National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: If I Don’t Kill You, My Heart of Martial Arts Will Not Be Clear

All Gu Shuling could see was a bright moon hanging high in the sky, casting down a pale, cold radiance.

The sound of the waves grew faint. The bright, clear moonlight, too, began to blur as darkness encroached, until it was completely blotted out.

In that instant, Gu Shuling’s world spun violently, and everything before her eyes crumbled.

Then, she heard a dull PLOP, the sound of something plunging into an abyss.

Darkness washed over her like a great, surging tide, mercilessly drowning her vision and her spirit.

It wiped her existence away completely.

And with that, Gu Shuling left this world for good.

”That bastard Chu He has completely lost his humanity!”

Xiao Cangqing roared.

A chill rose from the depths of his heart. Fear and anger toward Chu He twisted together, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

To think that this man, who was once so intimate with Gu Shuling, could take her life without a moment’s hesitation...

The act left Xiao Cangqing stunned.

’If I were in his shoes,’ he thought, ’I could never have been as decisive as Chu He.’

A low, hoarse voice echoed from within Xiao Cangqing’s body. It was the voice of the rotting man. ”The core and soul of the Black Pearl have been destroyed! We need to escape, now!”

Immediately after, eerie green ghost-fire began to erupt from the surface of Xiao Cangqing’s body.

The flames blazed, engulfing him completely in a massive fireball.

The fireball radiated a cold and bizarre glow, pushing back the surrounding darkness.

Propelled by the ghost-fire, Xiao Cangqing’s speed reached an astonishing level.

He became a phantom, darting through the darkness.

Each time his figure vanished and reappeared, he would be hundreds of meters away.

It was a speed that would leave even a King-Sealing Level Martial Artist in the dust.

Chu He watched this unfold, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

’This is completely beyond what a normal Martial Artist should be able to do.’

Xiao Cangqing himself was shocked by his current speed.

He felt his body being propelled forward at immense speed by some powerful force.

He couldn’t help but voice his confusion. ”This speed is terrifying... What’s happening to my body?”

The rotting man’s voice echoed in his mind again. ”Most of the Evil Spirits from above the Demon Cave have been placed inside your body, with me in command.”

”But now, to escape with our lives, I have no choice but to burn these Evil Spirits.”

”If we still can’t get away after this, then we’ll just have to accept our fate.”

”With this kind of speed... how could Chu He possibly catch up?”

Hearing this, a flicker of panic crossed Xiao Cangqing’s mind, but it was quickly overwhelmed by elation.

He understood that this speed came at a great cost—the sacrifice of those Evil Spirits.

But at a life-or-death moment like this, having such speed was an incredibly rare opportunity.

’Besides, those Evil Spirits are no good anyway. It’s better if they die!’

As long as he could escape this dangerous place, he would be more than satisfied.

The words had not yet faded into the night air when...

...Xiao Cangqing’s body, like a slashed scarecrow, suddenly came apart. His head separated from his torso, and both pieces plummeted from the sky, crashing violently into the sea and sending up a massive spray of water.

Amidst the churning waves, the faint outline of his head could be seen, tossed and battered by the relentless sea.

”I told you,” the rotting man’s voice said, ”Chu He’s power is unfathomable.”

The rotting man’s voice was now exceptionally weak, as if it might dissipate on the wind at any moment.

”My body... it’s being dragged into the ocean’s abyss by that fish.”

Xiao Cangqing’s head bobbed on the surface of the sea. His mouth hung open, his eyes filled with irrepressible terror.

He had thought his astonishing speed would allow him to escape Chu He’s pursuit, but he never imagined he would still be decapitated without even realizing it.

”But I have some good news for you.”

The rotting man’s voice, though weak, carried a hint of strange excitement. ”Chu He has already left. He thinks separating your head from your body is enough to kill you for good.”

”But he’s wrong. As long as I’m here, I can keep you clinging to life.”

”Now, you need to find food as quickly as possible. I need to eat humans—many, many humans—to be able to reconstruct your body.”

The rotting man’s words gave Xiao Cangqing a glimmer of hope amidst his despair. However, neither he nor the rotting man noticed a tiny golden figure silently slip into his head.

This small golden figure, as nimble as an Elf, soundlessly merged with Xiao Cangqing, becoming another observer within him.

The conversation between the rotting man and Xiao Cangqing was transmitted clearly into Chu He’s mind.

He stood in the distance, watching the head bob in the seawater, a sardonic smile playing on his lips.

”I must admit, I’m quite interested in freaks like you—a mix of human and Evil Spirit.”

Chu He muttered to himself, ”Among ordinary King-Sealing Level Martial Artists, your strength might be considered top-tier. But unfortunately for you, you ran into me.”

To put the freak at ease, Chu He watched from a distance as the head drifted away on the current, growing smaller and smaller.

He wanted to know how such a creature came to be.

Was it a product of evolution or a cataclysmic mutation?

More than that, he wanted to know how many other beings like Xiao Cangqing existed in the world.

How did they survive?

When a human and an Evil Spirit merge, who truly takes control?

Who stands to gain more from such a fusion?

Chu He’s mind was filled with questions, and the answers might just be hidden within this strange being.

That was why he had deliberately spared Xiao Cangqing’s life. He wanted to use him to peel back another layer of this world’s mysteries.

The invisible wisp of his Primordial Spirit remained quietly inside Xiao Cangqing, like a dormant seed, waiting for the right moment to sprout.

Xiao Cangqing was completely unaware of the Primordial Spirit’s presence.

It was a ticking time bomb.

One that Chu He could detonate with a single thought, ending Xiao Cangqing’s life for good.

Chu He was about to turn and leave, but just as he was about to vanish from the surface of the sea, he caught a glimpse of a tattered piece of a skirt drifting on the water.

It was a piece of an elegant blue skirt, swaying gently with the rise and fall of the waves, as if trying to tell a story.

It was what remained of Gu Shuling.

He spoke slowly, his voice cold and resolute. ”If I didn’t kill you, my heart of Martial Arts would never be clear. Your existence was a stumbling block on my path. A world where only the fittest survive has no place for fools like you. Rest in peace, Gu Shuling.”

With that, he turned and left without a hint of hesitation, vanishing over the vast expanse of the sea.

Chu He had granted Gu Shuling a painless death.

It was his final act of mercy, his final gift to her.

...

「Deep within the Great Xia Royal Palace」

Lu Yinxing was staring intently at the live broadcast on the screen before her.

When she saw the moment Chu He successfully dealt with the Black Pearl, an indescribable shock surged through her.

On screen, Chu He was like a War God, unstoppable.

Just then, however, a secretary rushed in, a panicked look on his face.

He hurried over to Lu Yinxing and reported in a low voice, ”Her Majesty the Queen, we’ve just received some shocking news.”

”Chu He’s estate was targeted in a suicide attack by a mysterious group.”

”Fortunately, thanks to the arrangements Your Majesty made in advance, this wave of attacks was successfully intercepted.”

”Regrettably, two King-Sealing Level experts and five Ninth Grade Martial Artists were lost in the fighting.”

”We have already dispatched other High Level Martial Artists to Chu He’s estate to protect his family.”

Lu Yinxing’s expression immediately turned grim. She knew exactly how serious this attack was.

Chu He was a national treasure of the Great Xia Country; his safety was directly tied to the fate of the entire nation!

[A huge thank you to Big Tycoon 2024 for the 500 Book Coin donation, Natural Disaster Lin Moyu for the 100 Book Coin donation, Young Master Xi for the 210 Book Coin donation, user 20230601171018780 for the 200 Book Coin donation, and user 20240708171018744 for the 100 Book Coin donation! Thank you all for your support!]