"Muhahaha!" Yuelan puffed out her chest again. "That was amazing! It’s like two low-level noobs killing two world bosses. That was the strongest attack I’ve seen!"

"Calm down," Xuan said, facepalming. Even then, he couldn’t hide his surprise and excitement.

Yuelan and he just one-tapped two insanely powerful people in the blink of an eye. He just couldn’t believe it.

"Where’s their vault, by the way?" Yuelan asked expectantly. "They should have plenty of stuff for us to loot, right?"

Xuan paused, then shook his head. "I don’t think I’ve ever heard them mention a vault. Though, you could always ask..."

He was about to point out Huizhen, but he was currently passed out on the floor, foaming from the mouth. He wasn’t exactly dead, but there was very little chance he would wake up any time soon.

"I see..." Yuelan rubbed her chin, then snapped her fingers. In the next instant, five of her shadows appeared out of nowhere.

"Search all these mountains for a stash. We’ll be at the western camp, so report there."

"Yes, madam!"

With those words, the shadows vanished without even an ounce of insubordination. Just like that, Yuelan turned back to him with a smile.

"You know, in the last two months, I’ve conquered 80% of China," she said.

His eyes widened. "You did what...? How?"

"Heh. There are a lot of sects in this country, and even more in the other countries. Pulling up with a few Spirit Grandmasters usually does the trick. If not, I duel the sect masters and kill them. Though, I’m trying not to bite off more than I can chew, if you know what I mean," Yuelan replied.

"I see... I should’ve probably not lazed around and done something as well." Xuan sighed. "I won’t mingle with monks next time."

Yuelan giggled, and with that, the two finally made their move to the western camp.

The cultivators that had come with Yuelan stayed, also helping find any sort of stash. However, the Spirit Grandmasters followed after them. One of them had Huizhen slung over their shoulder.

Out of the three monks aside from Huizhen, Xuan couldn’t recognize any of them. He was sure they weren’t from the Azure Sky Sect either, because the one with the highest cultivation there was Lijun Fen, a mere Seventh Level Spirit Master.

Even then, if she conquered that much of China, that must mean these three Spirit Grandmasters aren’t the only force she has... Yeah, I’m definitely getting off my ass. No way am I going to be a burden to Yuelan.

They all carefully made their way down the mountain, and once they were at the bottom, they sped up. Within just a few minutes, a large camp, spanning several kilometers, came into view. It was like a small city, and he couldn’t be more impressed.

Yet, right as they approached the wooden gate and were about to enter, they were stopped by a blinding golden interface.

<Ding!>

<You have interrupted a duel to the death!>

<You have interfered with a Heavenly Oath!>

<Judgement...>

Both of their bodies began to glow in a golden color, and before long, the final pop-up appeared.

<To be free of your sins, you must finish the duel to the death.>

<Kill: Xiao Yuelan>

"Hmm... How original," Xuan mused. "Did you get one too?"

Yuelan rolled her eyes. "Yep. They want us to kill each other, though? That’s a little barbaric."

Xuan shrugged and turned off the golden interface. However...

<Ding!>

<If you choose to disobey judgement, you will become an enemy of the Heavenly Faction.><Recommendation: Do not disobey the judgement.>

Xuan closed the interface again, then again, and again... until eventually, the golden interface turned pitch black.

<You have refused Judgement.>

<You are now an enemy of the Heavenly Faction.>

<...>

Yuelan sighed. "So this makes it what, the Demonic Faction and now the Heavenly Faction. Do you think we’re going to have angels coming after us? That sounds kind of cool."

"Doesn’t matter. Either way, that judgement was stupid. Let’s just get strong enough to avoid those people," Xuan replied.

Yuelan chuckled and gestured at the camp guards to open the gate. After a few brief moments, the gate opened, revealing a lively camp inside.

There were brick houses and all sorts of semi-modern buildings. More importantly, the people all looked at Yuelan with reverence.

"The Moonlight Maiden has come back!"

"Idiots, prepare a meal!"

"Yuelan! Yuelan! Yuelan!"

They cheered nonstop, and when it started getting bothersome, Yuelan simply released a bit of her Qi pressure, silencing everyone, then pointed at Xuan. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"This right here is my brother. Treat him as you would treat me. That’s about it though, go eat or something," Yuelan dropped the bombshell, and right as she was about to walk away, she remembered something.

"Oh, right. We won against those monks, so after renovations are over, you and the other surrounding camps can move in. It looked pretty cozy, but a little cold. Make sure to pack some warm clothes."

The eyes of the people practically shone with excitement, but after Yuelan’s earlier Qi pressure, they didn’t dare to voice their thanks out loud. Instead, they bowed to her and went about their day.

As for Xuan, he followed after Yuelan, who led him directly to the infirmary. Opening the curtains, he saw Hanbi on one bed, guarded by two shadows, and the old man on the other bed, lying lifeless.

Xuan was still bitter about what happened, but he respected the old man enough to understand his choices. To that end, he walked up to the old man and picked him up. After that, he turned to Yuelan, who immediately understood what his gaze meant.

"I’ll bring a shovel. There’s a hill to the north of here. I think I remember seeing an apple tree there," she said softly.

Xuan nodded and stepped out of the infirmary. He walked through the camp uninterrupted and eventually left, making his way toward the hill in the distance.

Not even a few seconds later, he heard footsteps behind him, and he didn’t need to turn around to know that those footsteps belonged to Yuelan.

They walked in silence, with the occasional gust of strong wind brushing past them. At some point, the wind became more annoying, and that was when Xuan decided to turn in the direction it was blowing, his eyes widening immediately.

He never believed in premonitions or such a flimsy thing as fate.

He knew things happen because they are supposed to happen, and yet, when he stared at the lone apple tree in the distance, upon which the wind blew, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

It was as if, despite his death, the old man was guiding him.

And so, after signaling to Yuelan, the two slowly made their way to the lone apple tree. It was atop a small hill, and right above the apple tree, the sun shone down brightly.

Despite the darkness earlier, Xuan was happy he could at least bury the man in the light.

And so, when they arrived at the apple tree, Xuan and Yuelan dug out a grave and picked some apples off the tree. After that, they gently placed the old man into the grave they had dug, then tossed in a few apples.

They silently filled the grave back up with dirt, then placed a few sticks in the form of a cross.

Finally, the two stepped back, letting out sighs in unison.

"This is our second time doing this, huh?" Yuelan said in a longing tone. "Though I guess, last time we had a slightly bigger budget."

Xuan chuckled. "That we did..." He lowered his gaze. "Say... when we’ve achieved everything we wanted in this world, and we move onto the next, do you want to pay them one final visit?"

Yuelan’s eyes widened. "But I thought you didn’t like going there...?"

A faint, longing smile appeared on Xuan’s face.

"It’s fine. We can’t even be sure their graves are still there. The world did change quite a bit. But in the off chance they’re still there, I want to show them how far we’ve come."

Following that, silence overtook them. Xuan turned back around and kneeled in front of the old man’s grave. Faint sniffles resounded from behind him, which quickly turned into sobs.

Xuan clenched his fist, not daring to turn around as he cupped his fists and set his sights on the future.

.

.

.

Somewhere far away, a being watched the entire scene unfold. The being was surrounded by an endless starry cosmos.

"So the cycle begins again," it murmured, its voice echoing across the void. "Two mortals defying Heaven itself... How nostalgic."

The endless cosmos shook, reacting to its words. A ripple spread out through the cosmos, revealing dozens of stars that shone brighter than others.

Yet amongst them, there were two that drew the being’s gaze.

"The sun and the moon," the being whispered, smiling faintly as it closed its immeasurable eyes. When it opened them again, every star in the cosmos blazed brighter, as if waking from a long sleep.

"May the stage be set once more..."

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