Chapter 2431: Love Arises Without Knowing Its Source

At first, Zu An had been sighing in amazement after realizing that the Annihilation Beast that wiped out the Monster World all on its own was just a trivial soldier. Then just how powerful was that being all the way at the very end of the path of annihilation?

But then he heard what Mi Li said after, leaving him speechless.

Someone like that could probably kill me with a single look, right?

Just how did such a being and I become enemies decreed by fate?

He said with a miserable scowl, “Sigh, just how did I end up provoking an enemy as powerful as this?”

Mi Li had a complicated expression as she said, “Everything has been arranged by fate.”

“Don’t tell me that fate is also one of the paths,” Zu An said in annoyance.

Mi Li’s expression became a bit strange. “That’s not something you should know right now.”

Zu An was speechless.

Hmph, I was just praising you for not talking in riddles anymore, but now you’re starting again.

But he could more or less guess the standard that determined whether Mi Li could or couldn't talk about something. Either he had to be strong enough to deal with it himself, or he needed to learn about certain subjects from a different channel. That way, if she spoke about it, it wouldn’t trigger some hidden laws.

“A suitable amount of pressure will help you to improve faster. Otherwise, who knows if you’ll just go around flirting with girls day after day,” Mi Li said indifferently.

Zu An protested, “I’m being accused wrongly here! I was frightened badly day after day in the Monster World and finally returned to the Cultivation World. I didn’t even have any time to visit home, so there’s nothing like what you’re talking about!”

Mi Li sneered. She clearly didn’t feel like arguing with him about this.

Zu An was feeling a bit frustrated, but he knew that what she was saying was reasonable. A suitable pressure could indeed spur one to improve faster.

But are you really not scared that I’ll just collapse under this kind of despair-inducing pressure?

He knew that it was useless to complain about these things in front of Mi Li, so he continued, “Then the Necropolis Emperor that I met before, is his domain considered broad or narrow?"

“Narrow.” Mi Li’s response was also direct.

Zu An went silent. He'd actually already had his suspicions before he even asked.

After all, each civilization had their own mythological figure representing death. Thanatos from Ancient Greece, Mors from Ancient Rome, Hel from Scandinavia, Anunnaki from Mesopotamia, Anubis from ancient Egypt, Ah Puch from the Maya civilization, Izanami from Japan... Even in Chinese mythology, there was more than just the Necropolis Emperor in charge of death. Who knew just how many representations of the concept of death there were across the universe’s various realms. How could they possibly all be the final endpoint?

But when Zu An recalled that the Necropolis Emperor still couldn't be considered a greater deity despite the latter's power, he immediately sensed just how insignificant he was.

“Alright, let’s end the questions here today. I need to get some proper rest. It might be quite some time before you see me again.” Mi Li yawned. She no longer seemed as high-spirited as she'd been at first.

“Huh? Why?” Zu An just felt a bit of unease somehow. Mi Li had changed her usual style and told him so many things. This couldn’t really be her last words or something like that, right?

Mi Li rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I don’t need to use up energy to help shield you from some karma when I tell you so many secrets?”

Zu An was stunned. Still, he wasn’t stupid and quickly realized what was going on. The information Mi Li had shared with him wasn’t entirely without a cost. For the sake of his safety, she probably had to pay quite the price. He couldn't help but feel moved when he realized that, saying, “Then when you were sleeping before, it wasn’t because I kept bothering you to talk to me...”

Mi Li waved her hand and said, “Don’t mind it too much. It wasn’t actually purely for your sake, and there were some other matters I was dealing with. Of course, if you want to thank me, hurry up and grow stronger.”

After finishing the last sentence, she disappeared, her laugh lingering in the air.

Zu An fell silent and quickly sat down to meditate.

Even though Mi Li hadn't said it directly, anyone who had someone as terrifying as the ultimate boss of the path of annihilation as their enemy couldn’t dare to slack off.

...

The next day, the Mermaid Queen came looking for Zu An. She sighed in relief when she saw that he was still in the room. She sasid, “You didn't take the meal Peach brought over before, so I thought something had happened to you.”

“I was just cultivating. For someone with my cultivation, it won’t make too much of a difference if I don't eat for some time.” Zu An smiled. “What's the reason for the queen’s visit this morning?”

“I can’t look for you even if I don’t need anything?” The Mermaid Queen gave him a resentful look.

The boomerang had to come back and hit me one day.

Over the years, she'd acted friendly with many men, but actually kept a lot of distance from them. Now that she was being treated the same way, the feeling was awful, as expected.

But she quickly sorted out her mood and said gently, “I just received news that the Ocean races and the Fiend races had a bitter and bloody clash, and it was on quite the large scale too. Many of our Ocean race troops have perished, and the Fiend races seem to have suffered a lot of casualties too.”

“Oh? What was the cause?” Zu An already had his own suspicions.

“What we know so far is that the Fiend races’ front lines have been pushed back again and again and are lacking in natural resources, so they fished by the seashore without restraint and made the shrimp soldiers and crab generals upset. There was an altercation, which escalated and became a conflict.” The Mermaid Queen thought to herself as she answered Zu An. “This kind of thing actually happens every year, but it’s usually just on a small scale. It’s never been this big before. I think someone is adding fuel to the flames.”

Zu An said seriously, “But I don’t believe that would be all if the monsters were behind it.”

The Mermaid Queen expressed her agreement. Then, she suddenly discovered that she didn’t know what to say anymore.

This kind of thing was unimaginable for her. She was the number one beauty of the Ocean races and she was usually always surrounded by people of every kind. She attended all sorts of great gatherings often as well, making her incredibly adept at interpersonal relations. Otherwise, how could she enjoy her current popularity and prestige?

She knew very well what to say to different people, and she could discreetly lead the flow of the conversation and make everyone happy. At the same time, she wouldn’t suffer any losses either. This wasn’t something ordinary people were capable of. Perhaps because she had always been beautiful, or it was one of her innate talents, this had never been hard for her.

And yet with this man, she discovered that she seemed to have lost this skill. She didn’t know his name, nor did she know what he looked like. She didn’t even know where he came from. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to get angry. Rather, she could only wonder just how this man had been forced to do all of this without any alternatives.

Of course, Peach had also tried to guess the reason, but all she earned in response was a vicious beating.

The Mermaid Queen was suddenly at a loss as she weighed all of these things.

Could it be that I really ended up falling in love with this mysterious man?

She was frightened as soon as that thought entered her head. She subconsciously felt that it was impossible. After all, she had known him for less than a day. Everything she knew about him was fake, and she didn’t even know what he looked like! How could she possibly fall in love with him?!

The Mermaid Queen came up with all kinds of excuses as to why she didn’t love him, and that it was for other reasons...

But she suddenly remembered a certain man who had admired her. Back then, he'd said in self-mockery and distress, ‘love arises without knowing its source, but it grows deeper and deeper’.

That was just how love worked. It never cared about reason when it came.

Just as the room entered an awkward silence, Peach cried out from outside, “This is bad, this is bad, queen and queen’s husband! The Northern Sea Dragon King's crown prince has been killed by the Peacock Princess!”