695: Chapter 696 You... refuse to fight?

At this moment, the phantom of the War Soul remained floating quietly in front of the stone tablet.

The two points of red light stabilized once more, but their glow seemed even dimmer and more silent than before Gu Changge had appeared.

It no longer looked at Xiao Ruobai and the others, but merely gazed quietly at the space where Gu Changge had vanished, as if still immersed in that brief meeting of eyes—or rather, that one-sided gaze.

After a long while, that dry, hoarse voice resonated once more within everyone's hearts; the tone was flat, devoid of any emotion, yet it seemed to have exhausted all its strength:

"Are you willing to inherit my Battle Intent?"

It seemed that the arrival and departure of the man in white just now was merely an episode that this ancient remnant of the War Soul neither needed to concern itself with nor could comprehend.

Its world, its obsession, remained solely focused on war and the Legacy.

The War God Body was yearning, its instincts clamoring; that desolate, ancient Battle Intent held a natural attraction for him.

However, a Legacy implies acceptance, implies responsibility, and implies the Fusion or even deviation of one's path.

And he, Xiao Ruobai, already had a master and had already chosen his own indomitable path as a War God.

This path might share some commonalities with the will of this War Tomb, but it was by no means identical.

He did not need to become another War Soul; he only needed to become a stronger Xiao Ruobai.

With this thought, Xiao Ruobai cupped his hands once more, facing those two faint points of red light, his voice clear and composed:

"Senior's kindness and the unyielding nature of the War Soul are things this Junior admires. However, this Junior already has a master, and my path of Dao is already set.

Senior's Battle Intent is worthy of respect and admiration, but please forgive this Junior for being unable to accept it in its entirety."

As these words were spoken, not only was Dong Li stunned, but even those two points of red light suddenly froze, and the surrounding dark red mist seemed to cease its circulation.

Within that desolate, sorrowful aura, a trace of icy scrutiny suddenly emerged, like a cold blade scraping against the skin.

"Oh?"

The War Soul phantom's voice sounded once more; it remained dry, but now carried an indescribable quality, like the grinding of rusted iron.

"You... refuse the Legacy of Battle?"

An invisible pressure began to permeate the air, heavier than before.

The gray space seemed to tilt slightly toward Xiao Ruobai, and the gelatinous ground beneath his feet exerted a more distinct suction, attempting to shake his resolve.

Xiao Ruobai stood ramrod straight, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, yet his gaze did not waver in the slightest:

"It is not that I refuse the Battle Intent itself. To fight the heavens and the earth, to never bow—this heart, I too possess. What I refuse is the act of accepting the Legacy itself.

Senior's path is Senior's battlefield, Senior's endgame. My path must be walked by myself, even if it is equally filled with thorns and equally requires ending war through war."

He paused, and the pale golden blood energy within him rose involuntarily:

"If Senior deems this Junior qualified to witness Senior's Battle Intent, to witness the blood of the predecessors that has yet to run cold,

then I am willing to use my own Battle Intent to reflect and sharpen against Senior's residual will! Rather than a simple act of inheriting and being overwritten."

Silence.

Only those two points of red light, set within the chaotic facial outline, watched Xiao Ruobai quietly—watching that pale golden Battle Intent, which, though faint, was filled with vibrant life and a unique sharpness.

"One's own path of battle... mutual reflection..."

The phantom repeated these words in a low voice, the two points of red light flickering slightly, as if savoring and contemplating them.

"Very well."

In the end, it uttered only those two words.

There was no praise, no denial—only a calm acceptance born of having weathered the vicissitudes of time.

As the voice faded, the stone tablet glowed with blood-red light once more!

But this time, it was not the surging, overwhelming torrent intended for infusion; instead, it transformed into slender yet condensed dark red threads, which reached out toward Xiao Ruobai like living tentacles.

Xiao Ruobai did not resist; instead, he opened his mental defenses and spurred his own pure, steadfast Battle Intent to its limit, the pale golden blood energy swirling around him and transforming into a hazy golden radiance.

The moment the dark red threads made contact with the pale golden radiance—

"Hum!"

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a low, distant resonance, as if two longswords from different eras and different materials, yet both having survived a hundred battles, had lightly clashed in the quiet of the night.

"Hum!"

A low resonance, like the clashing of ancient swords.

There was no infusion, only reflection.

The dark red threads and the pale golden radiance collided and intertwined, yet remained clearly distinct.

Countless fragmented images rushed into Xiao Ruobai's Sea of Consciousness—a desperate last stand in a hopeless situation, the act of burning everything in a mutual destruction, a hoarse roar beneath a broken banner...

Tragic, resolute, and stubborn—it was completely different from his own enterprising Battle Intent that pursued the ultimate.

The two wills, like two surging rivers, met here, churning and reflecting off one another.

Xiao Ruobai felt the heavy, searing heat of protection and sacrifice, while the remnant of the War Tomb seemed to touch upon a completely different, sharp spirit—one filled with new life and endless possibilities.

This was not a Legacy.

It was a silent verification spanning across time and space.

This was not a Legacy, but a verification spanning across time and space.

Deep within Xiao Ruobai's eyes, a sense of calm and gravity, forged through the baptism of iron and blood, settled.

His Battle Intent did not surge, but it became more condensed and pure; it was as if it had undergone a tempering process, losing some of its restlessness and gaining an indestructible quality.

His mastery of the War God Body and his insights into the Dao of battle were invisibly elevated to a higher level.

"Thank you, Senior." Xiao Ruobai opened his eyes and bowed deeply.

The phantom did not respond again; the two points of red light gradually dimmed and finally dissipated, while the surrounding dark red mist also quietly vanished.

The dilapidated stone tablet returned to its initial silence, though that desolate, unyielding will seemed to have formed a subtle connection with Xiao Ruobai.

"Did it work?" Wang Xiaopang asked in a low voice, still shaken by the lingering pressure from moments ago.

"Mm." Xiao Ruobai clenched his fist, feeling the faint resonance from the mark on his wrist and the more rounded, solid Battle Intent within his body.

Although he had not gained a direct Legacy of power, this verification had perhaps brought him something far more precious than a simple inheritance of strength.

It was a tempering and clarification of his own path.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the earth, a pair of enormous eyes, scarlet as blood moons, slowly opened.

"Roar—!!!"

A roar, far more furious and manic than any before, erupted without warning!

This time, it was not merely a Divine Soul impact!

The entire Purple Miasma Mountain, along with the surrounding region spanning tens of thousands of miles, trembled violently from this roar!

The earth heaved like waves, countless mountain peaks collapsed, and rivers flowed backward!

It was a Vicious Beast that had slumbered for eons; now, it had fully awakened, intent on destroying everything and venting the fury of being suppressed for countless years!

It opened a maw large enough to swallow mountains, and a destructive energy storm was frantically condensing within, preparing to bring a final end to this world.

Just at the moment this world-destroying blow was about to erupt—

"Snap." A soft sound.

The Vicious Beast's Divine Soul roar, capable of destroying an Immortal King, ceased abruptly, and the destructive energy it had been gathering instantly dissipated.

Before anyone knew it, a person had appeared before it.

A young man dressed in simple white robes, his black hair falling loosely, possessing a face so handsome it seemed unreal.