"While she hasn’t recovered, strike now!"

Yuan Zhu thrust both palms forward, hair flying wildly as he teetered on the edge of madness. A Jiao shadow unfurled behind him.

The Jiao roared, ferocious and savage. In an instant it tore free of his body, raised its head through the towering waves, opened its bloody maw, and hurtled at the Nine Phoenix Monarch.

Roar!

Roars of grief echoed through the gale and the breakers.

Gu Heng, famed for his composure, still could not accept this end.

He threw back his head and howled at the sky. There was no resentment in the sound, only crushing sorrow. The grief shook the heavens and pierced the heart of any who heard it.

His voice seemed to pass through the void, a distant question hurled at fa...