A flash of black fire engulfed Ji Tongzhou’s body, instantly incinerating the orb of the golden water dragon’s roar. He stood in the courtyard, looking at Ye Ye and the others one by one.
His friends never flattered him with empty praise or catered to him with subservience. When happy, they laughed together; when he made mistakes, they criticized him without mercy. They were the vibrant colors of his naive youth. However, when the world bared its fangs at him, only supreme power could be eternal.
He had already fallen into the deepest part of the inferno. He could only protect himself and what little he had left by any means necessary. Whether Xuan Shanzi’s actions were intentional or not no longer mattered. He couldn’t let go or retreat, lest his flames be extinguished by the long passage of time. Perhaps one day, even his hatred would vanish without a trace.
By then, he would truly have nothing left.
Ji Tongzhou opened his mouth, speaking slowly, word by word: “I’ll say this one last time. Leave quickly. Everything in the State of Yue is none of your concern. I don’t need you getting involved.”
Ye Ye stared at him for a long time before finally turning to grab Bai Li Changyue’s arm. “… Let’s go.”
Changyue shook off his hand. This usually quiet girl rarely showed her sharp side, but now she gave a cold smirk. “We leave, and you can sell out Xiao Bang Chui without worry?”
Bai Li Gelin urgently said, “Sister! Don’t say that! How could he?”
Bai Li Changyue spoke calmly, “Only we six experienced what happened that day. Originally, I didn’t believe any of us would have leaked the information. However, when passing through Lu Gong Town, I overheard some Dragon Name Seat disciples complaining about Wuyue Palace’s interference. I didn’t understand their meaning at the time, but seeing the Prince’s unusual attitude, I began to comprehend. What Gelin just said further confirmed my deduction.”
After she finished speaking, the courtyard fell into dead silence. Bai Li Changyue gazed directly into Ji Tongzhou’s deep eyes and continued, “When I mentioned Xiao Bang Chui, your heartbeat became very loud. That’s the sound of a guilty conscience. I never imagined you would be the one to betray her. Was that letter written to the Wuyue Palace Immortal? Did you intend to use Xiao Bang Chui’s master to lure her out? Are you trying to force her to her death?”
The courtyard remained silent. Ye Ye could no longer contain himself and shouted, “Tongzhou! Say something!”
Ji Tongzhou replied coldly, “Absurd.”
“Fine, whether it’s true or not,” Ye Ye stepped forward quickly, his palms suddenly closing together as a silent ice cage formed around Ji Tongzhou, “you’re coming with us now. I won’t let you out until you tell us the truth.”
Just as he was about to lift the ice cage with Ji Tongzhou inside, Bai Li Changyue suddenly cried out, “Watch out!”
Thick black flames roared out of the ice cage, crashing down like a tidal wave. Everyone felt as if the heat would melt the skin off their faces. With nowhere to hide, they could only fly up high, only to be blocked by the spirit net above the prince’s mansion. For a moment, everyone was both flustered and alarmed.
In the next instant, Ji Tongzhou slowly drew the black flames back into his palm. The ice cage had long since vanished. He lowered his head to gaze at the flickering flame in his palm, silent for a long while.
Ye Ye angrily said, “Ji Tongzhou, how are your actions any different from a coward’s?! Can you live with the peace bought by betraying your friends?!”
Ji Tongzhou laughed once, then spoke, “If we switched places, and today it was Gaul about to be destroyed, what would you do?”
Ye Ye replied proudly, “Gaul has long been destroyed! I’m standing here now, at least my future is righteous and aboveboard! Don’t compare yourself to me!”
“Indeed, you shouldn’t compare yourself to me. We were never the same kind of person. You have your righteousness, and I have my desperate struggle to protect.”
“Ridiculous!” Ye Ye glared at him. “Your desperate struggle involves betraying Li Fei?”
Ji Tongzhou calmly replied, “To me, there’s no such thing as betrayal. I’m simply choosing the most powerful path to protect my country. At this moment, everything here is my top priority. All else is dispensable. Your accusations are meaningless.”
Ye Ye silently looked at him for a very long time before finally saying softly, “As your friends, we can only accompany you this far. Stay here alone and guard your kingdom well!”
The group landed in the courtyard and turned to leave. Ji Tongzhou watched their retreating figures without a word. Heaven and earth, clouds and sun, all seemed to turn black and white in an instant. Those vibrant colors receded like the tide, rapidly fading from view.
Another portion of the sand he held slipped through his fingers. He could only clench his fist tighter, and tighter still.
In a flash, the situation changed dramatically. Ji Tongzhou suddenly felt a cold light before his eyes as another ice cage trapped him. Ye Ye and the others, who had just stepped out of the courtyard, had inexplicably returned. Ye Ye shouted, “Changyue! Dragon Binding Chain!”
Dragon Binding Chain?! Ji Tongzhou felt a flash of white light around him and immediately dodged. The Xuanhua Fire raged out ferociously, devouring the ice cage in the blink of an eye. Everyone flew up again to avoid the sea of flames. Black fire waves rolled in the courtyard, obscuring Ji Tongzhou from view. Ye Ye whispered, “Changyue, can you hear where he is?”
Bai Li Changyue had already thrown out the Dragon Binding Chain, but it dissipated upon hitting the sea of flames. Ji Tongzhou’s cold voice came from within the black fire: “Since you don’t want to leave, then stay!”
Everyone felt the Xuanhua Fire beneath their feet growing higher and higher, with the spirit net blocking their escape above. Ye Ye quickly erected an ice wall, but suddenly his vision blurred. With a “bang,” the ice wall shattered as a figure crashed through it. Bai Li Changyue, hearing Ji Tongzhou’s movements, threw out another Dragon Binding Chain. The immortal technique spread over Ji Tongzhou’s black flames but was dispersed again. She was shocked to see a curling blade of black flame silently lashing toward her, ignoring all defensive immortal techniques. Her wrist tightened as the flame blade wrapped around her arm. The black fire seared her skin, and even she couldn’t help but cry out in pain before being yanked down by a great force.
Seeing Changyue fall, everyone panicked. Various high-level immortal techniques were cast in chaos. Bai Li Gelin threw out all the beast-controlling talismans he had, and the cry of the oriole spirit nearly shattered the entire prince’s mansion. Lu Li tossed out a light blue talisman that transformed into a giant sea turtle, spewing countless streams of spirit-infused water from its mouth. But it did not affect the black flames.
He frowned, hesitating for a moment before reaching for his last talisman. Suddenly, he felt several flower petals brush past his face. Dark clouds suddenly gathered over the prince’s mansion, and a fierce north wind howled. Large snowflakes fell like cotton being torn apart. In just moments, the entire prince’s mansion was frozen in extremely thick ice, even trapping the raging Xuanhua Fire within. The two forces seemed to be battling, each waxing and waning against the other.
Ji Tongzhou slowly emerged from behind an ice mountain where Xuanhua Fire still flickered inside. He held Bai Li Changyue by the throat, rendering her immobile. She cried out urgently, “Don’t mind me! Use the Dragon Binding Chain!”
If the person restraining her had been any enemy, everyone here would have unhesitatingly thrown out the Dragon Binding Chain. But this person was Ji Tongzhou, once a close friend. To go to such lengths against him – they couldn’t help but fall silent, hesitating.
Ji Tongzhou looked up at the group hovering in the air. Ye Ye was protected behind Bai Li Gelin, eyes closed in concentration as he maintained the seal. Sustaining this high-level water immortal technique, the Ice of Great Desolation was extremely taxing for him. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was gradually turning pale – he was gritting his teeth to endure.
He then looked at Bai Li Gelin, Su Wan, Lu Li, and Bai Li Changyue in his grasp. Each of them was watching him warily, like an enemy. As he gazed at them, he began to laugh. The broken laughter sounded intermittently for a while before he said softly, “A sudden attack? Why?”
Bai Li Gelin said coldly, “You don’t know the reason? Did you think we would allow you to continue harming Li Fei?!”
Ji Tongzhou nodded slowly, “I understand. No need to say more.”
He gently tossed Bai Li Changyue away, and in the next moment, he was caught in the Dragon Binding Chain. Several chains bound him tightly, sealing off all spiritual energy. He stared intently at Ye Ye’s pale face, a mocking smile appearing. “How long can you hold out?”
He slowly drew the sword at his waist, black flame blades dancing and climbing from the hilt. With a gentle wave, they extended and curled like soft snakes.
“I never imagined this day would come.” A hint of sadness flashed in Ji Tongzhou’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared. “I’ve always been holding back. Having a real fight with you all might not be so bad.”
Before he finished speaking, Ji Tongzhou vanished from the courtyard. Bai Li Gelin felt a chill in her heart. She had just erected an earth barrier to protect the three of them when she sensed a figure flash beside her. She instinctively covered her face, and suddenly felt intense pain on her right side as the Xuanhua Fire licked away a patch of her clothes. Ji Tongzhou kicked her shoulder, sending her flying down. Lu Li was about to save her when he saw black fire suddenly leap before his eyes. He hurriedly dodged, but a hand had already reached out from behind the black fire, grabbing his collar.
The black fire burned his chest, the pain making his hair stand on end. The earth barrier was incinerated in the blink of an eye. Lu Li cried out in pain as he too was kicked hard to the ground, landing beside Bai Li Gelin. Black fire sprang up from where they landed, trapping them both like a cage of flames.
At this moment, Ye Ye’s spiritual energy was finally exhausted. The countless ice mountains in the prince’s mansion vanished into nothingness, and the Xuanhua Fire that had been trapped within now burned even more fiercely. Flames licked at the mist beneath Ye Ye’s feet. He was breathing heavily, saying nothing but staring at Ji Tongzhou.
A black flame blade wrapped around his waist, yanking him down from the clouds. Another fire cage appeared in the courtyard.
In less than a quarter of an hour, he had subdued four out of five people. Su Wan, who had been anxiously watching from the side, was completely frozen. She was still at the second bottleneck in her cultivation and couldn’t intervene in this battle of immortal techniques. Seeing Ji Tongzhou walking towards Ye Ye, she quietly reached into her bosom for a letter paper.
Biting her fingertip, she took advantage of Ji Tongzhou’s inattention and had just written a line to her master when she suddenly felt a grip on the back of her neck. Ji Tongzhou had appeared beside her without warning, gripping her vital point.