Zhang Ping’s corpse was slowly disappearing. It turned into a black liquid that seeped into the ground. Then, flowers continued to blossom in this wasteland, freshening up the world. Eventually, they covered the entire battlefield.
Qin Xiyue sat down not far from where Zhang Ping died.
The bloody battlefield already disappeared. This place instead became peaceful and beautiful.
Cheers erupted.
Lin Xi raised his head. He looked at the cheering crowd.
He saw a youngster standing at the very front of the distant cheering crowd.
This person was familiar. Then, he recalled that fire he started in the academy, recalling who this youngster was. He saw that this youngster was no longer underripe. He remembered the promise he made with this youngster.
He understood why this student stood at the very front of the crowd.
This youngster’s cultivation was too weak compared to him and Zhang Ping, yet this student always remembered his promise, always prepared to offer his life to him. Even though it couldn’t change anything, this was a type of conviction and attitude.
Lin Xi saw this fellow student he hadn’t seen for a long time, this student who didn’t converse much with him even when they were back at the academy. He recalled even more students, even more beautiful memories from the academy.
He smiled towards this student he hadn’t met for a long time. He bent down to pick up a dandelion-like flower.
…
Many days later, a carriage stopped by the border of an ordinary small town.
The one lying on the soft carriage carpeting was Xu Zhenyan.
His body was covered in many bandages. There was still a lot of turbid yellow liquid seeping out from them.
After flowers covered that wasteland, with the conclusion of the devil king’s era, all those who followed the Devil King or those who were tied to the devil king couldn’t avoid the revenge and pursuit of Yunqin’s people.
Xu Zhenyan left that battlefield extremely early. When Zhang Ping and Lin Xi’s battle had just started, when the heaven and earth vital energy had just moved towards Lin Xi’s body, he already left.
However, even though he didn’t die in East Forest Province like many Divine Adjudicators, he still suffered serious injuries during the following pursuit.
When this carriage stopped by the border of this small town, the sleeping Xu Zhenyan woke up. He called out two times, yet he didn’t receive any replies. As such, he knew that his last subordinate also secretly abandoned him.
He undid the curtains and walked out.
This was a white walled, black tiled clean small town with a creek running through it.
Xu Zhenyan licked his cracked lips. He was thirsty.
He wanted to drink a mouthful of sweet water.
He left the carriage and walked towards this small town.
Suddenly, his staggering steps stopped.
His eyes stopped over a field.
There was a short haired man and his wife who were harvesting rice crops. Their daughter was currently sleeping on a pile of straw.
This short haired man was sweating a lot. His wife handed him a water sack.
The short-haired man gulped down this water, feeling extremely refreshed.
Xu Zhenyan also moved along with the gulping of this short-haired man.
Some memories surfaced in his mind like mist.
He recognized this short-haired man… this short-haired man was Tang Ke.
Tang Ke didn’t notice Xu Zhenyan.
After drinking the water, he bent over and began to work again.
His wife followed at his side, working with him. Their daughter’s face was covered by a straw hat, currently sleeping by the edge of the field.
All of this seemed extremely ordinary, extremely peaceful.
This was precisely the life the previous border barbarian Tang Ke had always wanted.
Xu Zhenyan watched from a distance. He didn’t move, instead sitting down where he was. He suddenly felt great envy, he felt like he could have experienced this type of life as well.
He thought about how all he wanted right now was a bowl of water.
Then, he felt great pain.
He could no longer resist the pain. He lied down on his back. The last thing he saw in this world was a peaceful and auspicious blue sky.
…
When Xu Zhenyan left this world, a skinny and weak young lady walked into Central Continent City.
She was just like Zhantai Qiantang when he first entered Central Continent City, a bit bewildered as she looked at Central Continent City’s streets and alleys, the endless traffic. She didn’t know where she should go.
She was the academy’s watchman, the Dark Priest Mu Xin Li’s successor, Ai Qilan.
After this final academy internal struggle ended, Lin Xi didn’t wish for her to walk in the darkness anymore. He told her that she can do what she wanted to do, that she should enjoy her life.
Ai Qilan was at a loss to what she should do apart from protecting and fighting.
Before she entered Central Continent City, she knew what Lin Xi said was right. One had to seek out the purpose for their own life. However, she still didn’t know what kind of life she wanted to live.
She also walked about somewhat randomly through Central Continent City. She even bought a string of tanghulu to slowly eat.
Then, she met a fatty. This was a fatty who didn’t seem like he would ever lose that much weight.
“Meng Bai.”
Ai Qilan called out with a bit of surprise. She was rather pleasantly surprised as she walked up. “Why are you here too?”
Meng Bai was a bit embarrassed as he looked at her. He said quietly, “I came to Central Continent City to learn some things. What about you? Why are you here as well?”
“I am just here to look around.” Ai Qilan suddenly felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say. The two of them remained speechless for some time, and then Ai Qilan asked quietly, “What kind of plans do you have now?”
Meng Bai said with a slightly red face. “I want to be a teacher.”
Ai Qilan understood now. “You are planning to go back to the academy to be a black robed lecturer?”
But Meng Bai instead shook his head. He became even more embarrassed as he said, “The academy will definitely be rebuilt, but I don’t plan on becoming an academy lecturer. I only want to become an ordinary teacher… I want to go to some places without schools to teach some children how to read, teach them some principles. As long as they know how to read, as long as they understand how to conduct themselves, then they can learn much more on their own. That is why I came to Central Continent City… Central Continent City has all types of teachers. I want to gain some experience from them.”
Ai Qilan was stunned for a long time.
“At the very least, you can teach them what courage is.” After she was stunned for some time, she said this seriously to Meng Bai.
Meng Bai smiled awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say.
Ai Qilan suddenly felt like she found a purpose. She laughed and looked seriously at Meng Bai. “I’ll follow you as well then. Even if I can’t become a teacher like you, I can at least be a helper.”
Meng Bai was stunned, but soon afterwards, he smiled happily. “Sure!”
