Chapter Fifty-Three: The End of the World, A Glimmer of Hope

For all those reasons, none of them can serve as the necessary driving force for my future, none of them give me a goal worth pursuing with persistence, effort, and even my life.

“You don't even have a goal to chase after? What a dull and pitiable person you are—possessing such powerful strength, yet lacking steadfast conviction and will. You're just like I was before I began practicing martial arts, living a bland life in a daze. Until she... Forget it, you can slowly search for your goal later. Right now, it's truly time to resolve the last of our grievances.” With a wave of his hand, Masao Gangda summoned his fallen katana back into his grasp.

Yet Qi did not return to himself; he remained lost, mumbling incoherently, his mind wounded by his severed bond with the Black Cat and now battered further by those words—a seed of demonic confusion sprouting within him.

Seeing this, Masao Gangda fell silent, raised his blade and pointed it forward, gathering his strength. This last life that does not belong to me—if I can carve out a path, so much the better; if not, I’ll go first, and wait for you below.

Who knows how much time passed. “Heavenly Blade, Mark of Remembrance.” Masao Gangda vanished with his beloved sword, leaving only a black thread, as if space itself had been sliced open, streaking toward Qi with a speed he could not evade, silent and deadly, aiming to pierce his skull.

Instinctive danger made Qi reflexively unleash his Silver Revolving Heaven. The black thread and the silver sphere met without a sound, without a flash. What remained was a katana piercing through the silver sphere, and a dazzling blade thrust into his heart.

Masao Gangda was dead. He died standing, after puncturing the silver sphere and piercing Qi’s head with his blade. He died in the subconscious reflexes of Qi’s chaotic mind.

After being stabbed through the head, Qi paused in his disordered, demonic thoughts. At last, he returned to himself, staring blankly at the katana lodged between his brows, his gaze trailing along to Masao Gangda, whose face still bore the calm resolve of his final thrust, not fading even with his passing.

Sighing, Qi murmured, “If it were before, this sort of question would only make me ponder for a moment. I never expected it to become a demonic barrier now. Women truly are terrifying beings.”

Without a firm goal for now, he would search for one as life went on. For the moment, he would borrow those ephemeral, vague aims—most importantly, to survive, to live without being killed, to live freely, to live without sorrow, doing as he wished.

After sketching out a temporary plan for his future, Qi exhaled heavily. He carefully stored Masao Gangda’s corpse, pulled out the katana from his brow, and put it away as well. After scanning the battlefield for anything he might have missed, he left that land that had brought him so much sorrow.

He flew westward, chasing the traces of Sister Sun, stepping into American territory. Here, the sunshine was bright, and at least Qi’s mood improved a little.

He summoned the Qi Codex and saw that returning required only ten thousand energy units. He paused in surprise—how could it be that, as he grew stronger, the energy cost of crossing worlds actually decreased?

“Since you’ve asked so sincerely, I’ll generously tell you. Because of what you did, my appraisal of you has risen. I’ll give you ten likes. Congratulations—since your favorability has increased, we now count as acquaintances, no longer strangers. The original price of one hundred thousand energy units to slaughter you is now too much.” A sudden voice explained Qi’s confusion.

Qi merely raised an eyebrow, growing more puzzled. “You’re not angry, but even more pleased. Could it be…?”

The deity wore a face of dark lines. “You have two sisters. I merely appreciate you a little, that’s all. Meidi told you, didn’t she? My plan.”

“I only wanted some key intelligence on the Reincarnator, but she gave me an even greater... surprise. I don’t know if you truly are omniscient, but at least you aren’t ordinarily, so…”

“It was that cup of black tea, right? At that time, Shiji and the sisters distracted me, and the message was hidden in the cup. Meidi originally only told you the Reincarnator’s hiding place—though I knew of it, I didn’t care. But Shiji suddenly intervened, asking Meidi to pass along my plan and bold declarations as well.”

“Upon learning the unexpected news, my feelings became complicated and hard to describe. But I knew—the longer time dragged on, the greater the chance you’d discover this matter. And once it was exposed, with your methods, I knew I couldn’t escape that outcome.”

“So you threw a diversionary banquet, but in truth you swiftly severed emotional ties. Before I could react, you cleanly ended the ambiguous bonds and feelings. The first relationship ended so quietly and simply—it wasn’t nearly as earth-shattering as I arranged for you.”

“You’re insane, truly insane. I already feel miserable. I want to tear out my heart and crush it, but even after crushing it, I’d still want to regrow it and crush it again. If I followed your planned ending, I can’t imagine how much pain I’d endure—perhaps my hatred for you would become my future goal.”

“In this world, your performance in my eyes was always bland and unremarkable, except for that last move, which caught me off guard. So I gave you a few extra points.”

“Enough chatter, I’m leaving.” On his flight, Qi sorted through his storage pouch, keeping a few useful items and tossing the rest of the spoils into the Qi Codex. He gained over thirty thousand energy units. He originally thought it might not be enough after visiting the American military base, but the Codex wouldn’t accept it—no, rather, the madman wouldn’t accept it, simply refusing to devour it. Thus Qi checked how much energy he needed to cross worlds.

...

In the original timeline, it seemed Qi emerged from a white sphere of light, growing from small to large.

“Let me give you some good news. After you leave this world, as long as you pay the same amount of energy to cross back, the world’s time will pause, resuming only when you return. Alternatively, when you come back next time, you can spend one hundred energy units per day to offset the passage of time. Consider it another reward for your outstanding performance. I hope you can amaze me again next time.”

Hearing such rare good news from the Codex, Qi’s perpetually furrowed brow unconsciously eased. “Is this a little hope for me? Maybe, if I ever figure things out or get tired, when I return, Black Cat will still be waiting at the door, as dramatic as ever.”

“Thanks, let the world stop turning. Speaking of which, letting a world stop so easily for just ten thousand energy units—doesn’t that make it seem like the world’s grade has dropped by countless levels?”

“A world appears with a breath, disappears with a breath—it was never anything high-grade.”

“...”

(...Apologies, everyone. Working overtime at noon—being a wage slave is truly tough. Two chapters will be posted soon; I’ll definitely catch up by noon tomorrow. Apologies finished, two chapters beg for votes—one vote per chapter, if none, heavens above! Let the world end. Next chapter must vent a bit.)