Chapter 1728: The Ten-Year Promise

Yao Qing didn’t understand Chen Ling’s state of mind, but he could feel the pain radiating from Chen Ling’s eyes.

“You don’t need to say sorry, Director Chen.” Yao Qing’s voice was very gentle. “You’ve already done too much for us, and we can’t grow under your protection forever... Every choice we’ve made over these three hundred years has come from our own hearts.”

“But I could have made up for all of this... I restarted the world to ensure there would be no regrets!” Chen Ling parted his lips, his voice raspy. “But... the regrets happened anyway.”

Yao Qing just looked at Chen Ling quietly. A moment later, a smile curled the corners of his aged mouth.

“Director Chen...”

“In this world, no one can erase all regrets... Besides, I never considered it a regret that Sister Zhiwei and I didn’t marry... For two people who love each other, as long as they can accompany one another, that is enough.”

He gently raised his wrinkled hand to stroke Su Zhiwei’s cheek, his eyes as gentle as water.

“I’ve accompanied her for over three hundred years; I am already very satisfied... We have no regrets.”

“As for the rest...”

“You’ve already returned, haven’t you?”

“Sister Zhiwei is still here, I am still here, and the other monarchs are still here... We are just trapped. The day they wake from their slumber will be the time to decide everything.”

“Director Chen, I believe in you. Since you have returned... the regrets left in the past can eventually lead to a complete ending.”

Chen Ling was slightly taken aback.

Yao Qing’s words pulled him out of his endless guilt and self-reproach... He had missed three hundred years of time, leaving the eight monarchs in a predicament, but it wasn’t over yet.

The eight monarchs weren’t dead; they were just asleep, and they would wake up one after another in ten years...

He still had ten years to turn everything around!

Over the past three hundred years, Chen Ling’s disappearance allowed Ying Fu to seize the opportunity and take control of the big picture, but now that Chen Ling had returned, how could he let everything continue to be controlled by him?

Regret is not the end of everything, nor is it an irreversible outcome;

it is just a new beginning.

Chen Ling’s gaze gradually returned to firmness and calm, and an sharp, domineering aura flowed from him involuntarily... His red and black opera robe danced wildly in the dead silence; he looked like a lost emperor returning from hell.

“You’re right.” Chen Ling took a deep breath.

“I have returned... and I won’t let regrets continue to be regrets.”

Seeing Chen Ling’s gaze return to the way he remembered, the smile on Yao Qing’s face grew even richer. He relaxed completely, as if he had become the big boy following behind Chen Ling and Su Zhiwei three hundred years ago.

“Director Chen, this embroidery I’m making for Sister will probably take another ten years to finish...”

“I understand.”

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Ling’s eyes.

“Ten years from now... I will come to the Red Dust to pick you up.”

“Ying Fu and the others probably won’t sit idly by then.” Yao Qing reminded him proactively.

“He doesn’t know where he got a large batch of souls of former demigods, and he resurrects one or two every so often, so there are demigods in every era of the Chengtian Domain... If he realizes the danger, he might even plan ahead and gain the help of several demigods all at once...”

“And the more demigods he has under his command, the stronger his power will be.”

“You coming in proactively this time has probably already caught his attention. When Sister wakes up in ten years, he will definitely be even more vigilant... It will likely be a fierce battle.”

Chen Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.

He looked up at the sky above, and faint ripples appeared in his ruby-like eyes.

“Ten years...”

“That’s enough for me to overturn this era.”

“Yao Qing, don’t worry... I broke my promise once three hundred years ago. From now on, I won’t break it again.”

“Ten years from now, I will come to pick you up on time... At that time, no matter who tries to stop me, I, Chen Ling...”

“If a god blocks me, I kill the god; if a Buddha blocks me, I kill the Buddha.”

When he said the last sentence, all the guilt and anger accumulated in Chen Ling’s heart turned into monstrous killing intent. He seemed to transform into a sharp, bone-chilling sword, ready to strike at the human world.

Yao Qing tremblingly raised his hand and bowed to Chen Ling:

“Sister Zhiwei and I... will surely await Director Chen.”

……

Red Dust Prison.

Under the steel dome, four figures surrounded the Red Dust Domain, their expressions extremely grave.

“Marquis Nan, is this attacker really as evil as you say?” a figure carrying a wooden box asked suspiciously. “You were blown away just by his aura?”

“...That’s right. I don’t know how to describe that aura... brutal, violent, deadly... it was almost like...”

“You’re making it sound like a world-ending disaster.” A purple-clad woman nearby snorted with disdain.

Just as the other two eighth-rank marquises were echoing her with chuckles, Marquis Nan’s expression changed visibly... He lowered his head and thought solemnly for a long time before suddenly looking up:

“You’re right... his aura really doesn’t feel human.”

The other three stood frozen.

“Stop joking, Marquis Nan. If it were a world-ending disaster, how could you still be alive?” The last eighth-rank marquis shook his head. “Besides, why would a world-ending disaster ignore all the people outside and the open city gates, only to break into an empty Red Dust ruin? Why?”

“That’s why I suspect he’s targeting the Red Dust Monarch...”

Before they could say anything more, the small flower swaying in the distance suddenly stirred up ripples. With a flash of space, a figure wearing a red-bottomed, black-patterned opera robe flashed out!

“That’s him!” Marquis Nan shouted.

Everyone was shocked. Without hesitation, they turned, four divine paths extended from them, and they swung their killing moves toward Chen Ling!

But the opera-robed figure was too fast. Before they could even see him clearly, a vast world-destroying aura swept across the surroundings, forcing them to retreat several steps...

Immediately after, the hundred steel chains binding the Red Dust Domain were shaken until they clattered loudly!!

The world-destroying aura raged under the firmament.

A red-clad figure, eyes like swords, walked out from the Red Dust Domain...

Chen Ling’s frosty gaze swept over the four stunned eighth-rank marquises, and he said indifferently:

“A fine Ying Fu, a fine Chengtian Domain. You’ve taken good care of the eight monarchs for these three hundred years...”

“Although I can’t take the Red Dust Monarch away today...”

“I must collect some interest.”

In the stunned eyes of the four eighth-rank marquises, rolling red clouds surged from Chen Ling, instantly covering the entire steel firmament.

Countless red papers spread in the void, and a pair of angry, killing-intent-filled scarlet eyes opened suddenly in the void like a sun!