National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Amaterasu stood among the crowd,

feeling as if a thousand needles were pricking her back. The awkwardness was like having her last scrap of dignity torn away in public, and her face burned with shame.

She lifted her eyes and scanned her surroundings.

’Good heavens. Besides me,’

’every single person here is from the Great Xia Empire.’

Their gazes felt tangible, some scrutinizing, others questioning, piercing her until she was thoroughly uncomfortable.

She wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Without even needing a reminder from Chu He,

Amaterasu, like a guilty child scrambling to hide her mistake, frantically raised a hand and made a soft beckoning gesture.

In that instant,

the Eight-Handed Mirror, which had been hanging high above the Bronze Coffin like a golden sun radiating a destructive aura,

seemed to hear its master’s urgent summons.

The scorching golden light that rampaged around it, hot enough to make the air sizzle—SZZZZZLE—, rapidly receded like a tide.

Immediately after, the Eight-Handed Mirror transformed into a streak of light

and landed flawlessly in Amaterasu’s trembling hand.

Amaterasu’s hand flinched as if the mirror had burned her. She then absorbed it into her body with the greatest possible speed. The entire sequence was so fluid it seemed as if she had practiced it countless times.

After finishing, she forced herself to appear calm, trying to quell the turmoil in her heart. She spoke impassively, ”There is no need for alarm, everyone.

That was merely a clone of the Eight-Handed Mirror.

The true Eight-Handed Mirror has long since fused with me, taking root in the deepest part of my body.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Eight-Handed Mirror is now an inseparable part of me. We will live and die together.”

Although she tried her best to control her tone, the faint tremor in her voice inadvertently betrayed her inner panic and unease.

”So, should we be heading back to the Great Xia Empire now?”

Yumizakura broke the momentary, deathly silence.

In truth, during her time following Chu He, Yumizakura had grown to truly love the Great Xia Empire.

Its lands were vast and its resources plentiful, like an inexhaustible mountain of treasure.

Moreover, the people there seemed exceptionally generous and open-minded,

a stark contrast to the rather narrow-minded and calculating nature of the people in the White-Red Empire.

Most importantly, with a guardian as powerful as a god like Chu He watching over it,

the stability of the Great Xia Empire was leagues beyond that of the White-Red Empire.

During this time, none of Chu He’s actions had escaped Yumizakura’s watchful eyes.

She had personally witnessed two incredible developments:

First, the Martial Arts Power of the Great Xia Empire was skyrocketing, growing as prolifically as bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Large numbers of promising young talents were constantly emerging in the world of Martial Arts,

creating a scene of vibrant energy that was truly astonishing.

Second, the growth of Chu He’s own strength was rocketing upward at an astonishing pace, as if he were being reborn anew each day.

A bold thought began to sprout in Yumizakura’s mind.

’Perhaps Chu He really has a chance to shatter his mortal shackles and ascend to godhood,’

’becoming one of the Deities who sit high upon the clouds, looking down upon all mortals.’

’But the path to the summit is surely paved with thorns and fraught with peril. The slightest misstep would lead to eternal damnation.’

”Before we return to the Great Xia Empire, Amaterasu, I have a task for you.”

Chu He stood as straight and tall as a pine tree, radiating a bone-chilling aura that made it impossible to look him in the eye.

His gaze was like a tangible, freezing glint of light fixed directly on Amaterasu as he spoke, enunciating every word. ”Every master in the entire White-Red Empire—

whether they are experts who cultivate Martial Arts, strong enough to shatter mountains and crack stone with their bare hands;

aberrations who control Mysterious Power, capable of manipulating the fundamental forces and twisting human minds;

or even transcendent beings like you—are to be eliminated.

Leave no one alive!”

His voice was like a frigid wind blowing from the Nine Netherworld Hell, carrying an unquestionable finality that seemed to freeze the very air and cause the temperature to plummet.

”What?”

The words struck Amaterasu like a bolt from the blue. Her eyes widened in utter disbelief. ”If all these powers are eradicated, won’t the White-Red Empire be completely finished?”

Her voice rose involuntarily, tinged with anger.

After all, she was the spiritual symbol of the White-Red Empire,

a being who stood at the apex of that nation.

To force her to slaughter her own people was no different from making her personally destroy the home she had protected for years.

How could she possibly accept it?

Chu He snorted coldly, his voice dripping with derision. ”I’ve already taken what I came for. You’re of little use to me now.

You have two paths before you:

One, I cast you aside like a worn-out shoe right now and let the Deities you’ve provoked rain down their fury and burn you to cinders.

Two, I kill you myself, right here and now, and spare you the agony of being scorched by their divine wrath.”

Chu He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. ”That said, I am quite curious. As a so-called deity, why would you come to the Mortal World and willingly serve as a guard dog?”

Those two bone-chilling words—”guard dog”—

SMACK!

landed like a vicious slap across Amaterasu’s perpetually proud face.

In an instant, her face, as if set ablaze by fury, flushed a visible, deep crimson,

like a tomato so ripe it was about to burst. A scalding wave of humiliation rushed from her cheeks to the tips of her ears,

stoking the fires of rage in her heart and making her feel as if a million ants were gnawing at her from the inside.

After all, she was a dignified deity, once revered by countless people in the Divine Domain.