"John." The Radiance King's eyes were filled with profound sorrow. "I deeply regret that incident. I shouldn't have coveted the Demon King's essence. If I could choose again, I would never have let Eliana and you follow me into such peril. John, you have every right to blame me for what happened to Eliana; I willingly accept the suffering for my mistake. However, this time, you have erred too greatly. While you may have no interest in restoring the Winged God Race's glory, you didn't have to single-handedly push us toward annihilation, did you?"

"Heh, there's no reasoning with someone driven only by ambition like you." The Holy Brilliance King struggled free from the Radiance King's demonic energy restraint, yet he showed no intention of fleeing. Instead, he raised his head, gazing at the surrounding Judgment King, and stated calmly, "Judgment, I have lost. I am willing to surrender all the power and authority I command. I know your nature—you are upright, compassionate, and benevolent. Under your leadership, even if the Winged God Race cannot regain its former glory, at least we will survive."

The Winged God Race members, currently engaged in battle with the Latent Dragon Army, simultaneously ceased their fighting. With their formidable hearing, they caught the Holy Brilliance King’s words from afar, and expressions of sorrow and resignation washed over them. It was not just the Holy Brilliance King who had lost; the entire Winged God Race had been defeated. The strength accumulated over so many years, across generations, was now utterly wasted. Indeed, as the Holy Brilliance King said, the only path to preserve the race's vitality was to cede leadership to the Judgment King.

"Holy Brilliance King, though I deeply detest you," the Judgment King sighed, "I promise you, as long as I, Judgment, still draw breath, I will not allow the Winged God Race to suffer insult. However, from this day forward, the Winged God Race will form an alliance with Lei Dong."

"Heh, you are now the most authoritative figure among the Winged God Race," the Holy Brilliance King smiled dismissively. "But an alliance with Lei Dong is indeed a viable path for our people. This young man, the one surnamed Lei—he possesses considerable capability. I underestimated him, which led to the loss of everything. I gambled and lost; I have no grievances. But in closing, Judgment, there is one favor I ask of you."

"Speak. If it is within my power, I will comply," the Judgment King replied flatly.

The Holy Brilliance King activated his storage space and retrieved the corpse of the Lunar King—a beautiful body of a winged person. Alas, the Raging Flames of the Hellfire Demon King were overwhelmingly domineering; they not only shattered the Lunar King's primordial spirit directly but the residual fire completely incinerated her soul, leaving not even a shred of remnant spirit behind.

"Whoosh!" The Holy Brilliance King first tossed a crystal-clear Soul Sealing Orb to the Radiance King and stated coolly, "I have lost. This responsibility must now be shouldered by you."

The Radiance King caught the Soul Sealing Orb. Upon closer inspection, his expression drastically changed. "John, is this real?"

"Yes, it is real. You have achieved the Void Refinement stage. Although you now have only three years left to live, I still hope you strive diligently to resurrect her." The Holy Brilliance King sighed softly, then turned toward Ajiana. "Child, do you hate me?"

"Uncle!" In Ajiana's eyes, a tangle of emotions played out. After a long pause, she slowly shook her head. "Uncle, although you harmed my father, you have always been very kind to me. I truly cannot bring myself to hate you."

"No, child. You should hate me," the Holy Brilliance King slowly shook his head. "Because in my plan, once I restored your mother's divine soul, I intended to control her to possess your body."

"What?" Ajiana covered her mouth, disbelief clouding her eyes. She looked at the Holy Brilliance King, then at the Soul Sealing Orb in the Radiance King's hand. His words struck her with overwhelming force.

Ignoring everyone else's reaction, the Holy Brilliance King turned back to the Judgment King. "My request is that you help me inter my remains with Lunar's."

The Judgment King’s expression shifted slightly. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at Lei Dong, and upon seeing his nod, he turned back to the Holy Brilliance King. "Holy Brilliance, although you have done many wrong things and hurt many people, if you are willing, you can surrender a wisp of your divine soul and, from this day forward, strive to reform and atone for your sins by assisting our Winged God Race."

"Atoning through service?" The Holy Brilliance King let out a desolate, maniacal laugh. "I have been deceiving myself, telling myself that Eliana was mine. I threw everything away, trying to resurrect her. But when Lunar unhesitatingly sacrificed her life to block that attack, I finally understood who truly loved me. I realized the feeling Eliana had when she took that fatal blow meant for my elder brother. I know that even if I told Eliana everything, giving her a chance to choose again, she would still choose my elder brother. Only Lunar was truly mine, but alas, I failed her... If reincarnation is real... forget it. Judgment, I implore you to grant this final wish. Both Lunar and I will be eternally grateful to you..."

Boom~

The Holy Brilliance King chose to implode his primordial spirit inward. His already tattered soul fractured into countless fragments, with not even a trace of remnant soul recoverable. His physical body was also utterly pulverized by the internal self-destruction. His life ended instantly.

"John." The Radiance King flashed forward, attempting to intervene, but how could anyone stop a deliberate self-execution? In the eyes of the former King of Radiance, there was an unreadable mixture of regret and grief.

"Uncle." Ajiana’s face turned deathly pale as she cried out, her eyes filled with profound sorrow. Even after the truth the Holy Brilliance King had just revealed, she felt immense pain, knowing clearly that his kindness toward her over the years could not possibly have been an act.

Lei Dong's pupils contracted slightly. Although the Holy Brilliance King had been his enemy, this did not prevent Lei Dong from holding a measure of respect for him. More so, however, he felt a sense of pity for the man—loving his sister-in-law, risking everything to resurrect a mere remnant of her soul, only to finally realize the woman who truly belonged to him was not his sister-in-law. But now, it was all irreversible.

The others watched this relentless, formidable adversary finally die before them, complex emotions flickering across their faces. Though the Holy Brilliance King was dead, no one felt particularly uplifted.

"He brought this ruin upon himself," the Nether Ghost Emperor slowly shook his head and sighed. "It is a pity. The Holy Brilliance King was truly an extraordinary figure. If he hadn't become so utterly fixated, he would not have met this end."

"Hmph, dying over a woman," the Hellfire Demon King scoffed disdainfully. "What a disgraceful fellow. Still, that old brat Holy Brilliance was formidable; in a straight duel, I fear I would not have been his match."

"Judgment, go consolidate the remnants of the Winged God Race," Lei Dong said, gazing deeply at the Holy Brilliance King, who died embracing Lunar's body. "Later, fulfill the Holy Brilliance King's dying wish and arrange their joint burial. This man was a terrifying enemy, his heart terribly twisted, but he was also a man of profound feeling."

Under Lei Dong’s command, the Judgment King began assimilating the scattered forces of the Winged God Race. Of the two thousand elites the Holy Brilliance King brought, only seven or eight hundred survived the battle, most severely wounded. It was clear that this engagement had inflicted tremendous damage on the vitality of the Winged God Race.

Lei Dong, too, paid a heavy price for a battle he had expected to win easily. The Latent Dragon Army lost over three hundred men, including two Spirit Transformation cultivators. The elite troops of the Fierce Ghost Army lost over five hundred from start to finish.

The death of over eight hundred cultivators at the Nascent Soul level pained Lei Dong deeply.

However, this battle achieved Lei Dong’s objective: eliminating the two greatest obstacles, the Holy Brilliance King and the Abyss Lord, and successfully integrating the powers of the Winged God Race and the Abyss Lord.

"Brother Blazing Star," Lei Dong patted the shoulder of the Blazing Star King, who had been visibly distraught since Lunar died shielding the Holy Brilliance King, "There are plenty of fine women in the world. Lunar was a good woman, but both her body and heart belonged to the Holy Brilliance King. You know well that mere evil arts could never have made Lunar willingly sacrifice herself to block that strike for him. Blazing Star, don't follow that old fellow Holy Brilliance down that path of fixation."

"I understand," the Blazing Star King smiled bitterly and slowly shook his head. "I believe if Lunar has a spirit in the heavens, she would be happy to see the Holy Brilliance King finally change his heart for her. I just feel heartache for Lunar. Perhaps, from the very beginning, Lunar willingly submitted to the Holy Brilliance King's dark arts, but the Holy Brilliance King only had Eliana in his heart back then and didn't understand Lunar. Not only did Holy Brilliance fail to understand her, but neither did I, nor did Judgment."

"By the way, I know your Winged God Race is teeming with beauties," Lei Dong said, changing the subject with a smile. "You're still young, you control an entire continent, and you command at least seventy or eighty thousand clan members, right? Heh, no need for lengthy speeches. Once this is settled, I absolutely must visit your homeland, Blazing Star Continent. You owe me introductions to a few young and pretty Winged God Race girls."

"Absolutely not. The people in my domain are mine," the Blazing Star King glared at the Judgment King from a distance and scoffed in refusal.

"Heh, might makes right," Lei Dong chuckled carelessly. "Blazing Star, want to compare whose fist is stronger?"

Who knew that as soon as Lei Dong finished speaking, a sinister voice echoed from behind him: "Lei Dong, now that you've advanced to Spirit Transformation, your courage is growing rather fat? 'Might makes right'—that’s a fine motto. Why don't we see whose fist is truly stronger?" The Heavenly Demon, manifesting the Heavenly Demon Formless Aspect, floated to Lei Dong's rear.

"Uh, ha, I was just trying to cheer up young Blazing Star because he's upset, it wasn't serious," Lei Dong said with a nervous laugh, already beginning to execute the Ghost Shadow Escape technique to slip away.

"Great Heavenly Demon Fist."