Fa Hua and Lan Ge drifted in a daze, unsure how much time had passed. Then suddenly, the weight on their bodies vanished, and air carrying the scent of the Endless Blue Sea rushed toward them.
They both snapped awake.
With a lift of her hand, the Ruby Queen flung them into the air. Only then did they realize the Devouring Ant Emperor phantom behind her had completely vanished. Even her body had turned translucent. The crimson-gold flames still burned, but they had grown faint—thin, almost insubstantial.
“You…” Lan Ge instinctively tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
The Ruby Queen waved a hand, her expression indifferent. “There’s nothing to say. When it’s time to end, it ends. Continue south from here. The Law Domain should be close. From here on, you’ll go on your own.”
A brief pause.
“I’ll be leaving as well.”
“Why did you pay such a price to save us? This…” Lan Ge said with a bitter smile.
The Ruby Queen replied calmly, “Because I wanted to.”
That was all.
She lifted her chin slightly. Her translucent body continued to fade, the last traces of crimson-gold flame dispersing into nothingness. And just as her form seemed on the verge of vanishing completely, it suddenly converged.
A surge of intense spiritual energy burst outward.
In the next instant, she transformed into a streak of red light and shot into the distance—gone in the blink of an eye.
There was no grand righteousness. No final words.
She simply left—swift and decisive.
“I think I’m a little moved,” Lan Ge muttered. “How are we supposed to repay a debt like that?”
Fa Hua shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t understand her either. But if what Tianmo Dan said is true, then she probably…”
Lan Ge let out a bitter laugh. “And yet she didn’t seem sad at all. Truly a queen—decisive to the end.”
Fa Hua said quietly, “Let’s go. We should leave this place first.”
Now that he had reached the Ninth Rank, even if he couldn’t fly freely like Lan Ge, he could still use his holy power to remain suspended in the air for short periods.
“What are you planning to do next?” Lan Ge asked.
“I’m heading back to Wisdom City first,” Fa Hua replied. “I need to complete the imprints on two pages of the Divine Codex. What about you? Coming with me, or heading back to Thunder City first?”
Lan Ge thought for a moment. “I’ll go back to Thunder City. That way we’ll each have a teleportation point. If the Demon Race shows up, we can at least teleport to each other and avoid them.”
No matter how strong the Heavenly Devils were, they couldn’t cross two domains in a short time. And now that they had reached the Ninth Rank, their sense of danger was far sharper than before. With teleportation points in place, escaping would still be possible.
More importantly, Lan Ge truly wanted to return.
The time he had agreed upon with the Grand Elder was almost here. The selection for the next City Lord of Thunder City was about to begin. Now that he had reached the Ninth Rank, he finally had the foundation to compete.
No matter what, he would inherit his father’s position and lead Thunder City along the path his father had set.
Their journey through the Green Sea of Life and the Demon Domain had not only increased their strength—it had broadened their horizons.
They had seen how small humanity truly was within the Land of Miracles.
They had witnessed ordinary humans reduced to slaves in the Demon Domain, powerless to resist.
Humanity still had a long—very long—road ahead before it could stand as an equal among the races. One wrong step, and it could all be wiped out.
Even the fragile foothold they had now was bought with the blood, lives, and wisdom of countless ancestors.
From the moment they were chosen by the Peerless Pearl, they had shouldered that responsibility.
And under that weight, there were still countless things they had to do.
But above all else—they needed to become stronger.
With the token given to them by the Sea Giant Emperor, they moved unhindered through the Endless Blue Sea, even able to ask the intelligent races of the sea for directions.
Ten days later, they reached the Law Domain.
To return to Wisdom City as quickly as possible, they didn’t go ashore. Instead, they followed the coastline, maintaining top speed through the Endless Blue Sea until they reached the port closest to Wisdom City.
Only then did they stop.
“Be careful,” Fa Hua said after stepping onto land, raising a hand toward Lan Ge, who hovered above the sea.
Lan Ge couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t expect Fa Duidui to ever say something nice.”
Fa Hua replied evenly, “I’m just worried some idiot will do something stupid again and drag me down with him.”
Lan Ge’s mouth twitched. “I should’ve known. I’m off.”
He waved once, then turned and dove straight into the Endless Blue Sea.
Fa Hua stood on the shore, watching until the ripples left behind by Lan Ge faded completely. Only then did he turn and head toward Wisdom City.
Ever since they had been bound by the Peerless Pearl, they had spent nearly all their time together. Now that they were suddenly acting separately, it felt… strange.
And yet, in truth, they could never truly be apart.
Whether through cultivation or their mental connection, they remained closely linked.
Standing there for a moment, Fa Hua decided to visit his adoptive father first—not only to report his safety, but also to record everything he had seen and experienced. Humanity knew far too little about the Green Sea of Life and the Demon Domain.
Their journey was invaluable.
When Fa Hua finally saw the walls of Wisdom City, a faint daze overtook him.
He had only known Lan Ge for a few years, yet it felt as though an entire lifetime had passed. He had experienced too much. Grown too much.
Watching the endless stream of people at the city gates, his eyes suddenly grew moist.
A traveler had finally returned home.
Here, within the Law Domain, every human at least had the right to live freely. Though hierarchies still existed, it was far better than the Demon Domain.
And all of this had been bought with blood and sacrifice.
What their ancestors had given them was not enough to stand tall—but it was hope.
Never before had Fa Hua felt such weight pressing on his heart.
Yet at that very moment, a strange clarity began to take shape within him.
He had seen the Green Sea of Life, wandered the Endless Blue Sea, and fought in the Demon Domain. Compared to those lands—rich in power and resources—what advantage did humanity have?
Human bodies were fragile.
The Blue Domain’s elemental control, the Law Domain’s Divine Codex, the Saint Domain’s Demon-God Transformation—these were all powers their ancestors had fought desperately to obtain.
But were they truly strong enough?
If they were, why were there so few human powerhouses?
No… this was not humanity’s advantage.
Then what was?
Where did humanity’s future lie?
What gave them the right to contend with such powerful races?
Fa Hua fell into deep thought.
He clearly remembered that when the Wisdom Codex granted him its seventh page, a voice had asked him what wisdom was—and he had answered.
That voice had told him.
Wisdom is the ability to discover miracles within the ordinary.
It was that moment of realization that earned him recognition from the second page among the three origin pages of the Codex of Wisdom.
He also recalled the Ruby Queen’s words.
If humans were truly worthless, why would the great beings of the Demon Domain take on human form after reaching the God level?
Was humanity’s uniqueness rooted in its rate of evolution?
Then why, after hundreds of years in the Dark Age, did humans seem even weaker than at the end of the Ice Age?
Was something missing?
Or was something accumulating?
Questions pounded relentlessly against his thoughts.
It felt as though he was on the verge of grasping something.
Everything pointed in the same direction.
What, exactly, was humanity’s true gift?
“Hum—”
Without being summoned, the Divine Codex silently appeared before him.
On its cover, the word Judge gleamed with golden light.
It flipped open on its own—straight to the seventh page.
Unraveling.
Fa Hua was startled to find that the golden threads on the page were moving.
Fine strands merged into thicker ones, weaving together, constantly combining.
As they fused, his thoughts became clearer.
A faint warmth spread across his forehead.
Though he couldn’t see it, he could clearly feel the symbol of the Peerless Pearl appearing at the center of his brow, shining with golden light.
“Who are you…”
A solemn voice suddenly echoed.
It did not come from outside.
It came from deep within his own mind.
“Who am I?” Fa Hua murmured instinctively.
“You are the Chosen.”
The moment he heard those words, Fa Hua’s entire body trembled.
At the same time, all the golden threads on the Unraveling page converged instantly into a single line, forming a golden arrow.
Blinding golden light burst forth, scattering into radiant clouds.
In an instant, the entire sky was dyed gold.
People on the road stopped in their tracks.
Some cried out in shock.
Others stared in awe.
And all of their gazes naturally fell upon Fa Hua—standing just outside the city gates, the Divine Codex hovering before him, blazing with golden brilliance.
The golden light was overwhelming.
Fa Hua felt as though his soul were ascending.
His body slowly lifted from the ground.
He took an unconscious step forward, as though something were calling to him.
And at that very moment—
Far away, at the other end of the Law Domain, within a towering hall—
A middle-aged man sat cross-legged at the center.
Around him, crimson currents flowed like flames, powerful and domineering.
Above the hall hovered a dark-red book.
Not a single page.
An entire volume.
It radiated a faint red aura, identical to the energy emanating from the man—solid, oppressive.
On its cover, two characters shimmered faintly with a red-gold glow.
Courage.