"Old Blood, what are you doing?" Ye Jingyu suddenly understood what Xue Hengzhi intended, letting out a startled cry...

"If Yuan Xiang hadn't died, help me kill him..." Xue Hengzhi said faintly, yet he delivered Ye Jingyu over to Bing Ming...

"No..." Ye Jingyu was greatly shocked. He knew Xue Hengzhi had resolved to die, but he hadn't expected him to sacrifice his own life just to save him...

Before the words had fully faded, a surging, ultimate power exploded from Xue Hengzhi's battered body. The aura of a Grandmaster unleashed limitlessly, and the meager remaining True Essence within him erupted completely, transforming into wave after wave of piercing sword energy that tore through the air...

In that instant, Xue Hengzhi was no longer a man, but a single sword—a Heavenly Sword planted firmly upon the earth...

Not only that, but the surrounding grass and trees transformed into countless sharp blades, thrusting straight toward the four Masters...

Unparalleled sword energy, unstoppable sword energy, terrifyingly potent sword energy—sword energy devoid of any emotion...

Even though the four were Masters, facing the full-force strike of a Grandmaster in his final moments, their expressions changed drastically, and their bodies rapidly retreated backward...

Seizing this opportunity, Bing Ming hefted Ye Jingyu onto his shoulder and sprinted toward the left. Ying Xiaoxiao, Hu Yanzhi, and Lin Xiaoyi simultaneously cast a look of profound respect toward Xue Hengzhi before following Bing Ming to break through the encirclement...

Seeing their intent to escape, the white-haired elder coldly snorted and moved to intercept Ye Jingyu and the others, only to witness Xue Hengzhi enveloped in blinding sword light, his entire form coalescing into a colossal Heavenly Sword that drove directly toward him...

It was a sword—a sword born to kill for the sake of saving others, a sword that had seen through life and death. Its intent was absolute, its sword energy gripping, and its radiant light dazzling...

The elder's eyes stung, forcing him to halt his forward momentum. He drew his treasured sword and unleashed a single, full-power strike...

Confronting this heaven-shaking blow, he had no choice but to meet it with his utmost effort...

Xue Hengzhi's already ruined body shattered inch by inch, as the violent sword energy mercilessly destroyed everything around it, including his own form...

The four Masters were already being forced into repeated retreats by this relentless sword energy, utterly incapable of intercepting Ye Jingyu and the others. The elder also unleashed his ultimate strike, a massive arc of sword light slamming fiercely toward the Heavenly Sword that Xue Hengzhi had become. As for Yue Youqun and the others, they sheltered behind the elder; with their cultivation levels, they could not possibly withstand the uncountable torrent of sword energy...

Xue Hengzhi's head tilted toward the front left. Gazing at the figures of Ye Jingyu and the others moving further away, a faint smile touched his lips...

In his life, he had committed too many evils; he had killed too many people. He should have been a great villain, one who would sacrifice the world for his own survival. But such a villain was terribly lonely, profoundly isolated. Such a villain had no friends, no comrades, always needing to maintain a vigilant heart, guarding against sneak attacks from those around him, guarding against betrayal from his subordinates...

Every moment, he lived in constant fear...

But ever since coming beside him, Xue Hengzhi had felt a sense of security unlike anything before. Yes, it was a security rooted deep within his soul. Even though the Soul Severing Pill had been placed upon him, he still felt utterly safe...

At night, he could sleep soundly, unconcerned about assassination attempts. During the day, he could eat to his heart's content, never worrying about poison in his food. In his free time, he could laugh freely, allowing the inner dissatisfaction to finally dissipate...

Unconsciously, a presence called 'friendship' had entered Xue Hengzhi's dark existence...

This feeling was warm; this feeling was marvelous. This mutual trust brought a profound stillness to Xue Hengzhi's spirit...

He feared death, yes, but he feared losing this tranquility even more—returning to that inescapable darkness...

"Thank you, little Ye. You made me understand that life isn't solely about survival..." With a soft sigh, Xue Hengzhi's body violently exploded, transforming into a colossal sword, a giant blade seemingly from beyond the heavens, which slashed ferociously toward the elder ahead...

"No!" Ye Jingyu, carried on Bing Ming's shoulder, watched Xue Hengzhi's bursting physique and let out a heart-rending scream. He wanted to do something, but he could do nothing. He wanted to grasp something, but could catch nothing, forced only to watch as Xue Hengzhi's form slowly fractured, slowly dissolved...

That burly man with the thick beard, that defiant man, that brutal and cruel man, that cowardly man obsessed with survival—such a worthless man had now willingly sacrificed his life to carve out a sliver of hope for him...

Recalling his smile just moments ago, recalling his words just moments before, Ye Jingyu felt as if his heart had been violently torn apart...

He couldn't understand—couldn't grasp why Xue Hengzhi would do this...

He didn't know—didn't know why, at the instant of death, Xue Hengzhi's face still held that expression of tranquil relief...

He only knew that his heart ached intensely...

He had never imagined that one man's death could bring him such profound sorrow...

Tears blurred his vision; his mind was blank, leaving only the image of Xue Hengzhi's bearded face...

Ying Xiaoxiao, Hu Yanzhi, Lin Xiaoyi, and even the usually icy Bing Ming felt tears welling in their eyes. They did not look back; all of them fled at maximum speed. An emotion called deep affection slowly nurtured itself in their hearts, and this very sentiment propelled them to their utmost speed. In mere moments, they had distanced themselves from the battlefield and returned to Yun Jing City, completely beyond danger...

Yet, no one felt the elation of surviving a catastrophe, nor the joy of escaping doom. Every expression was solemn...

No one could have imagined that at the most perilous moment, it was Xue Hengzhi—the man Ye Jingyu had once threatened—who had given his life to secure a chance for everyone's survival. It was precisely because of Xue Hengzhi’s death that they understood there was a moving force in the world called cherishing...

Cherishing the bond between them...

Cherishing each other’s lives...

Cherishing that sliver of warmth deep within their hearts; even a great villain, steeped in wickedness, still held a trace of sweet tenderness deep inside...

Tears would not flow in vain...

Blood would not be spilled lightly...

A touch of warmth moves heaven and earth...