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"Did you hear that? It's up to me." Yang Jian grinned. Kui Lin, the Demon Emperor, stood silently off to the sidelines, playing the part of a background character.

He had no choice!

Although Sha Ke was a Demon God, provoking the transcendent people of the Outside for his sake….

Just wasn't worth it!

They'd plotted and schemed to make their move against the Gods all for the sake of making their demon race the second to escape the destruction accompanying the end of a great era.

If they offended the Outsiders' emissary, resulting in them bearing a grudge against demons, well… That would be an enormous failure!

Little did they know, Zhou Wu of the gods and The Eastern Emperor Taiyi had similar plans. The Upper Three Realms' era was coming to a close. They were all preparing for the accompanying destruction. The Outside was the only faction to have ever truly transcended. The emperors weren't just unwilling to offend them; they wanted to actively build a relationship with that. In that case, the outsiders might even be willing to help.

Sha Ke's heart sank. He felt a cold sense of clarity.

He wouldn't kneel and beg for his life.

He was staunch and courageous. If he had to die, he'd go out in a blaze of glory.

"Go on. Kill me!" He glared at Yang Jian. There was no point drawing this out any longer.

He didn't blame Kui Lin for his heartlessness. In his shoes, it was natural to consider the greater picture and the future of their entire race. It was only reasonable for him to make this decision.

Still, his heart had frosted over. There was no need to say anymore. All he wanted was a clean death.

"You're asking to die?" Yang Jian took in Sha Ke's determination. He couldn't help but chuckle. "I can do that for you."

No one saw Yang Jian's movements. All they saw was Sha Ke close his eyes and topple directly onto the ground.

By the time his body hit the dirt, he no longer showed any signs of life.

He pulled a sheet of white cloth, wiped his hands, then dropped it. It landed directly on Sha Ke's face.

"Killing him wasn't enough to vent my fury. I want to bring his body back with me. What do you think?" Yang Jian glanced at Kui Lin.

"That's no problem at all, of course," said Kui Lin.

Yang Jian waved, and Sha Ke's corpse disappeared before their very eyes. When the demons watched this, their fists clenched.

They felt cold and alienated.

Sha Ke was a Demon God who'd devoted his life to the demon race. Now that he was dead, their leader didn't dare so much as express any objections. It wasn't just that, either. Sha Ke's murderer took his corpse with him, but their emperor didn't so much as resist.

It was just too disappointing!

"Thank you for your cooperation, Demon Emperor. And thank you, God Emperor, Yao Emperor, for waiting in the background for this long."

The three emperors were still smiling obsequiously. Yang Jian, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes and addressed the crowd, "You might think I'm too domineering. Who am I to just go ahead and kill whoever I want? But you only think that because you're weaker than I am. When you kill others, do you think about their feelings? When you tried to attack my bro, did you consider holding back?"

"Those people more than deserved to die. Of course, you're welcome to hate me. I won't stop you. But, if I ever find out you so much as touched a hair on my bro's head, it won't be a matter of simply killing the one who did it…. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

As he spoke, Yang Jian deliberately glanced at the three emperors. When he saw their appeasing smiles, he snorted, then walked up to Ye Zichen.

"Let's go." He put his hand on Ye Zichen's shoulder, then he, Ye Zichen, and the Howling Celestial Dog all disappeared from view.

The entire venue fell terrifyingly silent. The Demon Emperor's expression was so dark, he seemed on the verge of bursting.

"Brother Taiyi, Brother Kui Lin, do you think we should continue the Battle of Geniuses?" chuckled Zhou Wu.

"Of course." Regardless of what had happened today, the Battle of Geniuses was a way for the demons' to openly and freely enter the God Realm.

They'd planned this for far too long. How could they cast aside their plans over something like this?

With that, Kui Lin snorted sinisterly, waved his sleeves, and stepped into the air. The Yao Emperor left too, but first, he cupped his fist in respect and bade the God Emperor farewell.

Soon, only the God Emperor remained. He looked at the damaged, defiled arena floor and said, "Xuan Ji."

"I'm here." Xuan Ji stepped forth.

The God Emperor continued, "I'll let you handle this situation. Let's postpone the lot drawing ceremony until tomorrow. I'll leave that up to you. No, nevermind, I'll leave all the Divine Mountains' affairs, big and small, up to you for now. I'm a bit tired, so unless something extraordinary happens, don't disturb me."

"Yes, sir!"

With that, the God Emperor, Zhou Wu left as well, rubbing his temples in the process.

He left Xuan Ji behind. She turned to the elites of all three races. "We'll hold the lot-drawing ceremony tomorrow at noon. If you want to back out, you can do so. In any event, if you still want to participate in the Battle of Geniuses, gather here tomorrow at noon."

….

Yang Jian led Ye Zichen to a thatched hut.

A creek flowed in front, its waters crystal clear. There was a mountain range in the background so enormous, there was no end in sight.

Birdsong and the smell of flowers filled the air.

Quite a few medicinal herbs grew in the courtyard, and a steaming pot of tea sat on the central stone table.

"This is your home?" This place obviously belonged to a hermit. He would never have guessed Yang Jian would live in such a place.

"This…. No, of course not. I don't have a residence in the God Realm, but it's been so long since we last met that I thought we needed a place to chat. I took a fancy to this place, discussed the matter with the homeowner, and borrowed his home for a while. What do you think? It's a nice place, right?"

Borrowed?

Ye Zichen could already imagine just how Yang Jian had "borrowed" the place.

Although he said he'd "borrowed it," since when was he so polite? That just wasn't him.

No wonder he'd suddenly said he had business to attend to en route. He spent all that time seizing a home to stay in.

"Not bad." Ye Zichen nodded.

"Haha, that's right! I've got a good eye, don't I?" Yang Jian laughed heartily. Then, seemingly out of the blue, he sighed wistfully and patted Ye Zichen on the shoulder. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other."

"It has been a while." Ye Zichen couldn't help but nod. "It's been a hundred years since you ascended. I thought that, given your personality, you must be having a rough time up here. Now, to my surprise, it seems even the likes of the God Emperor is afraid of you!"

"Heh, no need to bring that up. When I just got here, I really did have it rough. It was later that…" Yang Jian suddenly let out a melancholy sigh. "I miss the Heavenly Court more than ever. When I had free time, I could argue and start flame wars in the group. I wonder how my old friends are doing?"

"Do you still have your phone?" asked Ye Zichen.

"Of course I do." Yang Jian pulled it out of nowhere. "This is memento. I've always held onto it."

"Then turn it on and see what happens!"