Zhi Yue shook her head, muttering under her breath.
"Impossible.
This can't be true. How could Zhi Yin be that kind?
I ruined her life. Why didn't she come back to ruin mine? Why didn't she come back?
I'm not afraid of her! If she wants to fight, then come fight me head-on!"
Her voice gradually twisted into madness. She glared at the old crone like a cornered beast. "You're lying to me! You're lying!! You must be lying to me!!"
To kill Zhi Yin—
She'd never once felt guilty about it. She wanted the throne. Zhi Yin stood in her way. So she killed her. What was wrong with that?
But now…
Her mother said Zhi Yin hadn't returned to fight for power at all. She'd left for the Central Continent just to avoid mutual destruction.
Why?
Why would she abandon something Zhi Yue had fought so hard for, as if it were nothing?
How could she throw away the throne like that?
It made her feel like… a complete fool.
"I've no reason to lie to you," the old woman said calmly. "Zhi Yue, you hurt the two people in this world who loved you most. That's why, for the past fifty years, you've suffered as you have. Because in this world… there's no one left who loves you."
No one left who loves you…
Those words cut like a blade.
Zhi Yue felt all her strength drain from her body. Her lips trembled. She wanted to argue, but nothing came out.
She'd driven away her sister and imprisoned her mother. She'd destroyed the two people who loved her most.
Now, truly, no one loved her anymore.
She'd fought for power all her life, and in return, all she got was fifty years of empty glory and a throne balanced on thin ice. Her body shook. Then she suddenly laughed—loud and bitter.
As she laughed, tears slipped from her eyes. She thought she'd never regret anything.
But in that moment… she realized she did. If only—
If only she hadn't harmed her sister, Zhi Yin would've become king by now.
"Zhi Yin was such a fool," Zhi Yue said with a twisted smile, tears and laughter tangled together. "She was the younger one, but always acted like she had to protect me. When we were kids, someone mocked me for not having the King Stone like she did. I fought him, but I lost. That night, when she found out, she went straight to his house and beat him senseless."
The old woman sighed. "Yes. She always believed it was her duty to protect you."
"She was the future king," Zhi Yue murmured. "Everything precious was meant for her, yet she always shared her resources with me in secret."
The old woman nodded. "I knew about it. I didn't stop her because I saw it as the bond between sisters, as long as it didn't hinder her cultivation."
Zhi Yue's lips curved faintly. Her gaze turned distant. "Back then, whenever I remembered those things, I always thought she was pretending. That she was pitying me. So I hated her even more."
The old woman's eyes softened with sorrow. "But she wasn't pretending. She was simply loving you with everything she had."
Zhi Yue was silent for a long time. Then she whispered, "I believe you now."
She believed it—
But it was far too late.
Zhi Yin was gone.
And Zhi Yue had reached her end.
"You said Zhi Yin had a child? He inherited her King Stone?" Zhi Yue suddenly asked. "Have you met him?"
The old woman's voice was calm. "That has nothing to do with you."
Zhi Yue arched a brow. "What, you think I can still hurt him now? Look at me. Do I look like a threat?"
"He might not want to see you," the old woman said softly.
Yu Songnian stood quietly at her side. He hadn't said he was the Shi Tribe's heir, and the old woman wouldn't expose his identity either.
Zhi Yue narrowed her eyes. "I'm already half-dead. If someone else kills me, I'll die unwillingly. But if he does it, if I die under the King Stone's power, then let's call it… Zhi Yin's revenge."
The old woman said nothing. Then Yu Songnian's calm voice broke the silence. "You want to see me?"
Zhi Yue's gaze drifted toward him, dazed.
Yu Songnian removed the talisman concealing his appearance, revealing his true face.
Zhi Yue's body trembled.
This was…
Zhi Yin's child?
He looked so much like Zhi Yin—and like her too.
Zhi Yue stared, unable to blink.
"Is that… Her Highness Zhi Yin's son?"
"Did she really pass the King Stone to him?"
"The King Stone's truly with him?"
Whispers spread through the crowd.
In front of Yu Songnian, a simple gray stone appeared.
It looked ordinary, but the moment it emerged, the massive stone at the square's center began to glow with golden light.
Then, one after another, every spirit stone within the onlookers' bodies began to stir.
The old woman looked at Yu Songnian gently and didn't suppress her own power. The spirit stone within her floated into the air, trembling with submission before the King Stone.
The other members of the Shi Tribe followed.
Spirit stones filled the sky, surrounding the King Stone in reverent obeisance.
Zhi Yue watched for a long time, then sighed softly. Her spirit stone floated out as well, circling the King Stone with the rest.
The stones trembled as if performing a ritual of worship.
Every Shi tribesman's face was filled with awe.
The King Stone had returned!
The Shi Tribe's revival was at hand!
The envoys of other tribes exchanged glances, their faces showing faint unease. With the King Stone reappearing, the balance of the Nanlan Continent was about to change.
Zhi Yue swept her gaze over the crowd.
The proud Shi nobles who'd defied her now bowed their heads in obedience. Even the other races' envoys, once arrogant and scheming, now stood silent. So this was the power of the King Stone…
She still didn't want to accept it. But she'd already fought, and this was how it ended.
So be it.
She'd wronged Zhi Yin, and dying under her sister's King Stone felt like fitting justice.
"Do it," Zhi Yue said calmly. "Shatter my spirit stone. I'll go below and face Zhi Yin myself."
Yu Songnian glanced at the old woman.
Her expression was sorrowful, but she didn't stop him. "Songnian," she said softly. "She's committed unforgivable sins. Dying under Zhi Yin's King Stone is the best end she could hope for."
"Alright." Yu Songnian nodded.
The others withdrew their spirit stones, leaving only the King Stone and Zhi Yue's Royal Stone floating in the air.
Zhi Yue lifted her head, staring blankly at her own stone.
After all these years of madness, she finally felt lucid again.
Lucid enough to face death.
Yu Songnian raised his hand. The King Stone dissolved into a massive ethereal sword that hovered above them.
Zhi Yue didn't blink.
She wanted to face her death clearly.
Yu Songnian looked at her and said quietly, "You thought the King Stone was everything. But tell me, do all the world's strongest have King Stones? If you didn't have one, you could've still walked your own path. You're the one who gave in to jealousy and lost yourself."
Zhi Yue's eyes went blank. Her own path…?
"You might think I'm lucky to have a King Stone. I am lucky in one way, I had a mother who loved me. But the King Stone can't decide whether I'm strong or weak. Since you're going to die, let this sword show you my path." Yu Songnian said solemnly.
His cultivation was far below hers, yet…
As long as he followed his path, even without a King Stone, he could still become a peerless powerhouse.
This strike—
Was to make her understand that truth.
Yun Jin had been watching quietly the whole time. This was Yu Songnian's burden to bear, and no one else could interfere.
Seeing his calm expression now, Yun Jin smiled faintly. That was the third senior brother he knew. His will was unshakable.
With the Sect Master's Residence upgraded to its highest level, Yun Jin could sense every disciple's cultivation state. His third senior brother… had already stepped onto his own path.
Zhi Yue looked at Yu Songnian with an almost mocking tone, "You're only a peak Nascent Soul, and you think you can show me your path?"
Wasn't that laughable? Wasn't this a little like a novice teaching a master?
"Maybe it is," Yu Songnian said evenly. "But with the King Stone's power, I can temporarily reach the Tribulation stage. That's enough."
"Then I'll watch carefully," Zhi Yue said with a faint smile.
Yu Songnian gazed up. The King Stone's energy poured into his body.
Stone armor covered him as his aura rose rapidly.
Nascent Soul.
Divine Transformation.
Unity.
He leapt across two entire major realms, reaching Tribulation stage!
So this was the King Stone's power.
Gasps filled the air. Yu Songnian lifted his hand, and the sword vanished from sight.
Before anyone could react, it reappeared above Zhi Yue's Royal Stone.
The sword fell.
The Royal Stone shattered instantly.
Zhi Yue spat blood and collapsed to her knees. Yun Jin sighed, dispelling the vines that bound her.
Without her Royal Stone, she had only moments to live. She forced her eyes open, staring at Yu Songnian.
"Just now, your sword, for a moment, exceeded the limit of speed!" Zhi Yue looked at him in disbelief.
Yu Songnian's attack even carried a hint of space technique, but it wasn't true space magic.
"Yes." Yu Songnian said earnestly, "I practiced the Hidden Sword Path since I was little. Train the Hidden Sword ten years, then release the sword in an instant. That instant must not fail, so it has to be extremely fast. Later, I entered the Wushuang Sect and slowly found my road. This path of mine is simple, it's the Way of Speed. I wanted to chase the limit of speed. Maybe when I find that limit, I'll find the threshold into the Primordial Space."
Zhi Yue listened carefully, then she smiled softly, "The Way of Speed, the Way of Space, I see."
"For me, the King Stone's greatest meaning was that it's a relic mother left me. But my path to the strongest has nothing to do with it. I have my own way, my own path, and the King Stone can't do much on that road." Yu Songnian said.
"The path to the strongest…" Zhi Yue's expression grew hazy.
So.
The King Stone wasn't everything.
So.
She could have walked her own path.
She was wrong.
She'd been outrageously wrong.
"Zhi Yin had a good son." Zhi Yue's expression slowly softened.
"I have a good mother. She taught me when I was young that having a resilient heart is more important than anything." Yu Songnian said calmly.
"Is that so…" Zhi Yue whispered.
Her sister had possessed the King Stone, yet long freed herself from the King Stone's shackles.
She, who never really had the King Stone, had been imprisoned by it all her life.
This truth, nobody taught her until her last moment.
She looked at Yu Songnian, a smile eased at the corner of her mouth.
She smiled and smiled until her life's breath… finally faded away.
Zhi Yue… fell from then on.
Yu Songnian retrieved the King Stone, coughing violently as his aura weakened.
The old woman looked at him with distress. "Why go that far? Forcing the King Stone's power will leave you weak for days."
Yu Songnian smiled faintly. "I just wanted her to know she was never better than my mother. Even with the King Stone, she still wasn't."
"You really…" The old woman sighed softly.
He said that, but she knew the truth—he'd granted Zhi Yue closure.
This boy, like his mother, had a soft heart. But unlike Zhi Yin, he also had steel in him. He could be merciful, but he didn't hesitate when it mattered.
Compassion, courage, and wisdom—
He was meant to be king of the Shi Tribe.
Zhi Yue was dead. The old woman slowly turned toward the trembling nobles.
The moment her gaze swept over them, they all fell to their knees.
"Zhi Yue was guilty," she said coldly, "but don't think any of you are innocent. You defied her rule and stirred unrest across the Shi Tribe. Half our downfall is her fault, but the other half is yours."
Her tone was icy. "You sought help from foreign envoys, sold our people and land, just to seize the throne? Tell me, was it worth it?"
The envoys shifted awkwardly, and the nobles trembled even harder. They knew her reputation well. None dared defend themselves.
"Your crimes will be judged," she said flatly. "Every last one."
The old woman walked to Zhi Yue's fallen body and picked up the royal scepter.
She raised it high.
The guards of the royal city knelt in unison.
The king had returned.
After the nobles were restrained, the king, supported by Yu Songnian, approached Yun Jin.
"Sect Master Yun," she said sincerely, "this time, we owe you everything."