I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Gu Yan did not answer.

He poured all his spiritual power into the Demon-Slaying Blade, causing its seven-colored light to surge, forcefully tearing a gap in the pitch-black barrier.

He glanced toward the defensive line.

He needs help.

But the situation on the battlefield was worse than his.

Two more figures emerged from the depths of the black tide.

Those were two new Calamity Kings, whose auras were even more terrifying than the previous five.

Their target is not Gu Yan, but Fu Wanqing and Fu Shiwei.

The two sisters were clearing out the Titan-class cluster in the middle section when they were suddenly locked onto by two overwhelming forces.

Fu Shiwei was forced to hold his longsword horizontally in front of him, and Fu Wanqing unleashed the full power of her ancient martial arts essence.

They were held back and couldn't move.

The powerful figures in the God-Making Project wanted to come to the rescue.

Thunderwalker Edgar Holt had only charged halfway when he was stopped by a dozen humanoid calamities clad in black armor.

He unleashed a thunderstorm, shattering the first three heads into charred remains, but many more followed.

Aurora Warrior, Judge of Light, and Steel Statue were all surrounded by hordes of top-tier calamities and unable to escape.

The battlefield was divided into isolated islands, each witnessing fierce battles.

More and more people are dying.

The bodies were piled up on the riverbank, and the blood stained the river a deep red.

Gu Yan fought two Calamity Emperors by herself.

His mental energy was being rapidly depleted, and he was sustaining more and more injuries.

His left arm was pierced by silver needles, and his right leg was burned by black mist.

His movements began to slow down, and the blade flashes were not as sharp as before.

He knew he was about to give up.

But he cannot fall.

If he falls, everything will be over.

Just then, two beams of light shot into the sky from the direction of downtown Jinghai.

One is an exquisite silver-white, and the other is a calm and steady golden-red.

Two beams of light pierced the sky, tearing two huge openings in the sky that had been obscured by calamity.

Sunlight streamed down from the opening, like two swords cleaving down from the sky.

Cecilia and Gu Tan have arrived.

Cecilia is the fastest.

She was wearing that black combat uniform, and her long, silvery-white hair danced wildly in the wind.

What shocked Gu Yan the most was her legs.

She ran over standing up.

Those legs, which had spent most of their lives in a wheelchair, were now firmly planted on the riverbank, each step sending up a trail of tiny sparks of electricity.

She rushed to Gu Yan and hugged him tightly.

She hugged her very tightly, so tightly that Gu Yan could hear her heartbeat.

"You're still alive."

"You're really still alive."

Her voice trembled, and tears glistened in her icy blue eyes.

They all say you're dead.

"Every day I think, if you were still alive, would you be thinking of me somewhere?"

"Gu Yan, I've found you."

"I've finally found you."

Gu Yan was still a little dazed as she was being held by her.

He looked down at her legs, those straight and slender legs, those legs that he remembered forever sitting in a wheelchair.

His throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"Your legs..."

"alright."

Cecilia looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, but a smile played on her lips.

"The power of the Source Crystal."

"It reshaped my meridians and healed my legs."

"Gu Yan, I can stand up now."

"I can fight alongside you now."

Gu Yan's eyes reddened.

He raised his hand, wanting to touch her face.

Then he saw the old man standing behind her.

Gu Tan.

His grandfather.

The old man was wearing a faded gray cloth long gown, his hair was completely white, but his back was ramrod straight.

There was relief, heartache, and a lingering concern that had persisted for over three years.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, or perhaps he didn't know where to begin.

Gu Yan's tears immediately fell.

He released Cecilia and staggered toward the old man.

He knelt before the old man, buried his face in the old man's clothes, and his voice was hoarse.

"grandfather."

"grandfather."

Gu Tan reached out and gently patted his back.

The old man's hands were rough, but he patted very gently, as if he were coaxing a child who had just woken up from a nightmare.

"Grandpa is here."

The old man's voice was aged yet gentle, as if it came from a very, very far place.

"Xiao Yan, you've worked hard."

"Grandpa knows."

"You did a great job."

"Grandpa is proud of you."

Gu Yan cried so hard she couldn't speak.

He remembered when he first came into this world, it was this old man who carried him home from the freezing cold.

This old man raised him by feeding him bite by bite.

He was in poor health, and the elderly man sought medical treatment everywhere.

He was bullied, and it was the old man who went to seek justice, leaning on his cane.

He later left to treat patients and to explore the world.

Every time he came home, the old man would wait for him at the door and cook his favorite dishes.

He had been dead for three years, and the old man had been hanged for three years.

He couldn't imagine how the old man had managed to get through those three years.

"So touching."

The male calamity king suddenly spoke.

Its voice carried a very faint hint of mockery.

"I've seen the reunion drama many times."

"But the ending is the same."

"Humans, I'm giving you one last chance."

"Submit, or be annihilated."

Gu Tan slowly straightened up.

He turned around and faced the two figures floating on the river.

The old man's eyes changed.

It was no longer the tenderness one showed when looking at their grandchildren, but a sharpness that had been refined over a hundred years, the sharpness of a true strongman.

He spoke, his voice not loud, but every word seemed to be driven into the river breeze like nails.

"Submission?"

Gu Tan shook his head.

"In my life, I, Gu Tan, have knelt before heaven and earth, and before my parents, but I have never knelt before beasts."

"If you want this planet, you'll have to get over my old life first."

The male King of Calamities narrowed his golden eyes.

It stared at Gu Tan for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it carried a chilling aura that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"Gu Tan".

"Back in Changbai Mountain, you got away."

"This time, you won't have another chance."

Gu Yan suddenly raised her head.

He looked at his grandfather's back, then at the Emperor of Calamity.

It turns out that it was this thing that caused Grandpa's serious injury back then.

It turns out that all the old injuries on the old man's body, those old injuries that made him unable to straighten his back whenever it was rainy, were caused by it.

His fingers gripped the Demon-Slaying Blade tightly, his knuckles cracking.

"grandfather."

He stood up and walked over to the old man.

"Let's do it together."

Cecilia also came over and stood on the other side of Gu Yan.

Fine arcs of electricity surrounded her, and her long, silvery-white hair moved without wind.

She looked at the two Calamity Kings, her icy blue pupils showing no fear.

"And me too."

The three people stood side by side on the river embankment.

Gu Yan was in the middle, Gu Tan was on the left, and Cecilia was on the right.

They were facing the two most terrifying beings atop the Black Tide.

But no one backed down.

The soldiers on the defensive line witnessed this scene.

They saw the young man covered in blood stand up again, and saw a silver-haired girl and a white-haired old man beside him.

They saw the three people standing side by side, like three flags planted on the river embankment.