As the cracks spread, Cheng Hao looked at them coldly: just as he had previously feared, the path was slowly collapsing! However, there was no turning back now! And, after all, he couldn’t possibly go after seeing what he saw!

With a harrumph, Cheng Hao increased his speed even further! Pushing his body to his limit, he suddenly burst forward with unprecedented speed.

Behind him, the illusory pair of wings spanning thousands of feet grew solid as Cheng Hao’s speed grew to such an extent that not even an afterimage was left: this was speed granted to him by the Roc’s Blessing, a speed that was unrivalled beneath the Heavens!

Even stronger winds rose up, battering the earth. The speed was such that the land in the surrounding hundreds of miles from Cheng Hao’s position had become completely bare, wiped clean from any and all vegetation that could have easily been found just a little earlier.

With its speed increasing, the force the wind carried had also multiplied. While earlier the currents could not even approach the Divine Earth King’s body, at the moment the gargantuan turtle was struggling to keep its foothold.

While the turtle form squatted on the ground, somehow managing not to be lifted off the ground, the snake hissed and then wrapped around the bodies of the two other Divine Kings, shielding them from the hurricane. The black and golden-feathered bird delved its talons deep into the mountain, struggling to hold on.

“What’s with this wind? It’s too strong!” Ren Bai yelled, her hair fluttering madly along with the air currents, getting in her mouth as she spoke.

“What? I can’t hear you, the wind is too strong!” Ren Long of course had no such problem as his scalp was as devoid of hair as it could be. However, due to the wind carrying away the woman’s words, he could not hear what she was saying.

“”What are you guys talking about? We can’t hear you, this wind is just too strong!”” The gargantuan Divine Earth King struggled to make his own voice heard, but even his loud roars were carried away from the wind.

Meanwhile, up above, Cheng Hao’s sudden burst allowed him to safely reach the end of the shattering pathway. His body covered in bruises and cuts due to his imperfect control over wind, the youth cursed as he saw the exit of the path in front of him had almost been completely swallowed by the vortex.

At the same time however, his eyes fell on the figure surrounded by a faint, azure light… his burst in flames, his whole body transformed into a flaring meteor as his speed increased even more!

Damn rift… don’t you even think about taking this person away!

In an instant he was still far away, the next he was bursting forward even faster, his body covered in even more bruises and cuts such that a trail of the crimson liquid had formed behind him!

Like the jaws of a beast, the exit shrunk in size even more until it was barely enough for a single person to pass through… it was at this moment that Cheng Hao reached the exit to the collapsing path!

“OUT! OF! MY! FUCKING! WAY!” Like a meteor, he burst through the small hole and into the clearance created by the symbols’ explosion. He immediately headed over to the figure surrounded in an azure glow, not slowing down even for a second as he caught her in his arms…

Her body was as light as a feather. Her hair was long and the strands were a deep, night blue color. Her features were exquisite despite her young age. Her skin was also fair and it had no trace of imperfections.

She was sound asleep, her expression peaceful as if she was not aware of what was going on outside, of the predicament that she was facing.

As he looked at the young girl in his arms, Cheng Hao felt as if his throat had been tied into a knot, tears of blood falling from his eyes. Inside his head, a certain scene was playing out…

"I swear it on my nickname as the 'Worker'!" The blurry figure of the worker was speaking. The pair of mesmerizing blue eyes, the only thing discernible of the man’s appearance, were holding a clear hint of amusement as he finally spoke out a certain phrase…

A phrase that was currently booming within the youth’s mind!

“Who knows! I might even bring a certain... ‘Bird’ back from the dead...”

A certain ‘Bird’. Back from the dead. Of course, at the time, Cheng Hao had already known exactly what the mysterious Worker had meant, however it was only now that this knowledge finally sunk in.

The scene dissolved as a second one replaced it. More accurately, it was the image of a certain object, falling from the skies, fluttering . A crimson feather. Entering his consciousness.

Holding the girl ever so softly, yet at the same time as tightly as he could, Cheng Hao held his tears back in. Memories flooded his mind, like a tsunami bringing destruction along the coastline:

In his mind red figure danced beside a bonfire… her figure like a flickering flame, she danced with a carefree smile on her face.

Why had he been reborn as a male version of the Divine Fire King in this world? Well, had it not been a mere coincidence?

However, now that this world’s Xu Ling had also turned out having switched his original gender, could he still say it so confidently? What if it had a meaning, what if there was a deep scheme behind all this?

What if the reason he had stayed a male instead of a female, as it should have been, was that the one whose body he had taken over… had also appeared in this new world! And, just like, this someone had reincarnated in Xu Ling’s body as what she truly was like… as a girl?

And who could this person be? Well, seeing as how Cheng Hao was inhabitating the Divine Fire King’s body and the other person was inhabitating his own body, wouldn’t it mean…?

That‘s right.

The reason for Cheng Hao’s action had been none other than the fact that he believed that, inhabiting the body of the female Xu Ling, was none other than his big sister, the person he longed for the most in the world, the REAL Divine Fire King, the true Ren Hong!

Just as he had reincarnated as the Divine Fire King, she would have reincarnated as the young Evil Saint! They had actually switched places!

Ridiculous? Absolutely. Improbable? Most likely. A waste of both time and energy? Possibly. However…

If… even if it turns out being nothing more than a shallow hope, now that I have such a ray of hope shining down from above, I shall follow this light to the end of the tunnel!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

However, it was no time to be pondering that! With each second that passed, the rift grew smaller, meaning the protective bubble that was protecting them from the effect of the vortex was also shrinking!

Cheng Hao looked around him without showing any trace of fear on his face. The path had collapsed, there was no visible way back that didn’t require going through the massive rift at some point or another.

“Well, this is quite the predicament we have found ourselves in, haven’t we?” Cheng Hao pointed out. He lowered his gaze upon the child in his arms and his expression grew tender, as if the layer of ice surrounding his heart had, even if only slighty, began to melt.

Cheng Hao’s smile crumbled as he felt the young girl squirm in his arms, as if she was experiencing nightmares. Seeing that, Cheng Hao’s expression grew determined:

“You needn’t worry, child…” The red skinned boy lifted his gaze… his hair was fluttering madly as, on his forehead, a golden symbol suddenly appeared! Cheng Hao’s figure began to be surrounded by golden light as he pointed in front of him: “It will only take a moment, be patient, and this will all end soon…”

The golden symbol ‘靈’ glowing on his forehead, like an emperor calmly issuing an order to his subjects, Cheng Hao spoke calmly. His eyes lit up like two flames as the words rang out: despite him having whispered the words to the wind, his voice still sounded out like thunder!

“WILL… OF THE SOVEREIGN!”

…

“Ren… Hong… what…” Ren Long stared at Cheng Hao in complete shock. This younger brother of his looked like a completely different person now. As he walked towards them, a young child in his arms, his expression was one of unwavering determination.

Covered in countless cuts, blood drippling down nonstop from each and every wound, his presence had completely changed.

If Ren Long was to compare this new Ren Hong, he would without a doubt place him on the same level as that of the Four Primordial Emperors!

Such was the feeling that the strange pressure the red skinned youth was emitting gave off: at the moment, he was a being of immeasurable might, he was a being destined to rule, he was a mighty lord of the Heavens!

The bald youth gulped, taking a step back when his eyes met the red eyed youth’s. It was as if he was being stared at by a vicious beast having blazing flames for eyes. However, those flames were devoid of any warmth…

Such… a cold gaze…

Ren Long could only watch as the red skinned young man walked by him, not sparing him a glance, before falling on his knees:

What… what happened? What is it that made you change so much, Ren Hong? Why do you show us such cold eyes?

A single tear streaked down his cheeks.

Are we mere pebbles on your path? Were… were we not brothers? Why… has that changed?

Only silence answered the question he asked in his mind. After the silence, came the regular thuds. Thuds that symbolized the red skinned youth’s departure… and the growing distance forming between the two brothers.