After returning to the Rage Wave Kingdom, Lanling issued a decree.

He conferred Zhi Yan the title of Empress of the Flame Dragon Empire!

In the Rage Wave Palace, there was a small mountain, and on the mountain stood a palace. After King Quo Bian had a stroke, he had been living in this palace.

Lanling was floating above the palace, with Zhi Ning lying in his arms.

"The Rage Wave Kingdom truly has many lovable and respectable people," Lanling said, "King Zhibian, Duke Zhi Ting, Elder Gao, Xiao Gao Weng, and Zhi Ao..."

"Hmm..." Zhi Ning curled up in Lanling’s embrace and said, "It’s a pity that at that time, I played the role of a villain."

Lanling said, "Even more regrettable is that they are all gone now, making me feel especially unwilling and lonely. Actually, speaking of the level of a monarch, King Quo Bian is stronger than me, and in terms of personal charm, he is also stronger than me. Many times, I am a bastard. A selfish, arrogant, narrow-minded bastard."

"Hmm," Zhi Ning agreed.

Then, she lifted Lanling’s shirt, gently bit the flesh on his chest with her jade-like teeth, took a bite, then gently licked it with her little tongue, and finally kissed it with her lips.

"In your heart, what kind of person is Zhi Yan?" Lanling asked.

"I don’t know," Zhi Ning said, "because I never know what she’s thinking. Every time I look at her, she doesn’t seem real, so even though she protected me at Shenlong Academy, I still hated her. Now, thinking about it, it wasn’t hate, it was jealousy."

"Jealous of her beauty?" Lanling asked.

"No, although I’m not as beautiful as she is, being beautiful enough at my level is already sufficient. At least standing next to you, I won’t bring embarrassment," Zhi Ning said. "At that time, I didn’t know what I was jealous of, but now I know, I was jealous that I could never reach her level of thought and grace. When I need to look up to someone in my heart, I choose to hate her. This is human nature’s weakness, I’m a vulgar woman."

Lanling smiled.

...

"Demon Prison Manager, last time I ordered the destruction of two Demon World Towers and two Divine Dragon Towers, tearing open many rift openings. Did that cause any significant repercussions?" Lanling asked.

The Demon Prison Manager said, "Master, the four Heaven and Earth Towers that were destroyed are still being rebuilt, and many rifts are barely patched. However, there are indeed significant consequences, with some Void creatures escaping."

"Within the Heaven and Earth Barrier?" Lanling asked.

"Yes," the Demon Prison Manager said. "They are drifting within the Heaven and Earth Barrier Energy Field. Because this field is very unique, their spread is quite slow."

Lanling asked, "How long until they spread into the real world?"

The Demon Prison Manager said, "About two years."

Lanling said, "If left unchecked, how long would it take for them to devour and destroy the entire Dragon Demon Planet?"

The Demon Prison Manager paused for a moment and said, "Approximately, at most two and a half years."

Two and a half years, meaning this world has only two and a half years before it is completely obliterated.

"Besides sacrificing myself to control these Void creatures and send them back to their Void Abyss, is there any other way to save the world?" Lanling asked.

"I don’t know," the Demon Prison Manager said.

... 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Yao Xing, there are two and a half years left before the Void creatures devour the entire Dragon Demon Planet. What do you think I should do?" Lanling asked.

"I don’t know, master," Yao Xing said.

Lanling asked, "Emperor E Tian sacrificed his own life to save the Dragon Demon Planet. Do you think that’s great?"

"Great," Yao Xing said.

Lanling said, "Then do you want me to be so great as well?"

Yao Xing was silent for a moment and said, "I don’t wish for that."

Lanling said, "Why?"

Yao Xing said, "All the heroes have died, and in the end, those who achieve great things are often not heroes."

Lanling said nothing more.

Indeed, Emperor E Tian was great, but Lanling would not follow his example.

...

Lanling once again traversed through countless space rifts and arrived at the Heart of the Earth Space, standing before this Void vortex.

The last time, it was here that a huge rift was torn open, and Void creatures surged out to directly devour the entire world in the Heart of the Earth. Emperor E Tian jumped in and controlled countless Void creatures.

Just a while ago, Lanling had attached himself to this vortex, following its reverse rotation.

Now, Lanling only wanted to feel any call from Emperor E Tian.

"Whiz..." Lanling pointed a finger, releasing a burst of energy that shot into the Void vortex.

In the blink of an eye, this energy was completely devoured.

This energy carried a message, a message to Emperor E Tian from Lanling, saying: I am your successor. Do you have anything to tell me?

After this energy was devoured, the message naturally reached Emperor E Tian’s soul.

After waiting for quite some time, the entire Void vortex began to swell, starting to grow unstable.

Then, a terribly painful howl echoed throughout the Heart of the Earth Space.

"Pain, torment... pain, torment!"

Just like this, it kept repeating, with no other words.

The will of Emperor E Tian was at its end, and was soon to collapse. The only reason the Void Creatures hadn’t surged out was because they were trapped, and because Emperor E Tian’s soul, instinctually, pacified these Void Creatures.

However, Emperor E Tian could no longer respond to Lanling with any clear messages. He was on the brink of destruction.

Soon, his soul would completely dissipate and become part of the countless Void Creatures.

...

Back to the surface once again!

Gui Ling’er sat on Lanling’s shoulders, wandering around the mountain. She was already ten years old, and riding on her father’s shoulders was something children four or five would do, but she was extremely spoiled.

Gui Qinshao, donned in a suit of armor, gripped a treasured sword, walking in front of Lanling.

Together, they were climbing the mountain by the Nu River, where Lanling and the remaining Suo Family samurai were trapped. Suo Hanyi and tens of thousands of rebels surrounded their meager group of just over a hundred people.

At that time, Lanling crafted over a hundred flying gliders and flew across the Nu River.

As they reached the summit and looked at the rushing Nu River below, Gui Ling’er said, "Dad, is this where you and mom fell in love?"

"No," Lanling replied.

Gui Ling’er asked, "Then where did you and mom fall in love?"

Lanling replied, "Perhaps it began in the dungeon."

Gui Ling’er exclaimed, "Wow, you both were captured, then shared difficulties in the dungeon, and dad took such good care of mom that she was moved and agreed to his pursuit."

Gui Qinshao immediately glared at Lanling coquettishly.

She and Suo Lun never properly dated; it was completely a love-hate relationship. Suo Lun tortured her to the point of losing faith in humanity time and again, but such words were not for their daughter’s ears.

Lanling set Gui Ling’er down. In less than a month since returning to the Human Kingdom, Gui Ling’er had grown taller and no longer appeared so frail.

"This is where dad flew for the first time," Lanling said. "Back then, many people surrounded dad, and mom’s home was across the Nu River. Dad wanted to seek refuge with her, so he had to fly over, and thus he flew across for the first time, allowing us to escape safely."

"Wow, so romantic!" Gui Ling’er exclaimed.

Gui Qinshao blushed because when Lanling flew over the Nu River and reached Linhai City, he was met not with rescue and warmth, but with humiliation and hostility.

"Dad, why did you bring mom and me here today?" Gui Ling’er asked.

Lanling replied, "Dad wants to learn to fly here again..."

"To escape once more," was what Lanling said in his heart, not out loud.

Lanling placed Gui Ling’er’s little hand in Gui Qinshao’s hand and said, "Follow mom home in a bit, let her take you to where she lived as a child."

"Okay." Gui Ling’er clapped and said, "Dad, what about you?"

"Dad wants to go somewhere to take a look," Lanling said.

"Where to?" Gui Ling’er asked.

Lanling smiled and said, "Dad wants to go look at the moon."

Gui Ling’er’s eyes widened, tilting her head, she said, "Dad, you’re lying. You can’t actually go to the moon."

She was smart enough not to mention that it was daytime and there was no moon.

Lanling gently pinched Gui Qinshao’s ear, making her feel languid.

"I’m off." Lanling bent down and kissed Zhi Yan lightly at the corner of her mouth.

Then...

"Whoosh..."

Chaos Emperor Lanling transformed into a streak, shooting toward the moon in the sky.

Like a rocket lifting off, like a comet reflecting in light.

He turned into a bright, magnificent light, getting further and further away from the Dragon Demon Planet.

Gui Ling’er watched the sky in disbelief. She initially thought her dad was joking, not expecting him to actually fly to the sky, fly to the moon.

It was truly too romantic and too magnificent.

Gui Ling’er giggled and said, "Mom, dad is really handsome, no wonder you fell in love with him."

Gui Qinshao smiled gently, then watched as Lanling transformed into a streak of light, getting farther away, eventually vanishing into the vast sky.

...

Note: Here’s the second update, begging for support, begging for monthly votes, thank you all.