Chapter 1821: Blood Debt

Shui Meiyin had been trying hard to stop crying, but with the trembling of her shoulders, it became increasingly uncontrollable. Time and again, she clenched her teeth and bit her lip hard, yet she simply couldn't stop.

"There, there, stop crying, stop crying," Yun Che comforted her softly.

He had just managed to stop his own heartbroken sobs with Shui Meiyin's comfort, and now, suddenly, it was her turn.

"I... I..." she sobbed.

Yun Che said nothing more and held her tightly. He would never let her go again in this lifetime.

He knew that Shui Meiyin also needed to vent. All these things had been accumulating in her heart, unspoken to anyone—how could that not be an immense torment?

And every one of these tears was because of him, and for him.

After crying for over fifteen minutes, Shui Meiyin finally stopped. She lifted her beautiful head from Yun Che's chest, her starry eyes still brimming with tears, ready to fall.

Lowering his head, Yun Che looked at Shui Meiyin's reddened eyes and smiled, saying, "If your sister saw you like this, she'd definitely poke me with her Yaoxi Sword."

"My sister is so gentle, she wouldn't do that," Shui Meiyin chuckled through her tears. "Besides, you're the mighty Devil Master; who would dare to poke you with a sword...?"

Her finger lightly tapped Yun Che's chest. With misty eyes, she said, "But Big Brother Yun Che's chest has become so warm, no longer so icy cold. That's why... I couldn't bear to leave even after holding you for so long."

Yun Che himself could most clearly feel that his blood was no longer cold.

"But..." Shui Meiyin's finger remained on Yun Che's chest as she softly said, "The warmth in Big Brother Yun Che's heart can only be for me, and for everyone you care about. As for your enemies, those threats that must be eliminated, you'll still be that Devil Master who shows no mercy, okay?"

"Okay," Yun Che nodded heavily. "This is also one of the reasons why you repeatedly hesitated whether to tell me now, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Shui Meiyin spoke softly and wistfully, "I originally intended to tell you all this after Big Brother Yun Che had defeated the Dragon God Realm and purged all threats."

"Because I was afraid that if I told you too early, you would be unable to resist acting impulsively, exposing the Azure Cloud Continent to risk. I was afraid your resentment would dissipate, causing you to lose your merciless resolve. And I was afraid you would become burdened by worries again, or that your heart would be thrown into chaos..."

"However, your method of dealing with the Southern Sea God Realm made me very apprehensive. And your order to forcefully attack the Dragon God Realm was too hasty, too sudden. I'm certain that alongside your determination and confidence in facing the Dragon God Realm, there must be very cruel costs and methods involved."

"..." Yun Che could not deny it.

"I understand," Yun Che said with deep remorse. "Don't worry, whether it's the Dragon God Realm or the Western Divine Region, I will protect myself with all my might. I will absolutely not force myself to take any more risks."

By this point, how could he not understand Shui Meiyin's reason for wanting to tell him everything in advance?

She hoped that after he saw the Azure Cloud Continent was still intact, he would no longer fight with his life on the line. Instead, he would preserve himself and reunite with them after everything was over.

However, just before leaving the Seven Star Realm, Shui Meiyin was still hesitating whether to tell him. And after meeting Jin Yue, she clearly leaned more towards keeping it a secret.

But as fate would have it, they encountered Xia Yuanba there, who had gone to the God Realm to find Yun Che.

"Even if it's just to properly repay my little Meiyin for the rest of my life, I must ensure I live a long and complete life," Yun Che said, half-joking.

Shui Meiyin looked at him and suddenly said, "Big Brother Yun Che, if... if you truly want to repay me, then... promise me three things, okay?"

Yun Che was startled. Looking at the unusual starlight trembling in Shui Meiyin's eyes, he slowly nodded and said with utmost solemnity, "Okay, no matter what it is, I promise."

This immensely weighty promise, every word of it, came from the bottom of his heart. Because the kindness and affection Shui Meiyin had given him, let alone three things, he could never repay even if he gave everything, for his entire life.

Shui Meiyin reached out and wiped the tears from her face. Her expression became very serious.

"The first thing is, I hope... no matter what Big Brother Yun Che encounters in the future, even if it's more terrifying, more despairing than in previous years, you must... you absolutely must treat yourself well, never again resent or harm yourself... and even less entertain the thought of death."

"Because..."

Shui Meiyin, who had just calmed down for a moment, suddenly found her eyes brimming with tears again. "Your life, your safety, no longer belongs to you alone. In this world, someone... cares about you far more than you can imagine... loves you... For you, she truly can... sacrifice anything... everything... even... even..."

"Even if it's just to not let her... them down, you cannot... plunge yourself into an abyss again. Because for them... even if they truly leave you... leave forever... your well-being is their eternal wish, even after they've left."

Tears welled up and fell like pearls again.

Yun Che's heart trembled. He reached out a finger and gently wiped away the overflowing tears from the girl's face, drop by drop. Softly and solemnly, he said, "Okay. Every word, I will remember firmly. Every word, I promise... forever promise."

Just having one person in this world treat him like this, what more did he have to resent, what more to hate?

Shui Meiyin composed herself for a while, then continued, "The second thing, I hope that after Big Brother Yun Che defeats the Dragon God Realm and becomes the master of the world, he can treat the innocent common people kindly."

Yun Che: "..."

Yun Che was not surprised by this request in the slightest. He had already sensed it when Shui Meiyin took him through the Seven Star Commercial Zone.

"Although the Dragon God Realm was ungrateful and wronged Big Brother Yun Che, and the Dragon Emperor even killed your master, which is unforgivable. However, the Dragon God Realm has done very well as the ruler of the God Realm over the years, so well that no other king realm could replace it."

"The Dragon God Realm possesses unrivaled strength, capable of easily suppressing any king realm in the current age. However, though arrogant, the Dragon God Clan does not enjoy bullying the weak and, while not afraid of conflict, never initiates it. Thus, even being supreme, they have never used their power to plunder other's territories, and with the Dragon God Realm above them, other king realms dared not act wildly in the open."

"If the king realms possessing the power to rule the God Realm were the Brahma Monarch God Realm or the Southern Sea God Realm, one can imagine how terrifying that would be."

Yun Che listened carefully. He utterly detested the Dragon God Realm and was determined to kill Long Bai, but he did not deny Shui Meiyin's words.

At least for the past million years, the Dragon God Realm was the most suitable ruler of the God Realm.

"This Seven Star Realm is but a tiny corner of the God Realm. Through the projections from the Eastern Divine Region, they also learned the truth of that year, knowing that Big Brother Yun Che was wronged and betrayed, and was even the one who once saved them."

"However, facing the approaching Northern Divine Region, their first reaction was still immense fear and unease, even to the extent of abandoning their ancestral lands to flee. Order quickly became chaotic, and it wouldn't be long before it might completely collapse."

"Because they couldn't imagine a world of endless panic ruled by devils."

"These things are bound to happen, unavoidable. But..." She gazed lovingly at Yun Che, "I believe that in the not-too-distant future, after Big Brother Yun Che becomes the master of the world, he will definitely do better than the Dragon God Realm, right?"

Yun Che slowly extended his hand and looked at his palm.

Back then, fleeing for his life from the Star God Realm, he was reborn in the Heavenly Profound Continent. He experienced darkness, but after meeting Chu Yuechan and Yun Wuxin, he stepped from the darkness into boundless light...

Especially after Yun Wuxin abandoned her talent and risked her life to save him, he also looked at his hands this way, secretly vowing never again to let these hands that protected and embraced his daughter be stained with sin and filth.

That was a major change in his state of mind. It allowed warmth and kindness to occupy most of his soul, and he developed an aversion to the bloodshed and sin he had once been accustomed to. Correspondingly, his hatred, resentment, animosity, and cruelty faded invisibly.

He still remembered that after returning to the God Realm, Xia Qingyue had pointedly asked him, "Has your heart softened because of your daughter?"

Not long after, his state of mind was pushed to another extreme... an extreme extreme.

Now, the blood and sin stained on these hands of his were so heavy that they could not be described by any words, and they could never, ever be washed away.

"Okay," Yun Che said softly, looking away and clenching his hands.

All the slaughter, blood, and sin rest upon me alone.

I once wanted to plunge this world into eternal darkness, to turn the defiled God Realm into a dark purgatory.

But now...

Even if it's just to prevent this endless sin from tainting them, I will at least return light to this world.

But it must be after everything has ended!

Before that, all those who deserve to die, all potential threats... must be completely eradicated!

Even if I incur a thousand times more sin before then, I must never repeat my past mistakes!

"What's the third thing?" he asked, a smile still on his lips.

But the sudden desolate look in Shui Meiyin's eyes instantly wiped away his smile.

"Atoning... for sins... with me."

"Atoning... for sins?" Yun Che was slightly stunned.

He carried too many sins; the people who had died because of him in recent years were simply countless.

Atoning with her... for her sins?

Shui Meiyin lowered her head and whispered, "The Heavenly Water Star, which perished in place of the Azure Cloud Continent, was not a dead star."

Yun Che: "..."

"If the star that replaced the Azure Cloud Continent hadn't dispersed with blood and countless souls after its destruction, then people would have immediately noticed the anomaly."

"Therefore, Heavenly Water Star was a planet that also had many living beings. The density of its life aura was also very similar to that of the Azure Cloud Continent."

"Every tree, every flower and plant, every insect, bird, human, and beast, was completely unrelated and innocent. Yet because of my selfishness, all of them... all of them..."

"It's not your fault," Yun Che interrupted her. "They were killed by the Moon God Emperor; they suffered misfortune because of me. You merely moved their location... Everything has nothing to do with you!"

In the Northern Divine Region, to frame the Eternal Heaven God Realm and create an opportunity to attack the Eastern Divine Region, they directly annihilated three star realms in the Northern Divine Region.

At that time, he felt no ripples or emotion, no pity or guilt whatsoever.

But Shui Meiyin was completely different from him.

She possessed the world's only Immaculate Divine Soul, a noble birth, and unparalleled talent. Her profound energy cultivation had now reached the seventh level of the Divine Master Realm...

Yet, not a trace of bloodlust could ever be found on her, and her eyes were always like the stars in the distant sky.

Despite having late-stage Divine Master cultivation, she had likely never killed anyone, nor had she ever been tainted by any defilement.

Yet, for his sake, she had borne the blood debt of an entire planet.

Shui Meiyin neither nodded nor shook her head. She just spoke in a very soft, dreamlike whisper, "Shall we repay it together, okay?"

"..." Yun Che tried hard to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

No amount of words, comfort, gratitude, persuasion, or guilt seemed anything but utterly pale before Shui Meiyin's starry eyes.

Yun Che's only response was a gentle nod.

Can the sin of killing one person be atoned for by saving a hundred?

He didn't know, and no one could answer.

If not a hundred, then a thousand, then ten thousand!

He could bear endless sin and descend to the lowest level of purgatory, but he absolutely could not allow Shui Meiyin to be overwhelmed by this sense of sin for her entire life.