of lives surged into the mind of a girl with only nineteen years of experience.

Her mind was no more than a bowl, yet now it was being forced to contain the entire Pacific Ocean.

At first, she managed to hold on through sheer strength of will.

But she soon became lost.

Who was she? Where was she? What was she supposed to do?

The starlight in her eyes began to flicker wildly.

She saw An Changqing, Long Ao, Chen Guan… Those familiar faces flashed among countless strangers, only to be swallowed up in an instant.

She tried to grasp at them, but she could hold on to nothing.

Her consciousness was being completely dissolved by this ocean called time.

At last, Su Yuehe saw a single scene—herself.

A little girl sat on the steps of the Council Hall, hugging her knees as she waited all alone for her mother, who was always busy.

She waited for a long, long time, from day until night.

The grievance, loneliness, and tiny glimmer of longing she felt were all so clear.

This was also the deepest memory of her nineteen years of life.

But in the next instant, even this memory began to blur.

It became mixed with the memory of a princess waiting for her knight, the memory of a wife waiting for her husband to return from war, and the memories of countless others who had waited.

Then it ceased to matter.

When a memory no longer belonged exclusively to you, could the person you became still be you?

The final spark of light in Su Yuehe’s eyes went out.

Her entire mental world shattered in response.

On the arena floor, Chen Guan opened his eyes.

He saw Su Yuehe sway. Then her body went limp and pitched forward.

A hand reached out and caught her shoulder, steadying her just before she fell.

It was Su Jin.

No one knew when this imposing councilwoman had appeared inside the arena.

For a moment, the entire venue fell deathly silent.

“The winner is Chen Guan of Huaxia Academy.”

The referee’s voice finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

Chen Guan’s voice was so soft that only he and Su Jin could hear it.

“I said I would give it my all.”

“Don’t worry, kid.” Baal, the mastermind behind everything, finally spoke. “That little girl’s memory won’t let her retain so many grand images. She’ll forget everything once she wakes up.”

“All she’ll remember is that she lost to your illusion technique. That’s it. There won’t be any aftereffects.”

Baal thumped his chest as he guaranteed it. After all, if there were any lasting consequences, then setting aside what Chen Guan might do, the councilwoman would probably explode.

As a demon god who often hopped back and forth through the human world, Baal had no desire to become the enemy of the entire world.

He technically already was, but only in name. No serious Baal-hunting operations had been launched against him. As long as he didn’t cause trouble, no one paid him much attention.

At that moment, Su Yuehe’s brows twitched faintly in Su Jin’s arms. It seemed that even in her dreams she sensed something, and she unconsciously curled closer into her mother’s embrace.

Su Jin’s gaze softened for an instant. She lowered her head, glanced at her daughter, and gently smoothed away the crease between her brows.

“My daughter’s will is inferior to no one’s.”

She raised her eyes toward Chen Guan again. The warmth in her voice, however, was nothing like the tenderness she had shown her daughter.

“You made her concede in this manner. You’ve won decisively.”

“But, child…”

The way Su Jin addressed him had changed.

“Some powers are double-edged swords. They can carry you to the summit, but they can also drag you into the abyss. I hope you can control them, rather than be devoured by them.”

With that, she gave Chen Guan no chance to respond. Carrying Su Yuehe, she turned and walked step by step toward the arena exit.

Medical personnel hurried after her with a stretcher, but they did not dare approach. They could only trail behind at a cautious distance.

From beginning to end, she never asked Chen Guan what method he had used, nor did she question why he had struck so hard.

One glance had been enough for her to see through everything.

“Kid, this woman is even less simple than I thought.”

Baal’s voice rang out in Chen Guan’s mind, carrying a rare note of gravity.

“When she looked at you just now, I felt as if she could drag me out no matter what corner I hid in. Looks like I’ll have to upgrade myself again.”

Chen Guan ignored Baal. He stared at the spot where Su Jin had disappeared, his gaze deep and unreadable.

Only after that figure had vanished completely did An Changsong on the rostrum recover his voice.

He cleared his throat and drew the crowd’s attention back to the ceremony.

“And now, I announce the final results of this year’s National Academy Exchange Tournament.”

“Third place: Bai Huoran of Beishi Academy.”

“Second place: Su Yuehe of Huaxia Academy.”

“And…”

An Changsong paused. He looked at the solitary figure standing in the center of the arena, his expression a turbulent mixture of emotions.

“Champion: Chen Guan of Huaxia Academy!”

The cheers were delayed by half a second. Then, like a volcano erupting after being suppressed for far too long, they exploded and swept across the entire venue.

Countless streamers rained down from above, while dazzling lights focused on Chen Guan.

Bai Huoran walked onto the winners’ podium and stood on the third-place step, his expression calm.

The second-place step was empty. It should have belonged to Su Yuehe.

Chen Guan climbed onto the highest platform. A staff member placed a medal made of special metal around his neck.

The medal was cold to the touch, its chill seeping into his skin.

[Holy crap, he won the championship! Brother Coffin is awesome!]

[He won, sure, but why does the atmosphere feel kind of off?]

[No kidding. You knocked someone’s daughter unconscious right in front of her mother. Of course the atmosphere’s going to be weird! That’s the councilwoman!]

[But why do I feel like the councilwoman isn’t angry? The way she looked at Chen Guan was so strange.]

【This is what’s truly terrifying, okay? A powerful man’s fury is never written on his face.】