Chapter 1038: Epilogue

Chongque City.

Everything was as quiet and orderly as it had always been. Principal Hu lounged lazily on the sofa, her pale pink silk nightgown flowing past her knees. It did little to conceal the breathtaking beauty of her fair, flawless skin.

The corners of her almond-shaped eyes were tilted upward, and her black-and-white phoenix-like gaze brimmed with seductive charm. She glanced at the man lying on the bed and gave a smug little hum of satisfaction.

So what if he’s an Immortal Emperor? I still managed to sleep with him,

she thought, but the beautiful face beneath that playful pride soon softened with tenderness and pity.

She rose slowly. Walking over to the bed, she looked down at his impossibly handsome face. The gentleness in her expression grew deeper. The world saw only his unrivaled brilliance as a supreme sovereign, but who had ever cared about the hardship and suffering he had endured along the way?

She didn’t know exactly what had happened recently, but she could sense the kind of exhaustion that only came from surviving catastrophe clinging quietly to Li Xiaofei’s body.

“Sleep well. Rest properly.” She slowly reached out and smoothed the faint furrow between his brows, then gently lay down beside him. She wrapped him in her arms, holding him quietly.

***

The path of evolution was long and without end. Wei Xiaotian had relocated the entire Reaper race into the Realm of Ruins. From that moment on, humanity stood alone in its brilliance in the true universe.

Oblivion’s complete annihilation had allowed the Realm of Ruins to begin to change. Many of the ancient ruins left behind by the ancient King-ranked clans were no longer perilous or impenetrable. The terror beasts slumbered undisturbed, no longer awakening at the touch of foreign life. The Reapers could finally return to their ancestral lands and retrace the steps of their forebears.

In the past, only the perfectly evolved races could become human. But if the Reapers continued to evolve, perhaps they too could reach that level. Of course, evolution did not have a single destination. Perhaps they could become some other form of intelligent life entirely.

As long as they could strip the violent, slaughter-driven impulses from their genes, they might find a new path of survival and reproduction. But the Reapers would no longer be permitted to leave the Realm of Ruins for a very long time.

This was the law decreed by the Human Race’s Immortal Emperors. Wei Xiaotian stood at the edge of the Realm of Ruins, gazing out at the brilliant stars of the real universe, and sighed softly.

Becoming the leader of the Reapers meant that he, too, must forever remain in the Realm of Ruins. He could no longer step into the starlit galaxy beyond. He had spent his whole life searching for a path where humans and Reapers could coexist peacefully. But he had taken only the very first step forward with this fragile outcome.

In the distance, a faint star shimmered, and a jade-robed figure emerged from the light. It was the Blade and Sword Supreme, Ding Hao.

“I greet you, Emperor Ding.” Wei Xiaotian bowed. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?”

Ding Hao’s gaze swept across the Realm of Ruins. Sword intent and blade light flickered in his eyes as he said, “I wish to establish the Six Daos of Reincarnation here.”

Years ago, when the original Six Daos collapsed and reincarnation was blocked, it had been Ding Hao who had rebuilt the Netherworld and reopened the cycle of rebirth, allowing all sentient beings of the myriad worlds to reincarnate without obstruction.

However, Reapers had been excluded from that system. Now, Ding Hao intended to extend the path of reincarnation to the Reaper race? It was a blessing. If the Reapers could enter the cycle of rebirth, it would open up new possibilities for their future. Perhaps the road of evolution ahead of them would no longer be so difficult. Wei Xiaotian’s heart surged with deep emotion.

***

Wielding his sword to cut down evil, carefree beneath the heavens. Lin Beichen lay sprawled atop his flying sword.

“Finally... I can completely lie flat,” he said as his whole body relaxed, fully at ease. He was surrounded by beauties on all sides.

“Aren’t you going back to Earth to take a look?” Lingchen asked curiously.

Lin Beichen crossed one leg over the other as he mused, “Earth, huh? It’s a mess right now. Back in the day, we had no choice but to split it into hundred thousand time-displaced layers and use it as a bottomless reserve of manpower. But now that the galaxy has been pacified, there’s no more need for such desperate measures. That whole project needs to be shut down and the consequences of draining the well for fish undone. Just cleaning up that mess sounds exhausting. Li Xiaofei's been working and cursing nonstop, dreaming about recruiting more laborers every night. If I head to Earth now, I won’t get out again.”

Yue Hongxiang rolled her eyes at him and thought,

This man clearly cares deeply about Earth, yet insists on saying the opposite. What a tsundere.

Still, among the Six Immortal Emperors, it was Emperor Li Xiaofei, who had achieved Dao through the power of faith, who understood and cared for the suffering of the common people the most. When it came to Earth, he spared no effort and took no rest. He took every step cautiously and with full understanding of the burden of his responsibility. He sought for a way to heal Earth’s wounds through his divine faith...

“Young Master, where are we going now?” Qianqian asked.

Lin Beichen replied, “To see the sea.”

“What sea?”

“The Burial Sea.”

The High Priestess Qin awaited him there.

***

Heaven.

Birdsong and fragrant blossoms filled the air of a realm utterly cut off from the mortal world. Li Mu stood beneath a coiling peach tree, robed in white, with Hua Xiangrong beside him.

“From this day forth, you are the Empress of Heaven,” Hua Xiangrong smiled as she spoke.

Little Aunt bowed deeply and accepted the decree. The starry seas were at peace and the fires of war had been extinguished. The human race had risen to become the most supreme force in the universe.

Now that Chongque City had been stabilized, Heaven no longer needed to play the role of leadership. From now on, it would become a sacred sanctuary for cultivation, a realm hidden among the clouds. The ironclad laws of Heaven would fade like dust in the river of history.

As one of the Five Emperors of Heaven, Li Mu no longer wished to maintain his seat of power. He sought only to roam freely with his beloved at his side.

Old friends from the past now drifted across the world. Some had secluded themselves among the stars. Others had gathered in Heaven to dwell in quiet harmony. Liu Shaji, carrying his sword and leading his dog, had set off on a distant journey. Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded everyone to never reveal his whereabouts to Li Xiaofei.

***

Azeroth Continent.

Sun Fei and Zhong Dajun were in the middle of playing rock-paper-scissors. The loser had to turn into a bear for the other to ride... Meanwhile, Angela and Elena were off to the side, helping the servants prepare a roasted barbecue lunch.

A flicker of light shimmered in the air. Ye Qingyu tore through the void, arriving with his family in tow. The atmosphere instantly brightened with laughter and joy.

The simple outdoor picnic and camping trip was set in a picturesque wilderness. It was nothing out of the ordinary, really, if one ignored the fact that this was the most dangerous base on the Azeroth Continent, the Demonic Howl Mountains.

Moments of such peaceful reunion were rare. After losing ten rounds of rock-paper-scissors in a row, Sun Fei gave up on the game and began chatting with Ye Qingyu instead.

“It’s rare to have such leisure time... That kid Li is really a good man.”

“Ah... yeah, that’s true, haha.”

Their conversation was lighthearted and full of laughter.

***

Chongque City.

After a brief period of rest, Li Xiaofei had indeed become very busy. The merging of the Hundred Thousand Earths into one unified whole proved to be even more difficult than when they had first been separated.

Fortunately, back when Li Junjie had overseen Chongque City, he had already halted the development of those fragmented worlds, bringing the forced evolution of Earth across countless dimensional planes to a halt.

What Li Xiaofei now needed to do was guide each version of Earth, across its myriad timelines, back to its original state, while ensuring the logical continuity between each timeline. Then, he could weave them back into a single main narrative.

It was a grand and unimaginably complex task. Even with the power of an Immortal Emperor, it could not be completed overnight. It was a project destined to span ages. But for Li Xiaofei, it was something he took pleasure in. After all, he truly couldn’t sit still.

Having ascended to the Emperor’s throne through the power of human faith, he was inextricably bound to the human race. Ever since crossing into this world, he had witnessed too many stories of sorrow, joy, misfortune, and fleeting happiness among ordinary people in his rise through hardship and obscurity. He understood their pain and their hope.

Li Xiaofei never hesitated or complained when it came to serving his fellow kin. Among the Six Immortal Emperors of the human race, Li Xiaofei possessed what could only be called the Innate Constitution of the Eternal Laborer. He simply could not remain idle. His followers and disciples included more ordinary mortals than any of the others.

In the blink of an eye, centuries had gone by. One day, Li Xiaofei completed the final reconstruction and cleansing of the last miniature world, then returned to Chongque City.

“Let everything return to its beginning,” said Li Xiaofei. He pressed the activation glyph on the formation array that would fuse the Hundred Thousand Earth timelines into one.

Radiant light surged outward as a strange wave of law swept across the entire solar system. With tears in her eyes, Liu Diqiu returned to the long-destroyed homeland of her past.

Everything... had come back.

THE END