Pillar of Yita

After walking down the hill, Fang Hong ran into someone he hadn’t expected.

Ye Hua was wearing a faint smile as he stretched out his hand to him. ”Nicely done, Ade.” The young man with the sword was standing off to the side as well. Getting praise from his idol still gave Fang Hong a little pleasant surprise, but after what happened with Fanric—somehow, that feeling had already faded a lot compared to before.

He looked at that hand. Ye Hua’s gaze was filled with expectation as he smiled and asked, ”Ade, have you ever thought about joining us?”

Fang Hong shook his head lightly.

Ye Hua chuckled, drew his hand back, and said, ”I was prepared for that, but I still couldn’t resist giving it a try...”

”Great God Ye Hua...”

Fang Hong had just opened his mouth when Ye Hua laughed and cut him off: ”No need to explain, we’re the same kind of people. I understand what you’re after, I just couldn’t accept it without at least trying. Sigh, a few years ago I could still use this kind of trick to lure in a few little fanboys. Looks like I’m getting old—my pull isn’t what it used to be.”

Hearing that, Fang Hong couldn’t help wiping away a bead of sweat.

If back in Dulun, if he hadn’t had the Seven Seas Travel Group with him, if at that time Ye Hua had extended an invitation, it was very possible he really would have wavered.

But reality has no ”ifs.” He was no longer that naïve kid who, about everything beyond the Stargate, only had unrealistic longings and knew those names wreathed in halos only as distant objects of admiration. His adventures had taught him many things. After layer upon layer of glow had peeled away, he had also learned how to pursue a path that belonged to him.

Smiling, Ye Hua shifted the topic. ”Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore, it only stirs up pointless melancholy... Speaking of which, I’ve only got a few years left before I retire...” He suddenly changed tone: ”The King of Sand wants us to go see something. Let’s head over together.”

”So Great God Ye Hua got the message too?”

Ye Hua nodded.

”By the way, Ade.” He suddenly asked.

”What is it, Great God Ye Hua?”

”You know this, right? The Emerald Star is indestructible. There is only one way it can self-dissolve—you’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”

When he said this, Ye Hua was looking straight at him with a burning gaze.

Fang Hong fell silent despite himself. Of course he understood. The Emerald Star would only self-dissolve after the Strength within it had been completely unleashed, just like those fragments they had found on the Dawood Ship. And the reason he had been able to shatter the Emerald Star earlier was that he had used a very particular kind of Strength...

He knew that the Strength of the Dark Saints had the same origin, and that the Strength of the Dark Giant Dragon came from the Verdant Star of Calamity, while Nikopolas’s Strength was inherited from Dragon King Leifgard. So he had wanted Nini to give it a try, to see whether Strength of a similar kind could shake the stability of the Verdant Star.

He hadn’t expected it to work in a single blow, smashing that entire Mountain of Crystal to pieces—

But as a result, Nini was still fast asleep to this day, the little girl hugging her knees, tail curled, just like when she was first born, curled up in the depths of his Spirit World.

He wasn’t exactly terribly worried—because Nini’s condition was actually very good; it was more like she’d absorbed too much Strength and thus fallen into a deep slumber. Fang Hong just had no idea when this little brat would wake up next; surely it couldn’t be hundreds, thousands of years from now, right?

Yet in fact, only a small portion of the energy contained in that Mountain of Crystal had transferred into Nini’s body—whether because Nikopolas’s Soul was too young, or because the Emerald Star had been shattered by external force, most of the Strength within the Mountain of Crystal had dissipated into the air.

But that strange kind of Ether seemed to vanish without a trace.

The consequences it caused, however, were plainly visible to the naked eye.

The Forest in the distance was withering; the Valley was fading; this millennia-old Phantom Sea was slowly disappearing, bit by bit.

Fang Hong really hadn’t figured out how he should bring all this up; his plan was to muddle through somehow, but he hadn’t expected Ye Hua to see through it at a glance.

He hadn’t yet decided how to reply when Ye Hua spoke first:

”Ade, the Hailin Crown is in your hands, isn’t it.”

Fang Hong instinctively took a step back.

”Don’t wear everything on your face.” Seeing his expression, Ye Hua couldn’t help shaking his head. ”You ought to hide these secrets more carefully in the future. As for Pale Glory, the Descendants of Flor won’t just give up. They’re chasing the Witch of the Sea only because they still don’t believe the Hailin Crown is actually in your hands. In the future, when it comes to matters involving the Emerald Star, you must be very cautious about taking part—”

”Especially while your Strength hasn’t yet grown to the point where you can contend with a ’Giant’...”

Ye Hua said, his tone heavy with earnest advice.

Fang Hong froze.

So this King among the Ten Kings also knew about the connection between Pale Glory and the Emerald Star.

But he hadn’t used the Strength of Pale Glory at all, had he? How was he supposed to answer—by saying there was a Soul of Dark Giant Dragon inside him? That sounded even more ostentatious than before.

Fang Hong could only keep his mouth shut and pretend he had taken the warning to heart.

...

When the two of them reached the bottom of the Valley, they found that this place had just gone through a Combat.

The basin was a complete mess. Broken blades littered the ground, along with fragments of Armor and Magic Guided Conductors, plus some Equipment that had popped out, and toppled, still-sparking Constructs lying crooked at the roadside. The Desert People warriors were cleaning up the battlefield, while Parker took the chance to fish in troubled waters and had already made out like a bandit.

He thought no one knew, yet every few steps—bang—another piece of Equipment would fall from under his bulging coat, and he would scramble to snatch it back up in a panic. The onlookers all pretended not to see, especially the Istania Knights, who only let out a low rumbling laugh.