"Is this the main reason for your sword pointing at Chichi? You hate the Four Symbols, especially the one that replaced the White Tiger."

"Yes."

Xia Chichi sneered.

Zhao Changhe asked again: "Is it related to you watching me die without trying to save me?"

Han Wubing sighed: "I had faith in you, Bodhisattva couldn’t kill you."

"That’s not necessarily the case." Zhao Changhe looked at him coldly: "I’m the new Emperor Ye, and you can’t stand this system. You might not want to kill me yourself, but if someone else does it, it has nothing to do with you, right..."

Han Wubing said slowly: "To be honest, I didn’t think of it that way at the time, as for whether there was a subconscious reason, I’m not sure."

Actually, it’s almost certain.

If it weren’t for this subconscious factor, seeing a friend in danger, the instinct would be to help, not to consider whether the other party can handle it themselves.

If Zhao Changhe saw Han Wubing being chased, he would definitely step in immediately without thinking about anything else. Just like now, even though the relationship has changed, he decisively stopped Piaomiao from letting Ye Jiuyou capture the White Tiger, whether to prevent Ye Jiuyou from getting hurt or to stop Han Wubing from becoming a Corpse Puppet? Comparatively, the latter is definitely more important, as the severity of injury is nothing compared to becoming a Corpse Puppet.

Han Wubing knew this too, which is why he didn’t take the chance to escape. He knew staying here was very dangerous given the current situation, he could not possibly be a match for this group, but he had to stay and face his friend’s questioning.

Zhao Changhe said slowly: "The White Tiger’s madness and urge for destruction, whether it’s against the Emperor Ye system and the Four Symbols, or against the whole world, I vaguely know the reason. From his perspective, there’s nothing wrong, you could say he’s a pitiful person, I don’t blame him at all."

Han Wubing looked up into Zhao Changhe’s eyes.

Zhao Changhe continued: "But I blame you. No matter the reason, even if there is a fundamental conflict between us, if you consider me a friend, you should tell me in advance and find a solution we all can accept. But you didn’t; you silently hid away until today, turning a conflict friends could discuss into this... Are you aware of how much effort I spent secretly searching for you? Do you think I wanted to find you to kill you, hence you hid even more, preferring to conspire with Bodhisattva and Snow Eagle rather than say a word to me?"

Han Wubing sighed: "Where did that come from... I just didn’t want to make things difficult for you at the time, after all, the Four Symbols are your woman." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"And now it’s not difficult for me?" Zhao Changhe said coldly: "Your conflict with the Four Symbols was initially only conceptual, it could have been resolved. But ever since your sword pointed at Chichi, it became substantial. What do you think I should do now?"

Han Wubing remained silent.

Zhao Changhe whispered: "You and I once agreed to a duel... but that time, due to the interference from Chichi and others, our duel turned into a perfunctory story, it wasn’t satisfying at all, we both felt regretful then. As our friendship deepened, it became even less likely for us to fight.

Han Wubing said plainly: "There was another reason we couldn’t fight, later you advanced too quickly, I wasn’t your match, there was nothing to fight about."

Zhao Changhe slowly drew his Dragon Sparrow, pointing it at Han Wubing from afar: "Now, you’re at Imperial Realm Third Layer, seemingly unstable. I’m at the peak of Second Layer, isn’t that a perfect match?"

Han Wubing didn’t draw his sword, he just stared at Zhao Changhe’s familiar broadsword, saying nothing for a long time.

Saying it’s a duel, it’s actually a break.

When the friendship was good, they couldn’t fight, even if they did, it could only be practice, they wouldn’t use moves that could cause serious harm. But in this duel, everything is permitted, no longer concerned about causing each other serious harm. That would mean a break.

Compared to what the White Tiger should take responsibility for, at least it wasn’t the Four Symbols Formation attacking all at once, it was just Zhao Changhe alone, is it better to say the situation has improved a lot? But Han Wubing showed no sign of joy.

He was silent for a long, long time, then suddenly drew his sword and chopped at his own forearm.

The severed arm flew up, spraying blood everywhere.

The women watching were visibly moved. The severed arm flew accurately towards Xia Chichi, who instinctively reached out to catch it, looking slightly hesitant.

Is this an apology?

Han Wubing didn’t utter words of apology, the severed arm made his face a bit pale, yet he still showed no expression, saying calmly: "You could say this was a chaotic fight, but not necessarily. On the surface, the Sword Emperor wanted to kill me, but was actually staging a show in collusion with me, targeting Ye Jiuyou together. It was just disrupted by you... so it’s not entirely on me."

Ye Jiuyou looked at him with a strange expression, while Zhao Changhe turned his head to stare at the severed arm, saying nothing.

Han Wubing said flatly: "Of course, Ye Jiuyou is not an ordinary character, not something we can plot as we please and definitely succeed. In short, with your interference, it has already deviated from the original course, and whatever outcome it could have been is now irrelevant. The important thing now is, this severed arm can give you the complete White Tiger Inheritance, you’ve already obtained what you wanted. So whether you kill me or not, you won’t let Ye Jiuyou get me, right?"

Zhao Changhe finally said: "Right."

"Then will you still kill me?"

Zhao Changhe remained silent.

Han Wubing smiled a bit, turned around, and walked away: "This duel with you still didn’t happen, maybe next time we meet it can... I actually look forward to it very much."

Zhao Changhe suddenly threw two bottles from behind: "One is for external use, to stop the bleeding of the severed arm. The other is to soothe the Divine Soul. The madness of the White Tiger might have no solution, but calming the waves in the Soul Sea, letting you not suppress it too much, is still possible. Looking forward to seeing you stabilize at Imperial Realm Third Layer next time we meet."