NOVEL WEB Chapter 144 I Will Protect You
He was a Yuan Knight, but he wasn't whole; only a sliver of his lingering obsession remained.
Sensing Princess Zi Ji step into cultivation and awaken the Power of Curse, he disregarded his own safety. He stepped forward, exhausting all his strength to shatter the terrible catastrophe.
This scene moved everyone. Chen Pingping also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been prepared to reveal his trump card, but he hadn't expected this...
"Yuan Knight, is that you?" Princess Zi Ji looked up, gazing at the gloomy sky.
The Yuan Knight didn't speak.
Princess Zi Ji added, "I know it's you."
Her gaze was complex. Just now, she had recalled some things and seen many scenes that belonged to her. The person before her had been protecting her all this time, right up until now. But it seemed he was about to leave again. And she was powerless to stop him.
ROAR!
The Yuan Knight suddenly roared, and a raging inferno blazed down towards where the Moon God stood.
With only a fragment of his obsession remaining, his combat prowess was a shadow of its former self. Combined with the energy he had just expended, he was naturally no match for the Moon God now. Yet he still charged forward, undaunted.
"'I, the Yuan Knight, vow to sweep away all great enemies for the Princess and aid Her Highness's growth!'"
The Moon God's long hair fluttered. Her beauty was unsurpassed, her expression calm. Faced with the Yuan Knight's attack, she merely lifted a finger.
Beneath that fingertip lay the power to make the very sky collapse, thundering loudly as if to devour the world.
Princess Zi Ji's expression changed drastically. "How dare you?" she shouted angrily.
"'I, the Yuan Knight, vow to sweep away all great enemies for the Princess—' PFFT..."
That single finger pierced directly through the Yuan Knight's body—no… it pierced through his lingering obsession, extinguishing his scant remaining power into nothingness.
His form was dissolving.
"'I, the Yuan Knight...'" His last gaze turned towards the Princess, his hazy features revealing a pair of complex, helpless eyes, filled with both sorrow and joy.
After waiting so many years, the Princess was finally going to cultivate... but he wouldn't be there to see it.
"Yuan Knight, you must not die!" Princess Zi Ji cried, grief-stricken.
"'I, the Yuan Knight.'"
"Damn it! I said, you must not die!" She struggled to rise, but the Power of Curse still roiled within her like a tempestuous sea. The slightest movement nearly triggered a backlash.
"'You must not die! I've remembered! You can't die! I've stepped into cultivation! I will protect you!'" Princess Zi Ji choked out, tears streaming down her face.
He walked towards her, carried by the breeze, enduring untold hardships.
With each step, his form grew fainter, fading away...
Princess Zi Ji grew even more distraught. "'Hurry and tell me, you're still alive, aren't you? You'll reappear, won't you?!'"
This time, the Yuan Knight did not answer.
As he drew near, his figure dispersed completely, leaving only a helpless sigh lingering in the air.
WHIMPER!
Princess Zi Ji wept bitterly, overwhelmed by sorrow.
She remembered. She truly remembered everything: escaping from the Netherworld and enduring Reincarnation over and over. The Yuan Knight had silently guarded her, waiting time and again for her memories to awaken.
Why? Why did he have to leave like this, this time?
Too much time had passed; there were too many memories. She had so much she wanted to tell the Yuan Knight, but it was already too late.
An unknown amount of time passed before Princess Zi Ji finally calmed down, her dark eyes fixed quietly on the Moon God.
BANG!
The Moon God struck again. A sword light coalesced around her delicate fingertips and instantly expanded. It wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, but it was chilling to the bone, radiating intense killing intention.
She actually intended to kill Princess Zi Ji...
Everyone was aghast, finding it hard to believe. The two women normally had no dealings with each other, so there was naturally no enmity between them. If this was about the opportunity Princess Zi Ji had just obtained, others had more reason to act than she did. The lofty Moon God possessed the inherent pride of a genius. She shouldn't have acted so rashly.
BOOM!
Chen Pingping threw a punch, shattering her attack. "Do you have a death wish?" he said coldly.
Since he had already revealed so much, Chen Pingping didn't mind revealing a little more.
"'Six Tao.' The Moon God opened her serene eyes, her voice soft. 'You have boundless prospects and are destined to become a great power. But if you insist on protecting her, your path to invincibility will be cut short.'"
"'My fate is mine to command, as is my invincibility,' Chen Pingping retorted. 'Today, I stand guard here. Anyone who dares to harm my junior sister, I will settle accounts with them one by one in the future. You are no exception.'"
His tone was level, yet his words weighed upon everyone's hearts like mountains. He was too powerful. Behind him stood a terrifying senior, wielding a Sacred Soldier and gazing down upon all existence. To attack now would clearly be foolish.
However, the importance of the Yuan World made many geniuses uneasy. They silently watched the confrontation, biding their time for an opportunity.
The Moon God remained silent.
Princess Zi Ji reached a critical juncture in her cultivation. The Innate Qi temporarily suppressed the curse within her. With a loud RUMBLE, her Dantian burst open, its passages completely unblocked.
"'She's begun cultivating! Unbelievable! Not even a catastrophe of that magnitude could stop her...'"
"'What exactly is in the Yuan World? I sensed an extraordinary and terrifying power just now.'"
"'I'm not entirely sure, but... it seems to be a Great Opportunity. She's incredibly fortunate.'"
It wasn't long before Princess Zi Ji finally concluded her cultivation session, the powers within her settling into quiescence. She rose and walked over. "Senior Brother!"
"How is it?" Chen Pingping smiled.
"'I'm fine,' she replied, lowering her gaze, her voice betraying nothing more."
I'm fine... but the Yuan Knight is gone. Unlike all the times before, this time he hadn't even spoken a single word to her. It was all that woman's fault.
Princess Zi Ji clenched her fists.
"Let's go." Chen Pingping glanced around, a hint of weariness in his eyes, then led her away.
No one dared to make a move. Chen Pingping's own strength was one thing, but the formidable expert behind him was what truly inspired awe and fear.
Liu Changqing murmured, "Remarkable."
"'To think he's on par with the Moon God,' the Saintess remarked, her expression complex."
"'No wonder he dared to snatch Princess Zi Ji from right under the noses of two super-powers. So he's a talented genius after all!' someone exclaimed."
"'What's most crucial is the one backing him,' another person interjected, their expression grave. 'However... give those major powers some time. Even if that senior behind him can reactivate Sacred Soldiers, it will likely be futile.'"
The Central Continent, as the most fertile land in the Heaven Martial mainland, was rich in Spirit Qi. Every genius hailing from here possessed exceptional talent. The major powers here were even more so, with ancient legacies and profound foundations. If a single Sacred Soldier could overwhelm them, wouldn't that be too naive?
Zhou Yunchang grinned. "Awesome."
Not far off, Shangguan Qingqing shot him a sidelong glance, uttering only one word: "Idiot!"
Zhou Boyi turned and left.
But no one knew that what truly made the Moon God wary wasn't Chen Pingping himself, nor the senior backing him. It was the Earth Chicken trotting beside Chen Pingping, the Mao Qiu perched on Princess Zi Ji's shoulder, and that old yellow ox. They were Spiritual Beasts.
She no longer paid attention to this area. Her final gaze fell upon the pioneers, lingering for only a few breaths before she looked away.
This, of course, did not escape the notice of several peerless geniuses, particularly Liu Changqing and the Saintess. They regarded the Moon God as their ultimate rival, yet she seemed utterly indifferent to them.