The chest was pierced through, and Qingyuan's expression froze in an instant. Then, full of disbelief, he turned toward the figure behind him.
"Still as arrogant as ever, Chi."
Jun Bai calmly withdrew Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation, then kicked Qingyuan down with one foot and walked over to Lumine and Yiya's side: "You've worked hard, but can I take it from here?"
[So satisfying! That spear thrust and kick hit the spot!]
[Not a last-second save—he clearly rushed over the moment he got the message.]
["Can I take it from here?" The Marshal is being way too polite. This was supposed to be handed to you anyway… so you're not just being polite, right?]
[The Marshal is just being courteous. You can tell from his eyes—he has no intention of handing Chi over to us…]
"Of course."
Lumine also knew the deep history between these two gods, so she proactively stepped back, dragging Yiya—who was about to charge forward—along with her to Paimon's exclusive spectator seat.
On the battlefield, only the fallen Qingyuan and the spear-wielding Jun Bai remained.
"A clone? In the end, it's just lingering thoughts from the past—you couldn't even distinguish between true form and clone."
Qingyuan spat out a mouthful of purple-black blood, then stood up from the ground. The puncture in his chest showed no bleeding. His gaze shifted back and forth between Jun Bai and Yiya.
"It's not that your reappearance's discernment has weakened—you're just as arrogant as you were before." Jun Bai rested Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation on his shoulder, the corner of his mouth curling in faint contempt.
"Three thousand years ago, you were too arrogant, thinking you could control Second Brother, which is why you ended up heavily wounded. You're the reappearance from that exact period, so naturally you're just as arrogant as you were then."
Qingyuan sneered coldly: "Thou hast changed quite a bit. Three thousand years ago, thou wouldst not resort to a sneak attack."
This was calling out Jun Bai's earlier sneak attack as beneath him.
"I learned it from you."
As he spoke, Jun Bai glanced at the stone pillar Qingyuan had used for his sneak attack: "Your sneak attacks are the same as three thousand years ago too."
"Back then, Second Brother and I had just finished fighting the Dream God's lingering thoughts. Big Brother rushed over right after suppressing a monster riot. All three of us were still in a state where our strength hadn't fully recovered."
"You launched a sudden sneak attack at that moment, easily defeating the three brothers."
"Are you planning to use the same method this time? But it looks like it failed."
[From what Jun Bai is saying, so Chi was basically just picking off scraps—sneak-attacking the three brothers when they were powerless.]
[I was originally wondering how Chi soloed the three brothers at first but then got turned around and defeated—was it some kind of idealistic reversal? Turns out it was this.]
"I am arrogant because I have the ability to be arrogant." Qingyuan sneered.
"So you got heavily wounded by Second Brother, then sent back to the ley lines by me. Now, taking advantage of the ley line chaos caused by Osial, you came back from hell and are trying to revive." Jun Bai exposed him.
"Phenex, dost thou think a few words from thee will unsettle my mind?" As Qingyuan spoke, black mist rose around his body.
Suddenly, Jun Bai laughed out loud:
"No need for these smoke-and-mirrors tricks. If you want to merge with your own remains, then hurry up and do it."
Qingyuan's expression darkened abruptly.
To the side.
Paimon stared wide-eyed: "Lumine, I think I might have misunderstood what Jun Bai just said. Can you explain it to me?"
Lumine sighed and said: "Paimon, you didn't misunderstand Jun Bai's meaning."
"He's going to let Chi revive."
Paimon said in shock: "I don't understand—this clearly brings Jun Bai no benefit at all!"
"From a practical standpoint, indeed no benefit." Lumine watched the battlefield. "But it's not like that."
"Jun Bai wants to let Chi fall into the deepest despair at the moment when Chi thinks victory is assured."
"Only then will it do justice to the Qingce Sword Immortal who was killed by Chi three thousand years ago—to do justice to his second brother."
Perhaps only Lumine in the room could truly understand Jun Bai.
That feeling of losing a blood relative…
And now the culprit responsible for that loss stood right in front of him—the urge to settle the score was completely uncontrollable.
Without a doubt, Jun Bai wanted to deal with Qingyuan right now.
Dealing with him just like this would undoubtedly be very satisfying, but for Qingyuan—or rather for Chi—it would be too easy an escape.
Jun Bai thought that wouldn't do.
The reckoning could not end so simply.
He would let Chi complete his revival, reach the peak of emotion, then crush him in one blow—turning excitement into utter despair.
Only then could it truly count as Jun Bai's reckoning with Chi.
[Isn't Jun Bai being a bit too confident here? Chi is ultimately a god on Osial's level. Before, Jun Bai couldn't do anything about Osial.]
[But just killing him outright—after 3000 years of being steeped in hatred—really doesn't feel enough for Jun Bai.]
[This is killing the body and then destroying the heart. I hope miHoYo plays along—I want to see a one-sided stomping session from Jun Bai next.]
"How dare thou look down on me!"
Qingyuan roared, black mist surging around him as he charged toward Jun Bai like a cannonball.
In response, Jun Bai raised his hand and threw a punch.
Qingyuan charged like a cannonball, then was punched back like a cannonball—embedding into the cave wall under the violent impact.
"If you want to rage at me, then hurry up and revive. Right now, you don't even have the value of being worth my effort to defeat."
Jun Bai's tone was extremely calm.
Calm enough to drive Qingyuan into a state of furious rage.
"Thou wilt regret this!"
Qingyuan laughed in fury. His body turned into black mist and merged into the entire remains. The cave shook violently.
Jun Bai's body ignited with flames, his flame wings flapped, and in the next moment he left the cave that was about to collapse immediately.
The flames turned into a streak of fire, carrying all three from the spectator seat away.
Lumine and the others only felt the world spinning, then quickly landed steadily.
The three looked around and felt the scene here was strangely familiar—especially Yiya.
"This is…"
"Yiya…"
[Isn't this the cemetery in Qingce Village?]
[I see Second Brother's tomb—two tombstones are pretty eye-catching, especially the one Director Hu made.]
[Director Hu's tombstone successfully made Second Brother's grave the most conspicuous one in the cemetery…]
[By the way, Jun Bai coming here—is he planning to make this cemetery the final battleground? Is it really polite to choose someone else's graveyard?]
[No problem. During Zhongli's story quest, didn't we dig up graves at Osial's and the Jade Chamber's burial sites too?]
"Choosing this place as the battlefield for the final battle—does Jun Bai want his brother to witness it all?" Paimon looked around at the surroundings.
"It looks like it." Lumine nodded.
Jun Bai stood in the open area of the cemetery, his clothes fluttering in the wind, expression calm. In his crimson eyes burned undisguised hatred:
"I'll wait for you right here, Chi."
"Finally, we have time to settle our old scores!"