Chapter 100.1: The Chance to Comprehend the Origin

On the city wall, Zhang Sheng and Chen Jue were barely clinging to life. Their breaths were shallow, but their eyes still shone with light.

"I've always admired our human leader, the White Supreme... but now, I must add one more. You, Young Hero," Zhang Sheng said, staring at Qi Yuan with deep respect.

Chen Jue was just as moved. The fearsome demon army was strong enough to grind the entire Song Battalion to dust. Yet, Qi Yuan wiped them out all by himself.

"

Cough...

Such a deed merits a drink!" Chen Jue said, imitating a bold wandering hero.

With his trembling hand, he lifted his bowl of wine. Blood trickled from his lips, dyeing the wine red.

By then, Qi Yuan had returned to the wall. He stared at the two men, whose lives were flickering like dying embers. "You're about to die. Do you have any quests I can trigger?"

He meant to ask if they had any regrets. If he had time, he could help fulfill them.

"After witnessing you slaughter the demon army, I have no regrets in this life," Zhang Sheng murmured, the light in his eyes rapidly fading. "You're an Overlord, Young Hero. You shouldn't be trapped here in the City of No Return. The City of No Return is only Great Xia's hope, not the world's hope. Out there, in other cities, there are more of our kind."

Qi Yuan said nothing.

"My pig... still..."

Chen Jue never finished the sentence. He slumped against the wall, too weak to move. He tried to raise his blood-stained bowl to toast Qi Yuan, but his arm fell back limply.

The wind howled, making the flag sway in the air. The half-open wine jar's scent drifted through the dust. The two soldiers sat there as if drunken—silent, forever still.

Qi Yuan stared at them. Like countless others, two more ordinary lives perished.

"If I remember right, death has three levels," he muttered softly. "The first is brain death, when the body stops functioning. The second is social death, when a funeral is held. An identity is erased, and the world is told you're gone. The third is when the dust returns to dust, and you're forgotten by all."

Then, he gazed at the two fallen soldiers. "You two are lucky. I'm destined to live as long as heaven itself. I'll remember you."

Lifting the bowl from Chen Jue's hand, Qi Yuan took a sip of the blood-tinted wine. "

Yuck!

It is sour and bloody. Disgusting."

He gave them one last look, then sat down on the wall again. "Little Bride."

Little Bride appeared, tugging shyly at his sleeve. He wrapped an arm around her. Together, they sat on the city wall, watching the yellow sand whirl across the desolate plain. Qi Yuan slowly began to recover his strength.

No matter how strong he was, killing a demon army still took its toll. Moreover, his level was still too low, making the battle quite a struggle. If he went out into the wild and met something stronger, he'd be killed instantly.

Still, even here in the City of No Return, danger never truly stopped. Five days later, another demon army appeared. Qi Yuan once again took up his broken sword, fused with Little Bride, and charged straight into the enemies.

Wine cannot ease sorrow. So what can?

Naturally...

kill, kill, kill!

****

Half a year had passed. Night blanketed the world, but the Great Xia flag still fluttered above the City of No Return's battered walls.

"It's been six months since I've seen another intelligent being," Qi Yuan muttered.

After Zhang Sheng and Chen Jue's deaths, no new soldiers had arrived. Only the demon armies kept coming, each stronger than the last. But to Qi YUan, it was still manageable.

"Level 59," he murmured. "One more wave and I'll hit 60."

He held Little Bride close, deep in thought. At level 50, he hadn't awakened a new minor skill. Would level 60 grant him a major one?

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Then, suddenly, someone's voice reached his ears. It was soft, fragile, and familiar.

"Am I ugly? Why haven't you come to see me all these years?"

Qi Yuan's eyes widened. It was Ning Tao. Last time, he hadn't answered her. This time, his consciousness shifted and he entered that mass of flesh bound by eighteen chains.

He saw her curled up not far away, sleeping. The corner of her eye was still damp with tears.

"Already a Supreme and still sleeping?" Qi Yuan muttered. "And talking in her sleep too."

Just then, Ning Tao's eyes snapped open. Her cold face showed a flicker of tension. "Husband... you've come."

"For the last time, I'm not your husband."

"Then do you want to be my son instead?" She smiled, teasing.

Qi Yuan sighed. "Can we talk seriously? Tell me, why are there no stars in the sky of Flowing Wind World?"

He was honestly curious, having asked the same question to Zhang Sheng and Chen Jue before. At that time, he had not received an answer.

Her expression changed. "You're not a Supreme...?"

A Supreme would have known,

Ning Tao thought.

"Did I say I was? I'm just a humble Foundation Establishment realm cultivator."

"No... you are a Supreme!" she said.

She remembered that day he'd slaughtered several powerhouses with a single divine strike. Nevertheless, if he truly was a Supreme, how could he not know why the heavens lacked stars?

Her eyes widened. "Then, you're not from this realm!"

Qi Yuan tried to shrug, then realized he had no shoulders. "You're a smart NPC to figure out that I am just a gamer."

Ning Tao blinked, growing calm. "So you didn't come see me because you can't enter this world?"

"No. It's because I don't want to."

"Husband, you always say one thing and mean another." Her tone was playful now, her smile charming.

Qi Yuan said. "Answer my question."

She smiled faintly. "Because Flowing Wind World is a forsaken land."

"A forsaken land?"

"Where no sun nor moon shines, there lies the forsaken lands. And in forsaken lands, heart demons breed, that is how the demons are born."

"So that's where the demons come from..." Qi Yuan murmured.

"Husband truly doesn't know? Then you're definitely not of this world. That means, I was wrong to summon you here. Everything is my fault."

"Then why not let me go and apologize properly?"

If Ning Tao really let him go, that lump of flesh would roll and crawl all the way back to the City of No Return. Just one look was enough to tell that it was something extraordinary. Qi Yuan had to keep it by his side and study it carefully.

"Let you go?" Her eyes narrowed, a golden light flickering within them. "Absolutely not."

Qi Yuan sighed.

"The Supreme from the northern land seeks a great demon called the Blood Demon," she said coldly. "He claims that this Blood Demon will destroy the world, and that any who see it must kill it without mercy."

"So?"

"So, Husband... don't you think you might be that Blood Demon?"

"...Seriously?"