Chapter 249 The Last Guardian
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two days, the underground demon realm felt more like a purgatory.
Even many who hadn’t had the chance to participate in this battle—or who had yet to make sacrifices—could sense the rapid disappearance of their soul power.
When they looked toward the center of the formation…
There, four soul bodies were undergoing unprecedented damage.
It was clear they wouldn’t be surviving much longer.
With the disappearance of the four commanders, Shouming also vanished.
……..
All of this was completely unknown to Qin Zhengji, who was focused on feeling Qin Bei’s purification of his soul body.
He didn’t even know the plans of the four blood demons over the years.
Because during this time, his soul power had grown weaker and weaker.
At first, he could still suppress the demon realm below.
But as time passed, he could only rely on Shouming.
As a result, for all these years, Qin Zhengji had no idea what the situation in the underground demon realm actually was.
Anyway, he only learned from Shouming that everything was normal.
There hadn’t been any problems over the years.
With that, he didn’t really take it to heart.
Had he known about the blood demons’ plans in advance, Qin Zhengji would definitely have stepped in.
This is why Shouming, despite knowing early on, had kept quiet.
He could die alongside the four blood demons.
But Shouming didn’t want to share that fate with the monarch he had protected for two lifetimes.
He would rather be the one to vanish completely.
…….
“I can’t do this anymore! I can’t hold on! This cursed formation is going to drain me dry!”
Qin Bei complained, staring at the formation that was continuously absorbing his soul power.
Turning to the visibly improved Qin Zhengji, he said, “At this rate, I’ll wither away!”
Qin Zhengji: ….
“Hang in there! You can do it!”
“This is the crucial moment; it’ll be okay soon!”
Qin Zhengji was pumping himself up, utterly oblivious to the fact that a major event was unfolding outside.
Qin Bei squinted, skepticism creeping in, “Crucial moment? How long will that take?”
“Eh~…. At most, at most, just another two days, and it’ll definitely be complete!”
Qin Zhengji’s estimate was already on the conservative side.
But upon hearing this, Qin Bei was left speechless.
“Two more days? Isn’t that just going to turn me into a husk?!”
Feeling utterly drained, Qin Bei found the thought of enduring another two days excruciating.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do. This… formation can only be fully activated once. If we can’t solve it completely, it’ll get even more troublesome later.”
Qin Zhengji had run out of options.
If there were any other means, he wouldn’t put Qin Bei through such torture.
What could Qin Bei do? Since he had already agreed, he had to follow through.
During this time, Qin Bei had taken many soul pearls from Qin Zhengji.
While he couldn’t instantly convert the soul power within the pearls into his own,
Converting some was still helpful—it would ease his current pressures.
…….
In the imperial palace.
Everyone witnessed Qin Bei taking the soul pearls from Qin Zhengji.
“Got it! Got it!”
“Hahaha! Prince Bei obtained the soul pearls!”
Cheers of surprise rippled through the solemn hall almost instantaneously.
Those who had bet that Qin Bei would acquire the soul pearls within two days were buzzing with excitement.
Among them, the Grand Elder of the Sword Sect was the most jubilant.
What they had thought lost was suddenly back in their grasp.
How could he not be happy?
Of course, in stark contrast were the Grand Elder and others who had bet that Qin Bei would retrieve the soul pearls within one day.
They had completely lost.
….
“What are you all laughing at? Can’t you check the time?”
The Ninth Prince looked at the jubilant group, utterly speechless.
Clearly, he should have been the happiest one present.
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean? Two days have already passed! Are you all fools?”
The Ninth Prince was exhausted from the endless facepalm.
Each of them had a higher cultivation level than him, yet their IQ was astonishingly low.
No wonder they ended up tricked onto the pirate ship.
“How could that be?!”
At first, a few thought the Ninth Prince was just trying to pull a fast one.
But as they snapped back to reality and double-checked the time, they realized something serious.
They had been so focused that they hadn’t noticed that two full days had already passed.
To be precise, it hadn’t really been two days.
It had been only about an hour.
But for them, that hour made all the difference.
Not only had they failed to secure a tenfold reward from the Ninth Prince, but they had also lost their own bets.
“Hehehe~ So, do you get it now?”
The Ninth Prince peered at the bewildered crowd, a smirk on his face.
Everyone: ….
Uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable!
Each of them had thought they stood a fifty-fifty chance of winning.
But no one had expected that not only the formation but also Qin Bei stood in their way of victory.
All they wanted to tell Qin Bei was: You’re clearly about to break down! Why not do it sooner? Just a bit sooner would have been fine!
Previously, when they thought of Qin Bei, they saw a future child of destiny, now all they felt was disappointment.
If they didn’t know the Ninth Prince lacked the power to reach out to Qin Bei,
they would have suspected this was a trap set by Qin Bei and the Ninth Prince together.
“Oh dear~ Ha…”
The Ninth Prince couldn’t suppress a laugh but knew it wasn’t the right time to let it out, so he held it in.
However, seeing the distressed elderly men before him who didn’t know how to respond made him want to chuckle.
That look of wanting to laugh but forced to hold it in definitely worsened the mood in the room.
Of course, feeling down was secondary.
Some, represented by the elder Beast Lion, were beyond disappointment.
They were in pain—both physically and emotionally!
They had put their sect’s belongings up as bets.
Yet they lost in what should have been a sure victory scenario.
With all these mixed emotions, the Beast Lion felt he could just explode!
Though, that was only a thought kept internally.
If he truly retaliated, he’d probably drop dead before unleashing his strongest attack.
…….
“You don’t have to be this down; a little gamble can be fun! How about we make another bet?”
The Ninth Prince grinned at the Sword Sect’s elders.
Everyone: ……..
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