After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

She raised her hand and slapped away an enemy who was rushing towards her.

"Hurry! Where are the Ding family members? Didn't they say they were coming to help?"

Lin Yueyan gritted her teeth.

"They didn't come! Not a single one came!"

Mu Yan was stunned.

"what?"

"They said...that this is a matter for the Xuanling Sect itself, and that it's not their place to interfere." Lin Yueyan's voice trembled. "They broke their alliance!"

Mu Yan's face instantly turned ashen.

"Those bastards..."

Before he could finish speaking, a terrifying attack fell from the sky.

Xu Ze's expression changed, and he pushed the two of them aside while simultaneously raising his sword to meet them.

"boom--!!"

A deafening roar.

Xu Ze was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the mountain gate, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Senior brother!"

Lin Yueyan and Mu Yan rushed over at the same time.

But the figure had already landed in front of them.

It was a man dressed in a black robe, with a sinister face, and surrounded by a suffocatingly terrifying aura.

His eyes were full of mockery as he looked down at Xu Ze, who was lying on the ground.

"The Primordial Celestial Venerable? Ha, nothing special."

He raised his hand, ready to deliver the final blow.

Lin Yueyan rushed forward and stood in front of Xu Ze.

"Don't touch my senior brother!"

The man in black robes glanced at her, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Little girl, you think you can stop me?"

He raised his hand and waved it gently.

Lin Yueyan was struck as if by a giant hammer, and she was sent flying backward, crashing onto the ground dozens of feet away.

"Yueyan!"

Xu Ze struggled to stand up, but his injuries were too severe, and he was unable to get up at all.

Mu Yan rushed over and helped Lin Yueyan up, only to find that she was unconscious.

"Xu Ze!" she called back, "Take her away! I'll hold him off!"

Xu Ze looked at her.

"you……"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Mu Yan interrupted him. "I'm tough as nails, I won't die!"

She stood up, facing the man in black robes, her body engulfed in flames.

"Come on, let me see just how capable you are!"

The image became blurry at this moment.

Xu Ze could only see streaks of fire blooming in the darkness and hear booming sounds exploding in his ears.

He carried Lin Yueyan and stumbled away.

Behind them, the Xuanling Sect's mountain gate grew farther and farther away, becoming increasingly blurry.

Finally, it completely disappeared from sight.

When the image came into focus again, it was a secluded valley.

Xu Ze leaned against the stone wall, with Lin Yueyan lying in his arms, still unconscious.

His injuries were too severe; his spiritual energy was almost completely depleted, and he couldn't even move.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

The voice was ethereal and elusive, as if it came from the heavens above, or as if it resonated from the depths of one's soul.

"Primordial Celestial Venerable".

Xu Ze raised his head.

In the void, a figure slowly emerged.

He was a man dressed in a white robe, with handsome features and an ethereal air.

He was surrounded by a faint halo, and a pair of luminous wings could be vaguely seen behind him.

He looks exactly like the white-clad man who kidnapped Mu Yan before.

“You…” Xu Ze’s pupils shrank sharply.

The man in white looked at him, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"This war was spectacular."

He spoke, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the day's weather.

"You single-handedly killed seven of the enemy's Tribulation Transcending stage experts and severely injured their leader. If you hadn't exhausted your spiritual energy, you could have even reversed the battle."

Xu Ze stared at him.

"who are you?"

“Me?” The man in white raised an eyebrow slightly. “You can call me… the Observer.”

"Observer?"

“Yes.” The man in white nodded. “I’ve been observing… the ‘performances’ of you lower-level beings.”

Anger flared in Xu Ze's eyes.

"A performance? You call this a performance?!"

He pointed in the distance, towards the Xuanling Sect, which had been reduced to ruins.

"So many people have died! You're telling me this is a performance?!"

The man in white looked at him, his eyes still devoid of any emotion.

"For you it's a disaster, but for us it's just a test."

"test?"

“Yes.” The man in white said calmly, “It’s a test of the potential of you beings from the lower realms, a test of how much power you can unleash, and a test of whether you are qualified to be chosen.”

Xu Ze was stunned; he couldn't accept it.

With so many lives lost and his entire sect at stake, are they really just like ants in the eyes of those in the Upper Realm?

"Chosen? Chosen by whom?"

The man in white did not answer.

He simply raised his hand and waved it lightly.

A beam of light surged from Xu Ze's body, transforming into a small token.

The token was engraved with two gleaming golden characters.

"Heavenly Court".

"This is your 'Heavenly Decree'," the man in white said. "By possessing it, you will be qualified to be chosen. When you are strong enough, someone will come looking for you."

After he finished speaking, his figure began to disappear.

"Wait!" Xu Ze shouted impatiently, "You haven't explained yourself! Who chose you? And what are you going to do?!"

The voice of the man in white came from the void, growing farther and farther away, fainter and fainter:

"You'll find out when the time comes."

His figure disappeared completely.

Only Xu Ze and Lin Yueyan remained in the valley.

Xu Ze looked down at Lin Yueyan, who was unconscious in his arms, and then looked up at the gloomy sky.

For the first time, a kind of doubt, never before seen in his eyes, appeared.

……

The image gradually became blurry.

The final scene is set in a quiet room within the Xuanling Sect.

Xu Ze and Lin Yueyan sat facing each other.

He held the long sword in his hand and was teaching her swordsmanship, move by move.

“Relax your wrist,” he said gently. “A sword is not something to be gripped; you should treat it as part of your body, as an extension of your arm.”

Lin Yueyan listened attentively and studied diligently.

Her swordsmanship was still immature, and her sword intent was still weak, but her eyes were full of seriousness and focus.

"Senior brother," she suddenly asked, "will I be able to become as strong as you in the future?"

Xu Ze smiled, his eyes still full of doting affection.

"Will do."

"really?"

“Really.” He nodded and continued, “As long as you keep practicing, one day you will become a stronger swordsman than me.”