Chapter 1674: Unreconciled

Wuji Jun’s body trembled slightly.

He remained silent for a long time before opening his lips to answer hoarsely:

“...No.”

Lou Yu froze in place.

His eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment. He couldn't seem to understand why... He had never considered himself a failure; he just felt suppressed by the injustices of this era, unable to obtain the brilliant light that should have been his.

He felt his failure was only temporary. If given a chance, he would surely be the one to push human civilization forward... But now, it seemed the truth was not as he had imagined.

“Then, did we get the fairness we always wanted?” Lou Yu asked again.

Fairness...

Wuji Jun, beneath his black sleeves, silently clenched his fists.

He looked like a man who had lost everything after a desperate struggle, his eyes filled with endless exhaustion and loneliness as he spoke softly:

“I was... just a step away from creating an absolutely fair world.”

If the residents of the Eternal Domain hadn't fallen ill, if the Eternal Domain could truly be eternal, then the moment he donned that crown, an absolutely fair utopia would have been born... It was the dream that had been deeply rooted in his heart since he was young.

He pursued eternity at all costs just to create such a world—a perfect world where no one would be exploited or oppressed, and where there would be no conflict due to unequal resource distribution.

For this dream, he gave up everything.

But now...

His dream was shattered.

Lou Yu looked at the black-robed figure before him, his eyes revealing a sense of helplessness and complexity. He couldn't accept his own failure, couldn't accept that his future would be like this... For some reason, he felt angry:

“If you didn't achieve anything, why come to find me?”

“Our existence is a mistake.” Wuji Jun paused. “If not for us... perhaps this world would be better.”

Lou Yu’s pupils contracted slightly.

No one knew what he was thinking at that moment. He just stared blankly at Wuji Jun, his gaze shifting from anger to confusion, to bewilderment, to sadness... and finally to unwillingness.

He guessed Wuji Jun’s intention, and his chest heaved violently.

“Must it... be this way?”

“Yes.”

Facing Wuji Jun’s unhesitating nod, Lou Yu gave a bitter smile:

“...It seems I’ve become even more cold-blooded.”

“No one understands me better than I do.” Wuji Jun spoke slowly. “I know what we pursue. Even if I tell you now that it’s wrong, you will still pursue it relentlessly... You want to create that kind of world too much.”

“I’ve reached the end of that road, and it’s a dead end... There cannot be another me in this world.”

Lou Yu lowered his head, silent.

Wuji Jun looked at his former self and spoke again:

“Do you... have anything else to say?”

The cold wind blew, swaying branches tapped against the window, and the laboratory was quiet, save for that rhythmic tapping...

Lou Yu didn't answer. He simply walked past Wuji Jun, went to the workbench, and slowly grabbed the latest issue of *Science Report* from the table...

By the window, Lou Yu in his lab coat and Wuji Jun in his black robe stood back-to-back, heads bowed in silence.

Lou Yu looked down at the *Science Report* in his hands, his body trembling slightly as he closed his eyes.

His voice was choked with emotion:

“I...”

“I’m so unreconciled...”

Wuji Jun also slowly closed his eyes. His usually deep and indifferent voice became uncharacteristically gentle at this moment... He whispered:

“Everything, for humanity.”

Bang—!

A mist of blood exploded from Lou Yu’s chest.

Blood splattered across the *Science Report*, the white lab table, and the wall. With a dull thud, Lou Yu collapsed to the ground, no longer breathing.

Almost simultaneously, a figure of the Nine Sovereigns wielding a Particle Holy Sword descended from the sky and arrived outside the laboratory.

Xuan Yu Jun, who had been in hot pursuit, saw Lou Yu’s corpse on the ground and froze. Then, he looked up abruptly, staring at Wuji Jun as if looking at a madman!

“Lou Yu!! You actually killed yourself in this world?! Are you insane?!”

Wuji Jun didn't speak. He just gave a complex look at this old friend who had "long since passed away," then transformed into a black shadow and sped toward the direction of Shennongjia...

……

Tian Shu Domain.

Under the bridge.

A pair of ruby-like eyes slowly opened in the darkness. Chen Ling seemed to have sensed something and looked toward a certain direction in the sky...

“Heart 9, what are you looking at?” Jiang Xiaohua asked, leaning in curiously.

“It seems... it’s coming back again.”

“It?”

“The Red Star.”

Jiang Xiaohua scratched his head and followed Chen Ling’s gaze to the sky. “How come I can’t feel it?”

“Because you don’t have its power within you.”

The last time the Red Star returned, Chen Ling’s rank wasn't high enough, and he had mastered very little of the Calamity of Mockery. But now, he had ascended to the Eighth Rank and mastered [Wall-Breaking], giving him some perception of the Red Star’s aura... He could feel that the Red Star was approaching Earth again.

That the Red Star would return for a third time was no secret to Chen Ling; other World-Ending Calamities and the Nine Sovereigns likely sensed it too. But what Chen Ling didn't expect was that the Red Star would return so soon this time...

However, this was a good thing. After all, to successfully restart everything, one had to reverse the era at the exact moment the Red Star streaked past Earth. The Red Star’s early return meant the final condition for Chen Ling’s restart would also be fulfilled.

There was only one chance... and time was running out.

Chen Ling slowly closed his eyes.

Thought Storm,

Activate.

……

“I am the Red King of the Twilight Society, Chen Ling.”

The moment these words echoed in his mind, Chu Muyun, who was coughing, froze slightly.

He instinctively looked at Bai Ye beside him, who seemed to have heard the same words. A flash of surprise first crossed his eyes, followed by a look of gravity.

They knew that unless it was something of extreme importance, Chen Ling would not use this tone to speak into the minds of all Twilight Society members simultaneously...

For a moment, both held their breath, waiting for Chen Ling’s follow-up.

……

Ancient Armory of the Military Path.

A river of blood flowed over the frozen black earth.

Countless broken weapons were stuck in the ground, and the extreme killing intent brought the entire space to the freezing point. Atop a towering mountain of corpses, a figure in tattered leather clothing slowly opened his eyes...

His body was covered in scars, as if he had just emerged from a great battle, stained crimson. He sat cross-legged with a sword of killing intent across his knees. The moment he opened his eyes, the temperature dropped even further!

Perhaps because he heard the familiar voice,

The corners of his mouth, still stained with dried blood, curled slightly...