361: A time of great celebration! A banquet will be held tonight!

Zhao Wuji's entire body froze.

He jerked his head up, his pupils contracting violently.

When he clearly saw the phantom of a True Phoenix burning with Seven-colored Divine Flames behind Su Xiaoxiao—one that had not yet fully dissipated—the tiny spark of hope for survival that had just ignited in the depths of his Divine Soul was instantly snuffed out by an invisible force.

Another Immortal Physique!

Moreover, the aura emanating from this woman was even more dangerous than that of the red-haired burly man!

His Great Emperor Evasion Technique, which he had executed with all his might, had actually been broken by her with such a casual flap of her wings?

This Su Family... just what kind of monster's nest did they crawl out of from the depths of Hell?!

"You... what exactly do you want?!"

Zhao Wuji's voice was hoarse and dry, every word dripping with utter despair.

He abandoned all thoughts of resistance.

What a joke.

What was the point of fighting?

If he continued to struggle, his end would likely be even more miserable than that of Lin Yu, who had been provoked to death.

Perhaps he would also be dragged off to be fed to the dogs.

Su Xiaoxiao did not answer his question. She just stood there quietly like a perfect jade statue, waiting for the final judgment from the figure atop the Nine Heavens.

Aboard the nine heavens vessel.

Su Chen leaned against the railing, looking down at the Great Emperor who had completely lost his fighting spirit, and let out a bored yawn.

[Sigh, another spineless coward.]

[I originally wanted to see what kind of trump cards a Great Emperor-level powerhouse might have, but this is it?]

[The performance hasn't even started and he's already kneeling. What a waste of my precious cultivation time.]

He had completely lost interest in dealing with such small fry.

Now, he only wanted to wrap up the mess here quickly and return to the palace to see how Ji Hongxue planned to "reward" him.

Thinking of this, Su Chen casually waved his hand at the beautiful figure in the Imperial Robe below.

"Silly Girl, I'll leave this one to you as well."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone present.

"Kill him, skin him, steam him, or boil him—do as you see fit."

"I'm heading back first. Remember to have dinner prepared; I'm hungry."

As his words fell, he didn't even bother to spare Zhao Wuji another glance. He turned and walked into the cabin with an air of "I'm clocking out on time, don't bother me even if the sky falls."

The sky-blotting nine heavens vessel also slowly ascended.

“...”

Ji Hongxue watched Su Chen's back, which was so carefree it was almost heartless, then looked down at Zhao Wuji, who was lying on the ground like a puddle of mud, having completely accepted his fate. For a moment, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This bastard.

He did this every time—solving the most troublesome mess in the most overbearing way, then lightly tossing the cleanup to her.

But... this feeling didn't seem too bad.

She composed herself. The tenderness in her phoenix eyes instantly faded, replaced once again by imperial majesty and coldness.

She looked down at Zhao Wuji, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Zhao Wuji, do you plead guilty?"

"I... I plead guilty."

Zhao Wuji lay prostrate on the ground, his voice dry like sandpaper rubbing together.

At this point, he had no choice but to admit his guilt.

"Very well."

Ji Hongxue nodded slightly.

"Considering you were once a Great Emperor and that cultivation is not easy, I can grant you a dignified death."

She paused before uttering the final words.

"End your own life."

Zhao Wuji's body jolted violently.

He looked up, a thick sense of unwillingness flashing in his eyes.

He was a Great Emperor of a generation who had finally managed to ascend from his home world to the Immortal Realm!

He didn't want to die!

But when his peripheral vision caught the red-haired demon god carrying the giant axe, the True Phoenix fairy with her ethereal gaze, and the remaining 100 Nine Dragon Guards, the last bit of hope in his heart was completely extinguished.

He knew he had no way out today.

Rather than being tortured and killed after endless humiliation, it was better to... end it himself.

"Thank you..."

Zhao Wuji struggled to crawl up from the ground.

He straightened his tattered Imperial Robe and forced his back straight, trying to reclaim a shred of the dignity belonging to a Great Emperor.

He took one last look at the sky, his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.

There was regret, unwillingness, and also a hint of relief.

The next second.

He suddenly raised his hand, condensed his last bit of Emperor Source, and struck his own crown heavily.

Thump!

A muffled sound echoed.

A Great Emperor of a generation thus perished, his Dao dissipating.

With Zhao Wuji's suicide, this monstrous catastrophe triggered by the Upper Realm Immortal Envoy, which had nearly overturned the entire Xuanyuan Continent, finally came to a complete close.

A deathly silence hung over the square.

All the citizens of great xia were still immersed in this series of thrilling and dramatic reversals, unable to recover for a long time.

Until Ji Hongxue's cold and majestic voice once again resounded through the capital.

"Today's crisis was averted thanks to the Divine Son of the Su Family turning the tide!"

Her voice, amplified by the Imperial Dragon Qi, clearly entered the heart of every citizen.

"Hear my decree!"

"The Great Xia Divine Dynasty shall celebrate nationwide for three days!"

"Tonight, a state banquet shall be held at the Chengtian Hall of the Imperial Palace to entertain the heroes of the Su Family!"

After a brief, dead silence.

"Long live Her Majesty! His Highness the Divine Son is mighty!"

"Ten thousand years to Great Xia! Ten thousand years to the Su Family!"

Cheers like a mountain collapse or a tsunami erupted from every corner of the square, soaring straight into the clouds and scattering the last haze from the horizon!

Every citizen was reveling in this hard-won victory, reveling for their Empress, and even more so, offering the most fanatical worship to the Divine Son of the Su Family, who had descended like a Heavenly God and treated Immortals like dogs!

...Night fell.

The Great Xia Imperial Palace was brilliantly lit, as bright as day.

An unprecedentedly grand state banquet was being solemnly held in the palace's largest hall, the Chengtian Hall.

The civil and military officials of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty, as well as the imperial relatives—as long as they had stood firm during the catastrophe and had not betrayed them—were all gathered together now.

The protagonists of the banquet were naturally Su Wuchang and Su Xiaoxiao.

They were surrounded by a crowd of Great Xia's princes and ministers like stars surrounding the moon, being toasted cup after cup and enjoying hero-like treatment.

Su Wuchang was already bold by nature; now, he accepted all comers, drinking until his face was flushed red. He boasted with spit flying about how he had used just a few moves today to make that bullshit Immortal Envoy kneel and beg for mercy.

Although Su Xiaoxiao did not like drinking, she merely took small sips in the face of everyone's enthusiasm, a proper smile on her face, fully displaying the elegant demeanor of a core Prodigy of a Longevity Family.

The atmosphere of the entire banquet was heated to the extreme.

However, as the greatest contributor to settling the catastrophe today, Su Chen had slipped away early.

What he hated most was this kind of boring socializing.

In his view, drinking and bragging with a bunch of old men he didn't know wasn't as practical as going back and hugging his pillow for a good sleep.

Moreover... he had more important things to do.

Su Chen walked alone in the quiet Imperial Garden, looking at the bright moon in the sky, calculating another matter in his heart.

[Ji Hongxue, that Silly Girl, kissed me in front of so many people today and even held such a grand banquet for me.]

[With both the kissing and the dinner invite, it's definitely not as simple as just wanting to thank me.]

[According to the tropes in the eight hundred storybooks I've read, shouldn't the next step be her offering herself to me?]

[Hehehe, thinking about it makes me a little excited.]

Su Chen was thinking happily.

Suddenly, his footsteps paused.

He felt an extremely faint but incredibly familiar fragrant breeze approaching silently from behind him.

He didn't turn around, but the corner of his mouth curled into a knowing smile.

[She's here.]