Outside Henghai Provincial City.

At the Hulao Mountain Base, inside the command room, everyone stood before the window. Their eyes welled with tears as they watched the transport aircraft disappear into the sky.

Tears slid down Lin Jianlong's cheeks as he suddenly clenched his fists. "This," he said with powerful conviction, "is what a true dragon looks like!"

He suddenly shouted, "Zhang Yi!"

"Present!"

"Use your Spirit Martial Markings to assist the aircraft with their targeting!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Yi sat before a screen and put on her headphones. Only her Spirit Martial Markings, activated by touching the ground, could penetrate the suppression over Henghai Provincial City and lock onto the precise location of the altar. She had also left her markings on the departing aircraft, allowing her to provide remote assistance and command.

"Thunderhawk, report your coordinates. Respond when you receive this!"

"Thunderhawk copies. Current coordinates are north latitude… east longitude… Report complete!"

"Command center copies!"

"Swan, report your coordinates. Respond when you receive this!"

"Swan copies!"

...

The entirety of Henghai Provincial City was suppressed by Dragon Qi, and the resulting golden light was blinding. From high above, one could only see a golden ocean, and nothing else. Therefore, the aircraft had to rely on Zhang Yi's Spirit Martial Markings for positioning.

As time went by, under Zhang Yi's remote guidance, the first aircraft smoothly arrived and hovered directly above the altar.

Inside the aircraft, the soldiers were all pale, their bodies trembling at the thought of what was to come. Yet as the bay doors at the bottom swung open, they felt the vast and surging Dragon Qi from below. The soldiers relaxed, filled with nothing but a fiery ardor.

"Brother, you first, or me?"

"Heh… let me go first."

"Brother, if there's a next life… let's be actual brothers."

"Deal."

With tears in his eyes, a soldier walked slowly toward the open bay doors. Each step he took was heavy. The cold wind that gusted into the cabin whipped across his face, drawing out hot tears and stirring his endless longing.

"I am Zhang Pingwei, Number 96, Group 45, Dongping Township, Tangchuan Town, Longtian County, Shuzhou."

"Grandma, Grandpa, your grandson has been unfilial. I will repay the kindness of raising me in the next life!"

As everyone watched, Zhang Pingwei leaped with tears in his eyes, plunging into the golden ocean below.

Immediately after, another soldier stepped forward.

"I am Li Tao, Number 21, Third Alley, Flying Dragon Street, Sea City… To my wife, I'm sorry. I had a duty to fulfill and couldn't wait outside the delivery room for you. I'll love our child whether it's a boy or a girl. Please, take good care of them!"

"I am Zhu Xincheng, from White Mountain Village... Mom, Dad, your son has been unfilial!"

"I am Liu Jiangwen, from Liu Village, An County… Mom, Dad, take care of yourselves. I'll be your son again in the next life!"

"I am Mao Linlin, from Qiu Village… Xiaowan, if I could do it all over again, I would have held your hand. That 88,000-yuan betrothal gift wasn't expensive at all. I'm gone now… please find a good man and marry him!"

"I am Zhao Danxin, from the Capital… May this prosperous era unfold as I have wished!"

...

At the Hulao Mountain Base, inside the command room, everyone listening to the voices through their headphones was moved to tears.

Lin Xiyue said, "Your voices will be remembered for ten thousand generations!"

"Mommy, those uncles and aunties… why are they doing that?" Lin Shanshan suddenly reached out with her small hand, grabbed the corner of Lin Xiyue's clothes, and looked up to ask.

Lin Xiyue wiped away her tears and smiled. "They're doing this so that you can grow up safe and healthy."

Lin Shanshan said, "Then when I grow up, I want to be just like them!"

Lin Jianlong suddenly added, "But the reason they are doing this is precisely so that you won't have to be like them when you grow up."

At that moment, in a corner of the command room, Yaya reached up with her little hand to wipe away her tears. She then quietly turned and slipped out of the room.

Qin Xiaodou, you're my best friend.

There's no way I'm letting you die!

...

The transport aircraft flew back and forth, carrying batch after batch of soldiers toward that dazzling sky. From a distance, one could see countless figures falling like raindrops into the golden ocean over Henghai Provincial City.

They went forth, never to return.

They advanced, never to retreat.

At this moment, on the altar, the Celestial Being looked up at the blood-colored hourglass in mid-air. His face, shrouded in a hazy aura, gradually turned unsightly. As more and more Hua Country soldiers willingly sacrificed themselves, the sand in the hourglass had begun to flow again. Now, only a tiny bit remained.

Once the last grain of sand fell, it would signify the end of the blood sacrifice. The end of the blood sacrifice would mark the birth of a new god in the world.

He had never imagined that these ants from the Lower Realm would choose to oppose him in such a manner.

"Netherworld Empress, what is the point of this?"

Di Xuanji's calm voice echoed through The Void. "As the ants you see us as, our only weapons against you are our unity and our fearlessness in the face of sacrifice."

Hearing this, the Celestial Being suddenly laughed. "But your sacrifices are meaningless. Originally, I thought this ancient world might still be of some use, so I was reluctant to destroy it. But now, I've changed my mind."

Di Xuanji replied, "We are not afraid of destruction, nor can we ever be truly destroyed."

The Celestial Being's voice grew grim. "We'll see how long your Dragon Qi can suppress me!"

...

A long time passed.

At the Hulao Mountain Base, inside the command room, Zhang Yi looked gravely at the others. "They've all jumped," she said, "but my Spirit Martial Markings sense that the hourglass still needs a little more."

Lin Jianlong suddenly strode out of the command room.

Everyone stared in disbelief at his retreating figure.

"I am Lin Jianlong, Number 2, Group 37, Baoqiu Lin Family Village, Capital City."

"May my Eastern Hua Country endure and prosper for a thousand generations."

"May the people of Hua Country live and work in peace and contentment, in safety and in joy."

...

Luo Xiu felt as if centuries had passed.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing upon a blood-red ocean. The nine blood chains that had been entwined around him had disappeared without a trace.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down at the sanguine sea below. Countless figures were struggling and wailing within it. Their features were indistinct and constantly twisting, like tormented souls suffering in purgatory.

Dream and Asura appeared beside Luo Xiu. "The Divine Soul is now complete," they said. "Now, it is time for you to decide whether to draw the sword."

As Dream and Asura finished speaking, a flood of images rushed into Luo Xiu's mind. In those images were faces he recognized: figure after figure descending from the sky, rushing toward him without hesitation before falling into the blood-red sea.

With tears in his eyes, Luo Xiu asked, "Why?"

Dream and Asura said, "I have come to realize that this world isn't so bad after all. It has its beautiful side, and reasons worthy of protection. But if you wish to protect this world, you must become its god."

"However, Luo Xiu, if you draw the sword to become a god and fuse with me, you will obliterate your humanity and be dominated by your divine nature."

"As Asura, you must slaughter without end!"

"So, are you willing to become Asura?"

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