The sky curtain makes you a useless class monitor, yet you act arbitrarily for eternity?

"Clusters, clusters, clusters—"

A rain of swords poured down.

Xiao Ai was immediately surrounded by a dense barrage of sword light, without even a chance to land.

"Aww—"

"Aww—"

"Ouch! It hurts so much, it's killing me!"

Xiao Ai's screams echoed across the mountaintop.

But the audience members who spent several hours with it couldn't stop their mouths from twitching.

"That little nose is really good at acting."

"That's right. If I hadn't actually heard what it sounded like when she was hit, I almost would have believed it."

"But why doesn't it hurt?"

"Um... I feel that Jiang Jianxian was too weak at this stage?"

"After all, when Xiao Ai was being beaten up by Old Ancestor Ye, Old Ancestor Ye had already been developing for five thousand years."

"The Jiang Jianxian in the picture has brought back more than two thousand years of cultivation."

"Facing a little rascal who has lived for over five thousand years... to be honest... I probably wouldn't be able to do much damage."

"Right now, we're probably just going to cooperate with Jiang Jianxian and let her vent her anger."

Three minutes passed.

The barrage of sword energy continued.

Xiao Ai's screams grew louder and louder.

"Ouch!"

"It hurts so much!"

"Little fish! Be gentle!"

"I already said it wasn't Ai-sama's fault... so don't just come after me..."

"brush--"

Jiang Liyu dissipated her sword energy.

With the sword light gone, the scene in mid-air was completely exposed.

Xiao Ai lay on her side in the air, supporting her head with one hand, crossing her legs, and comfortably closing her eyes.

He never stopped talking.

"Ouch! That hurts so much!"

"Little Fish! I was wrong..."

After calling out a few times, Xiao Ai suddenly realized that it was too quiet around her.

It tentatively opened one eye.

Jiang Liyu stood in front of the tombstone with her head down.

Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and tears fell drop by drop in front of Ye Chen's grave.

"Master..."

"Master... I'm sorry."

Even if those two masterminds come out... your disciple still won't be able to avenge you...

"I'm...I'm sorry..."

Xiao Ai's crossed legs froze in mid-air.

"Hey...where's the sword?"

It quickly sat up straight.

"not good……"

"That really hit Little Fishy hard..."

Just as Xiao Ai was about to land, the Desolate Emperor stepped forward.

His hand landed on Jiang Liyu's shoulder.

"I'll lend you two swords."

"**."

Jiang Liyu raised her head.

She uttered two words.

The sound was blocked by the rain and the projection, and the audience still couldn't hear clearly.

But they saw Jiang Liyu's eyes.

In those tear-filled eyes, there was finally a sense of reliance, as if someone was there to support them.

Jiang Liyu sobbed, raised her hand to wipe away her tears, and nodded emphatically.

She resumed performing the sword incantation.

On the left and right sides, there is a long sword formed from cyan light.

A golden pattern appeared on the sword.

"Oh no..."

Xiao Ai's face immediately fell.

"well……"

Aikun also sighed softly.

Neither of them dodged.

To be precise, with the power of the Desolate Emperor, they had no right to hide.

"laugh--"

Two longswords, gleaming and gilded, pierced through his body simultaneously.

"Awoooooo!!!"

Xiao Ai really jumped up this time.

It clutched the pierced spot, rolled around in mid-air a dozen times, and tears streamed down its face from the pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

"This little Ai is about to shatter!"

On the other side, the sword pierced through Aikun's heart.

A large portion of His chest was gouged out, and dark golden liquid flowed down the wound, dripping into the muddy water.

Aikun only let out a muffled groan.

He neither dodged nor healed his wounds; he simply stood there and took the blow.

"**, thank you."

Jiang Liyu sheathed her longsword.

She knew she couldn't kill those two guys on her own.

Even with the help of **, she cannot truly eliminate them.

After that lightning strike, many things had already been rearranged in her mind.

These two guys in front of me are carrying a mission that concerns the survival of the world.

She and Ye Chen were merely two pawns they placed in advance to complete their mission.

The chess pieces have no right to overturn the chessboard.

Just as she was secretly grieving.

The voice of the Desolate Emperor rang in her ears.

"Little fish."

The voice of the Desolate Emperor rang in her ears.

Jiang Liyu suppressed the lingering sadness in her eyes and forced a smile.

"I am here."

The Desolate Emperor glanced at Ye Chen's tombstone.

"Have you ever wondered why I, someone you perceive as belonging to the game world, was able to come into reality?"

"And it still retains this power?"

Jiang Liyu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"**,you mean?"

"What I mean is..."

The Desolate Emperor spoke.

"Is it possible that the last great battle you experienced before you left caused a historical break?"

"It is precisely because of that fault line that you believe that the history of two thousand years ago is just a game."

"...What?"

Jiang Liyu's legs went weak and she almost fell.

She stared at the Desolate Emperor, her voice strained.

"So...we've always been in the same world?"

"Just living in different times?"

"Um."

"so……"

Jiang Liyu's lips turned pale.

"Besides Ye Chen, none of the others are NPCs?"

"Um."

The Desolate Emperor once again gave an affirmative answer.

Jiang Liyu's feet felt even more unsteady.

She held onto the tombstone, her fingertips touching Ye Chen's cold face in the photo.

"so……"

"I not only abandoned my master at the most critical moment of the great battle."

"They also abandoned countless compatriots."

She lowered her head.

The tears that had just stopped fell again onto the tombstone.

Aikun remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"...That battle was unwinnable."

Jiang Liyu did not look up.

Ai Kun continued:

"If you stay, you can only die on that battlefield with them."

"The real decisive battle... will take place three thousand years from your time."

"Three thousand years later..."

Jiang Liyu repeated in a low voice.

She looked at the Desolate Emperor.

A glimmer of hope rekindled in those eyes that had just lost their luster.

"Ye Chen... Ye Chen didn't die either, right?"

She took half a step forward and grabbed the sleeve of the Desolate Emperor.

"He'll definitely survive, won't he?"

"Three thousand years later..."

"I'll definitely see him again, won't I?"

Aikun and Xiaoai both fell silent.

Xiao Ai forgot to cry out in pain.

Ai Kun also lowered his head, not daring to meet Jiang Liyu's gaze.

In the countless historical events they experienced, Jiang Liyu did not survive to three thousand years later.

Ye Chen didn't have it either.

Countless attempts, countless cycles.

Both of them will eventually fall before the final battle.

But the timeline we're on now is different.

Ye Chen lived in an era he shouldn't have reached.

For the first time, with the help of the Desolate Emperor, Jiang Liyu saw the truth that she shouldn't have known.

New changes have emerged.

Perhaps, this time, she will truly be able to wait until that day.

"Um."

The Desolate Emperor spoke.

"We will definitely meet again."

Jiang Liyu's hand, which had been tightly gripping his sleeve, finally loosened a little.

Unbeknownst to her, several golden specks of light quietly entered her body from the hand that the Desolate Emperor had placed on her shoulder.

The golden light did not cause any disturbance.

But Ai Kun and Xiao Ai saw it all clearly.

"call……"

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Liyu raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face.

"good!"

"I must wait for him!"

Her voice was still trembling.

But that almost extinguished belief has been protected again.

The Desolate Emperor nodded.

"Um."

He raised his hand and gestured.

While still clutching her wound in mid-air, Xiao Ai lost control on the spot and fell into his hands with a "whoosh".

The Desolate Emperor pinched Xiao Ai's face and began to rub it without any restraint.

"Mmm..."

"You! You! You! You insolent citizen!"

"This humble Ai is..."

"Alright, let's go back!"

Before Xiao Ai could finish speaking, the Desolate Emperor flung her hand and threw her into the spacetime vortex.

"Eh..."

"I haven't been touched enough..."

"It's been so long since anyone hugged me..."

Xiao Ai stretched out her hands and disappeared into the depths of the vortex with a forlorn expression.

Aikun glanced at the still unhealed wound on his chest.

He put away his tattered folding fan and bowed to the Desolate Heavenly Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."

After saying that, Aikun turned and retreated into the vortex.

The spacetime tunnel then closed.

Only three people remained in front of the tombstone.

The Desolate Emperor patted Jiang Liyu on the shoulder one last time.

"alright."

Time flies, little girl, remember to take good care of yourself.

Jiang Liyu nodded seriously.

"it is good."

The Desolate Emperor turned around and took a step forward.

"Buzz—"

Golden ripples swept across the sky.

The dark clouds that covered the vast expanse were swept away from it.

Darkness receded into the distance behind the mountains, and sunlight once again bathed the earth.

It landed on Jiang Liyu's face.

It also landed on Ye Chen's photo on the tombstone.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Two chapters today, five thousand words in total.

I'm going to take a short break and think carefully about the next steps.

Everyone keeps asking when the Desolate Emperor will be revealed.

What I'm about to say will probably be in a million words later.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

My new book flopped.

Waaah... I feel so bad.