Chapter 762: Tired

"You're so powerful, aren't you? You're so cunning, aren't you? You treated me like a pawn, didn't you? You could even summon dead Divine Mountain Ghosts, couldn't you? And then this... this is it? You're dead? Are you messing with me?!"

Li Huowang hysterically raged, yelling at his surroundings. He didn't care if Xuanpin could hear him; he just wanted to vent the emotions churning inside, otherwise, they would drive him mad.

"What are you gloating about? What are you showing off for?! What right did you have to interfere in the Celestial Venerables' struggle, speaking so mysteriously? I thought you were truly powerful! But this... this is humiliating! Xuanpin! Disgraceful! You're an absolute disgrace!!"

Li Huowang's furious expression suddenly changed, replaced by a soft chuckle. "Hehehe, you're tricking me again, aren't you? You're faking your death, aren't you? Don't give me that! I don't believe it!! Come out! You can't fool me!"

"Xuanpin! Xuanpin, come out! The Sitting Forgetfulness Sect has used tricks like this countless times before!"

"Brother Li!" Gao Zhijian, with a sorrowful expression, walked up to Li Huowang and took hold of him, as Li Huowang was still muttering to himself.

"Brother Li, please don't be like this; calm down. I know you're heartbroken, but—"

"Ha, heartbroken? What is he to me? I'm just upset that he tricked me again! It's not the first time he's lied to me! I was going to settle accounts with this guy this time! But then, he just died, just like that..."

Li Huowang stood rooted to the spot, laughing in his rage. "Is this right, Zhijian? I ask you, is this right?!"

"Why?! Why do they get to just kick their legs up and leave everything to me?! I just want to ask, why?!"

This statement included Xuanpin, but was not directed solely at him.

Gao Zhijian didn't know how to respond to Li Huowang's questions. He just stood there, watching Li Huowang's strange behavior.

After another half an incense stick's time, seeing Li Huowang gradually come to terms with the terrible news, Gao Zhijian said with a pained expression, "Brother Li, I know you have prejudices against him, but Master Xuanpin never rested for a moment! He worked tirelessly in places you couldn't see, putting his life on the line, often more than you realized."

"You didn't know, but I did. He was actually severely wounded and never fully recovered, but he never showed it. He was afraid you'd overthink things and didn't dare reveal a single detail."

Gao Zhijian then calmly recounted the entire sequence of events to Li Huowang. "The Legalists' recent actions were all secretly calculated attempts to ambush Master Xuanpin. Their attack on you was merely a feint."

"Because they knew that while you are difficult to deal with, you weren't the most crucial target. Only Xuanpin could rally the Observatories from various countries and coordinate with the Militarists, forcing the Legalists to retreat step by step. He was the most vital link in defeating them."

"So, following the principle of 'catch the king to catch the thieves,' they had to eliminate Xuanpin, no matter the cost."

"They?" Li Huowang slowly raised his head. "Besides Xuanpin, who else died?"

Gao Zhijian's lips trembled slightly, as if he was afraid to speak, but he eventually began to slowly say, "The Grand Preceptor of Daliang, the Grand Preceptor of Hou Shu, the Observatory Director of Qingqiu, and the Observatory Director of Daliang... they're all gone."

Li Huowang almost thought he'd misheard. He stared at Gao Zhijian, utterly shocked. "All of them?"

"Yes."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's mind suddenly buzzed. Though he didn't want to admit it, even if they had guarded against him, tricked him, or set him up, they had still considered each other allies, despite their disagreements.

But now, they were all dead. A casual statement, and they were gone. The strongest fighting forces within the Observatories had simply perished.

Li Huowang felt an emptiness inside. He had always believed that if the sky fell, taller people would bear the burden. But now, he had become the tallest one.

It seemed that from now on, he would likely have to face the colossal Legalist sect alone.

Suddenly, Li Huowang felt incredibly tired. He collapsed onto the bloody battlefield, watching the dark clouds overhead slowly disperse, and exhaled slowly.

Li Huowang suddenly yearned to do nothing at all, to simply return to Ox-Heart Village and live his quiet life. Why should such an almost unwinnable task fall upon him? He felt wronged; he felt it was unfair.

He slowly closed his eyes, as if forgetting everything around him. But after a long silence, Li Huowang finally exhaled slowly.

"Since Xuanpin is dead, who will take over the Observatories of the various countries now?" Li Huowang asked, still lying in the blood-soaked ground with his eyes closed.

"For now, the Hou Shu Observatory Director is acting as interim head. The upper echelons have suffered heavy losses, and I'm afraid of unsettling the troops, so this news hasn't been widely disseminated yet."

Li Huowang mustered all his strength to open his eyes, laboriously propping his supine body upright.

He picked up a broken blade from the ground and plunged it savagely into his abdomen, twisting it wildly as he roared.

After thoroughly lacerating his internal organs, Li Huowang, dragging his bleeding body, stood up again, his gaze once more resolute.

Li Huowang silently endured. He had no choice; everyone else was dead, and he, the one who lived, could only continue to bear the burden.

Just as rumbles of thunder echoed from the distant dark clouds, a standard-bearer with four flags upright on his back rode swiftly towards Gao Zhijian's imperial guard entourage.

"Report!! Great victory at Xuzhong! Great victory at Xianyang! Great victory at Hulao Pass!"

An old eunuch quickly took the message from the standard-bearer, read it swiftly, then excitedly whispered something into Gao Zhijian's ear.

Gao Zhijian, who had just been solemn, finally revealed an irrepressible surge of excitement on his face. He turned to Li Huowang, who was covered in blood. "Brother Li! Xuanpin and the others didn't die in vain!! And you won your fight! The Legalists know they're defeated; they've started retreating beyond the pass! Siqi has been reclaimed by us!"

Matters that could demoralize the troops were naturally to be concealed, while news that could boost morale was to be widely publicized. Soon, this message reached everyone's ears.

On the battlefield, the Militarists who had previously fought against Mamtuo, regardless of rank or status, shouted out excitedly. Their cheers surged like waves, one after another.

Everyone felt they were close to victory, that they would soon be home, and that this great battle was about to end.

Full of confidence at that moment, they were completely unaware that their leadership had effectively been "decapitated" by the Legalists.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang, covered in blood, stood there, completely out of place with everything around him.