Chapter 696: Langtian, Do You Want to Break Through to the Ancestor Realm?
"The Yimo Emperor has actually broken free of the seal…"
The Master of Life and Death, the Flame Master, and the others stared blankly at the heavens, a trace of fear in their eyes.
The Yimo Emperor was the one even their Teacher had only sealed by sacrificing himself.
They could not help but regret ignoring Lin Langtian's warning and recklessly chasing victory.
The Demon Emperor's Image born from the Heavenly King Hall's fusion had been terrifying, but compared to the Yimo Emperor himself, it was nothing.
If they had calmed down, they might have found a safer path—one that slew the Heavenly King Hall without tearing open the dimensional rift.
"Forgive us. Our carelessness has brought disaster," the Master of Life and Death said, speaking for the others as they turned toward Lin Langtian in shame.
He shook his head. "This was the Heavenly King Hall's plan for a thousand years. Being caught off guard is only natural. Don't worry. Things haven't reached the worst point yet."
Even as he finished, Ying Huanhuan's hands flashed through a series of seals. Cold gathered above into an enormous mirror of ice.
The surface gleamed like crystal, then dimmed, revealing a void of endless darkness.
Within that void, a colossal ancient array emerged, its lines too dense to follow.
Beams of Yuan Power wove across it, hiding whatever lay beyond.
Yet if one looked closely, one could make out a titanic rift behind the formation—like the jaws of some unimaginable beast.
Boom!
The pillar of destruction the Demon Emperor's Image had unleashed tore through the void and crashed into the ancient seal like a barrage of a million nuclear blasts.
Buzz…
The impact sent a tsunami of energy racing outward, shaking the seal to its core.
As everyone watched with bated breath, the seal flared with ancient light.
That light became the silhouette of a titanic, ageless figure.
One gesture of its hand dissolved the wave of ruin as if it had never been.
"Teacher…"
The Master of Life and Death, the Flame Master, and the others stared at the figure and whispered the word as one.
Whoosh!
Then, from behind the seal, a slim black beam shot out.
It lanced straight through the brow of the glowing figure.
All sound died.
"That attack… was the Yimo Emperor," Ying Huanhuan said through clenched teeth, her entire body erupting in icy qi.
"The… Yimo Emperor?"
Despair washed over the allied ranks as they watched the ancient figure begin to fade.
That single, hair-thin ray had shattered the last, perfect equilibrium of the seal.
"Symbol Ancestor!"
Countless experts fell to their knees like fields of wheat in a storm, their cries echoing across the world.
If even this final layer of protection fell, then their world was naked before the Yimo's hunger.
Ying Huanhuan and the Ancient Masters went pale.
The light of the Symbol Ancestor's projection grew thinner and thinner.
Just as it was about to vanish, emotion flickered in his hollow eyes.
His old gaze seemed to pierce the ages, softening as he looked through the ice mirror.
"Do not despair."
His voice drifted across heaven and earth like a whisper from beyond the sky.
Every spine on the battlefield stiffened. Heads snapped up toward the mirror.
"Teacher!"
Ying Huanhuan and the others dropped to their knees, eyes wide with shock.
"My disciples," the Symbol Ancestor said, "the Yimo Emperor had his contingencies.
"So did I.
"You are mine."
His gaze lingered on Ying Huanhuan, then seemed to turn toward the distant Ancestral Palace, where Lin Dong cultivated.
Lin Langtian felt, just for a heartbeat, that those eyes brushed over him as well.
"This war will be fought without me," the Symbol Ancestor went on, "but I believe you will still protect what you must protect."
He smiled, warm and gentle.
Then the light blew out.
Only the cracked dimensional seal remained, stubbornly holding on.
Tears slid soundlessly down Ying Huanhuan's cheeks.
She wiped them away and let a faint smile touch her lips.
"Rest easy, Teacher. Your disciple understands what must be done."
She turned to face the armies.
"Everyone, the Yimo Emperor has indeed broken the inner seal and waits outside the dimensional rift.
"But there is good news. Teacher's seal still holds. Even for the Yimo Emperor, it will take at least a year to completely shatter it."
Her voice was cool and clear, tinged with fierce resolve.
Relief and dread rippled through the crowd in equal measure.
They had won a year.
And nothing more.
"In this war, the allied armies cannot face the Yimo Emperor," she said. "If we are to avert the world's end a year from now, there is only one path left."
She lowered her eyes for a moment.
"We must… give this world a new Symbol Ancestor."
Silence fell like a shroud.
Everyone knew that if another Symbol Ancestor walked the land, the Yimo Emperor need not be feared.
But the Ancestor's realm was not something one simply 'reached.'
"I will gather all the power of this continent," Ying Huanhuan continued. "With the other Ancient Masters, the Eight Ancestral Symbols, and the Nine Divine Items…"
Her fingers clenched tightly.
"…I will assault the Ancestor Realm."
The desert erupted in a storm of voices.
Shock. Astonishment.
And then, rising under it all, wild joy.
If the Ice Master truly became an Ancestor, then the Tianxuan Continent would have a second Symbol Ancestor.
The Ancient Masters exchanged shaken looks.
She was finally ready to burn everything on that last step.
"Assault the Ancestor Realm!"
The familiar voice cut across the uproar.
Space twisted, and a tall, black-robed man appeared.
Lin Dong.
He fixed his gaze on Ying Huanhuan, jaw tight.
"I know what's happened," he said quietly. "If you strike for the Ancestor Realm now, what are your odds? And if you fail?"
She had been delighted to see him, sensing that he, like Lin Langtian, had reached the Divine Palace Realm within the Ancestral Palace.
But his question killed that joy in an instant.
"Thirty percent," she said at last. "If I fail, my Reincarnation will shatter. I will die completely."
The desert seemed to freeze.
Only three in ten.
No one in the army was truly surprised.
The Ancestor Realm was never meant to be easy. Even for the Ice Master, thirty percent was already unthinkably high.
Lin Dong's fists clenched.
It was what he had expected.
But something still felt wrong.
"And if you succeed?" he pressed.
Her pupils contracted.
"Then I succeed," she said lightly. "What else is there to say?"
"Flame Master," Lin Dong said, turning sharply. "Is that the truth?"
The Ancient Masters hesitated.
At last, the Master of Life and Death sighed.
"Little Junior Sister," she said softly, "there's no need to lie anymore.
"If you fail, your Reincarnation shatters.
"If you succeed… you will freeze all emotion. Teacher warned us long ago.
"You are… not like the others."
"So it is," Lin Dong whispered.
His eyes burned as he turned back to Ying Huanhuan.
"How noble," he said with a bitter laugh.
She met his gaze without flinching.
The crystal-clear blue of her eyes held nothing but unshakable resolve.
After a long moment, he exhaled and forced himself calm.
"Then choose someone else," he said. "Let me do it. Or Brother Langtian. He's always been the better of us. He might even be more suited than you."
Lin Langtian blinked, caught off guard.
He had never expected Lin Dong's trust to run that deep.
But he knew the truth.
He was not of the Symbol Ancestor's line.
No matter how strong he grew, winning the Ancient Masters' absolute trust—to the point they would stake everything on him—would not be so simple.
"No," Ying Huanhuan said at once, brows drawing together.
"You!" Lin Dong flared. "Must you be the one to play savior?"
"This is my mission," she replied.
His whole body trembled.
He stared at her for a long time, then drew a slow breath.
"This… is your choice, then?" he asked at last, voice rough.
"Then I wish you success."
He turned away.
"Wait," she said.
"The final charge will need the Ancestral Symbols and the Ancestral Stone. I… hope you'll guide them for me."
He froze.
Turned back.
His eyes were tired. Empty.
She could not bring herself to meet them. She looked away.
He studied her in silence.
Then something in his expression cracked.
"So be it," he said softly. "You're the Ice Master now, far above me.
"Let Ying Huanhuan live in my heart instead."
He raised his hand.
Three ancient symbols of light shot from his body toward her.
A smear of blood flowed along his fingertip as he made a cutting motion.
The symbols shuddered violently, releasing a shrill hum.
"Kh…"
He coughed, blood staining his lips as the color drained from his face.
He had severed his link to them.
"Brother Dong!"
"Big Brother!"
Cries rang out from Lin Langtian, Qingtan, Little Flame, and the others.
They had not imagined he would go so far.
He waved them off and lifted his hand again.
The Ancestral Stone, the Great Desolate Tablet, and the Mysterious Heavenly Hall flew free.
"Go," he said. "Help her."
"Ice Master, may you succeed. I have no place here now. Farewell."
He bowed to her.
Then, without another word, shot off the battlefield like a streak of light.
Qingtan, Little Flame, and Little Marten took off after him.
Silence fell again.
No one quite understood how things had come to this.
Lin Langtian watched them go and shook his head.
Lin Dong's love for Ying Huanhuan was real.
But Ying Huanhuan—or rather, the Ice Master—had her own duty.
And when duty and love collided, she had chosen her mission.
"Hmm. If I'm not mistaken, that girl is of the Ice Spirit Clan, isn't she?" Ling Ying's voice slipped into Lin Langtian's thoughts, smooth and sultry. "What a waste. With that talent, if she were in the Great Thousand World and had the clan's full support, she could reach my peak easily—never mind this little 'Ancestor Realm.'"
"Ice Spirit Clan…" Lin Langtian murmured.
He knew the story well enough.
In another future, Lin Dong would storm the Ice Spirit Clan for this very girl.
"Then tell me," he asked, lips pressed together, "can she really reach the Ancestor Realm?"
For a long moment, Ling Ying did not answer.
When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and tempting.
"Langtian… do you want to reach the Ancestor Realm?"
(END CHAPTER)
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