Chapter 23

1

"Li Liu?"

Three hours after the showdown with Marutian, the Azure Sky Carrier returned to the imperial capital of Othrie, now in ruins. I had already heard about the vampires, and now we were standing in front of the Chen family's gate. This ancient mansion was now only half standing, with the roof reaching up to the sky, a testament to the fierce battle that must have taken place here.

"Qin Yang!" Li Liu's eyes were filled with tears like pear blossoms, triggering a wave of sadness in an instant.

"What happened?" I held her close, and she clung to me, seeking comfort in my embrace.

"Father! Father, he..."

"The Emperor?"

"We were powerless, and let the Emperor Majesty..." The person kneeling before the Third Princess was covered in scars, making it hard to blame them.

"I knew it, letting that traitor go would surely lead to trouble."

Perra emerged from the mansion, holding an arm in her hand.

"I'll hunt that guy down to the ends of the earth!"

"Perra?"

After Perra explained, we understood what had happened. After fleeing the scene, Ye Kai went mad and launched an attack on the Chen mansion. Originally, the "Divine Splitting Sword" in Hanya's hands was the best weapon to kill vampires, but Ye Kai didn't care whether Hanya was there and went on a rampage at the Chen mansion. It seemed like a desperate move, and he ended up biting the Emperor. Instead of blood, he sucked out the Emperor's soul. Perra and Chen Ming managed to retrieve half of the Emperor's soul after a fierce battle. Ye Kai was so formidable because he knew that escaping the King's control required a soul worshipped by humans, which the Emperor's soul was.

"Where is Ye Kai now?"

"After breaking free from my control, he became incredibly hard to find. I will find a way to locate him, but the problem is..."

"Without half a soul, and having been bitten by a vampire... he should be in a half-dead state now."

"Yes, and I have forcibly locked his soul within his body. Even if he wakes up, he will be a walking corpse. When we find Ye Kai later, he may have already digested the soul. As the Demon Dragon, what do you think we should do?"

"This is troublesome. Without a complete soul, reincarnation is impossible."

"No! I don't want my father to go to the underworld!" Li Liu looked up at me, her eyes pleading.

I couldn't help but wipe away the tears in her eyes. If I were to tell Li Liu that death is inevitable and reincarnation is necessary, she wouldn't be able to accept it. So, I would do my best.

"Summon a hundred Underworld Envoys. Repairing a soul is not something that can be done overnight. It may take ten or even twenty years, and even then, it's possible that he will lose some memories since souls contain many memories."

"It doesn't matter! As long as my father... is alive."

"I suggest that after repairing his soul, we let him reincarnate..."

"No... I don't want that..."

I looked at Li Liu and remained silent.

"I will take care of the matter of summoning the Underworld Envoys!"

Nai Nai appeared behind us, as the daughter of Pluto and my fiancée, such matters were easily handled.

"Nai Nai, I want to discuss Pluto's position. It's time for a talk with him."

"I look forward to it."

2

I stood before the Emperor, unable to avoid the grief that had spread among us all. Under Perra's control, the vampires had also calmed down. Due to Perra's influence, they had decided to temporarily join forces with Othrie, as a form of post-war assistance in helping the vampires establish a nation on Nuclear Blast Island.

"The ministers outside are all discussing who will succeed the throne," Father, with his injured body, stood up with Mother's support. His gaze fell on the second and third princesses, since the eldest princess had long been married off and the son-less Zilie Song, Zi Liliu was their only choice.

"Huh, what's there to discuss? Li Liu has always been groomed by Father as the heir, and can my personality make me an emperor?" Zibai sat on the left side of her father, cleaning his wounds with a towel.

"I've tried impulsiveness and not thinking about consequences," I looked at her, the ball incident made her very embarrassed.

"Sister, can I really do it?"

"Do you want me to stage a drama of taking the throne with you? The man behind you will definitely not let you suffer any losses. I don’t have such a person," Zibai was not interested in power, and the Emperor should have realized that. The final choice naturally was Zi Liliu.

"Duke, I entrust it to you," Li Liu said to Father.

According to the rules of Othrie, the successor will be announced by the four dukes jointly, and except for the Siltu family, everyone was present, with Father always being the head of the four dukes.

"Such a straightforward succession, we’ve never seen before. In the past, Liesong must have put in a lot of effort..." Father looked at the Emperor lying down, tears and memories intertwining in his heart.

Actually, I was also responsible for the Emperor's situation, after all, the attack by Ye Kai happened when I extracted all the girls' powers.

"Li Liu, can you talk to me alone?"

"Elena!"

Li Liu and I came to another room, where there were only three people, Nofice, Elena, and Qimiloffi.

"Is she the 'world' you mentioned?"

"Don't rush, Zhu Rong."

Qimiloffi repeatedly requested us to call him by this name; perhaps he truly liked this name.

Nofice set up a magic array in the room, ensuring no disturbance from outside or interference from inside.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Li Liu, we just want to have a conversation with the 'world' you represent."

"Me?"

"It's okay, it'll be quick." I kissed Li Liu on the lips, extracting all her power from her body. Clearing her body of power was a switch to activate the 'world,' allowing the Three Realms to materialize and meet us.

"Dragon of Time and Space, Reisgolo," came the triple voice again.

Three Li Lius stood around us in an equilateral triangle formation.

"It's been a long time, Flame Dragon Qimiloffi, Sacred Guardian Dragon Rita Oure, it's rare for the Three Dragon Emperors to meet."

"We won't beat around the bush. We want our memories back. Do we need to get the timeline from Marutian's soul?"

"Indeed, but Monigos is not dead, the crisis in the Three Realms still exists, and we request that what Reisgolo did is not yet complete."

The truth about the Three Realms, that Marutian did not die because of Yuyuan Qing's entanglement, was indeed distressing.

"Damn, this guy is really difficult."

"Let's set that aside for now. What we need to know is how to get his timeline," Elena got straight to the point.

"The soul of the dragon can be broken down, and the timeline is within his dragon soul, as with Reisgolo's. Your timeline was intentionally given to you by Monigos, and Nofice's seal in the 'Seven Stars' was intentionally done by him."

"What?" Indeed, the timeline was the golden bandages, and I obtained this skill through Nofice’s familiar contract. I always thought it was Nofice's function, but it was not.

"We can observe the consciousness of all beings in the Three Realms, but we cannot observe the consciousness of the dragon clan. Even if you were to ask us, we would not be able to answer you."

"Today seems promising, by breaking down Marutian's dragon soul and obtaining the time axis of the dragon realm, memories can return, and then we have one last question."

The Three Realms looked towards Qimiluofei, who became more active because he found direction. With direction, he would know what to do next.

"Ask away."

"Where is Monogos?"

"I do not know, but he should be looking for his own dragon bone."

"The pyramid!"

"No, he is looking for his spine bone."

The spine bone, yes, my dragon bone greatsword is the spine bone. The spine bone is the most important existence for the dragon clan, serving as the crucial link between the dragon soul and the dragon body.

"I remember, I once beheaded Monogos and sealed his dragon head in magma, but where is the rest of the dragon body?"

"The Divine Demon Gateway. We initially did not wish to disclose it, but in reality, the Divine Demon Gateway has already become a part of the world. The communication between the divine, human, and demon realms relies on it. The gateway can be opened and crossed at any time thanks to the dragon sealed on the gate - Monogos. The gate is him, and he is the gate. The opening of the time axis of the divine, human, and demon realms began when Reisgolo sealed Monogos' dragon bone in the form of the gate. To seal only half of Monogos, the Human Realm's elements were depleted, leading to the lack of magic in The Human Realm, giving rise to the technological era. The split of the Holy Demon Dragon likely aimed to maintain the balance between the light and dark aspects of magic and ensure the long-lasting seal of Monogos." The Three Realms could not observe the consciousness of dragons, so they did not dare to speak too explicitly.

"So why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"As the world, we did not want you to destroy the gate. Moreover, during our first meeting, we still had time... but now there is not much time left. After your battles, The Divine Realm is riddled with holes, and The Demon Realm has also undergone mutations. There are cracks in the crimson sky. If the situation does not improve, as the world, we have unanimously decided to exile all divine, human, and demonic beings! To where, we cannot decide."

The world's choice was also unavoidable. The dragons could not leave forcibly, so they could only take action against the relatively weaker side. Without creatures capable of changing the energy balance of the Three Realms with subjective consciousness, restoration might not be possible, but destruction certainly would not happen.

The anthropomorphized Three Realms disappeared, leaving only the sleeping Li Liu.

"What should we do now?"

"You must be unwilling to participate in any world-saving activities, Zhu Rong. So, I will give you a chance - guard the Divine Demon Gateway! If Marutian dares to come, you will kill him!"

"As for traveling the Four Seas, it can wait until after the revenge!" Qisiluofei turned and transformed into a firebird, leaving the room. By now, he was likely impatient, and the brief seal should have already dissipated. But letting him transform into a dragon was truly dangerous for someone who might swell into a sun.