Xingtie: Starting with an in-depth analysis of the Yellow Springs

[The Fire-Stealing Traveler: ...]

[Xia Die: Everyone in the Golden Bloodline has contributed to the Fire Chase, and my death will not only be of no help but will also cause unnecessary trouble.]

[Star: Butterfly, don't easily doubt yourself.]

[Aglaia: Butterfly, the flame and divine power of the Death Titan can only be inherited by you. Daughter of the Styx, the time is not yet ripe; your power will be needed next.]

[Ying: Go for it! Take back all the fire that the Fire-Stealing Walker took, and make him... the Fire-Losing Walker.]

Paimon: But all he got was the Spark of Time, didn't he?

[Ying: Oh yeah. Haha, everyone, don't mind me, I just blurted it out.]

[Olonius: Does nobody care about my feelings? They call me Titan of Time when they need me, but when they don't, I'm just some nobody on the street.]

[Tibo: Uh…we need you, Oronis.]

"Is someone missing?" Xing scratched his head.

Bai E laughed and said, "Are you talking about Wan Di? He's solving another problem."

"Don't worry, that man will definitely not be absent from this battle."

[Ambi: Wan Di should be undergoing trials of conflict.]

Wendy: Have you finally made up your mind to face your fate? May the winds of Onphalus protect you.

Ohmma, the primordial vortex.

Hephaestus's dying wish echoed in Wan Di's ears, "Farewell, dearest friend. You must... lead us home..."

Then came the roar of the late King Euriporn, "It's all the same...you and me...we both feed on strife and fear..."

Finally, Craterus said, "If you can truly lead your people to break free from this blood-stained fate, then prove it to me once again, Medemus."

He opened his eyes, and Bai E walked up from behind him. "You really are here."

Wan Diqing hummed, "I heard you're about to embark on an expedition."

"Indeed, this will be an extremely difficult battle. Our destination...is still Xuanfeng City."

"So, you've come to pray to the dead Eulonis?"

Bai'er shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. I'm here to tell you... this time, just hand over the front lines to us. The battlefield you're about to face... is one that cannot afford to fail."

"Hmph..." Wan Di's lips curled up naturally, his eyes gentle, a tacit understanding unique to the two of them. "Geocles, the Mountain Pioneer—have you heard his story?"

Bai'er thought for a moment, "It seems you've spoken with Hattonus. That name belongs to the legendary Mountain Man, isn't it?"

"Before we part, let me say a few more words." Wan Di crossed his arms and continued, "Hattnus told me that in ancient times, the mountain people lived in seclusion in the hills. They spent their days digging and gathering... living a peaceful and simple life, far from conflict."

“But Geocleus was an outlier. He did not accept tradition and longed for the world beyond the mountains. The lukewarm customs seemed to him like a prison.”

“It’s similar to your situation,” Bai’er said, stepping forward to stand beside him.

“That’s right, so he had to face the same choice: one day, Geocleus, as always, climbed over the hill. But he saw an entire camp of Ladonians stationed at the foot of the hill.”

"The Ladonites are fighting their arch-enemies, the Campa, using the mountains as their guerrilla base. Geocleus taught himself the Common Tongue and extracted intelligence from the soldiers—"

"The Ladonians plan to lay mines and explosives throughout the mountains to lure the enemy deep inside. That means the mountain people's homeland will no longer be safe, and will be fraught with danger from now on. Geocleus immediately returned to the village to inform his people. However…"

Bai E listened intently. "I guess... they'd rather endure than seek change?"

“...That’s right. The mountain people fear change, let alone migration. War is imminent, but the elders only intend to seek peace and are unwilling to leave the mountains. Geocleus felt sorrow and anger.”

"But he didn't give up. If you were him, what would you do?"

Chapter 343, Section 10: Thoracic Vertebrae

"Lead the people to rebel?" Bai'e shook his head. "I can't say for sure. I can't think of a way that satisfies both sides."

“A win-win situation…” Ha, there’s no such thing as a win-win situation. Wan Di chuckled lightly, “That’s precisely where our naivety lies. And Geocleus… I’ll tell you how he did it.”

“He took the gems that the mountain people had hoarded and traded them with the Ladon people for a large amount of gunpowder. But it wasn’t to fight the Kampa people… Under the cover of night, he set fire to the forests surrounding the settlement, forcing everyone to flee the mountains.”

As Wan Di recounted his story, the past of the mountain people, who sought refuge from the world, was burned to ashes by a great fire.

"That great fire became the starting point of the mountain people's history. Only after that did they flow into the great river of civilization, and only then did giants appear in the holy city. As for those mountains, they have long since become a few specks of foam in the black tide."

“But leaving their homeland has also brought misfortune to many mountain people. For example…” Bai E didn’t finish his sentence.

Wan Di relentlessly tore open this piece of history, "...hunted by the Xuanfeng tribe, or reduced to slavery. Yes, that is also part of history."

Although history is bloody and cruel, that is the truth.

"This is Geoceles. His merits and demerits are for others to judge. But history still regards him as a pioneer. Why do you think that is?"

Bai E remained silent, having not experienced it himself, so what right did he have to make such a judgment? He himself could not even see the road ahead clearly.

Wan Di saw through his thoughts. "The reason couldn't be clearer—because he took action and carved out the change with his own hands. He didn't try to make everyone understand him, nor did he ever waste time in a dilemma where he could have the best of both worlds."

"He set off a great fire that burned away the shackles called tradition, and then drove everyone... toward the coming era."

[Jingyuan: Sometimes things are unfortunate and cannot be perfect; one should weigh the pros and cons and deal with them accordingly. Yanqing, remember these two sentences well; you will have many more choices to make in the future.]

[Yanqing: Yes. Yanqing will keep it in mind.]

[Su Chang: What do you mean?]

[Jiaoqiu: I told you to study hard, but in the end you can't even recognize all the characters. General Jingyuan meant that when faced with misfortune, if you can't have it both ways, then weigh the pros and cons and make a decisive choice without hesitation.]

[Wendy: A great fire burned away the shackles of the Mountain People. Although many of them perished as a result, it also paved the way for their future.]

[Fireworks: Just like when Miss Yomi cleaved Pinocchio's dream, she didn't choose to persuade everyone; instead, she directly used the fear of death to awaken the desire to live.]

[Aglaia: Becoming a god will be very difficult. You must stay on the front lines, and you may never be able to return to the Holy City to visit your people.]

[Wan Di: Regret doesn't exist in Xuanfeng's dictionary. Perhaps I had concerns about the future of my people before, but now I believe in them. The people of Xuanfeng are self-reliant and strong.]

[Clatrus: Medemus, son of Goergoth, truly deserves the title. Your Highness, I have one last request: let the glory of strife shine upon Onphalus once more!]

[Bai E: My good brother, I will find you again in the next life.]

[Wan Di: Get lost, you talk like a ghost.]

[Xia Die: Lord Wan Di, I know you are immortal, but please allow me to pray for you: May death resist us both.]

Hattonus: I'm happy. Congratulations on becoming the new king, Son of the Helm.

[Zhe: I've witnessed the history of Onphalus, a thousand enemies... that's impressive. I'm willing to give you the highest honor for men... you're something else.]

[Wan Di: Cough... Thank you.]

[Qingque: Pfft! What kind of honor is "being good"? You guys have such strange thought processes.]

"...You've made up your mind, haven't you?" Bai E suddenly spoke, this story being a microcosm of Wan Di's current situation.

Wan Di nodded slightly and strode forward as if he were crossing a shackle that had plagued him for thousands of years.

"Soon I will leave Ohmma to fight against the darkest place in the world and to bear... Nicardoli's fate."

He turned his head and warned, "So listen carefully—if one day we meet again on the battlefield, and I stand on the opposite side of the Fire Chaser..."

"I remember stabbing my tenth thoracic vertebra from behind; that was the only weak point that could kill me."

He completely entrusted his back to me, and Bai E calmed the turmoil in his heart, saying firmly, "It's a deal."

Then Bai'e turned around, and the two walked away from each other. Wan Di went to the Vortex Heart Altar, while Bai'e headed towards the exit, going in the opposite direction.

Wan Di stopped but did not turn back. "Go, head to your battlefield, and send that fire-stealing hyena to its death."

"But if you are driven to a dead end, pray to the blades in the sky—and then shout the name of the new god."

[Star: Help me, Mr. Invincible!]

[Xingqiu: Since Mr. Wan Di has revealed his weaknesses to Bai E, but these kinds of situations usually involve knives. Forget it, why think so much? Chongyun, how about we exchange weaknesses too?]

[Chongyun: Uh…don’t you already know?]

[Hugo: Lykan, if our ideals align, we can be trusted friends.]

[Lekahn: There are no ifs.]

[Silver Branch: What pure friendship! Only in the face of life and death can the charm of humanity be revealed. Bai E and Mr. Wan Di, are you willing to admit… Idrila's beauty is unparalleled!]

[Wenti: The wrath of man? That's the trial against all enemies, right? That final scene was absolutely insane, utterly defiant.]

[Bai E: So, when will it be my turn? Even in a video, I can't be worse than Wan Di.]

[Jingyuan: Such an enviable friendship. I seem to see a scene from the past, the five of us raising our glasses together, trusting each other.]

[Blade: This has nothing to do with you. Jingyuan... no one is asking you to bear the blame.]

When the time came to Suspended Peak City, the palace was filled with the sounds of weapons clashing and roars.

Bai E exclaimed, "The sounds of battle are deafening! This is unlike anything Teacher Xia could have made by herself."

"Hurry up, the battlefield is just ahead."

Xing nodded and followed him across the battlefield, arriving at a wide square where soldiers lay in twos and threes on the ground.

"No way... the Suspended Peak Man?" Bai E glanced around.

"I never expected her to send the Suspended Warriors to help." He stood in front of the warrior leaning against the rubble. "Brave warrior, how is the situation at the front?"

The Suspended Warrior was exhausted, each word accompanied by heavy breathing, "...Ohmans? What are you doing here..."

Bai'er asked in confusion, "Why...didn't Aglaia tell you? We were ordered to come and assist you in hunting down the Fire-Stealing Walkers."

The warrior lowered his head, his hoarse voice filled with resentment, "Aglaia... you damned tyrant, I spit on you!"

“Our king… is coming back. If it is him, he will surely be able to take you… that man in black…”

The last words lingered in his throat, hesitant to be uttered. A short while later, the warrior before him convulsed, his head drooped, and his soul drifted away from his body, heading towards the River Styx of death.

“The Suspended Peak Man… truly resembles their king.” Bai Er placed his hand on his chest in respect, giving him his final reverence. “Rest in peace, may your glory endure.”

Chapter 344 Reversal Ritual

[Aista: The Suspended Ones mistook the Fire-Stealing Walkers for assassins sent by Aglaia, believing they wanted to steal the Fire of All Enemies. Why did this happen?]

[Aglaia: Sitting in this position, no one will understand you, and being doubted is the norm. I'm not saying this to beg for your approval, Bai'er; it's something you have to go through too.]

[Bai Er: I... understand.]

Ningguang: As the leader of the Golden Blood, she must consider all aspects, even making trade-offs and sacrificing her own interests. You may offer better advice, but you fail to see the hidden costs.

[The Little Candle: The world calls me a tyrant, yet no one dares disobey Caesar's commands. Only I know the outcome of every move I make; this is the one who holds the chessboard.]

[Little Candle: Bai Er, since you are regarded as the savior, you must have subjective judgment. Anyone can become a pawn, even your relatives and friends... and yourself.]

[Bai Er: I've learned something, Lord Caesar. But I still disagree. No one will be a pawn, for I will carry your wishes into a new world.]

[Star: Bai E has his principles, please trust him.]

Along the way, every few dozen meters a member of the Suspended Peak Warrior would be exhausted or die, but even so, their last cry was to continue fighting.

No one was forced to come; they came voluntarily to help, even at the cost of their lives.

Bai'e and Xing arrived at the arena from the battlefield, where Tibo had been waiting for a long time. "Once the fire is retrieved, the Gate of Janus will open. Everyone must escape immediately and not linger."

"The rest... depends on our teamwork."

Bai E stood tall and proud, his confidence overflowing. This battle could not be lost. "I still remember what Wan Di said before: on the battlefield, you must cast aside all distractions..."

Star and White E are neck and neck, with Tibo chasing at the back.

Xia dodged nimbly, having already held off the Fire Thief for quite some time, his magic bullets hitting their mark every time, as if he had a cheat code.

The Fire Thief swung his sword and struck hard, but Xia took the blow and retreated, dissipating the impact.

Hearing the footsteps, both big and small, he breathed a sigh of relief. "They've finally arrived."

Xing strode over, his quill pen instantly activated, and with a swing of his arm, he tossed Mimi into the air above the platform. "Please... Mimi!"

Its outstretched arms resembled a pink shooting star, with dazzling starlight gathering in its palms. When it closed its arms, the pink starlight rapidly expanded into the shape of a heart, releasing the power of memory. The dilapidated Suspended Peak City returned to the past with the ripples.

A magnificent palace rose from the ground, and the dark night sky was illuminated by sunlight.

The Fire Thief stood with his sword sheathed, his perspective constantly shifting. Where was he?

Taking advantage of their momentary lapse in attention, Bai E drew his sword and pressed forward, declaring, "Repent in the memories of the victims—"

"—The executioner!"