Chapter 186: Just a Minor Wound

Chapter 186: Just a Minor Wound

When Shaohua stated her demand, the entire battlefield fell silent.

Not just the party involved, Wu Zhong, but even the various Kings from the Otherworld were taken aback.

"Hey, sis, don't joke around."

"Are you deliberately humiliating me?" Wu Zhong said in a low voice, his anger barely contained.

For an Immortal King of the Otherworld to act so capriciously, to the point of wanting him to call her 'sister,' was a grave insult.

One can die with dignity but not live in disgrace!

"I know, a King's dignity, right?" Shaohua sighed lightly, realizing her wish was about to fall through.

Then, she charged forward, kicking Wu Zhong into the stratosphere and swatting the bell away with a slap.

"Since you won't listen, I'll beat it out of you!"

Shaohua's lips curled into a wicked smile. Spending too much time in the Otherworld had inadvertently rubbed off on her, giving her a bit of an antagonist's flair.

It's all the Otherworld's fault, she thought. Otherwise, how could someone as kind as her end up enjoying the sight of blood and violence, always thinking about fighting as soon as she arrived here?

"Will you call me sister?"

Shaohua's fingers sliced through the air, her translucent hand breaking through the eternal barrier, appearing beside Wu Zhong in an instant.

"No way!"

Wu Zhong had his principles, and at his level of cultivation, countless thoughts couldn't disturb his mind, nor could any amount of pressure shake his determination, making him impervious to an enemy's verbal provocations.

"Ahaha, you won't call me, huh? Well, that just makes me like you even more."

Shaohua laughed, a sound as clear as a silver bell, though it was slightly unhinged, not quite fitting her demeanor. She extended her long, slender hand, grabbed Wu Zhong's head, and forcefully pushed him into the Boundary Sea.

Supreme power surged, causing the heavens to tremble and the earth to split, a scene of utter chaos.

"Boom!!"

The Boundary Sea roiled, waves reaching the heavens, and a brilliant light illuminated the sky.

"That woman is truly formidable. It seems we don't need to intervene", one Immortal King remarked.

"How many eons must pass before such a woman appears?" the Red King couldn't help but marvel.

"Ah!"

Wu Zhong coughed up blood, his immortal body trembling from the unimaginable impact.

"Kill me if you must, but don't humiliate me!" he roared, struggling to break free.

In reality, Shaohua had let go, sighing inwardly.

Wu Zhong and Wu Shi, though connected through past and present, were not the same. In Shaohua's eyes, they could never be considered the same person.

Similar, but fundamentally different.

However, the atmosphere had reached this point, and she was itching to get her hands on him. The idea of disciplining Wu Shi, which she had abandoned out of kindness, could now be fulfilled by beating up his past self. It shouldn't be a big problem, right?

"If you let me kill you just because I say so, wouldn't that make me lose face?"

Shaohua chuckled, extending a finger and beckoning Wu Zhong.

"I've heard you excel in the Path of Time. Coincidentally, I have some knowledge of it too. Come, let's see your skills. If you can defeat me, perhaps I'll spare your life."

Wu Zhong's pupils glowed with a blood-red light. What did she mean? Knowing he had specialized in the Path of Time, she was deliberately challenging him in his strongest area.

Was she trying to trample on the very thing he was most proud of?

"You are indeed strong, but I have my own pride. In the Path of Time, I am unmatched by anyone!" Wu Zhong snarled, determined to prove himself.

His achievements in the Path of Time were unparalleled, and words like 'outstanding talent' could not adequately describe him. It was as if he was born for this path.

Otherwise, Kun Di wouldn't have set aside their differences to bring the Red King to hunt him down.

Wu Zhong was confident that even a colossal time beast couldn't match him, and neither could a supreme being capable of traversing the depths of the Boundary Sea.

"Clang!"

The bell's sound rippled through the ages, the heavens shook, and time flooded the universe like an ocean.

Even an Immortal King would age and wither under this attack, with no exceptions.

Shaohua was submerged in the power of time, but she remained unaffected. Her blood boiled, washing away the temporal forces, and her body instinctively transformed into various shapes—bells, tripods, towers—to counter the attack.

She had lain in the River of Time, enduring countless purifications and tempering.

Trying to defeat her with the power of time was like trying to drown a fish with water.

"My foolish 'little brother,' you have no idea what you're facing", Shaohua thought, snapping her fingers.

A crisp, pleasant sound echoed.

In the next moment, time shattered, and the world stood still.

A thread of Soul Essence light pierced through the fog, illuminating the past, present, and future.

In an instant, the world was turned upside down!

Shaohua's temporal domain instantly overwhelmed Wu Zhong's, a crushing victory.

A figure of unparalleled beauty and power stood before them, the River of Time itself trembling and breaking beneath her feet.

Wu Zhong's expression changed dramatically. Someone in this world had surpassed him in the Path of Time, far beyond the Immortal King stage.

He was disheartened. To see his proudest domain shattered by someone else would break anyone's spirit.

"Why?"

Wu Zhong couldn't help but ask. He wasn't questioning her strength; the victor always triumphs, and such questions were meaningless now.

He just wanted to know why someone with the power to easily kill him would make such a disrespectful demand.

What kind of strange fetish was this?

He couldn't rest in peace without understanding this.

"Really, is it so hard to call me sister?" Shaohua's figure appeared ethereal and ambiguous, her tone tinged with resignation.

Wu Zhong looked at the woman, surprised to find that she had shed her previous madness and wickedness. Her gaze was as calm as autumn water, deeply focused on him.

Her demeanor had completely changed.

A wicked demoness had transformed into the most ethereal and transcendent celestial maiden.

Wu Zhong couldn't be sure if these two were the same person.

"Wait, the aura around you..."

After a long pause, Wu Zhong suddenly realized something, his heart pounding. The woman emitted an aura that didn't belong to this era.

Having studied the Path of Time his entire life, he was certain that she was being rejected by the River of Time.

"Finally noticed, huh?" Shaohua smiled.

She used her Soul Essence to channel the Path of Time, and the secrets she had hidden in the Otherworld were inevitably exposed.

This world and this era were rejecting her, the intruder.

And they had been waiting for her, ready to strike as soon as she showed herself.

"I don't want to leave just yet", Shaohua's slender body trembled as she broke free from the temporal chains binding her. Time fragments danced around her.

She moved gracefully, defying time, stepping through the ages, and standing firmly in this era, though she didn't belong here.

In her domain, time seemed to stop, and the ages were severed. Fourteen hues of light illuminated the past and future, hinting at a power beyond the Immortal King stage.

"That... you're bleeding", Wu Zhong said, somewhat dazed.

"It's nothing, just a minor wound", Shaohua casually wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

Wu Zhong: "???"

What good does it do to wipe the blood from your mouth when you're bleeding all over?

Wu Zhong steadied his heart. By now, he could tell that this mysterious woman from another time had no intention of killing him.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"You remind me of someone", Shaohua said, only able to reveal this much.

Wu Zhong frowned, a thought crossing his mind, but he dared not think too much or speak it aloud, for fear of inviting disaster.

"So, you're here to save me?" he asked, his tone more certain.

"Only this once", Shaohua said, a fresh streak of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth.

She walked forward, the mist surrounding her gradually dissipating, revealing her flawless, ethereal beauty for the first time in this era.

Wu Zhong was momentarily lost, opening his mouth but saying nothing.

"Come on, live a little longer", Shaohua reached out, gently touching his head and pushing him away.

In his last moment before leaving, Wu Zhong finally saw why the mysterious woman was bleeding profusely.

It was a terrifying calamity, countless tribulations from the entire world, the River of Time, and unknown temporal forces all converging on her.

"Boom!!!"

At that moment, the heavens shook, and the Boundary Sea was overturned.

On the embankment, the Immortal Kings of the Otherworld stood shoulder to shoulder, and in the distance, the figures of the Immortal Domain and the Immortal Kings of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths could be seen.

But no one chose to intervene at this moment, all silently watching the stunning figure in the Boundary Sea.

"Is someone about to ascend from King to Emperor?"

"Who would have thought that someone in the outer regions of the Boundary Sea would reach such a level!"

"All the tribulations of the ages are converging on one person. Is this an Emperor's tribulation? But it doesn't feel quite right..."

Shaohua's body and spirit briefly merged, touching the supreme realm, and the terrifying power within her body drew the attention of the forces of the ages. Various tribulations and backlashes converged on her.

She was undergoing a rebirth, a bloody rebirth. Sometimes, brilliant light would radiate from her, and other times, she would sink into darkness.

This was a world-shaking tribulation, so much so that the Otherworld's invasion of the Primordial Ancient Realm was momentarily halted.

The reason was simple: their "Ancient Ancestor Shaohua" never returned.

"There's word that Wu Zhong didn't die and has returned to the Primordial Ancient Realm."

"What? He didn't die? Ancient Ancestor Shaohua couldn't kill him?"

"I think he must have used some trick to trigger Ancient Ancestor Shaohua's tribulation, allowing him to escape by a hair's breadth!"

"That's right. Wu Zhong, the villain, has cost our world an Ancient Ancestor. This cannot be forgiven. We must take blood for blood, avenging the Ancient Ancestor!"

Kun Di secretly rejoiced. The hateful woman was finally gone, but he couldn't show it now. Instead, he could use this opportunity to rally the forces of vengeance.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end