Huo Yuhao stood dazed, Lu Jingming's words echoing in his mind.
His confusion was replaced by a goal nearly impossible—become stronger, become a god, ascend to the God Realm, and wrest his mother's soul from Seagod Tang San.
An unprecedented resolve began to gather in his eyes; deep within those long-silent spirit-pupils, a storm was brewing.
Lu Jingming no longer looked at Huo Yuhao, whose inner world was turning upside down. He turned to the relaxed Jing Yuan with an easy smile and said:
"Senior Brother, the Holy Grail War is over. Your contract with Bei Bei is finished. You're free. What do you plan next?"
After the battle of Mingdu, the Holy Grail War was effectively over. Lu Jingming had not immediately released the contracts between Bei Bei and the Servants, but now he had decided to lift their bonds and set them free.
Whatever they did next was up to them. These figures from his memories carried a special sentiment for him.
As long as they did not become his enemies, he was happy to grant them maximum autonomy.
Jing Yuan's golden eyes—always holding a trace of a smile—flashed with a glint. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then grinned with an easy air:
"Free, huh? Good. I'm not the original, after all. Given this opportunity, experiencing life in this other world as a Galaxy Rangers sounds just right."
His role as the Xianzhou's Divine Strategist General was a responsibility, not a dream.
Now, having put down that burden, he could taste that long-desired, unrestrained life—traveling the star sea as a ranger—which suited him well.
"A Galaxy Rangers?"
Lu Jingming smiled, too. He understood this Senior Brother's dream.
"This universe is likewise vast and brimming with the unknown and the marvelous. I expect before long, on the far side of the stars, I'll be hearing of the famed Galaxy Rangers Jing Yuan."
"Mm."
Jing Yuan's smile turned even lazier, his eyes teasing as he glanced at Lu Jingming.
"Junior Brother, that said, this world's tech level is still quite behind. To truly roam the star sea, we'll need you to pick up the pace."
His gaze drifted meaningfully over Jingliu and Firefly.
With a powerhouse like Jingliu and The Herta's beyond-era technology, this civilization's level would likely be forcibly elevated to a whole new tier by this Junior Brother. Reaching a spacefaring era in short order was no pipe dream.
Lu Jingming only smiled, tacitly acknowledging.
Then Jingliu, who had been silent, fixed her cool gaze on Jing Yuan and spoke two simple words:
"Take care."
Jing Yuan's levity softened. He offered Jingliu a solemn Xianzhou salute:
"Teacher, you take care as well. I'm off."
He nodded to Lu Jingming and Gu Yuena and the others, then turned into a streak of golden light, soaring into the sky and vanishing in an instant—dashing and free—to begin his new journey in this world as a Galaxy Rangers.
With his departure, Lu Jingming could clearly sense invisible contract threads snapping and dispersing in the void.
All across the land, Servants—whether with their Masters or acting alone—felt the Holy Grail's shackles vanish completely in that moment.
Jing Yuan's golden streak stirred Huo Yuhao from his thoughts.
He looked toward where Jing Yuan disappeared, a trace of regret in his eyes.
If someone with Jing Yuan's strength helped, the path to saving his mother would be far smoother.
But he quickly suppressed the feeling. He understood: reliance on others could never last. True strength and hope must come from oneself.
He drew a deep breath and turned to Lu Jingming, more solemn and resolute than ever, his voice low:
"Lu Jingming, whatever your motives in telling me this—whether to use me or simply for amusement—thank you. Thank you for letting me know my mother's soul still exists. You've given me a reason I must live and must grow stronger."
He paused, then pledged: "You may not care, and my repayment may be trivial to you, but I, Huo Yuhao, will remember this favor. If I can save my mother in the end—if I'm still alive then—I will repay what I owe today."
He had already set life and death aside.
To seize a soul from a God King was all but courting death.
The road ahead would be full of thorns, with slim hope, but he would not retreat.
His mother was the first and only light in his dark life. For that light, he would burn everything—including himself.
As for whether Lu Jingming was lying?
After the first rush of emotion, Huo Yuhao had already thought it through calmly.
With the power Lu Jingming had shown and the unfathomable force under him, if he intended harm, Huo Yuhao would already be a corpse.
For someone he could erase at any time, why weave a lie that time or facts would inevitably puncture? Meaningless.
Thus, he chose to believe.
Leaving that earnest promise, Huo Yuhao hesitated no longer.
He looked at Xiao Wu, who had silently stood guard at his side. Their eyes met; understanding was reached.
He had to return to his original world. His mother's soul was imprisoned in that world's God Realm. His target for vengeance—the White Tiger Duke—was there too.
Dai Huabin's death alone could not begin to quell the hatred and pain pent up within him.
They said no more. Their figures became a streak of light, racing toward where a space-time passage might exist, vanishing into the horizon.
Watching Huo Yuhao's departing back, Lu Jingming drew his gaze back, that meaningful smile never leaving his face.
"Repay me?"
He murmured, lightly amused.
"Interesting. A pity you don't understand: from the moment you learned the truth and chose this path to save your mother, your fate no longer belonged to you."
He saw it clearly.
For Huo Yuhao to obtain power to rival a God King in short order, the only fast, effective path was to mine deeply and rely on the Herrscher core within him.
And though that core's power seemed boundless, it already bore Lu Jingming's brand.
As long as Huo Yuhao did not abandon that power, he would never truly escape Lu Jingming's grasp.
"I must say, Huo Yuhao, your luck isn't so good."
Lu Jingming shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a touch of almost cruel pity.
In the original track of fate, Huo Yuhao had been the child of destiny carefully selected, guided, and controlled by Seagod Tang San.
Now, freed from Tang San's chessboard, he had unwittingly fallen into Lu Jingming's game.
Lu Jingming's gaze seemed to pierce layers of space, following Huo Yuhao's vanishing silhouette.
"But that is reality—the barest and fairest truth in the universe."
His voice was calm and cold, stating the law of the world.
"The strong control the fate of the weak."
"Blame yourself… for not being strong enough yet."
His faint words drifted on the wind.
Not long after Huo Yuhao left, two vast, opposing divine auras erupted on the distant horizon like dormant volcanoes, stirring heaven and earth for a thousand miles around.
One was brilliant and resplendent, like a sunrise at dawn, bearing righteous power that purifies all and judges all sins—the divine power of the Angel God, Qian Renxue.
The other was cold and filthy, like a rift in the abyss, filled with spite, curses, and malice that sought to destroy everything—the divine power of the Rakshasa God, Bibi Dong.
The two divine powers crashed together in midair like primordial beasts, unleashing a soundless detonation that shook the soul.
Space twisted and collapsed at the point of impact, as if unable to bear the clash of two utterly opposing laws.
Lu Jingming didn't even need to look. The opposing auras, crystal clear to his soul-sense, told him everything.
"So it's a fight after all."
His tone was flat, as if expected.
"That pair of mother and daughter—one proud as the sun, the other obstinate down the demonic path—words are powerless for them. Only strength can make them truly face each other and settle the grudge of over twenty years."
With a faint, elusive smile at the corner of his lips, he nodded to Jingliu, Gu Yuena, and the rest:
"Come. Let's watch this battle of… justice and evil."
In a flicker of light and shadow, they stood atop a lone peak several miles from the battlefield, watching from afar.
At the center, the two gods had unleashed their power to the utmost.
Qian Renxue hovered in the sky, enveloped in pure golden radiance.
She wore a magnificent, awe-inspiring Angelic God set; six massive golden wings were fully spread behind her, each feather flowing with the brilliance of the sun's true fire.
The Angelic Holy Sword was in her grip, its blade burning with an eternal sacred flame.
Seven resplendent god-rings rotated slowly behind her head, exuding a divine might that inspired reverence and worship.
Her divine attributes were ultimate light, holiness, judgment, and solar fire. Wherever she passed, evil retreated, and the air itself brimmed with warmth and purification.
Opposite her, Bibi Dong was an image of the apocalypse.
The Rakshasa God set covered her; purple-black armor seemed woven from countless wailing spirits and curses, constantly twisting and writhing, radiating nauseating malice.
A colossal Rakshasa avatar roared behind her, wielding a scythe identical to her own. Its blade was coiled about by filth potent enough to corrode divinity.
Her god-rings were a deep purple-black; as they spun, it was as if innumerable resentful spirits howled.
Her divine power was pure darkness, evil, curses, and death. Her mere presence dyed surrounding space an ominous dark violet. Life on the ground was cut off; grass and trees withered and rotted in an instant.
Angel and Rakshasa were born enemies.
If not for that tangled and severless bond of mother and daughter, this destined duel should have erupted the moment they became gods, not been put off until now.
"Nether Rakshasa."
Bibi Dong struck first. The Rakshasa Scythe swept out; the purple light in the sky answered, becoming hundreds of twisted, serpent-like purple-black scythe-blades, blanketing the heavens as they shredded toward Qian Renxue—so sharp they even devoured light itself.
"Holy Flame: Verdict!"
Qian Renxue's cold cry rang out. With a point of the Angelic Holy Sword, endless golden sacred flame surged forward like a tsunami. The holy fire condensed into innumerable burning blades of light, precisely intercepting each Rakshasa scythe.
Boom! Boom-boom-boom—!!
Gold and violet-black collided and annihilated each other in the air. Sacred flame purified evil; Rakshasa power corroded light.
Every clash burst with brilliance bright enough to blind mortals and deafening thunder.
The shockwaves spread outward in tangible rings, layer by layer, plowing the already-ruined ground anew. Mountains were hewn in half; boulders turned to dust.
"Calamity Curse: Oblivion!"
Madness deepened in Bibi Dong's eyes. She pointed the scythe at the earth; the foul Rakshasa power sank into the ground, stirring the deepest resentments in the leylines.
At once, countless blood-red eyes—congealed from filthy blood and rancor—opened upon the land. Pillars of dark-red light, saturated with curses and decay, shot into the sky and wove a vast net of death, falling over Qian Renxue.
"Angelic Domain: World-Cleansing Holy Light!"
Qian Renxue did not yield. Her six wings beat sharply. Centered on her, a golden domain suffused with sacred aura expanded rapidly.
Within the domain, hymns echoed; golden rain fell. The holy light's ultimate purification met the death-net of Calamity Curse, hissing as it burned. The evil curses melted in the light like snow.
"Rakshasa Scythe: Soul-Cleave!"
Bibi Dong merged with her avatar—body following the scythe, becoming a purple-black slash that tore space, the scythe aiming straight for Qian Renxue's soul-origin.
This strike carried the Rakshasa God's absolute restraint over the soul.
"Angelic Divinity: Solar Holyblade!"
Qian Renxue raised the sword high, as if drawing down the sun's core from the ninth heaven. The holy sword swelled into a golden giant blade spanning heaven and earth, cleaving down with the will to burn seas, rend mountains, and judge all.
CLAAAANG—!!!!
The clash of divine weapons produced a mind-rending roar as if to tear the world apart.
At the point of impact, a swelling orb of mixed energy—golden sacred flame and purple-black malice—ballooned, then detonated.
The sky split with a massive rift, revealing the chaos beyond.
The earth shattered and sank like a fragile eggshell. A ring-shaped crater over ten kilometers wide formed beneath them. Its walls were smooth as mirrors—vitrified by extreme energies in an instant.
Shockwaves swept hundreds of kilometers. Tempest winds howled; clouds were shredded—the end of days made manifest.
The sacred might of the Angel God and the evil force of the Rakshasa God were not merely clashing energies; they strove to seize dominion over the laws of this world.