Ding Wanyan’s soft, bone-melting voice also sounded near Lei Dong’s ear. It was obvious that the few of them had conspired together, preparing to teach Lei Dong a deeply unforgettable lesson. Poof! The sound made Lei Dong shiver violently, and sweat beaded on his forehead. It seemed he was doomed tonight. “Brother,” Xiao You whispered conspiratorially, “don’t forget about me.”

Tragedy, what utter tragedy. Lei Dong even had the urge to die, looking up with profound indignation at the utterly ecstatic Lei Long. His heart hardened. For the sake of brotherhood and justice, so be it if he had to die…

Simultaneously, stationed far behind the lines, in Sky City—the most heavily defended city in the Radiant Holy Domain—the Radiant King stood atop the highest spire of the Temple Tower. Clad in white armor, the armor was intricately etched with various profound rune patterns, making him appear noble and mysterious. A pair of vast white wings spread fully behind him, stretching several zhang long. The vicissitudes of time had etched themselves onto his exceptionally handsome face, lending him the maturity, charm, and temperament of a seasoned man. Several miles away from Radiant City, a most primitive battle of flesh and blood was raging. Countless powerful lives were locked in mortal combat, swallowed by the monster that is war, ground into mincemeat. Yet, this carnage seemed entirely divorced from the Radiant King’s concern. His gaze was fixed intently on a crystalline orb floating before him—a Soul Sealing Orb, to be precise. Through its translucent wall, one could clearly see a weakened primordial spirit lying dormant within, so frail it seemed on the verge of dissipating. It belonged to a female of the Winged God Race. However, this spirit had clearly suffered immense trauma; one of its wings was torn in the spectral image, its legs were broken, and it possessed only a single arm. Most terrifyingly, half of its head was missing. When a powerful being cultivates to the Huashen (Spirit Transformation) stage, their essence of life is largely tethered to the primordial spirit. The primordial spirit, fundamentally, is life. Such grievous damage should have rendered survival impossible, leading to an immediate return to the source. Yet, she persisted, maintained by every method the Radiant King could muster to keep her from vanishing. At this moment, the Radiant King was slowly pouring a vial of milky-white, viscous Divine Water of Life into the orb, his expression solemn and grave, as if this were the most important task of his entire existence. After a long while, the weak, almost comatose spirit, nourished by the Divine Water of Life, gradually recovered a sliver of vitality. Poof! (Though complete restoration was impossible, it allowed her to hold on a little longer.) “Hold on, Ilyena,” the Radiant King murmured, his voice deep and filled with tenderness. His eyes betrayed a conflicted mixture of distant reverie and deep focus, as if speaking to himself in a rambling, soft monologue: “It will be soon. We are about to win. As soon as I obtain that extra-dimensional realm brimming with Chaos Spiritual Qi, I can quickly advance to the Lianxu (Void Refinement) stage. I will strive desperately to reach the Hedao (Integration) stage even faster, so I can invoke our race’s heaven-defying secret art to resurrect you.”

Booming across the battlefield, Winged Gods with pure white wings and Abyss Demons danced madly in the sky, weaving through each other in ferocious combat. Incessantly, Winged Gods or Abyss Demons were slain, falling from the heavens. Golden Core experts, who could dominate smaller territories, were merely mid-tier combatants in this high-level theater, barely better than cannon fodder. Even the respected and feared Nascent Soul level masters could perish at any moment on this field. Any powerful life form appeared utterly fragile in this moment. Yet, none of it seemed to concern the Radiant King. His entire focus was fixed on the Soul Sealing Orb, or more precisely, on that wisp of residual soul within, which might not even possess consciousness. “Ilyena, do you know how much Agarna is starting to look like you? Even her temperament and disposition are becoming so similar to yours,” the Radiant King whispered softly. “Many times, I mistake her for you—just as beautiful, just as stubborn.”

The war continued its furious march. Blood and life were constantly being consumed. “Ilyena, tell me, if I hadn’t been so weak back then, if I hadn’t prioritized brotherhood and tried to outdo my brother, and had married you, how wonderful would that have been?” As the Radiant King murmured, his face began to contort slightly. “Too bad that bastard didn’t cherish you enough…” (Fastest text updates from Shumi Lou)

“My Lord…”

From a distance, a Winged Man in armor, a high-level Nascent Soul expert, called out timidly. He knew perfectly well the consequences of disturbing his Lord at a moment like this; such matters had been proven time and again. But given the current situation, he had no choice but to risk the interruption. The Radiant King’s face darkened with anger, but he managed to restrain it, regaining his composure. First, he softly addressed the soul fragment in the Soul Sealing Orb: “Ilyena, I will return to you later. I must attend to urgent matters first. Everything is for your resurrection.” Then, he said gravely, “What is it?”

“My Lord, the Abyss Lord has sent an envoy, proposing peace talks and a joint endeavor to pursue a grand ambition,” the Winged Man replied, visibly relieved.

“Peace talks? Ridiculous…” The Radiant King’s face chilled. “Have all our brothers and sisters died in vain? Go, kill that envoy… Wait.” The Radiant King forcefully suppressed the fury in his chest and calmly stated, “Bring that envoy to me. I am curious to see what scheme that ugly Abyss Demon, Udis, is plotting.”

Soon, an envoy from the Abyss Demon race was brought forth. He spoke no words, but immediately deployed a temporary communication array. Upon connection, the three-dimensional spectral projection of the Abyss Lord Udis, a Demon, slowly manifested before the Radiant King. “Abyss Lord Udis?” The Radiant King’s face was as placid as still water as he slowly spoke the name of his great adversary.

“Radiant King John,” Udis nodded slowly. “A first meeting. The Radiant King is indeed the most powerful ruler of the Radiant Holy Domain; your demeanor is truly extraordinary.”

“Hmph, Udis, the power you display is indeed beyond my expectations. However, if you think you can win this war, it’s far from enough,” the Radiant King stated coldly. “Though, I must admit, I did not expect your offensive to be so sharp. It has indeed surprised me.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Radiant King. We are merely fighting back against invaders,” Udis replied with an indifferent smile. “However, Radiant King, it seems you haven’t been having a smooth time recently.”

The Radiant King’s expression darkened slightly. “I concede that the human ally you found possesses considerable strength and inflicted some minor losses upon me. But, Udis, allowing my reinforcements to be destroyed in a failed scheme, and shattering your own Great Wall—that was truly an oversight on your part.”

“Heh, whether it was an oversight or not, I know best. That Lei Dong hides his strength; his wolfish ambition is obvious. If I allowed him to grow stronger, you and I would engage in a clam-and-crane struggle while he reaps the fisherman’s benefit,” Udis spoke candidly. “Radiant King, there is no deep-seated grudge between you and me; our conflict is driven purely by conflicting interests. Look at it from another angle: our goals align. We both seek that sliver of Chaos Resource within the Chaos Extra-dimensional Space.”

“Indeed, we have no old enmity. But, Abyss Lord, you currently hold the Chaos Extra-dimensional Space. Are you suggesting you would simply hand it over for my enjoyment?” The Radiant King sneered, feigning surprise. “That wouldn’t be impossible. That Chaos Extra-dimensional Space isn’t small. At my current rate of extraction, it would take ten thousand years to fully mine. I, Udis, am not petty. Since one party cannot consume it all, it is only proper to share it with a heaven-and-earth hero like the Radiant King.” After casting out such a grand bait, the Abyss Lord sighed. “Our two factions have suffered countless losses in this conflict. Fortunately, thus far, it is mostly the vitality of foreign races that has been depleted. If we continue to stand our ground and fight inch by inch, even the victor will be severely weakened. Why endure this? Why not cease hostilities now, join forces in an alliance, and pursue our grand enterprise together? Wouldn’t that be glorious?”

“Hmph, sounds nice,” the Radiant King scoffed repeatedly. “Your Abyss race excels at betraying allies. I was just betrayed by the Shadow Demon King, and you, not long ago, betrayed your own ally. How can you expect me to trust you?”

“Radiant King, you misjudge. While my Abyss race possesses certain unique ways of survival,” the Abyss Lord showed no shame in admitting past betrayals, “in the Six Domains and Nine Continents, where does the law of the jungle—the strong devouring the weak—not prevail? If an ally proves incapable, too weak, or insufficiently vigilant, leading to betrayal, selling out, or annexation, it is only natural. Consider this: if my Abyss race appeared weak and incapable of sustaining our effort, I suspect the Radiant King would show no mercy either? Between you and me, it’s merely tit for tat.”

“Your words are sophistry, yet they carry a certain logic.” After careful consideration, the Radiant King understood clearly that his only path to obtaining the resources in the Chaos Space was to halt the war with the Abyss Lord and forge a fragile alliance, temporarily banding together to deal with the external threat—eliminating Lei Dong and the Shadow Demon King first. Whether to fight or make peace afterward would depend entirely on the balance of power. The Radiant King was confident that with the foundation of the Winged God Race and a trump card so powerful it was suffocating, even if he couldn’t defeat the Abyss Lord later, he certainly wouldn’t lose to him. At that juncture, whether they shared the resources or claimed them entirely, the Radiant King would achieve his goal. The Radiant King rather favored this simple alliance; it was suitably brittle. No need for duplicity; they only needed to maintain fierce vigilance with open hostility… (To be continued)