Resentment and bitterness filled Tian Li's heart. He just couldn't accept that he'd really been abandoned. But the truth seemed undeniable.
Tian Li coughed up more blood, and no one could understand the storm raging inside him. He stared at Song Wanníng, her smile like blooming flowers, and the hatred in his heart only deepened.
Then, in the next instant, another divine thunder struck.
Tian Li was hit again, screaming in madness, his rationality completely shattered. If the Heavenly Dao of the Mùsù star system wanted to abandon him, then let everything die!
And so, like a man possessed, Tian Li started attacking indiscriminately. It didn't matter whether it was Song Wanníng or the formation.
Song Wanníng watched the whole thing coldly, feeling only that he deserved it. Someone willing to help the Heavenly Dao invade other worlds couldn't be a good person. Anyone capable of such monstrous deeds was destined for a tragic end.
She flickered across the battlefield, appearing before Tian Li again. Her long sword shimmered, carrying a strong temporal attribute as it slashed toward him.
Tian Li's eyes flashed, then he froze for a moment.
Song Wanníng's form was right in front of him, her sword piercing straight into his body. When time resumed, she had already withdrawn.
A dull pain radiated from his chest. Gasping, Tian Li looked down to see blood gushing from the wound. His eyes darkened, and his killing intent flared even stronger.
But Song Wanníng called down divine thunder once more. What use was anger now?
At this moment, he was like a frog in a well, trapped. No matter how he broke down, no matter how he raged, he couldn't change that fact. After just a few rounds, Tian Li couldn't even get back up.
Song Wanníng had carved countless wounds into him; blood soaked his entire body, and yet he stared at her with a hollow expression.
"Song Wanníng… you'll be abandoned too… What makes you any different from me?"
Every word he spoke made blood pour out uncontrollably. His chin was streaked with blood, and his bloodshot eyes gave him the look of a beast choosing its prey.
Song Wanníng, however, only snorted coldly.
"As long as my family and friends can live safely, even if I'm abandoned in the future, I'll accept it!
Tian Li, your mistake was trying to mess with other worlds."
She never cared about her own life, only about keeping her loved ones safe and maintaining peace in this world. If she was abandoned in the end, that only proved she was foolish, not anyone else. After all, her life had already been a second chance…
Tian Li couldn't understand her mindset.
"Family? Friends?"
He couldn't grasp it and found it ironic.
"Song Wanníng, you've always been selfish. Do you even believe your own words?"
He sneered, clinging to a faint hope. Maybe this was the last trial, maybe the Heavenly Dao of the Mùsù star system had left him a sliver of survival.
A trace of mockery appeared in his eyes. "Song Wanníng, even if I don't survive today, you won't either…
Your divine thunder is strong, but it can't break this formation. You'll be worn down and die here sooner or later…"
Only that ending would soothe his heart.
Song Wanníng's expression remained cold as she said, "I don't know if I'll die here, but you definitely will!"
With that, she surged toward Tian Li again.
Her long sword slashed toward him with deadly speed.
The sword radiated intense destructive energy, tightening Tian Li's chest with fear. He threw every ounce of his remaining strength into a protective divine light, trying to block the strike.
But he had underestimated Song Wanníng. Her sword shattered his protective light and stabbed straight at his face.
Tian Li panicked, stumbling backward in terror. Before he could react, Song Wanníng closed the distance and drove her sword down through his chest. He tried to dodge, but her overwhelming pressure pinned him in place, completely immobilized. He watched helplessly as she plunged the sword through his heart.
Blood sprayed, soaking Song Wanníng's robe instantly.
His internal energies went haywire as the blood gushed out.
Song Wanníng's eyes held no life, only cold indifference as she calmly watched Tian Li. She drew back her sword, and blood erupted again.
In that instant, Tian Li felt death approaching. In his past life, he'd been killed by monsters in despair. The fear of death was still vivid.
He thought he had a second chance at life, a new peak ahead, but meeting Song Wanníng meant his journey ended before it even began. How could he accept this?
Regret filled his heart. If only he'd trained quietly, prepared fully before challenging Song Wanníng… would it have been different?
But the world had no regrets. He couldn't undo what had already happened.
Tian Li closed his eyes in despair, fully accepting the death that awaited him. But he still didn't think he was wrong. Survival was limited, so taking others' resources… what was wrong with that?
Everyone was selfish, wasn't it? Song Wanníng was just pretending to be virtuous!
Tian Li snapped his eyes open, madness blazing as he glared at Song Wanníng, his energy surging chaotically. His expression was twisted, a mix of unprecedented resolve and ill intent.
Song Wanníng remained expressionless. "Trying to self-destruct? I've seen that trick plenty of times."
When a cultivator is backed into a corner, they all like this move. Even in death, they hope to drag their enemies down with them.
But Tian Li was too late. The moment he tried, Song Wanníng called down a divine thunder, effortlessly stopping the self-destruction.
His energies were thrown into chaos.
Endless thunder wrapped him, devouring his unwillingness without mercy.
Song Wanníng didn't even strike again, yet his energy was flailing wildly inside him.
"Ah—"
Tian Li screamed in pain as his meridians began to swell…
…then shatter.
"Ah—"
The entire formation echoed with screams of agony.
Boom—
A deafening explosion tore through him. His meridians and body couldn't withstand it and completely exploded. Fragments of flesh and blood sprayed everywhere, Song Wanníng casually raising a shield of immortal energy to block it.
Tian Li's primordial soul quickly left his body, looking frantic and helpless.
But escape was impossible.
Boom—
Another divine thunder fell.
"No—"
Tian Li watched in despair as the thunder descended, frantically crashing against the formation. He begged the Heavenly Dao of the Mùsù star system for a chance to escape. If only it would give him an opening, he could survive.