Download Subtitles for I Was Betrayed by My 9 Empresses Manhwa

I gouged out my own eyes and gave them

to my little sister just to keep her

alive. But after she became an emperor,

she teamed up with nine other emperor

realm cultivators and [music] sealed me

inside the reincarnation seal, slowly

refining me to death. Right before I

died, the reincarnation seal projected

every memory of my entire life. At that

moment, every righteous cultivator had

gathered around the reincarnation seal.

Even though I was already sealed inside,

nobody could relax until they watched me

completely wiped out. After [music] all,

I was the one and only Heaven Earth

Supreme Cultivator in the world. That's

when a man stepped forward and said,

"The reincarnation seal is an ancient

divine artifact. Give it 3 days and

it'll refine him completely."

That man was Wang Teng,

>> [music]

>> the leader of the righteous alliance. It

was his sneak attack that got me sealed

inside the reincarnation seal in the

first place.

>> [music]

>> As Wang Teng finished speaking, my body

inside the seal slowly began to break

down. But in the next second, my figure

vanished completely from within the

reincarnation seal.

>> [music]

>> Everyone panicked. "What's going on?

Can't even an ancient divine artifact

hold down the Heaven Earth Emperor?"

While everyone else was losing it, Wang

Teng just smiled calmly.

"Relax, [music] everyone. When the

reincarnation seal refines someone, it

replaces that person's entire life.

Right now, it's just showing the Heaven

Earth Emperor's past, that's all.

This actually proves he's being refined

as we speak." Everyone breathed a sigh

of relief.

Meanwhile, I had just arrived in this

body. I figured being the Heaven Earth

Emperor meant I could just live it up.

But after merging all the memory

fragments, I was absolutely floored. I'd

been sealed away by the chosen one and

his righteous alliance, locked inside

this reincarnation seal. [music] 3 days

and I'd be completely erased. This was

literally the worst starting hand

possible. I had to go through the merged

memory fragments fast and find a way

out. Outside the reincarnation seal,

Wang Teng said coolly, "Why don't we all

take this chance to see exactly what

dirty things the Heaven Earth Emperor

has done?"

A lot of people were on board. But at

that moment, Ning Bing, the Ice Empress,

was about to leave, planning to come

back after 3 days. Her name was Bai Ning

Bing, the Heaven Earth Emperor's own

little sister. Wang Teng smiled and

said, "Ning Bing, you of all people

should watch this.

The only way for us cultivators to grow

is to face the nightmares we've [music]

been running from."

Then the Empress Consort flew over to

Bai Ning Bing. "Little sister, just

watch.

I'll watch with you. Wang Teng has a

point. This nightmare has haunted us

long enough. It's time to face it

head-on."

Wang Teng's eyes burned as he stared at

the two of them, then swept his gaze

across the other empresses. Before all

this, he never even had the guts to look

any of the nine empresses in the eye.

But now the Heaven Earth Emperor was

sealed. "Once he's fully refined, I'll

take his place as the new Heaven Earth

Emperor. And then, I'll take all nine of

these empresses as my imperial

consorts." Inside the seal, I was

starting to feel hopeless.

>> [music]

>> Even with my insane cultivation level,

there was no breaking out of the

reincarnation seal from within.

So, my eyes landed on the nine empresses

in the hall. These were once the people

closest to me. The only way out was to

get them back on my side and have them

break the seal. [music] That was my only

shot. Since the reincarnation seal shows

the refined person's past, I figured I'd

tweak it a little and project the edited

version onto the seal.

>> [music]

>> I grew up reading dramatic revenge

novels, so I wasn't going to stop until

all 10 empresses were sobbing and

begging for my forgiveness or or my name

isn't mine. But I couldn't go too

overboard with the edits, just some

subtle tweaks. [music]

I zeroed in on Bai Ning Bing first. She

was the Heaven Earth Emperor's sister,

the first person to ever know him.

And on top of that, childhood memories

are always fuzzy. Bai Ning Bing wouldn't

remember clearly.

That made it way easier to flip her to

my side. So, the reincarnation seal lit

up with a scene that played out in front

of everyone in the hall. In the image

was a peaceful little fishing village

tucked in the mountains. A family of

three sat eating around a rough wooden

table. The father was a rugged, broad,

middle-aged man and the mother was a

gentle, soft-spoken woman. Her belly was

visibly swollen, clearly pregnant again.

And the little 5-year-old boy at the

table was the Heaven Earth Emperor as a

child. Watching the scene in the

reincarnation seal, Bai Ning Bing

murmured, "Wait, are those my parents?"

She had had zero memory of her parents

since [music] the day she was born. "Ah,

son, your mother's about to give birth.

Do you want a little brother or a little

sister?" "I want a little sister.

Little Hu next door always brags about

how sweet and well-behaved his little

sister is.

So, yeah, I want a little sister, too.

I've been reading tons of books in town,

already picked out a name, Ning Bing."

Nobody in the hall saw that coming. The

Ning Bing Empress's name was personally

chosen by the Heaven Earth Emperor

himself. Thinking about the fact that

her name came from him, Bai Ning Bing

suddenly felt disgusted by her own name.

"After breakfast, I went out fishing

with my father. With his practiced

skill, he pulled up five eels. I carried

them into town and sold them for a few

copper coins, then headed straight to

the bookshop I'd been dying to visit.

Over that year, I picked up a ton of

knowledge and I learned about the world

of cultivation. Rumor had it that

powerful cultivators could actually fly

on swords. In one ancient book, I

learned about the Heavenly Eye in the

Supreme Realm. Legend had it that anyone

born with a Heavenly Eye would

eventually be unbeatable." At that, a

flash of pain crossed Bai Ning Bing's

eyes. "Just for the sake of being

unbeatable someday, he had the heart to

steal my Heavenly Eye?

The young Heaven Earth Emperor must have

learned about the Heavenly Eye and let

greed take [music] over, which is why he

took the Ning Bing Empress's Heavenly

Eye later on. The sun was setting. I

finished reading and happily headed back

to the village. But the moment I got

there, I froze at what I saw. Bodies

were scattered all over the village.

>> [music]

>> Even the lake had turned red. When I got

home, it only got worse. My father and

mother were both collapsed on the

ground. My mother, the baby inside her

never made it out. It died in the womb."

That scene sent shockwaves through the

entire righteous alliance watching from

outside. "This doesn't add up at all. If

Bai Ning Bing was never born, then where

did the Ning Bing Empress come from?"

Nobody could make sense of it. Bai Ning

Bing stood [music] frozen, mind

completely blank.

In the scene, I was sobbing my heart

out. "Everything was fine just this

morning. I'd even picked out a name for

my little sister. And now it all felt

like a lifetime ago."

"Run!" My father forced his eyes open,

using every last bit of strength he had

[music] to push out those few words.

"Watch out for Yellow Eddy."

Then he was gone. I didn't run right

away. I knelt and kowtowed three times

to my parents' bodies, then searched the

village for survivors. [music] Watching

the brutal scene play out, the Sword God

Empress burned with rage inside. "You

went through the same thing and your

whole village wiped out. So, why did you

still massacre my entire Sword God

clan?" Once I confirmed there were no

other survivors, I grabbed the little

food we had left

>> [music]

>> and bolted up into the mountains. The

deep forest was full of dangerous

beasts. Even grown adults didn't dare go

in, but I used everything I'd learned

hunting with my father, pushing through

the pain of thorn cuts, and survived 3

days and 3 nights up there.

By the end, my tears had all dried up.

What came out of my eyes was blood.

When the food finally ran out, I decided

to head to town and lay low, waiting for

the day I could get my revenge. But I

found that the entire town had been

wiped out, too. Same way my parents were

killed. And it wasn't just the town, all

the villages nearby had been hit, too.

>> [music]

>> I went back and made a grave for my

parents. After bowing my respects, I

couldn't stay. I had to go because at

that point, something like a curse

seemed to have taken hold of the area.

All the food had shriveled up and gone

rotten.

I grabbed my father's hunting tools and

his bow and headed toward the mountains.

When I was thirsty, I picked wild

berries. When I was hungry, I hunted. At

first, I was pretty rough at hunting,

but I gradually figured it out. When I

reached the other side [music] of the

forest, I ran into a massive white

tiger. Size-wise, I had zero chance.

After struggling for a while, I

collapsed on the ground, completely

spent. [music]

The white tiger lunged at me with its

jaws wide open. As my vision started to

blur, one thought burned inside me. I

have to survive. Fueled by that raw will

to live, my left eye's pupil split in

two right then and there. A massive

surge of pressure [music] exploded from

my body. The Heavenly Eye had awakened.

The entire righteous alliance erupted

again. None of them expected the Heaven

Earth Emperor to have already had a

Heavenly Eye. The Heavenly Eye alone was

already an unbeatable path.

>> [music]

>> And Bai Ning Bing cried out in

disbelief.

"You already had the Heavenly Eye. So,

why did you still come and take mine?"

At that, Wang Teng stepped forward

[music] again to spin it against the

Heaven Earth Emperor.

"Everyone, pay attention. He only has

the Heavenly Eye in one eye, not both.

He must have noticed that the Ning Bing

Empress had the Heavenly Eye in one eye

and let that corrupt him.

He wanted to complete [music] the dual

Heavenly Eye and become truly

unbeatable."

Once the Heavenly Eye activated, I could

see the white tiger's movements had

slowed down to almost nothing. A single

roll was enough to dodge the tiger's

attack. Though at the time, I had no

idea that was the Heavenly Eye ability

kicking in. So, the next time the white

tiger lunged at me, I hit a low slide

and went right under it. My chopper

drove straight into the tiger's belly

[music] and ripped open a long gash

across its stomach. The white tiger let

out one final roar and went still

forever. I went to the lake to wash off

the blood. Then through the reflection

in the water, I caught a glimpse of my

left eye's pupil and realized I had

awakened. The very thing the ancient

book described, [music] the Heavenly

Eye. I broke down crying. "Dad, Mom,

your deaths will be avenged." Over the

next few days, I made a coat out of the

white tiger's hide and dried its meat

[music] for food. One night, I suddenly

heard voices, so I hid and watched. A

man and a woman rushed past carrying

something in their arms. I could faintly

make out what they were saying. "Just

leave this [music] little burden right

here.

Let it fend for itself. Come on, let's

go, let's go." What a curse.

They dropped what they were carrying and

hurried off.

It was pitch black out. I couldn't make

out either of their faces, but the baby

girl wrapped in that bundle, I could see

her clear as day. The baby started

bawling. I rushed over and picked her

up. The second I did, she stopped

crying. She was just [music] blinking

and giggling at me. I couldn't

understand it. Why would her own parents

just throw her away? But then she

started crying again. That's when I

remembered what the adults used [music]

to say, "A full belly means no more

tears." But we were out in the middle of

nowhere. Where was I going to find milk?

So, I steeled myself and bit down hard

on my own finger. Blood started pouring

out instantly. I [music] held my finger

up to her mouth and she instinctively

started sucking on it. The crying

finally stopped. But once the blood from

my bitten finger ran dry, she started

wailing [music] again. I quickly bit

into another finger and let her feed

again the whole night. That's the only

way I could keep her calm. [music] And

me? I was visibly drained. Watching the

scene play out, Bai Ning Bing felt a

storm of emotions. If that baby was her,

>> [music]

>> then she owed Tiandi her life. I held

the baby and made my way to a small

village at the foot of the mountain. I

told the village chief everything that

happened. The old chief sent someone to

notify the other villagers. Not long

after, a man and a woman showed up.

>> [music]

>> They immediately broke down sobbing and

screaming. "My baby, my baby!"

I looked at them, confused, and said,

"Hold on.

Last night, weren't you two the ones who

threw this child away?" The moment I

said that, they both flipped out like

I'd stepped on their tails. "She's our

own flesh and blood." "Exactly. What

kind of parent throws away their own

daughter?" I wasn't 100% sure it was

them, but after hesitating for a moment,

I handed the baby over. The sun was

setting. I was getting ready to leave

and explore further out. But before I

left, [music] I decided to swing by

their place and check on things. And

just as I got to the window, I suddenly

heard the baby crying again, along with

the man's irritated voice. "This brat

never stops crying. I'm trying to sleep

here. That kid's gone now, anyway. Why

don't we just dump her again?" Then the

woman's voice cut in. "What if some nosy

person brings her back again? Why don't

we just sell her? We could sell her to

another village as a child bride."

That's when I kicked the door wide open.

"How dare you call yourselves parents?"

I already had my woodcutter's blade and

bow [music] in hand. The man didn't even

flinch. "She came for me. I'll do

whatever I want with her." I clenched my

fist and said coldly, [music] "Didn't

you say you wanted to sell her? Fine,

I'll buy her." The man and woman looked

at me in disbelief. "You buy her?

You're just a little kid. You got

money?" I told them to wait and sprinted

up the [music] mountain. Scared

something might go wrong. I dragged the

white tiger's carcass all the way back

to their doorstep.

"This white tiger, is that enough for

[music] you?" The woman was thrilled

saying, "Yes, yes, yes." But the man got

greedy. "Not enough. Throw in that tiger

skin coat you're wearing, too." Once he

grabbed the coat, he finally handed the

baby over. "This worthless girl is yours

now. From now on, she's your child

bride. Do whatever you want with her." I

carefully took her in my arms. She

stopped crying [music] immediately and

broke into the cutest little smile. Then

I carried her off and disappeared into

the night. "I've got no home and neither

do you.

From this day forward, we only have each

other. We're never splitting up." That's

when I remembered I'd always told my dad

I wanted a little sister. So I looked at

her with the softest [music] expression

and said, "Starting today, you are my

little sister. As long as I have food to

eat, you will never go hungry. As long

as I'm around, nobody's ever going to

mess with you. From now on, your [music]

name is Bai Ningbing." At that moment,

everyone in the alliance finally

understood that baby girl was none other

than Empress Ningbing.

>> [music]

>> Some people even started thinking that

Empress Ningbing owed Tiandi a massive

debt. Not blood related, but closer than

family. Then Bai Ningbing spoke up

quietly. "Tiandi saved my life. I owe

him that. Once all of this is over, I'll

go into closed door seclusion and never

set foot in this world again." After

putting distance between us and that

village, I found a safe spot and fell

asleep holding little Ningbing. When I

woke up the next morning, I headed

toward the next village. The most urgent

thing right now was figuring out how to

feed Ningbing. She could basically only

drink milk. She couldn't eat anything

else yet. By evening, I reached the next

[music] village. There were plenty of

cattle and sheep there, but I was

worried that animal milk might not be

good for Ningbing. I asked around

everywhere, but couldn't find a nursing

mother. So I kept going, checked three

more villages. [music]

Finally, I found a nursing mother who

fit the bill, but she had conditions.

>> [music]

>> She'd only nurse Ningbing if I brought

her something in exchange. So from that

point on, I went hunting up in the

mountains every single [music] day,

trading meat so she'd feed Ningbing.

That went on for a long time. I used to

be chubby and well-fed, but all that

running and hunting wore me down to

nothing. But whenever I saw little

Ningbing's cheeks getting rosier each

day, I thought, "Yeah, it's worth it."

Some villagers felt bad watching [music]

me. They suggested I just get rid of

Ningbing. I shut that down immediately.

She's my sister. As long as I have food,

>> [music]

>> she will never go hungry.

No matter what, I will never leave her.

The woman who nursed little Ningbing

wasn't [music] completely cold-hearted,

either. Seeing how thin I was getting,

she eased up on her terms a bit, which

took [music] a little pressure off me.

Then one day, not long after, little

Ningbing said her first word. "Dada."

"Dada." That's what little Ningbing

called me in her tiny little [music]

voice. I was thrilled, but immediately

corrected her. "It's big brother." But

she just kept calling me dada. After

correcting her again and again, she

finally made some progress. This time

she said, "Gege." Bro. Well, it came out

more like guo guo, [music]

but hey, progress is progress. Under my

teaching after that, little Ningbing's

vocabulary kept growing.

"Horsey, horsey."

Whatever little Ningbing wanted, I made

it happen. Eventually, by saving up

every coin from selling meat, I managed

to get us an old abandoned house in the

village. We finally had a home, just the

two of us. But it also meant I was

malnourished for a long time. Compared

to kids my age, I was seriously

underweight. At this point, murmuring

broke out among the crowd watching the

memory. Got to say, young Tiandi was

incredibly good to Empress Ningbing. In

a way, Empress Ningbing was basically

Tiandi's child bride. But then, when

they caught the look in Bai Ningbing's

eyes, nobody dared say another word. And

Bai Ningbing was asking herself

internally, "Back then, was I really his

child bride? Then why did you change

later on?" Once Ningbing got a little

older, I started taking her along on

hunts, but only to the safer areas. You

can't just stay in the village forever.

She needed to see the world and she was

old enough to start eating some meat,

too. But since I've been hunting here so

often, I nearly wiped out all the game

on this mountain. [music] So the two of

us would sometimes go days with one meal

and nothing the next. The only fruit in

the mountains was basically papaya.

So growing up, little Ningbing ate a ton

of papaya.

>> [music]

>> Right then, the people in the righteous

alliance thought of a certain benefit of

papaya, but none of them dared glance

over at Ningbing, [music] the Empress.

Bai Ningbing instinctively looked down

at herself and yeah, it actually worked.

Just like that, five or six years flew

by. Little Ningbing and I had both grown

up. I was 11 now. One day, same as

always, I took little Ningbing out to

hunt. Suddenly, I picked up a dangerous

scent in the air. In the distance, a

pack of wolves [music] was attacking a

young boy. He looked about my age. I

picked off three wolves from a distance

with my bow. With my spirit eye ability

and thanks to all my experience, I took

out the whole pack, but the boy had

already been mauled unconscious. I

didn't even bother collecting the kills.

>> [music]

>> I carried little Ningbing in one arm and

the boy on my back and rushed home. I

used medicinal herbs to stop the

bleeding. That's when I froze because

right on his sternum was a bone covered

in glowing runes. Could this actually be

the legendary supreme bone? The ancient

texts [music] say whoever possesses this

bone can become the supreme ruler of

humanity. In that moment, everyone in

the alliance gasped. At the same time,

all eyes shifted to one particular great

emperor in the room, Tiandi's sworn

brother, Ye Shaoyao. He had [music] a

supreme bone taken from him during a

near-fatal injury and was later led by

Emperor Wang Teng to believe that Tiandi

was the one who took it.

>> [music]

>> That's why Ye Shaoyao joined the

righteous alliance. Ye Shaoyao admitted

it straight up. "That's right. The one

who saved me back then was Tiandi."

[music]

Everyone had an "Oh" moment. That

explains everything. But there was one

thing nobody could wrap their heads

around. Tiandi [music] took Ye's supreme

bone later on, so why didn't he just do

it right here? This was literally the

perfect opportunity. [music] Wang Teng

acted like he'd figured it all out and

said, "Simple.

It had to be because of the young

Empress Ningbing by Tiandi's side.

[music] Tiandi got greedy in that

moment, but young Ningbing, pure-hearted

as she was, stopped him. That's why

Tiandi held back and didn't take brother

Shaoyao's supreme bone." The crowd

agreed with Wang Teng. Only Bai Ningbing

watched without a word. She couldn't

remember much from her childhood because

young Bai Ningbing had gone through a

great tribulation. Her memories before

that were all hazy.

>> [music]

>> In the memory, young Ningbing innocently

said, "Guo guo, what's the supreme

bone?" While treating Ye Shaoyao's

[music] wounds, I gave little Ningbing a

quick explanation. "It's an incredibly

powerful bone. Whoever has it can become

the strongest [music] being in this

world." Little Ningbing didn't overthink

it. She just simply said, "Then dig it

out and give it to Guo guo.

>> [music]

>> You can be the big supreme." The entire

alliance was speechless. Everyone gave

Wang Teng a very awkward look. That's

literally Empress Ningbing stirring the

pot. Wang Teng looked embarrassed.

>> [music]

>> "Kids say the darndest things. Kids say

the darndest things." Empress Ningbing

was still little back then. She didn't

know what she was saying.

Understandable. Bai Ningbing couldn't

quite settle her emotions. She hadn't

realized she'd been the one fanning the

flames back then, pushing Tiandi to go

dig out the supreme bone. As for what

little Ningbing said, I just shook my

head. "Sis, we can't do that. No matter

how good something [music] is, if it

belongs to someone else, it's theirs.

With the spirit eye, I'm already on an

unbeatable path. No need to borrow

another man's bone." The alliance felt

the weight of those words. To think that

even as a child, Tiandi already had this

kind of conviction. [music]

No wonder he became the ruler of the

heavens. "With the spirit eye, I'm

already on an unbeatable path. No need

to borrow another man's bone." That line

hits different. You can really feel the

backbone in Tiandi. That kind of belief

and resolve, that's not something just

anyone has. To be tempted by the supreme

bone, with the perfect opportunity right

in front of you, and still hold back.

Even the people in this room couldn't

say they'd do the same. And Bai Ningbing

[music] took note of that line. Guo guo

was right. "What belongs to someone else

is theirs. I'll remember that." But the

moment she thought about Tiandi later

taking her spirit eye,

>> [music]

>> her expression went cold again. After

all that work, I finally got the

bleeding under control and patched up

the wounds as best I could. Under my

care, the boy finally came to. He

[music] looked at me and said, "You're

the one who saved me?" Yeah, that's

about all we exchanged. Then I roasted

one of the wolves and tossed him a leg.

He didn't hold back and started going to

town on it. He needed to get his

strength back fast. Once he was full,

>> [music]

>> the boy said, "I'm Ye Shaoyao. I don't

owe anybody. Name your price." I thought

about it and asked,

"Are you a cultivator?" When the wolves

had him surrounded earlier, I could tell

he had some level of power. [music]

Looked just like what the books

described as a cultivator. He nodded.

"Can you teach me to cultivate? I want

to protect my sister."

The boy shook his head. "To become a

cultivator, you have to start training

from a very young age. You're already

too late." "I want to try [music]

anyway. Even if there's just a sliver of

a chance, I'm taking it." The boy

thought for a moment and pulled out a

manual from inside his [music] coat.

"This is a cultivation technique. How

far you get with it is up to you." The

alliance took one look. This was the

most basic entry-level cultivation

manual. [music] Nobody would even bother

picking it up off the ground. But young

me and I treated it like gold. I

accepted it carefully and thanked him.

Then we exchanged names. [music]

Once his wounds were good enough, he

took off and the alliance started

buzzing. No way Tiandi made it to the

top just off this basic manual, right?

Wang Teng shouted, [music] "Impossible!

Tiandi must have had some crazy lucky

encounter later on. That's what actually

made him" Then right in front of

everyone, I opened my QIC in half a

stick of incense and entered the Qi

cultivation [music] realm. The crowd

inhaled sharply. The fastest anyone

among them had entered Qi cultivation

took three months. The full cultivation

realm breakdown [music] goes: Qi

cultivation, foundation building, golden

core, nascent soul, soul transformation,

Dao integration, tribulation crossing,

grand completion, true immortal,

immortal lord, quasi-immortal emperor,

immortal emperor, great emperor. [music]

Most ordinary people never even open

their QIC, let alone enter Qi

cultivation. Yet young Tiandi did it

easily with just a trash manual.

>> [music]

>> Trying to save face, Wang Teng spoke up

again. "That's just Tiandi's innate

natural talent. But it also means Tiandi

stepping onto the cultivation path was

all thanks to Ye Shaoyao. If he hadn't

given him that manual, Tiandi might have

just lived out a normal, ordinary life."

Then Ye Shaoyao spoke up. "Tiandi

stepping onto this path did start

[music] with me. Whatever he became

after, he was once my sworn big brother

and I took part in hunting him down.

That guilt never left me. Once this is

all done, I'll go into seclusion [music]

and stay out of the world's affairs."

Right then, someone shouted, "Look,

young Tiandi's aura is still climbing."

At that moment, in just a short time,

[music] I'd reached Qi cultivation level

six before stopping. Not because I

couldn't push further, but because I was

worried little Ningbing was hungry. I

needed to get her food. But once little

Ningbing was fed, I jumped right back

into training. As time went on, I broke

through from Qi cultivation level six

all the way to foundation building.

>> [music]

>> The alliance absolutely lost it.

Foundation building in one day. In all

of the heavens, that was unprecedented

and likely never to happen again. Many

were completely floored, but Wang Teng

still credited everything to the spirit

eye and kept throwing shade at Tiandi.

Meanwhile, Ye Xiaoyao watched all this

and felt deeply conflicted, even filled

with pain. He and Tiandi had been

genuine sworn brothers, and yet Tiandi

later ruthlessly took his supreme bone.

Big bro, was one supreme bone really

worth becoming someone like that? Ye

Xiaoyao never said those words out loud.

No one else ever knew. Even now, Ye

Xiaoyao still referred to Tiandi as big

bro, but Ye Xiaoyao let out a quiet

sigh. That big bro of his had changed

after all. In the days that followed, on

top of training myself, I also started

teaching little Ningbing to cultivate.

I've already started seeing the benefits

of cultivating. Even though I don't want

Xiao Ningbing involved in my future

revenge, it would still be good if she

could cultivate enough to protect

herself. And at that moment, everyone in

the [music] alliance got excited. The

Heavenly Emperor hit Qi condensation

overnight and foundation building the

next day. And since Ningbing Empress

also has the twin pupils, her talent

can't be far behind. Wang Teng even said

confidently, [music] "Just watch

everyone. Ningbing Empress's cultivation

speed is going to skyrocket, too. The

Heavenly Emperor only got twin pupils

out of sheer luck." Ningbing Empress's

cultivation pace might actually end up

faster than his. Everyone agreed. So, I

had Xiao Ningbing start cultivating by

the [music] manual. I didn't guide her

at first. After all, no one guided me

when I started, either. Plus, I was

worried my guidance might not suit her

and could throw her off track. Better to

let her figure it out on her own. But as

Xiao Ningbing trained on her own, forget

instantly sensing her [music] Qi Sea or

hitting Qi condensation overnight. Two

whole days passed and she hadn't felt

even a hint of her Qi Sea. "Brother,

this is so hard. Brother, can you please

just teach me?" Xiao Ningbing came to me

pretty discouraged [music] asking for

help. And right now, the most awkward

person in the alliance was Wang Teng.

Everyone was shooting him looks full of

doubt. [music]

Wang Teng cleared his throat. "Ningbing

Empress is still very young. Her mind

isn't fully developed yet.

Once someone guides her properly, her

cultivation speed will [music]

definitely catch up to the Heavenly

Emperor's."

Others thought that made sense.

Once the young Heavenly Emperor steps

in, she should be able to figure

everything out.

>> [music]

>> Looking at Xiao Ningbing asking for my

help, I thought about it, but still

didn't give her guidance right away. The

way I see it, a method you figure

[music] out yourself is always going to

beat something someone else tells you to

do. But I didn't expect it. Two more

days went by. Xiao Ningbing still

[music] couldn't tap into her Qi Sea at

all. So, I decided to teach her my own

cultivation method. "Sis, try this

approach [music] and see if it clicks

for you. If it doesn't feel right, don't

force it." Xiao Ningbing nodded

obediently. Then she practiced using my

method for several more days and still

couldn't enter a Qi Sea state. Now, the

whole alliance was completely lost. She

already had guidance at this point and

she still couldn't sense the Qi [music]

Sea. That just didn't make any sense.

When everyone's eyes turned back to Wang

Teng, he had no choice but to clear his

throat again and say,

"This has to be related to her mental

development as a child."

"Give it a few more days. Ningbing

Empress will definitely break into Qi

condensation." But what happened next

left everyone absolutely floored. A full

half year had already passed inside the

reincarnation seal, and Xiao Ningbing

still hadn't sensed [music] her Qi Sea.

Not a single bit of progress in over 6

months. At this point, her talent could

only be described as completely [music]

average. Even some random low-level

cultivators might not have worse talent

than her. With everyone [music] confused

and staring, Wang Teng put forward what

he thought was the most likely

explanation. "Everyone, there's only one

explanation for this. And that would be

Ningbing Empress hasn't awakened her

twin pupils yet. Think about it. The

Heavenly Emperor didn't awaken his twin

pupils until after his entire village

was wiped out.

And awakening the twin pupils seems to

have certain conditions."

At that moment, Bai Ningbing was also

reflecting. She only remembered

suffering a great catastrophe as a

child.

When she came to, her twin pupils power

was already awakened. As for how the

twin pupils power came about, [music]

she always assumed it just awakened on

its own once she reached a certain

point. Wang Teng ultimately landed on a

rough conclusion. "Everyone, hear me

out. I think in order to awaken the twin

pupils power, it most likely requires

being triggered [music] by intense

hatred or a life-or-death crisis." That

theory immediately got everyone's

approval. Wang Teng's breakdown was

logical and well-reasoned, truly worthy

of being the future Heavenly Emperor's

top pick. "You're too kind, everyone.

But if my theory holds up, then the

Heavenly Emperor didn't actually save

Ningbing Empress at all.

He actually got in the way of her

awakening her twin pupils [music] power.

If the Heavenly Emperor hadn't shown up,

those beasts would have found infant

Ningbing Empress.

Facing a life-or-death situation,

Ningbing Empress very likely could have

awakened her twin pupils right then and

there.

So, no matter how you look at it, the

Heavenly Emperor straight-up blocked

Ningbing Empress from becoming stronger.

Everyone fully agreed with Wang Teng's

theory. [music] They all felt the

Heavenly Emperor had held Ningbing

Empress back. Without him, she would

have achieved far more.

Maybe she could have even become the

Ningbing Heavenly Emperor.

But Bai Ningbing watched all this

feeling very uncertain. She asked

herself, "Did the Heavenly Emperor

really block me from awakening my twin

pupils?"

Bai Ningbing had a gut feeling that the

truth wasn't quite like that. In the

time that followed, Xiao Ningbing kept

failing to sense her Qi Sea. Eventually,

she gave up entirely and just quit

cultivating altogether. I was helpless,

but I didn't push her, either. If she

can't cultivate, [music] I'll just

protect her myself. In that half year,

my realm had advanced from foundation

building into golden core. Another 2

years passed and I'd climbed all the way

from golden core to peak nascent soul.

But no matter how much I trained after

that, my cultivation just stayed stuck

at peak nascent soul.

>> [music]

>> No matter how deep I dug into the

techniques, I couldn't break through

into the divine transformation stage.

That's when the stunned alliance finally

understood.

>> [music]

>> The Heavenly Emperor had only ever been

training with a basic entry-level

manual. Reaching nascent soul with that

thing was already the ceiling. There was

absolutely no path to divine

transformation. And on top of that, even

reaching peak nascent soul was only

possible in theory. In other words, the

young Heavenly Emperor had hit the limit

of the manual, not the limit of his own

potential. It was the manual holding him

back, not him. [music] It was hard to

imagine. Give him a proper manual and

who knows how far he could have gone as

a kid. Three years later, both me and

Xiao Ningbing had grown up. I was 14 and

Xiao Ningbing was now eight. "Brother,

I'm so bored. Can we go check out the

town? I heard there's a lot of fun stuff

over there."

By now, Xiao Ningbing had gotten used to

calling me brother. Every day, she'd

follow me up the mountain to hunt, then

come back to the village, [music] maybe

wander around a nearby village at most.

That lifestyle was fine at first, but

after a while, she got restless. Lately,

she'd been hearing about how fun the big

city market was and really wanted to go

see it. I figured my current strength

was enough to keep her safe. So, I

agreed. "All right, then. Let's go to

town today." The second Xiao Ningbing

heard that, she literally jumped up with

excitement. "Brother, you're the best."

Every word out of Xiao Ningbing's mouth

was pure admiration for her big brother,

[music] mixed with the joy of finally

getting to go out. Xiao Ningbing got all

dressed up, even putting on her nicest

outfit. She still looked so young and

childlike, but somehow I could already

see the breathtaking [music] beauty

she'd grow into. I took Xiao Ningbing

and flew toward the town. The moment we

got into the city, Xiao Ningbing was

completely blown away by all the buzz

and energy. "This place is so cool.

There are so many people here.

I've never seen this many people in my

life. Brother, their outfits look so

amazing, especially those people on

horseback.

Oh, brother, what's that?

Is that the opera people always talk

about?" Xiao Ningbing was gasping at

everything, wide-eyed and amazed. I just

smiled and patiently explained

everything to her. But for things I

didn't know, I'd just straight-up admit

it. "Sis, I don't know that one."

"Doesn't matter. Brother is still the

greatest. Everyone's got stuff they

don't know." Xiao Ningbing didn't care

at all. Meanwhile, watching this scene,

Bai Ningbing had her knuckles going

white from clenching so hard. She

vaguely remembered that the great

catastrophe she suffered seemed to have

[music] started here. After that, I took

Xiao Ningbing strolling through the town

without a care in the world. "Brother,

is that candied hawthorn? I want some. I

want to buy some." Xiao Ningbing already

had money on her and the moment she

spotted the vendor [music] selling

candied hawthorn, she bolted straight

toward him. "Slow down, sis." Seeing her

take off that fast, I rushed after her.

Right at that moment, high up in the sky

above the clouds, a white-browed

cultivator with cold, sinister eyes was

looking down over the entire city. His

gaze locked onto Xiao Ningbing. Didn't

expect to find someone this spiritually

gifted in such an ordinary little town.

The white-browed cultivator swept his

hand and countless young girls lost

control of their bodies, all flying up

toward the clouds. Xiao Ningbing [music]

was among them. She screamed and cried

out,

"Brother, save me."

On top of that, many parents were

screaming, too. They tried to grab their

daughters, but some invisible [music]

force sent them flying hard to the

ground. And when those parents hit the

ground, their life force just vanished

[music] completely. The scene was

absolutely brutal. I fought with

everything I had to reach Xiao Ningbing,

but that invisible force just slammed me

right back down. [music]

The white-browed cultivator was a bit

surprised. Didn't expect a small town

like this to have a peak nascent soul

cultivator, but he didn't take it

seriously. "Once I harvest the souls of

this batch of girls, my cultivation will

absolutely reach the next level. By

then, not even the tribulation lightning

can stop me."

>> [music]

>> Everyone in the alliance immediately

understood. This white-browed cultivator

was at the Dao integration stage. The

young Heavenly Emperor had absolutely no

way to fight him. And openly harvesting

young girls' souls to nourish his own,

if something like this happened today,

every cultivator out there would be

hunting him down.

>> [music]

>> At that, someone said, "Doesn't this

mean

that the Heavenly Emperor's reforms to

cultivation law after taking the throne

actually did a lot of good for the

world? At least there's way [music] less

of this kind of horror now." Wang Teng

felt the timing was right. "Everyone,

Ningbing Empress is facing a

life-or-death crisis right now.

She's definitely going to awaken her

twin pupils in this moment of danger."

Wang Teng's right. If both siblings have

twin pupils power, they might actually

be able to take on the white-browed

cultivator.

But what unfolded on screen was

absolutely heartbreaking. I was going

all out chasing after Xiao Ningbing,

burning through my vitality on pure

instinct, but the gap in power was just

too massive. I couldn't catch up no

matter what. And then I watched as Xiao

Ningbing had her soul ripped out by the

white-browed cultivator. Xiao Ningbing's

face instantly went rigid. It meant she

was gone. At that moment, the alliance

completely exploded. "What on earth just

happened?

Xiao Ningbing not only never awakened

her twin pupils, [music]

she died as a child. Then how do you

explain the Bai Ningbing standing in the

alliance right now? Having your soul

extracted means your life is completely

over. And a dead person sure can't

awaken twin pupils power." The alliance

had been expecting that in this moment

of crisis,

>> [music]

>> the young Ningbing Empress would awaken

her twin pupils and fight alongside the

young Heavenly Emperor against the

white-browed [music] cultivator. But

what actually happened left everyone

completely stumped. Wang Teng did his

best to rationalize it.

>> [music]

>> "It's probably that this white-browed

cultivator extracted Xiao Ningbing's

soul and sealed it inside [music] a

treasure, didn't fully consume it. And

later, the young Heavenly Emperor

defeated this cultivator, released

Ningbing Empress's soul, and that's how

she survived." Even as Wang [music] Teng

said it, he didn't believe it himself.

Because the Heavenly Emperor killing a

white-browed cultivator right now, that

was pure fantasy. He had no idea where

the story was even [music] going from

here. And Bai Ningbing was just standing

there frozen, vaguely remembering she'd

been through some kind of catastrophe.

And when she woke up, it felt like a

second chance at life. Right then, the

white-browed cultivator in the scene

made his move. He devoured every single

one of those girl's souls completely.

[music] In an instant, the white-browed

cultivator's primordial spirit visibly

expanded, and his entire aura shot up by

several levels. Everyone in the alliance

was at least at the quasi emperor level.

They all knew exactly what that meant.

It meant that once Xiao Ningbing's soul

was fully digested, there was zero

chance of survival. So, Ningbing Empress

died right here, [music] right now. If

that's the case, then the Ningbing

Empress standing here with us, how is

she even here fighting alongside us

against the Heavenly Emperor? This is

completely beyond me. Can anyone tell me

what's going on?

Then Wang Teng had a sudden flash of

insight. Everyone, I think I figured it

out. The little girl in this scene, sure

she has the same name as Ningbing

Empress, but she's not the real Ningbing

Empress. This little girl probably died

here, and the Heavenly Emperor later

took in a new sister.

The one he took in after, that's the

Ningbing Empress we know today. Everyone

thought it sounded a bit far-fetched,

but it was honestly the best explanation

they had. After all, the Xiao Ningbing

in the scene was clearly gone. But as

Bai Ningbing watched it all unfold, she

couldn't shake the feeling that nothing

was that simple. At that moment, the

alliance heard my gut-wrenching scream

from inside the reincarnation seal. Ah,

sis!

My desperate cry caught the white-browed

cultivator's attention. He didn't even

take me seriously. He just picked up

Xiao Ningbing's body, completely

lifeless, and tossed [music] her to me.

You want her? Here. I caught Xiao

Ningbing as gently as I could. There

wasn't a drop of color in her face. My

heart felt like it was being shredded by

a thousand blades. Sis, are you okay?

Answer me. No matter how loud I called

her name, [music] Xiao Ningbing could

never respond again. Her pale lips, the

color drained from her face, I knew.

Xiao Ningbing was gone. After devouring

so many girl's souls, the white-browed

cultivator started looking for a place

to endure his tribulation. But just as

he was about to leave, I stepped right

in front of him and screamed, Give me

back my sister. Give her back. Seeing

how unhinged I was, the white-browed

cultivator just let out a smug laugh.

Kid, your sister [music] is dead. I'm in

a good mood today, so I'll let you walk

away. But if you don't know your place,

don't blame me for what comes next.

Fine, then.

I'll kill you for my sister. With that,

I stepped even closer toward the

white-browed cultivator. He couldn't

have cared less about me, but one of my

attacks actually made him furrow his

brow.

The white-browed cultivator realized

this kid was [music] a nascent soul

cultivator, but was hitting at mid-stage

divine transformation strength. That

made him tense up immediately. Kid, what

sect are you from? If there's some

connection between us, I can still let

you off the hook today, even after

you've [music] disrespected me like

this. The white-browed cultivator was

mostly scared the kid might be from some

powerful family. If that was the case,

even he couldn't afford to mess with

them. Just thinking about it made the

white-browed cultivator regret coming to

this town. Should have never come here

today. But one thing still confused him.

If the kid was from a powerful

background, why was his little sister so

completely ordinary? [music]

But I wasn't hearing any of it. I

launched a palm strike straight at the

white-browed cultivator. It was a

fighting style I developed through years

of hunting. [music]

The white-browed cultivator looked

stunned. Is that sword intent?

>> [music]

>> But he realized the kid had no sword. He

was projecting sword energy with just

his bare hand. The white-browed

cultivator had gotten a little too cocky

and took my palm hit head-on, blowing

the front of his robe wide open. Before

he could even react, I came at him

again, getting right up in his face for

close-quarters combat. Up against a Dao

integration stage cultivator way above

my level, I was fighting purely on raw

instinct and sheer desperation. [music]

But from the outside, this was basically

a suicide run. And yet, under my

reckless all-out assault, the

white-browed monk was actually

struggling to keep up. Then suddenly, he

let out a cold snort, and the pressure

of his Dao melting realm sent me flying.

But I still didn't back down. I was

going toe-to-toe with him in close

combat, all while shielding the girl in

my arms, not letting her take a single

hit, even though she was already a cold,

lifeless body. As the rage inside me

burned hotter, my dual pupils began to

split apart right then and there. In an

instant, an invisible, overwhelming

presence exploded outward, and the

white-browed monk was completely

stunned.

He recognized it immediately. Dual

[music] pupils. And just like that, a

look of pure, wild excitement spread

across his face. If he could take that

power for himself, who cares about any

Heavenly Tribulation? Not just crossing

the tribulation, even Grand Immortal or

the quasi emperor beyond that, even the

Immortal Emperor and Grand Emperor, he

could fight for all of it. And

especially when he saw that the kid in

front of him was only at the nascent

soul realm, the white-browed monk felt

like heaven itself was [music] on his

side.

Kid, I'll use your dual pupils' power to

pave my way to Grand Emperor. With

[music] that, the white-browed monk

reached out his massive hand, grabbing

straight for the boy he had locked down.

But the next second, a flash of dark

light crossed my eyes, and I shattered

his restraint [music] on the spot.

The white-browed monk paused, almost in

disbelief. Worthy of the [music] dual

pupils' power. This time, he stopped

underestimating me. He knew that as long

as he got serious, this kid had zero

chance [music] of winning. With a roar

from the white-browed monk, a

pitch-black soul banner materialized

right in his hands. The moment the

alliance members saw it,

>> [music]

>> they were furious, because that banner

held the souls of countless people this

man had killed. And from the energy

coming off it, you could feel that his

victims were mostly ordinary alliance

cultivators. It was straight-up evil.

Everyone wanted to cut him down right

then and there. The white-browed monk

unleashed the soul banner, and those

dark, resentful wraith energies wrapped

around my shoulder. He was trying to rip

my arm clean off. But the next moment, a

burst of golden light exploded from

[music] my dual pupils, and a golden

sword came shooting out. The alliance

members were floored. Was this the

eye-forged divine weapon ability of the

dual pupils? From what I could feel,

this golden sword was at least a

top-grade [music] spirit weapon. Sure,

top-grade meant nothing to the others

watching, but for a kid at the Heavenly

Emperor's level,

a top-grade spirit weapon was absolutely

a game-changer. [music]

Because the soul banner that the

white-browed monk had spent so much

effort forging barely scraped the

mid-grade range, and dual pupils just

casually conjured something top-grade

out of thin air.

So, just how terrifying would this kid's

dual pupils become down the road? Then a

weird thought hit everyone at once.

They'd never actually seen the Heavenly

Emperor use his dual pupils like [music]

this before. Under the swing of my

golden sword, the wraith energy from the

white-browed monk's soul banner met the

blade's [music] golden light, and it

recoiled like a mouse running from a

cat. Then in a flash, my golden sword

transformed into a massive golden

greatsword. Under my all-out assault,

the white-browed monk's soul banner was

smashed to pieces on the spot, and the

backlash hit the white-browed monk hard.

He coughed up a huge mouthful of source

blood. The man was horrified. He never

imagined that someone two full realms

below him could blow up his most prized

treasure. And yet, that's exactly what

just happened. The alliance went dead

silent, [music]

because they'd all just realized that

golden greatsword was a quasi Immortal

Emperor artifact. [music] The dual

pupils' power was this insane. It didn't

take long before a quasi Immortal

Emperor among them noticed that golden

blood was leaking from the young

Heavenly Emperor's pupils. Curious, he

stepped forward on instinct. And then

the next moment, he was clutching his

eyes and screaming. His whole body was

convulsing in [music] pain. Everyone was

confused. Wang Teng quickly stepped in

to explain. Everyone, do not get close

to the Samsara Seal. Getting near it

causes the suffering shown in the vision

to be reflected onto you in equal

measure. Anyone below the Immortal

Emperor level, stay back. If you've

reached Immortal Emperor, you might be

able to endure it. Wang Teng hadn't even

finished that last word before he tried

to demonstrate himself, stepping closer

to the Samsara Seal. And the next

[music] moment, his face went completely

white. If he hadn't sealed his own vocal

cords with his cultivation in time, he

would have screamed just like that quasi

Immortal Emperor. A dozen or so Immortal

Emperors heard what Wang Teng said and

figured that Immortal Emperor level

power should [music] let them shrug off

the pain. So, they stepped forward

without a second thought. And the next

moment, a chorus of screams erupted like

a whale. Everyone scrambled back from

the Samsara Seal all at once. Wang

[music] Teng's face was pale and a

little embarrassed.

My apologies, everyone. That was my

mistake. The pain projected by the

Samsara Seal ignores cultivation level

entirely when it transfers. Even a Grand

Emperor would feel it just as intensely.

Please, do not go near it. After hearing

that, not a single person dared to take

another step forward. But then, Bai

Ningbing [music] walked toward the

Samsara Seal on her own. With every step

she took, the pain in her eyes grew

heavier. The closer she got to the seal,

the more the suffering multiplied. Is

this the pain he went through back then?

Bai Ningbing stood there before the

Samsara Seal, taking it all in,

completely still. Those who had just

felt the pain themselves couldn't help

but wonder, this level of agony, how did

that kid endure it back then?

>> [music]

>> He was just a teenager, for crying out

loud. In that moment, facing the

white-browed monk, I was in pain, but I

didn't even blink, because I didn't have

time to think about it. The fight was

still going. But the little girl in my

arms, as lifeless as she was, [music]

hadn't taken even the slightest bit of

damage.

I used the golden greatsword to blow

apart the white-browed monk's soul

banner, then went straight back on the

offensive. I sent him flying with one

slash. [music] The man went soaring up

into the clouds.

Before he could even recover, I was

already up there after him. I was like a

man possessed, going absolutely ham on

him in the cloud layer. It wasn't long

before the white-browed monk had been

sent flying at least 300 times up in the

air. The entire righteous alliance fell

dead silent. No one had expected the

white-browed monk to get completely

dominated by this kid. At this rate,

everyone could tell the one who was

going to die was the white-browed monk.

Then someone turned to Bai Ningbing and

asked, What do you think happens after

he defeats the white-browed [music]

monk? Wang Teng cut in, clearly a bit

annoyed. Remember what he said about the

Ice Empress?

The little Ningbing in the Samsara Seal

is dead. She is absolutely not the Ice

Empress standing here today. So, what

happens next? How would the Ice Empress

possibly know? Then, Bai Ningbing's

voice came through, calm and flat.

When I was very young, I went through a

terrible ordeal.

A lot of the details I can't remember

clearly.

All I know is that when I woke up, my

master was there. After that, I took him

as my teacher,

>> [music]

>> and that's how I got to where I am

today. Plenty of cultivators started

speculating. Could it be that after the

young Heavenly Emperor slew the

white-browed monk, some incredible

stroke of fate [music] brought the Ice

Empress back to life?

Wang Teng thought that was absolutely

impossible. Little Ningbing had no

chance of being revived. As for the Ice

Empress, someone this extraordinary must

have had a master who was a reclusive

legend. Even while enduring the pain

from the Samsara Seal, the moment Bai

Ningbing thought of her master, a quiet

warmth filled her heart. My master

passed away long ago, but his level of

power, [music]

even now I can't see the ceiling of it.

That stunned everyone. And Wang Teng let

out a wistful sigh.

What a shame. A powerhouse like your

master, if he hadn't already passed on

and had joined us to take down the

Heavenly Emperor together, the emperor

wouldn't have stood a chance. Bai

Ningbing didn't respond. She could tell

Wang Teng only cared whether her master

was alive, because it would make taking

down her Heavenly Emperor brother

easier.

The moment that thought crossed her

mind, she felt nothing but contempt for

Wang Teng. By now, the white-browed monk

was in full retreat, his body covered in

wounds, his fingers trembling

uncontrollably.

He'd thrown out countless treasures, but

every single one had been destroyed by

this kid. And all of it came down to one

thing, that golden great sword. [music]

The white browed monk wasn't even

thinking about the losses anymore. He

just wanted to survive. Then suddenly he

noticed the kid had put his sword away

[music] and was holding it in front of

the little girl.

The white browed monk's eyes lit up. He

knew the kid was protecting her, even

though she was already dead. So, the

white browed monk unleashed a massive

[music] wave of pressure aiming to crush

the girl's body outright. Now I was

stuck defending Ning Bing while fighting

at the same time. I had no choice but to

switch from offense to defense. And with

the white browed monk targeting Ning

Bing every single attack, I was getting

pushed [music] further and further back.

Some alliance members couldn't take it

anymore and started cussing him out.

White browed monk, you call yourself a

sect master? You're going after a dead

body now?

You're a straight-up disgrace [music] to

every cultivator out there. Because the

white browed monk kept targeting Ning

Bing, I had to keep pouring more and

more of my strength into protecting

[music] her. I couldn't go on offense at

all. Even holding defense was becoming a

struggle. Then the white browed monk

spotted his opening and launched his

technique, Nine Yin Blood Hand.

A massive blood red palm came crashing

down at me, but his real target wasn't

me. It was Ning Bing. I had no time to

block with my sword. On pure instinct, I

spun around and took the hit with my own

back. From that single blow, I coughed

up a mouthful of blood and my aura began

[music] visibly weakening right before

everyone's eyes. After that, the white

browed monk kept hammering me with the

same move over and over. And with no way

to block it with my sword, I just had to

keep eating every hit with my body. At

this point, whether I'd even survive was

anyone's guess. The entire alliance was

in anguish. Please, just let her go.

She's already gone. It's not worth it.

She has no breath left. Just run.

[music] Save yourself. They knew their

words couldn't reach inside the Samsara

Seal, but they still hoped the young

Heavenly Emperor would just let Ning

Bing go.

That way he'd still have a chance. Why

was he pushing himself [music] this far?

Maybe

he still hoped that if he could keep her

body intact, there'd be some faint

distant chance of bringing his little

[music] sister back. Say what you want

about who the Heavenly Emperor became,

but in this moment, his devotion to

little Ning Bing was undeniable.

And there, standing before the Samsara

Seal, Bi Ning Bing's expression cracked,

visibly [music] shaken.

She suddenly remembered something her

brother had once said to the villagers,

"She's my little sister. As long as I

have food to eat, she won't go hungry,

ever."

Right now, Bi Ning Bing desperately

wanted [music] the little girl in that

vision to be her. And yet she also

didn't. Because if it really was her,

she had no idea how she could ever face

the Heavenly Emperor, the brother she

had betrayed, who was about to be

refined in just a few days.

Brother, kid, you're done for. Even now,

you're still protecting some useless

little girl?

How can someone be this stupid? Your

dual pupils, [music] an old man's taking

them. The white browed monk burst out

laughing. Don't you dare talk about my

little sister like that. I'll drag you

to hell with me. In that moment, I

charged at the white browed monk like a

man gone absolutely feral, and my

nascent soul began to leave my body.

The white browed monk didn't think much

of it at first, but then his expression

[music] changed completely. The alliance

members were in shock. He's lost it.

He's actually going to blow his own

nascent soul?

After an explosion like that, he would

never be able to enter the Nascent Soul

Realm again. Even the white [music]

browed monk froze. He'd never seen a

purple mansion Nascent Soul this

terrifying.

Most people's Nascent Souls are about

the size of a fist, but this kid's

looked like an entire mansion. And then,

my purple mansion Nascent Soul

detonated. The blast aged the white

browed monk by several decades in an

instant. And worst of [music] all, his

soul took a direct devastating hit. He

was one bad moment away from being

completely [music] obliterated. The

entire alliance was consumed by a

bittersweet kind of grief. Everything

the Heavenly Emperor had done for his

sister, it was just too gut-wrenching.

[music]

At this point, Wang Teng turned to Bi

Ning Bing. "Ice Empress, the young

Heavenly Emperor has just blown up his

own purple mansion Nascent Soul.

>> [music]

>> Please step away from the Samsara Seal.

There's no reason for you to put

yourself through the same pain right

now." Bi Ning Bing didn't move. She was

enduring a level of pain that was almost

unimaginable. Even she could barely hold

on. But then she noticed that the

brother in the Samsara Seal

>> [music]

>> hadn't even furrowed his brow once.

Since entering the Grand Emperor Realm,

Bi Ning Bing had gone years without

feeling real [music] pain. But now, with

the pain hammering her senses, fragments

of old memories began surfacing in her

mind.

>> [music]

>> She remembered as a kid, she was

terrified of pain. It wasn't that

becoming a Grand Emperor had made her

fearless. It was that she just hadn't

felt real pain in so long. Because when

she was little, her brother was always

there, and he never once let her get

hurt, not even a little. The scenes from

the vision, the young Heavenly Emperor

and little Ning Bing in the village,

began to overlap with her own memories.

Inside the Samsara Seal, the white

browed monk coughed up another mouthful

of blood. He was a complete mess now.

His cultivation had already dropped to

the God Transformation Realm, but he

still had enough left to finish the kid.

The white browed monk kept screaming,

"The dual pupil's power, it belongs to

me." After condensing two divine

weapons, my eyes had long been leaking

streams of golden [music] blood. I tried

to use the dual pupils again, but it

didn't work. I was too far gone.

Watching the white browed monk close in

on me and Ning Bing, I set my jaw and

made a decision.

In that moment, the vast boundless Qi EC

inside my body blew wide open, and

everything came surging toward my dual

pupils at full force. The alliance

members cried out in horror. "If he

burns his source Qi like that, he'll be

a complete for the rest of his

life. He'd never be able to cultivate

again." And on top of that, the young

Heavenly Emperor's Qi EC was hands-down

the most massive anyone there had ever

seen. An average cultivator's Qi IC was

the size of a river at [music] best, but

his, it was like a vast ocean,

absolutely boundless. Watching something

like that get destroyed, it was a real

tragedy.

>> [music]

>> The white browed monk burned through a

massive amount of essence blood, gearing

up for one final all-out strike. But

before he could even launch it, my

overwhelming Qi EC swallowed him whole.

And at the same time, my right dual

pupil fired off a beam of terrifying

light. The entire [music] space

trembled. A ray of dark light shot

straight at the white browed monk. His

body was split clean in two on the spot.

The white browed monk was finished, and

the entire alliance was absolutely blown

away. This kid, as a teenager, had

already mastered the Obliteration Dark

[music] Light. Everyone agreed, the

young Heavenly Emperor was on a

different level. But with the Nascent

Soul detonated [music] and golden blood

still pouring from his eyes, everyone

could see the young Heavenly Emperor was

barely hanging on. If he hadn't refused

to let go of the dead girl in his arms,

it never would have gotten this bad. And

standing before the Samsara Seal, Bi

Ning Bing's beautiful eyes were

trembling. She couldn't wrap her head

around how the young Heavenly Emperor

had endured all of this. And as she kept

thinking about it, more and more

childhood memories began coming into

focus inside her mind. As I cut down the

white browed Daoist, my body was

completely [music] spent. I fell

straight down toward the ground. With

every last bit of strength I had, I held

Ning Bing above me, my own back facing

down. Then suddenly Wang Teng spoke up

again. "Well, I think it's pretty clear

now. The Heavenly Emperor's dual pupil,

specifically the right eye, only has the

Obliteration Dark Light. There's no

Restoration White Light, which means

when he later forcibly took the Ice

Empress's dual pupil, it was only to

steal her Restoration White Light."

>> [music]

>> The moment Wang Teng said that, every

cultivator in the room turned to look at

Bi Ning Bing, and something felt off.

Because people had seen Bi Ning Bing use

the twin pupils, but it didn't look

[music] like the white light of revival.

And Bi Ning Bing knew better than

anyone. She had never once used the

white light of revival.

Her twin pupils had always been a force

of pure destruction, the black light of

Obliteration. [music]

Then suddenly a wild theory popped into

Bi Ning Bing's head. She couldn't calm

down. No way, that's literally

impossible. I was free falling from

insane height. There's no way I survived

this drop. But right at that moment, the

spatial [music] rift I had just sliced

open with my black light of Obliteration

suddenly shot out a withered bony hand.

It wrapped [music] around me, and I

started drifting gently down to the

ground. Wang Teng let out a cold scoff.

"This person is the greatest sinner in

all of Tian Xuan.

And yet he just [music] saved the young

Heavenly Emperor?" The next moment, a

frail ancient figure stepped out of the

spatial rift I had cut open. It was an

old woman, white hair, ancient face. And

from the alliance, Bi Ning Bing gasped

out loud. "Master!" This was none other

than Bi Ning Bing's own teacher. The

alliance absolutely lost [music] it.

Nobody saw this coming. This old woman

who just showed up was Empress Ning

Bing's master. Wang Teng's face dropped.

He was mortified because he had just

[music] been talking trash about her.

"Empress Ning Bing, I meant no

disrespect to your master. And thank

you, Senior, for saving my life."

I bowed to the old woman with great

difficulty. She smiled warmly. "It's

[music] fine. I happened to be in a

different spatial dimension when I

sensed you cutting open a rift.

I'd say this is fate." Then something

hit me,

and a last flicker of hope surged up

inside.

"Please, Senior, [music] save my little

sister." She looked at me when I said

that. The old woman replied flatly,

"She's already dead. Dead people have no

use to me. Why would I save her?"

The entire alliance went dead silent.

Everyone had assumed that this

kind-hearted old woman would obviously

bring little Ning Bing back, but reality

slapped them hard, and Bi Ning Bing

froze where [music] she stood. "So,

Master was only ever good to me because

of my twin pupils?" Bi Ning Bing was hit

with a gut punch realization. Nobody is

kind without a reason. But then what

about the way Tian Di treated little

Ning Bing with nothing to gain? What

does that count for? Right then, Bi Ning

Bing felt her whole belief system start

to [music] shake. Seeing that the old

woman refused to save little Ning Bing,

I got anxious.

"Senior, I'm basically a dead man to

you, too. So why'd you save me, but not

my sister?" The old woman just smiled

[music] again. "You're different. You're

useful to me because you have the twin

pupils. Kid, don't get the wrong idea.

I'm not here to take your twin pupils.

Quite the opposite, actually. I'm

willing to give you everything I have."

I looked confused. [music] The old woman

continued, "I am a member of the Hai Wan

Sect. The Hai Wan Sect was wiped out

long before the ancient era, but its

supreme legacy still remains. I've spent

years searching for someone worthy to

carry it on. I thought no one in this

world could fit.

And then I ran into you. With your level

of talent, you could absolutely bring

the Hai Wan Sect back to its former

glory." Inside the alliance, Wang Teng

was seething. [music] He couldn't figure

out why none of this ever happened to

him. Watching the young Heavenly Emperor

look clearly tempted, Wang Teng sneered,

"From where I'm standing,

the young Heavenly Emperor isn't that

impressive after all.

He's only doing this to get stronger.

That's literally the only reason."

Wang Teng finished talking, feeling

incredibly smug about himself. Because

in his mind, he and the Heavenly Emperor

weren't that different. Then the young

Heavenly Emperor in the memory loop

spoke up. "If I take this legacy, can I

save my sister?" Wang Teng honestly

couldn't process that.

The young Heavenly Emperor wasn't doing

this for himself. He wanted the power to

save his sister.

The old woman gave me a straight answer.

"No, because your sister is already

dead. Not even you, not even a great

emperor standing right here, could save

your sister." Hearing that, my

expression went completely [music]

blank. "In that case, this power means

nothing to me.

The old woman couldn't keep her

composure anymore. Think carefully. Even

if you can't save your sister with this

legacy, it can still restore your

strength. How could something like that

be useless? I replied totally calm.

My nascent soul is shattered. My energy

sea is bone dry. I'm a

I don't have the time to wait for your

legacy.

>> [music]

>> The old woman smiled lightly. You have

the twin pupils.

That alone puts you above everyone else.

With the innate power of twin pupils,

your injuries could heal in no time.

Then it hit me, a spark of an idea.

What if my sister had the twin pupils?

Could she receive the Haiwan Sect's

legacy?

And if she received the legacy, could

she come back to life?

The old woman shook her head.

Your sister doesn't have twin pupils.

She's just a regular person.

The moment I stepped in, I saw both of

your talents clear as day.

Let your dead sister [music] go. Once

you grow strong enough, a sister like

that, you could find as many

replacements as you want. It's no big

deal.

The old woman was trying to get the

young man to drop it and just accept the

Haiwan Sect legacy. But after a long

silence, I looked her dead in the eyes.

What if I'm willing to pay any price?

Can she then receive the legacy?

Can she come back to life? That hit the

alliance like a thunderbolt. Did the

Heavenly Emperor just say what I think

he said? He's going to give his eye to

his sister?

And then let little Ning Bing take the

legacy and come back to life?

That's the twin pupils we're talking

about. [music] Who in their right mind

would just give that away?

Hold on. If that actually worked back

then, then the twin pupils Empress Ning

Bing has right now

Nobody dared finish that sentence.

Because the implication was way too

massive.

And Bi Ning Bing, watching through the

memory loop, was completely overwhelmed.

These eyes, they really came from my

brother? But I literally stabbed him.

Brother, how am I supposed to face you?

Wang Tong stepped in to calm everyone

down. Don't overthink it. The Heavenly

Emperor definitely failed.

Little Ning Bing was dead. That's just a

hard fact nobody can argue with.

The old woman was clearly shaken by my

idea.

After thinking for a while, she finally

spoke.

Kid, I respect how much you love your

sister,

>> [music]

>> but I have to be real with you. Even if

you gave her your twin pupils, she's

still a dead person. A dead person

cannot receive the Haiwan Sect's legacy.

My eyes lit up. You're absolutely right,

senior.

A dead person cannot receive the legacy.

But senior, you you could bring my

sister back to life first.

Right?

The old woman got flustered. Are you

serious right now?

When did I ever say I could bring her

back?

I kept going.

If you really couldn't, you wouldn't

have said all this. There'd be nothing

to [music] discuss.

You can save her, senior. I just need

one answer. Do you have the ability to

save my sister or not?

I had a feeling and this old woman

couldn't lie. After a long pause, she

finally answered. Fine. You're right.

Even a great emperor couldn't save your

sister, but I can. The alliance gasped.

Nobody could wrap their heads around how

powerful this old woman actually was.

Wang Tong jumped in. Empress Ning Bing's

master is truly on another level. No

wonder even Empress Ning Bing couldn't

see through her master's true

cultivation.

For some reason, Wang Tong always got

this strange, almost ethereal feeling

from this old [music] woman. Like

something was just

off about her.

Then suddenly she spoke again.

But I won't save her.

>> [music]

>> You are the most suitable heir for the

Haiwan Sect.

I said without flinching. No, senior.

You will save her.

Because in a moment, she's going to have

my twin pupils.

And with that, I made a move like I was

about to gouge out my own eye. The old

woman nearly jumped out of her skin.

Kid, don't do anything crazy.

Even if I bring her back and recall her

soul,

she'll still be in a living dead state.

But if my sister receives the legacy, or

can she be [music] fully restored?

The old woman looked like she wanted to

say something, but she clearly couldn't

lie. She slowly nodded.

Then that's enough for me. With that, I

placed one hand over my twin pupil and

[music] the other over little Ning

Bing's eye socket.

The old woman was still trying to talk

me out of it, but I'd already tuned her

out.

The next moment, I activated the twin

pupils divine ability. The technique of

the pupil.

Bi Ning Bing, watching through the

memory loop, suddenly stumbled back

several steps, face white as a sheet.

The technique of the pupil actually

hurts that much? This is way worse than

having your nascent soul explode or your

energy sea drained.

>> [music]

>> Someone in the crowd couldn't help but

ask.

Didn't someone once forcibly take that

pair of divine eyes from her before?

Is this literally her first time feeling

this kind of pain?

Bi Ning Bing shook her head.

That time, I was knocked out by the

Heavenly Emperor beforehand.

I had no idea what was happening. By the

time I woke up, all my twin pupils were

already gone.

Then it hit Bi Ning Bing. Maybe there

was more [music] to that story than she

knew.

Otherwise, her brother could have done

it while she was awake and made her feel

every second of it. A long time passed.

I pushed through the pain of almost

blacking out and somehow held on.

When it was finally over, my right eye

had become an ordinary eye.

Senior, please save my sister. That one

act alone had nearly drained every last

drop of strength I had. The old woman

let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly set

up a formation array.

At the same time, a massive surge of

soul energy exploded [music] outward.

Soon, I saw little Ning Bing's soul

drifting back down from the sky. Under

the old woman's soul calling technique,

little Ning Bing's pale face quickly

regained [music] its color and she

started breathing again.

Thank you. Senior, please give my sister

the Haiwan Sect legacy right now.

The old woman stopped the soul calling.

The site [music] of the legacy is not

here. In a moment, I will take her

through the spatial rift to the legacy

grounds. Once she leaves, who knows when

the two of you will see each other

again?

I gave a quiet hum and held little Ning

Bing in my arms, not wanting to let go.

But soon, I turned my head away.

Senior, please take my sister to the

Haiwan Sect legacy grounds.

The old woman waved her hand and little

Ning Bing entered the spatial [music]

rift first.

Your sister's journey, there's no

telling how long it'll take.

When she comes back, how will she find

you?

I answered calmly.

>> [music]

>> Don't worry about it. I probably won't

be alive by then.

The old woman's eyes trembled. She

realized that farewell just now had been

the young man's final goodbye to his

sister. After a moment's thought, the

old woman raised her hand Bi Rui and

pressed a soul mark into my body.

When your sister completes her [music]

training and returns, if you're still

alive, she'll use this mark to find you.

Thank you, senior. I forced the words

out. I knew this mark probably wouldn't

matter,

but it gave me something to hold on to.

A reason to keep going. The old woman

said with regret.

It's a shame. My duty is to find a

successor. All the resources at the

legacy grounds belong to the heir. I

have no right to use them.

>> [music]

>> Otherwise, I would have given you

medicine to treat your injuries.

But after a short pause, the old woman

still sent several streams of soul

energy into me. The soul energy gently

nourished my soul.

>> [music]

>> I could feel it. I was in far better

shape than the near dead state I was in

before. At least I could keep my life.

I looked at her confused. [music]

She smiled. I may not be able to use the

Haiwan Sect's resources for you, but I

can still help you with my own power.

As you can see, I've been dead for a

long time. I exist as a soul body now.

That's exactly why I was able to call

back your sister's soul, but in this

state, all I can do is nourish your

soul. I can't do much more [music] than

that.

What? Empress Ning Bing's master is a

soul body? That revelation detonated

across the alliance. And Bi Ning Bing

finally had her answer.

So, master was a soul body all along. No

wonder she always felt like something

was off. Like master was barely even

there. It all makes sense now. Hearing

the old woman's words, I didn't react

much. But Wang Tong was visibly rattled.

>> [music]

>> He refused to accept it. That the young

Heavenly Emperor's judgment could be so

far above his own. It was killing him

inside.

The Haiwan Sect requires every potential

heir to answer questions completely and

honestly. That's why I'm unable to lie.

But compared to your sister, young man,

[music] you cleared the bar by a mile.

If I weren't the Haiwan Sect's sole

guardian, I wouldn't have had the

ability to call back a soul. [music]

And if you hadn't kept her body

perfectly intact, her soul would have

had nowhere to return to.

Perhaps this little girl in the Haiwan

Sect were truly meant to cross paths.

[music]

Thank you, senior.

You are my sister's greatest benefactor.

I bowed to her again with great effort.

But senior, you still never explained

why you helped me. I've lost my twin

pupils. My nascent [music] soul is

destroyed. My energy sea is gone. I'm

completely useless.

Why would you still bother helping me?

The old woman [music] just smiled. Who

says you're useless, kid? I see

limitless potential in you. If you can

survive, your future will be beyond

anything I can imagine. And given how

much you love your sister,

you'll naturally protect her.

That's indirectly protecting the Haiwan

Sect's heir. How could that ever be

useless? Young man, I've got a feeling

if you make it, your sister will grow up

completely safe and sound. And honestly,

it won't be the Haiwan Sect legacy

keeping her safe.

It'll be you. Everyone in the alliance

was in awe of the old woman's vision,

because she was dead-on accurate.

Empress Ning Bing's greatest protection

throughout her whole journey was

actually her Heavenly Emperor brother.

Not the legacy she carried. Think about

it. Bi Ning Bing had the twin pupils and

drop-dead gorgeous [music] looks.

When she was still weak, how could she

not have been a target? But with an

invincible Heavenly Emperor as her

brother, nobody dared lay a finger on Bi

Ning Bing.

If it weren't for the Heavenly Emperor

keeping everyone in check, Bi Ning Bing

probably would have died a long time

ago. She owes her brother so much, she

doesn't even know where to start paying

him back. I finally understand why you

saved me. Thank you, elder. I'll never

forget this.

The old woman just smiled calmly.

This old body of mine,

it can hold on for a few hundred more

years. Might as well bet that time on a

kid with unlimited potential like you.

Everyone in the alliance respected the

old woman's decision. [music]

Because everything she said and did was

right.

I will repay your kindness, elder.

If there's ever anything I can do for

you, I'll give it everything I've

[music] got.

The old woman smiled.

Well, in that case,

I do have one small favor to ask. If you

ever come across descendants of my sect,

lend them a hand.

I gave a firm nod.

>> [music]

>> I understand. If I ever meet the people

you left behind, I'll protect them with

my life.

Hearing that, the old woman's face

finally [music] softened.

Good, good. Time's up. I need to take

your sister now.

Kid, don't let me down. Just as she was

about to [music] leave, something popped

into my head.

Elder, have you ever heard of a faction

called the Yan Luo Palace? The old woman

thought hard, then shook her head. Even

someone as knowledgeable as her had

never heard of the Yan Luo Palace.

Before she left,

>> [music]

>> she hit me with one last question. Kid,

you've sacrificed everything for your

sister. If the roles were reversed,

would she do the same for you?

Those words hit Bi Ning Bing like a

lightning strike.

>> [music]

>> For her, that was a soul-crushing

question. She was already falling apart.

Hearing the old woman's words, I just

smiled softly. [music]

She would. I know she would. But I hope

she never has to go through something

like this.

Those words of mine

completely broke Bi Ning Bing through

the reincarnation seal. Tears streamed

down [music] her face.

"No, I never I never treated you like

that.

When did I ever treat you that way?"

Bi Ningbing knew the truth.

She never gave her brother her whole

heart. She straight-up stabbed him in

the back.

Her brother had shared every secret

passage and hidden mechanism in the

Heavenly Emperor's palace with her,

[music] holding nothing back. And she

betrayed him.

She even led a group of people to raise

blades against him.

"I actually turned on him.

How could I have done that to him?"

"Take care, kid. I hope your sister

doesn't disappoint you."

As I gave the old woman my final bow,

she took little Ningbing and vanished

from the space. And I was teleported by

the old woman using her last bit of

strength, flying through the air with no

idea where I was headed.

The moment the barrier she'd set up

disappeared, several powerful

cultivators rushed over to investigate

and found absolutely [music] nothing.

They had no idea what had just happened

here.

While the young Heavenly Emperor was

drifting through the sky with no

destination, Bi Ningbing stood in front

of the reincarnation seal,

>> [music]

>> eyes full of tears.

Suddenly, she unleashed her full power,

targeting the reincarnation seal itself.

She wanted to destroy it and get her

brother out.

Just then, a barrier of spiritual energy

cut her off.

"I already saw this coming. Sure enough,

you were going to try and free your

brother."

The one who stepped in was the Sword God

Empress. Grand Emperor Wang Teng

immediately rushed forward to stop

Ningbing. "The Heavenly Emperor has done

terrible things. We cannot let him out."

Bi Ningbing's expression didn't even

[music] flicker.

"He's my brother. I'm getting him out.

Maybe my brother wronged the world, but

[music] he never wronged me. I don't

care what it takes. I'm freeing him.

Once my brother's out, I'll convince him

to give up the throne. We'll disappear

together.

Live in peace out of the world's

business. After that, whoever rules this

realm, it's got nothing to do with us."

"Oh, so your brother wronged the whole

world, just not you?

Then what about my Sword God Clan which

your brother slaughtered? How does that

get settled?"

>> [music]

>> The Sword God Empress's sword intent

grew ice cold. Wang Teng quickly stepped

in again. "Think carefully. Your sacred

[music] pupil, your brother was the one

who took it.

He wronged you, too."

Bi Ningbing answered without hesitation.

"My sacred pupil was a gift from my

brother.

He gave it to me and so of course he can

take it back." As she spoke, a

terrifying star disk appeared above Bi

Ningbing's head. It looked like an

entire galaxy was hidden inside. The

crowd gasped.

"She's bringing out the Harmonious Union

Disk? That's her life-bound [music]

treasure.

Back in the day, Bi Ningbing used that

thing to take down countless Earth-level

powerhouses. [music]

Ningbing, Your Majesty, please think

this through. He's not worth it. He used

to be good to you when you were kids and

but he's changed. That's right, Your

Majesty.

He's not the same person he was back

then."

Everyone in the crowd joined in, trying

to talk Ningbing down.

But all their persuasion only made Bi

Ningbing more resolute.

"This life was given to me by my

brother.

Even if I die trying to save him today,

that's exactly how it should be."

Just then,

the Sword God Empress also summoned her

life-bound treasure.

Wang Teng panicked. He never expected

Ningbing to turn on them like this. "If

two emperors clash here, this whole

place would be destroyed. [music]

Ningbing, little sister, stand down. You

can't win this."

The one who stepped forward wasn't just

anyone. It was the Heavenly Emperor's

own Empress Consort.

The other seven empresses in the city

held back, but they [music] knew the

Sword God Empress and the Empress

Consort together were more than enough.

Besides, they weren't about to gang up

on one person, so they joined forces to

stabilize the space instead. Otherwise,

this place would have been torn apart.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Wang Teng's

mind.

>> [music]

>> "Should I just take Ningbing out for

good?"

But the moment the thought formed, Wang

Teng suddenly felt like he was being

watched by an ancient beast.

His heart nearly stopped.

Could this be the Heavenly Emperor

trapped inside the reincarnation seal

>> [music]

>> using some divine ability? Maybe he

placed a protection technique on

Ningbing that activates automatically

the moment her life is in danger.

The more Wang Teng thought about it, the

more it made sense.

He was also relieved he hadn't made a

move on Bi Ningbing. That could have

gone very, very [music] badly. Still, he

wasn't about to just let the three of

them keep fighting, so he reached for a

treasure, the Heaven-Shaking Pagoda.

Bi Ningbing was going all out against

the Sword God Empress and Liu Qingcheng.

She never saw it coming. A Grand Emperor

pulling a move like [music] this?

Completely blindsided. She was trapped

inside the Heaven-Shaking Pagoda. The

crowd erupted. "Wasn't the

Heaven-Shaking Pagoda lost 10,000 years

ago? With the pagoda in play, we can

hold Ningbing for a while."

"Wang Teng, what are you doing?"

The Sword God Empress and Liu Qingcheng

both turned on Wang Teng, furious at the

sneak attack. Wang Teng immediately put

on his best righteous face. "My ladies,

I had no choice. Don't worry, um the

pagoda won't hurt Ningbing.

Once this is over, I'll personally

apologize to her."

>> [music]

>> And just like that, the crowd actually

bought it.

"Wang Teng's just doing what's best for

everyone.

He just wants to deal with the Heavenly

Emperor, the [music] real threat.

The Grand Emperor truly has the world's

best interests at heart."

The Sword God Empress looked at Wang

Teng with cold disdain.

She had a pretty good idea what he was

really thinking,

because just a moment ago,

she too felt something lock onto her

like a terrifying force. [music]

Meanwhile, inside the pagoda,

Bi Ningbing was hammering the walls with

her Harmonious Union Disk, [music]

desperately trying to break out.

Wang Teng told everyone to relax.

"The pagoda is a defensive artifact.

[music] Even Ningbing can't bust through

it that fast.

Now, if the Sword God Empress wanted to

break the pagoda, that's a different

story."

The Sword God Empress stood tall, sword

on her back.

"The sword is the blade of the heart. It

can kill and it can protect. [music]

My spiritual heart sword was never made

just to attack."

The moment she finished saying that, she

froze. For some reason,

her head started throbbing.

Those words she just said, she felt like

she'd heard them somewhere before.

Suddenly, Wang Teng let out a panicked

shout. "Ningbing, has she lost her

mind?"

Inside the pagoda, Bi Ningbing was

burning her own blood essence to attack

the [music] walls. The Harmonious Union

Disk was now blazing brighter than ever.

Wang Teng was shaken, but he kept his

composure. "Everyone stay calm.

Even going this hard, she can't break

out anytime soon.

>> [music]

>> And even if she does, the Heavenly

Emperor isn't fully refined yet. His

power will be weakened below Grand

Emperor level.

At that point, he's nothing to worry

about." That eased the crowd's nerves.

As far as everyone was concerned, things

were looking [music] great. Just had to

wait for the Heavenly Emperor to be

fully refined. Meanwhile, inside the

reincarnation seal,

>> [music]

>> I watched everything unfold, watching Bi

Ningbing fight like crazy to save me.

My heart felt heavy. I kept thinking,

>> [music]

>> that childhood story I made up,

it didn't feel made up. It felt real,

like it actually happened to me. But I

didn't have time to dwell on that. Bi

Ningbing alone can't get me out. [music]

I needed to flip a few more Grand

Emperors to my side, so my eyes landed

on the Sword God Empress, because her

spiritual heart sword is said to have

unmatched offensive power. [music]

You're the one.

I quickly pulled together what memory

fragments I had on her, thought it

through carefully, [music] then

projected something onto the

reincarnation seal, and started

rewriting it. For some reason,

everything I [music] made up felt like

it actually happened, like it was real.

Just then, someone in the crowd cried

out. "Look, there's another scene in the

reincarnation seal."

The seal had gone dark for a moment

earlier. People figured it was from the

clash between the three empresses.

Now that the fight had stopped, the

seal's visions were starting again, and

the past was playing out once more

inside the reincarnation seal. [music]

Inside the seal, back where I fought the

white-browed cultivator, dozens of

powerful cultivators had shown up, but

they came up completely empty. Little

Ningbing had already been taken away by

the elder,

and I'd been teleported somewhere far,

far away. After what felt like forever,

I finally came crashing down from the

sky, but right at the last second, a

gentle surge [music] of soul energy

caught me. I landed safely. That was the

elder's final gift. I forced myself up

and looked around. One word came to

mind, cold.

This place was frozen over, brutally

cold. [music]

Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but

right now I was basically useless.

Still, I didn't blame the elder.

During my fight with the white-browed

Daoist up in the sky, I'd already

drifted far [music] from any village. If

she hadn't randomly teleported me away

and I'd fallen into the hands of those

cultivators,

it would have been way worse.

From here on out, I was on my own. I

trudged through the snow,

>> [music]

>> one step at a time. First thing,

figure out where I was. It was a tiny,

barely populated town. I was barely

dressed [music] for the cold, close to

my limit. And the few people I passed

just ignored me or walked the other way.

My body had already hit its breaking

point. [music] The blizzard made it even

harder to think straight. Eventually, I

couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed

face-first into the snow. Back in the

alliance, people started talking. "The

Heavenly Emperor is a total wreck right

now. He's basically a regular person at

this point.

Even if someone spots him, they'll just

walk around him."

And that's exactly what happened. I lay

in that snow for a full day and night.

Nobody came.

At least the blizzard stopped. And then,

the young girl in simple clothes and a

snow hat came by, blowing warm air into

her cupped hands.

She just happened to pass through.

She noticed me lying there. She

hesitated, then crouched down [music]

and shook me.

"Hey, wake up."

"Hey, wake up." Wang Teng sneered at

this.

"If this girl saves the Heavenly

Emperor,

she'll be a sinner for the rest of

history."

The girl shook me a few more times. I

was completely frozen stiff. She also

seemed to notice I was a cultivator. She

hesitated, then stood up to leave. Her

brain was telling her, "Don't get

involved." But she wasn't exactly

committed to walking away. Every two

steps, [music] she'd glance back. You

could tell she had a good heart. Then

suddenly, she heard me murmur,

"Sis."

"Mom."

"Dad."

Back in the alliance, [music] inside the

Heaven-Shaking Pagoda, Bi Ningbing heard

her brother, on the edge of death, still

worried about her. It only made her hit

harder. She needed to get out and save

him.

Now, [music] after hearing that murmur,

the girl finally stopped walking. "If

he's thinking about his family, like he

can't be a bad person."

She ended up lifting me onto her back.

Then she struggled all the way to her

place. It took a long time, but she

finally got me there. The alliance crowd

was surprised. They'd expected that

since the girl had a faint cultivator's

aura, she'd at least have a decent place

to stay. [music]

But her home was plain. Actually,

run-down was more like it. Just when

everyone thought she was going to thaw

me out with fire, she didn't.

Instead, she grabbed a handful [music]

of snow from outside and started rubbing

it on my arms. That confused the whole

crowd. "Why would she do that? The

Heavenly Emperor is frozen solid.

Why not use fire? Why snow?" Just then,

the Sword God Empress spoke up in her

cool, clear [music] voice.

"If someone's fully frozen,

you can't use direct heat or hot water.

That'll burst the blood [music] vessels.

You need to rub snow to slowly raise the

temperature." The crowd, "Oh, so that's

why."

And then everyone started complimenting

the Sword God Empress. She just replied

flatly, "I grew up in a freezing cold

region. I just know a few things." The

moment she said that, a strange feeling

crept over her. That girl somehow felt

familiar. After the girl had been

rubbing snow on me for a while, it was

helping a little. Circulation was slowly

coming back, but it wasn't enough. At

this rate, my heart was going to give

out completely. The girl hesitated, her

cheeks turning red. She gently loosened

the collar of my robe. She was going to

rub my chest directly. That would be the

most effective. I've never done this

with a guy before.

"Please don't die on me." she muttered

to herself. But the moment she opened my

robe, she froze completely. My chest was

covered in brutal scars. Some were old

wounds, some were still bleeding.

[music]

The most haunting part was my core. It

looked like it had been hollowed out.

Just an empty void where it used to be.

>> [music]

>> My breathing was barely a flicker, like