An exquisite palace... a throne... armor... held aloft...

Countless fragmented memories, like seashells churned up by waves, appeared densely before Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan felt as if he had become a "king."

Enthroned high above, countless shadowy figures knelt at his feet, with a continuous stream of people coming up to kiss his instep.

This unprecedented experience was both strange and intriguing.

But he quickly realized.

Oh... this is the memory of the King of Posing.

These were the memory fragments of the Monarch of the Ancient Brent Kingdom, and also the final piece of the main storyline in the Lament Ruins.

The ultimate truth of this disaster was about to unfold before him.

The King of Posing was undoubtedly the one from whom Lu Yuan had absorbed the most memories of a past life.

Among them, occasionally, were perspectives of others.

This part of the memories mostly belonged to the three Saints from the Ancient Brent Kingdom who had previously "offered" themselves.

The most intense battle was over.

Without the pressing urgency weighing on his nerves, Lu Yuan calmed himself.

It was like accidentally finding an old, dust-covered book in an attic. He would sweep away the cobwebs, place it on his lap, and slowly flip through its pages.

Of course, as always.

Nearly all scenes related to the Holy Light Sect in this memory were completely erased.

Lu Yuan still could not discern the face or appearance of the goddess of the Holy Light Sect.

However, he unexpectedly learned the name of the "King of Posing"—Jokrus.

Why do these people only retain their living memories, and not those from after being assimilated by Death Qi?

Lu Yuan suddenly pondered this.

In fact, this part of the memory was more important to him.

He wasn't particularly interested in the original appearance and origins of the Holy Light Sect; he was more interested in the Crow God who was orchestrating all of this.

Living memories remain in the decaying flesh, while memories from after death return to the Netherworld with the soul...

This sentence inexplicably surfaced in Lu Yuan's mind, and he couldn't help muttering, Is that so?

He continued to flip through.

He quickly reached the last page of the fragmentary old book...

In the blood-and-fire-drenched royal palace.

An old man with white hair and a beard, clad in a gorgeous white-gold robe, glared furiously at "himself."

"Jokrus! You have betrayed the Holy Light!"

SWISH!

Under the swaying torchlight, a cold glint of light flashed past.

An old head, its face etched with disbelief, rolled onto the ground.

The blood-dripping longsword was slowly lowered.

"Lu Yuan" looked at the head at his feet and said softly, "It is the Holy Light that has abandoned us..."

He turned around to see five figures watching him with complicated expressions.

"Your Majesty, how should we resist next?" one of them asked in a low voice.

"Resist?"

"Lu Yuan" gave a self-deprecating laugh, casually sheathed his longsword, and exhaled deeply. "Let's surrender."

The five were stunned.

"Lu Yuan" paid no heed to their expressions, instead gazing into the distance.

It was nighttime.

Yet, on the horizon where "Lu Yuan's" gaze fell, a darkness even deeper and thicker than the night itself was steadily encroaching.

Within that darkness, the silhouette of a colossal figure seemed to gradually emerge.

"Lu Yuan" stared at the approaching darkness, a hint of distraction in his eyes, and he muttered, "After the meteorites fell, we received no guidance from the God we believed in. He abandoned us, abandoned all the citizens of Brent. Our devotion and faith are worthless before Him..."

"Let's switch our allegiance. Perhaps..."

"Lu Yuan" suddenly laughed and took a step forward, drawing closer to the engulfing darkness.

"Someday, we might still have the chance to stand before Him and ask why all this happened?"

Saying this, "Lu Yuan," filled with the madness of a desperate man, laughed wildly. Facing the encroaching darkness that seemed poised to swallow everything, he opened his arms in an embracing posture.

He declared loudly, "Praise... Death!"

BOOM!

The final image in the memory was that of the King of Posing of Ancient Brent being completely engulfed by the tide of Death Qi.

In the last few seconds of being swallowed, Lu Yuan's eyes widened as he tried to see clearly what the colossal shadow hidden within the Death Qi tide was.

What did the Netherworld creature, born from the black meteorite, which had turned Ancient Brent into a land of death and corruption, actually look like?

He tried desperately to discern it.

He strained his eyes, attempting to pierce through the layers of black mist and shadow to see its true form.

Finally... Lu Yuan saw it.

He saw an eye—a giant eye, the eye of a giant crow.

But very quickly, his heart lurched.

Not one...

There were many.

Many, many giant crow eyes materialized in the shadows overhead, coldly staring down at him.

PANT... PANT...

Song Cong and Su Zhaohui were sprinting across the desolate, silent wilderness.

The two moved extremely fast, like a pair of fleas, covering an incredible distance with each leap.

Suddenly, one of the "fleas" stopped.

"Damn it!" Su Zhaohui couldn't help cursing, panting as he spoke to Song Cong beside him, "I've decided! When the Legendary Level Secret Realm opens this time, I'm going in with you..."

Song Cong glanced at him. "Aren't you planning to retire?"

"Retire my ass!" Su Zhaohui said, frustrated. "This inability to fly is unbearable! I need to break through to Double S too! How can running on two legs on the ground compare to others flying? We can't even see a soul! I don't even know why we're both running around blindly like this."

Song Cong was silent for a moment, just about to speak.

Just then, seven or eight figures appeared in the distant sky, flying rapidly towards them.

Song Cong and Su Zhaohui were taken aback. They exchanged glances and quickly moved to intercept them.

As they drew closer, Han Xun and a group of Flying Bear Generals came into view.

"Sir," Song Cong and Su Zhaohui quickly bowed, their peripheral vision catching Han Xun, who seemed to be holding someone in his arms.

However, due to their angle and not wanting to stare, they couldn't see clearly.

"Mm." Han Xun noted the two had stopped and turned to give a few instructions to the Flying Bear Generals behind him.

The Generals quickly dispersed, presumably to conduct search and rescue operations in different directions.

Listening to Han Xun's arrangements for the Flying Bear Generals, Song Cong and Su Zhaohui grew increasingly astonished.

Once Han Xun was free, they finally mustered the courage to ask, "Mr. Han... the Evil Energy surge in the Lament Ruins forbidden zone..."

"It's been quelled," Han Xun replied calmly, clearly understanding what they wanted to ask. He was quite direct.

"So quickly?"

Although they had anticipated this, receiving confirmation still shocked them.

A Four-winged Bear Level expert is truly formidable.

An SSS-level Evil Energy surge... how long has it even been since they entered the Secret Realm?

We haven't even reached the battlefield yet... and they've already finished the job and are heading back.

Wow, truly impressive.

"Mr. Han is indeed incredible! I, Song, said it before: with Mr. Han taking action, a mere Evil Energy surge would be suppressed by him in no time..." Su Zhaohui promptly offered a flattering remark, simultaneously nudging Song Cong with his eyes, signaling him not to miss such a perfect opportunity.

Song Cong understood Su Zhaohui's hint but was hesitating on how to phrase his words.

At that moment, Han Xun spoke.

"Enough," Han Xun said lightly. "It wasn't me who quelled the surge; it was someone else. By the time I arrived, everything was already over..."

"To be able to single-handedly suppress an SSS-level Evil Energy surge, this person must be a great expert on par with Mr. Han!" Su Zhaohui continued his earnest flattery.

Song Cong remained silent, furtively trying to get a better look at the person Han Xun was carrying.

For some reason, even seeing only half his back and his side profile, Song Cong felt an increasing sense of familiarity.

Perhaps Han Xun noticed Song Cong's gaze, or maybe he saw the Gold Bear insignia on their chests. His indifferent expression flickered slightly, and his imposing figure descended from mid-air.

"You two are both Gold Bears. Do you recognize this person?" Han Xun landed before them and asked casually.

Song Cong and Su Zhaohui curiously looked at the person in Han Xun's arms.

When they saw his face, both of them froze.

Then, immense joy spread across their faces as they exchanged a glance.

"It's Lu Yuan?!"

They had entered the Secret Realm this time precisely to find Lu Yuan.

Seeing Lu Yuan unharmed, a great weight was lifted from their hearts.

Su Zhaohui was already beginning to fantasize about the "immense fortune" that was soon to come.

"You know him?" Han Xun was somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected his casual question to coincidentally be directed at people who were acquainted with the individual.

"Yes!" Song Cong and Su Zhaohui, their faces beaming, were about to tell Han Xun about Lu Yuan's identity and, incidentally, thank Mr. Han for his rescue.

Mr. Han is truly a great person! A Four-winged Bear Level expert, rescuing someone he happened upon and personally carrying him back...

But before they could speak, Han Xun's next casual remark made them both freeze on the spot.

"It was this person who quelled the Evil Energy surge this time."

Lu Yuan... quelled the SSS-level Evil Energy surge...

???

Countless question marks erupted in Song Cong's and Su Zhaohui's minds. Their joyful expressions froze, and their bodies stiffened as if they had collectively been struck by some Petrification Curse.

Lu Yuan was still immersed in the unfinished memory scenes.

But this time... the perspective had shifted again.

A meteorite pierced the sky and, with a BOOM, landed in a field, creating a massive crater.

In its center lay a giant black egg.

Tens of thousands of crows gathered as the black egg emitted surging Black Qi, which spread in all directions.

Soon, the egg cracked open.

From it emerged a strange crow with seven or eight eyes on its head.

When the deformed crow was born, the surrounding flock revered it as if it were their king, guarding it closely.

The crow flapped its wings and took flight, spewing even more black Death Qi from its beak.

Its body seemed connected to the Netherworld, endlessly spewing Death Qi.

As it spewed, its body paradoxically grew larger.

In a single day, it swelled to the size of a village.

The number of eyes on its face also increased to a hundred.

It began to fly towards the sunrise.

Along its path, village after village, city after city, countless living beings were swallowed by Death Qi, becoming slaves of the Netherworld.

The crow's body grew ever larger, and the eyes upon it multiplied and increased in size.

In the end, with a mere unfurling of its wings, the entire Ancient Brent Kingdom was shrouded beneath its shadow.

The radiance of the sun, moon, and stars abandoned this land, which became utterly a domain of the dead.

By now, the crow, which had grown nine hundred ninety-nine eyes, seemed to have completed the mission of its birth.

It began to fly back in the direction from which it had come.

It spread its wings, its black feathers merged with the night, carrying away the world's last vestiges of life and light.

It flew higher and higher.

Just as it was about to completely break free from this world's barrier, preparing to journey to an eternal, unknown realm of death, an arrow of pure white light suddenly appeared out of the void. It traversed an infinite distance...

「ps:」

I've calculated, and as of yesterday, the 12 chapter updates for the double monthly tickets and Alliance Lord bonuses in October have all been completed. All that's left is the hundred updates for the Nuan Yang patron. I'll continue to work on those slowly; the patron hasn't rushed me. Lastly, please vote with your monthly tickets! Thank you all!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.