Chapter 223: The Final Decision

The man’s cries for help were still reverberating.

Vice-Principal Yu Hua’s lips twitched slightly as he made a correction.

“Heavenly Court, Liu Qianhuan, eliminated!”

As for the man buried under the brick, he had not been surrounded by a golden barrier so he had not yet been eliminated.

The tens-of-thousands of students should have been ecstatic at this sight, but they somehow couldn’t summon any cheers.

After all, God An had survived such a terrifying spell technique but was now trapped under a brick, this was just…

“Help…”

The man’s cries became weaker and weaker.

Up until he heard Vice-Principal Yu Hua’s announcement of “Liu Qianhuan, eliminated”, he finally stopped struggling.

He knew that no one would come to save him.

An Lin panted in exhaustion under the black brick.

He wanted to shrink the size of the brick, but his energy essence had been completed expended, and he was heavily injured so he was unable to perform even such a simple task.

After hearing that everyone had been eliminated, he suddenly realized something, and that was that the Heavenly Court had already won! If they had already won, then what was he doing stuck here?

“I want to go back, teleport me back!”

“I want to go back, teleport me back…”

He continued to shout, but there was no response…

After a long while, a voice sounded in the sky.

“There are only two ways to exit the trial. The first way is to be defeated, thereby triggering the Defeat Judgement Seal; the second way is to obtain the holy grails and secure victory. There’s no other way.”

An Lin grimaced upon hearing this announcement.

Be defeated? Can’t you see I’ve already been defeated by this black brick!

Obtain the holy grails? I’m stuck under this black brick, how the hell am I supposed to do that!

“Alright the… don’t take me back, you guys can just watch me chill under this brick…” An Lin said in a feeble voice.

The tens-of-thousands of spectators’ faces darkened once they heard An Lin’s words.

Did they want to watch An Lin chill under a brick? Hell no!

But the trial was not yet over so they couldn’t really do anything.

But there was always a turn of events. A little girl struggled and faltered in her footsteps as she appeared in everyone’s line of sight.

Her white dress was covered in blood and grime, and her porcelain-like face was also riddled with burns.

She made her way to the brick and kicked it aside.

Boom!

She appeared to have used a bit too much power and kicked the brick a bit further than intended.

An Lin was injured once again by the impact and moaned lightly in pain, but at least the weight of the brick was off his body now.

Under the white light of the moon, they saw the figure of the little girl who appeared a little lonesome.

The girl smiled and plucked An Lin out of the ground like a little bunny. She exulted in a clear yet hoarse voice, “Left Guardian, we won.”

An Lin looked at her innocent smile and nodded before squeezing out a smile of his own in response. “We’ve secured victory with our cockroach-like tenacity, survival truly is the key to victory.”

The girl furrowed her brows slightly and placed An Lin back on the ground with a sorrowful expression. “It’s a pity… my little palace wasn’t strong enough and got destroyed…”

An Lin surveyed their surroundings but could only find a pile of debris and rubble, there was not even a semblance of the former palace in sight. He couldn’t help but heave a sigh as well. He actually didn’t care too much for the palace itself, but he was quite sympathetic at the fact that the little girl would have to live with no roof nor shelter over her head.

Just as he was about to console her with words along the lines of “that’s fine, we can just make another”, the little girl suddenly spoke, “Come out, palace number 24!”

Her storage ring flashed and the ground rumbled as another small yet intricate palace appeared in front of An Lin.

An Lin: “…”

Alright, it seemed like his worries were unnecessary.

An Lin consumed a few Energy Restoring Pills and retrieved his black brick before speaking to the little girl, “Your Majesty, please punch me.”

The little girl stared at him with a puzzled expression. “Why?”

“Because I can only leave here if I obtain the holy grail or my Defeat Judgement Seal is triggered,” An Lin explained with a smile.

“Oh, I see…” the little girl faltered as her face fell and her voice became deflated, “you’re leaving so soon…”

An Lin nodded. “Yeah, I have to go back to receive my prize. Don’t punch me too hard. Oh wait, don’t punch me too lightly either, maybe just go 50% of your normal punching power…”

He felt like his fragile body would definitely be destroyed by a full-force punch, so a 50% one should be OK.

To be honest, it was still quite a nervous experience to await for a pummeling.

The little girl chewed down on her lower lip and fiddled with the intricate crown before lifting off her head and offering it to An Lin with her slender little hands.

An Lin was shocked into a daze as he stared at the crown before his eyes. “You… Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?”

“I’m the Queen, how can I attack my own Guardians? Just take the crown instead!” The little girl smiled lightly as the breeze ruffled her hair, the expression in her eyes was extremely clear and genuine.

An Lin felt as if his heartstrings had been tugged and suddenly forgot how to move.

This was something he had never anticipated. The two of them stared at each other under the moonlit sky in silence.

The girl stood with a sincere expression, while the man was completely dumbfounded. The crown between them glinted faintly under the moonlight. If it wasn’t for the girl’s hair fluttering in the breeze, the scene would appear like a still image, forever etched into the canvas of time.

“But… without your crown…”

“I’m still your Queen even without my crown!”

“That’s true… Your Majesty.”

An Lin smiled. He took the crown with trembling hands. It was very difficult to describe his feelings at that very moment.

The tens-of-thousands of spectators on the Blue Sky Plaza were also staring quietly at the image on the crystal screen, but no one uttered even a single word.

The sequence of events was very surprising, but for some reason, it also seemed quite natural. There was no sense of anything being forced or out of place, everything was as it should be.

Vice-Principal Yu Hua stared intently at the crystal screen as waves of incredulity welled up in his heart. “It’s been almost a hundred years, who would have thought someone would actually succeed…”

Yu Hua’s expression was very complex. He was shocked, he was excited, but most of all, he was greatly relieved.

“Congratulations! Heavenly Court has received five points!”

His voice reverberated throughout the Blue Sky Plaza, and also sounded in An Lin’s ears.

Not a single person disputed this decision, including the Return to Void Stage mighty figures in the stands. They all stared at the scene on the screen with varying expressions, all of them at a complete loss for words.

This wasn’t the first time they had come to spectate the Dao Exchange Conference. They had seen the fierce and merciless version of the golden holy grail’s war demon, they had seen her crushing all the contestants with her absolute might, but they had never seen her so sincere and genuine.

An Lin’s body began to dissipate into particles of light as he placed the crown in his hands back onto the little girl’s head. “Not bad, I only had to borrow this crown to get five points, thank you, Your Majesty!”

The little girl pursed her lips as she stared in silence at An Lin with her rippling eyes.

“Oh right, the Blood Skeleton also has a phone. If you ever get bored, you can play against it.” A thought suddenly occurred to An Lin.

Tears began to well up in the little girl’s eyes. “You’re both my Guardians, don’t forget me…”

“Don’t worry, we will never forget you!” An Lin replied earnestly, “Farewell, Your Majesty.”

An Lin’s vision began to darken and his consciousness began to blur, and the last thing he heard was a soft and gentle voice.

“Farewell, Guardian An Lin.”