Mu Chen looked up at the silver curtain of light blanketing the entire Xuanling Empire, his expression growing extremely grave. Mu Bingling frowned and said, "It seems they’re here. Chen’Er, what are you going to do?"

At Mu Bingling’s question, Mu Chen suddenly relaxed. He smiled faintly. "What am I going to do? I’m the one who killed them, and I’m the one who started this mess. Naturally, I’ll be the one to face the consequences. Bing’Er, the man you love isn’t some coward who clings to life and fears death. If I were, I wouldn’t be worthy of you, right?"

With that, Mu Chen stamped his foot and shot into the air with a WHOOSH. At his command, the Water Attribute Elemental Power in the air condensed into a block of Profound Ice. With a light tap of his toes on the ice, he shot forward another few dozen meters.

Even without Primordial Power, his Extreme Ice Attribute still granted him absolute control over the Ice Attribute, allowing him to continue Walking on Air. Watching Mu Chen’s figure recede into the distance, Mu Bingling bit her lip. ’He’s walking right into the eye of the storm.’ Determined not to let him face it alone, she followed without a moment’s hesitation.

After flying for some time, Mu Chen suddenly felt a fluctuation of Ice Attribute Elemental Power behind him. He smiled wryly. ’Of course she came...’

Mu Bingling smiled gently. "Of course I came. I’m your wife, after all."

Mu Chen nodded. He reached out with his only hand—his left—and took a firm hold of Mu Bingling’s. "Trust me," he said softly. "We’ll be fine."

"Yes. I have complete faith in you."

The two of them continued to travel swiftly through the air. With Mu Bingling pulling him along, Mu Chen was able to conserve a great deal of his energy. They were in the Imperial Capital, but the Barrier had originated from the southernmost edge of the Empire, a vast distance away. Even flying at the speed of someone in the Martial Spirit Realm, it would be impossible to get there in a single day. At this thought, Mu Chen frowned. "I just hope we can make it in time."

Just as Mu Chen and Mu Bingling flew south hand-in-hand, Elder Mu and Mo Qing emerged from the basement of the Library Pavilion. Elder Mu closed his eyes, a peculiar glint in them, and chuckled. "Those two kids are so naive. They don’t even know about the Teleportation Array and are trying to fly from the Imperial Capital to the border. At this rate, they won’t even get there in three days. Oh, well. Since I’ve seen them, I might as well give them a hand."

With that, Elder Mu reached out and suddenly tore at the empty air. Far in the distance, a wave of Primordial Power erupted—right in the path of Mu Chen and Mu Bingling. Mu Bingling was pulling Mu Chen southward at top speed when the space before them ripped open into a massive chasm. Like a monstrous, bloody maw, it swallowed them both before they had a chance to react.

Watching the spatial ripple vanish in the distance, Elder Mu stroked his beard and chuckled. "Little girl, you’re next. I imagine your father, Qin Garden, and the others have already reached the southern border. I just sent those two kids, Mu Chen and Mu Bingling, to join them."

Mo Qing froze, not yet comprehending Elder Mu’s words. The space around her abruptly went black. When her vision returned, she was in an unfamiliar place. As she got her bearings, she realized she was standing atop a city wall. To her right stood Qin Garden, Lingyun, Xuan Yin, and the Empire’s four National Guardian Elders. To her left were Little Tiger, Ye Shuangshuang, and Qing Lei.

Watching Mo Qing vanish from beside him, Elder Mu smiled. "Alright, all the troublesome little ones have been sent away. Now then, let’s see just how powerful the Celestial Eagle Empire has become after all these years!"

With that, Elder Mu’s entire body suddenly burst into countless glowing particles with a soft POP. The particles swirled for a moment before dissipating at the entrance of the Library Pavilion.

"Mo Qing!"

Feeling the sudden fluctuation of Primordial Power beside them, everyone present started. They all turned toward the source of the ripple, and Little Tiger and the others cried out in unison.

"Sister Mo Qing, you really are alive! This is wonderful!" Ye Shuangshuang cried out, then immediately launched herself into Mo Qing’s arms. If Mo Qing hadn’t reacted in time, she would have been knocked flat by the sudden tackle.

"Haha..." Little Tiger laughed joyfully. Even Xuan Yin and the others wore smiles of relief.

Of course, their joy at seeing Mo Qing alive was only part of it. The other part was the implication: if Mo Qing was alive and had been teleported here via spatial magic, it meant that the powerful expert who sent her had decided to intervene.

"Elder Wu, it seems there’s hope for the Xuanling Empire yet," Xuan Yin said with a smile.

Wu Changqing also felt a wave of relief. "Looking down at those menacing soldiers of the Celestial Eagle Empire, I must admit my heart was pounding. There must be at least a million of them."

Qin Garden surveyed the densely packed ranks of armored soldiers below and gave a bitter smile. "At least three million. It looks like they intend to raze the Xuanling Empire to the ground."

Lingyun snorted. "The despicable Celestial Eagle Empire."

Just then, another spatial ripple burst forth near Mo Qing and the others. A young man and a young woman, both dressed in white, emerged from a massive Spatial Rift.

Mu Chen’s face was pale. The weightlessness inside the Spatial Rift was difficult for a Martial Artist like him, who possessed no Primordial Power. Mu Bingling, on the other hand, seemed fine, her only reaction a flicker of surprise at seeing so many familiar faces.

"Brother Mu Chen! Sister Bingling!" Little Tiger shouted happily. "What are you two doing here?"

Mu Chen took a moment to steady himself. "I’m the one who caused this mess, so it’s on me to face it. Hiding behind everyone else just isn’t an option."

Lingyun sighed in resignation. "I knew you’d say that. That’s why I deliberately didn’t inform you when we used the Teleportation Array. I wanted to keep you safe behind our lines. And now you’ve come here on your own. It’s too reckless."

Mu Chen shook his head. "It’s not recklessness. If I’m always hiding behind you all, I’ll never grow. And even if I did, I’d just be a flower in a greenhouse. Besides, I refuse to believe that the Xuanling Empire is doomed to fall!"

Xuan Yin stared at Mu Chen. "Have you ever considered that if the Xuanling Empire is razed to the ground and you die with it, how will we ever rebuild? You are our Empire’s only hope, our only prayer for the future. But... it’s impossible for you to go back now. So take a good look. See for yourself just how powerful an enemy we now face."

With that, Xuan Yin stepped aside, clearing a path. Mu Chen slowly walked to the edge of the parapet. When he saw the scene below, his jaw fell slightly open, his purple pupils contracting to pinpricks. He muttered, "This is..."

Countless enemy soldiers astride their War Beasts stared menacingly up at the Xuanling Empire’s defenders on the wall. In terms of weapons, mounts, equipment, and sheer numbers, they outmatched Xuanling by hundreds to one. Banners of the Celestial Eagle Empire billowed in the wind, their army poised to tear the entire Xuanling Empire to shreds.

Xuan Yin said, "You see now? This is the enemy we face. Do you still think the Xuanling Empire has any chance of survival?"

Mu Chen fell silent. Though he had no Primordial Power and couldn’t wield it, his ability to sense it was as keen as ever. ’Those millions of soldiers... every single one of them is at least at the Grand Martial Master level of the Martial Artist Realm.’ And that wasn’t all. Mixed in among the soldiers, he could occasionally sense the auras of Kings and even Sect Masters.

’So strong!’

Those were the two words that filled Mu Chen’s mind. Yet, for some unknown reason, despite facing such a colossal enemy, he felt no worry beyond his initial shock. He turned back, his purple eyes fixed on Xuan Yin with unwavering resolve, and said in a low, firm voice, "The Xuanling Empire... will not fall!"

Xuan Yin suddenly broke into a genuine smile. "I don’t know why, but hearing you say that... I actually feel like the Xuanling Empire won’t fall. Even though we only have tens of thousands of soldiers."

At this, Xuan Yin glanced toward the area behind the wall. Mu Chen followed his gaze and saw tens of thousands of Xuanling Empire soldiers arranged in neat formations below. At their head was a white-haired old man in red armor. For some reason, when Mu Chen saw him, a sense of familiarity washed over him, as if he had seen the man somewhere before.

As Mu Chen looked at the old man, he found the man was looking right back at him. Noticing the flicker of confusion in Mu Chen’s eyes, the old man offered a faint smile before turning his gaze toward the city gate, his posture one of readiness.

"That’s Ye Hui, the Clan Leader of the Ye Family, one of our Xuanling Empire’s three great families," Xuan Yin explained from behind him. "His power has reached the level of a Third-Ring Martial Emperor, making him our Empire’s sixth Martial Emperor. As for Elder Yin, Elder Li, and Elder Sun, they only recently broke through to the Martial Emperor Realm. They haven’t even stabilized their new strength, and now they’re faced with this."

Mu Chen repeated, "Ye Hui?"

Ye Shuangshuang suddenly popped up, saying proudly, "That’s my grandpa!"

Mu Chen turned his head to look, but once his eyes landed on her, he found he couldn’t look away. For he saw the girl who was seared into his memory. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Mo... Qing..." Mu Chen murmured, stunned.

Hearing Mu Chen call her name, Mo Qing was overjoyed. She wanted to smile, but for some reason, her joy manifested as tears that suddenly streamed from her eyes. The next moment, to everyone’s astonishment, she threw herself into Mu Chen’s arms, sobbing, "I thought I’d never see you again..."

Mu Chen’s expression went blank for a moment as Mu Bingling’s words echoed in his mind.

"The next time you see Mo Qing, pay close attention to how you feel. Your reaction will be what’s truly in your heart."

’...what’s truly in my heart...’

Subconsciously, Mu Chen reached out with his only hand, his left, and slowly wrapped it around Mo Qing’s slender waist. In that instant, he felt a flicker of relief, a trace of warmth, and a hint of faint happiness. This jumble of feelings coalesced into one thing: emotion... love.

’So I really do have a place for Mo Qing in my heart. This is my true feeling...’

He instinctively glanced toward Mu Bingling, only to see her giving him a breathtaking smile. Her lips moved, and her gentle voice reached his ears.

With a soft sigh, Mu Chen’s gaze softened. He said gently, "I’m so glad you’re alive... Don’t ever do something like that again. Because... you’re the one who deserves to be protected."