On the third floor, Jiang Zuo watched as a figure materialized on King Qin Wu’s Spiritual Position. The instant it appeared, the entire palace was roused.

He possessed a towering figure, the aura of a King, and a presence that commanded the world.

This man was powerful.

And the first words he spoke were equally stunning: "This King has spent a lifetime at war. I have had regrets, but I have never been remorseful."

At his words, the army of thousands fell silent, the myriad warhorses unmoving.

Jiang Zuo also watched him in silence.

This moment belonged to him.

The figure then looked out at the vast army and asked aloud, "Have any of you ever been remorseful?"

Jiang Zuo felt as if he could hear the entire army kneeling in unison. Then, a sound like a tidal wave crashed in his ears: "We swear to follow the Martial King to our deaths, with no regrets!"

"We swear to follow the Martial King to our deaths, with no regrets!"

"We swear to follow the Martial King to our deaths, with no regrets!"

It was the same phrase, yet each cry was louder than the last, each one more world-shaking than the one before.

This was absolute loyalty, the highest honor.

Jiang Zuo could not understand these people in the slightest.

But he was still shaken by them.

The Martial King then spoke once more: "Behind the Battle Tomb Stele lies the domain of the Human Race. Before the Battle Tomb Stele, we fight for the Human Race.

Our bones lie buried in this desolate land, a place of certain death.

This King... has fallen.

However, we were victorious."

Those three words, "we were victorious," stirred countless souls. Everyone fell silent; they had all heard.

This was the lingering attachment that kept them from dissipating, even in death. This was the answer they had longed to hear.

This was their greatest solace. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

They died without remorse, yet they carried a deep regret. They had never witnessed the moment of victory, nor had they ever received word that it had been won.

They could not accept it.

Yet today, after countless years, they finally heard it. Their King told them himself.

We were victorious.

They had won.

It had all been worth it.

In that moment, the palace slowly returned to tranquility. The ten thousand steeds thundered away, their cries echoing as they departed.

Their long-cherished wish was fulfilled. Their lingering obsessions would now fade, allowing them to go where they were meant to be.

They were not souls. They were lingering will, a deep-seated conviction, nothing more than stone statues—for their true souls had long ago been shattered and scattered when they fell on the battlefield.

Laying down their lives, spilling their blood, and burning away their very battle souls before the Battle Tomb Stele—that was their ultimate fate.

Jiang Zuo just stood there, watching it all. He did nothing and said nothing.

He remained that way until all returned to tranquility.

The stone statues were still stone statues, and yet they were not.

Everything was different. This place might have been considered a Heroic Spirit Hall before, but now it was merely a graveyard.

King Qin Wu’s Spiritual Position also stood there quietly, and the figure had long since vanished.

Finally, Jiang Zuo let out a sigh. ’These people are worthy of my respect, but I will not offer any judgment of them. Even if I’ve lived for countless years, even if my Cultivation is sky-high, I would not dare to pass judgment on them.’

’Perhaps... I’m not qualified.’

Just as everything faded away, Jiang Zuo spotted a colorful cord behind the throne.

Next to the cord was a Jade Token, likely meant to describe it.

Jiang Zuo went behind the throne. What he saw was indeed a colorful cord, and it was exceptionally plain, as plain as any common piece of string.

’Theoretically, everything here should be a Magical Treasure, but I don’t recognize this thing. Could it be the legendary Immortal Binding Rope?’

’Then again, the Immortal Binding Rope isn’t this gaudy, nor is it this delicate and exquisite.’

Jiang Zuo then picked up the Jade Token and glanced at it. The writing was in an ancient script.

As it happened, he understood it, and had for a very long time. He had learned it on the Ancient Battlefield. Those were tumultuous times—the first time he had ever studied so diligently.

"A Hairband?" Jiang Zuo was a little surprised. He then read its function: "A Hairband that appears absolutely ordinary. By connecting to the wearer’s hair, it can predict a fatal blow.

Before the fatal blow arrives, the Hairband will protect its owner.

It can save its owner from death three times. No one can tell that this is the Hairband’s effect, and even the owner will find it difficult to perceive.

Becomes ineffective if removed from the hair."

Jiang Zuo stared in astonishment at the meter-long colorful Hairband. ’This Magical Treasure... it’s beyond my expectations.’

’Never mind its function, which is just that of an ordinary Life-Protecting Treasure. But its appearance... it’s so genuinely plain that I actually couldn’t tell it was a Magical Treasure.’

Shaking his head, Jiang Zuo put the Hairband away. ’This thing is quite useful.’

’As for what Tier of fatal blow it can protect against, it should be at least Tier Two.’

Afterward, Jiang Zuo didn’t search for any other treasures. He felt he had earned this Hairband.

’As for anything else, I’ll just assume there’s nothing, whether there is or not.’

Jiang Zuo then headed for the second floor. There was no fourth floor here.

Besides, he didn’t have time to wander around. The Blood Demon’s Runes and the Command Array Pattern on the second floor had been active for a long time now. If he didn’t intervene soon, he might actually let the Blood Demons have their way.

Before long, Jiang Zuo reached the second floor. He made his way to the edge and discovered that he really could see the level below.

To be safe, Jiang Zuo laid down a Concealment Rune to avoid being discovered.

Standing there, Jiang Zuo realized that the second floor was surprisingly high. Far below, most of the people were struggling in the heat of battle.

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Qi erupted from outside. Powerful experts were clashing.

"Haha, it’s useless! Our power here has stabilized. You couldn’t even handle one of us, let alone two," the Fifth Elder laughed.

The Sixth Elder added, "Let’s finish her off quickly. I still have to find my Saintess."

The sudden voices drew Jiang Zuo’s attention.

He then saw an expert with an ethereal air, fighting alone in the sky against two powerful Blood Demon leaders.

The tide of the battle was obvious: she was about to be defeated.

However, Jiang Zuo wasn’t focused on her. What surprised him were the woman’s opponents.

’Blood Demon Blood Butterfly and Blood Demon Blood Rift. So it’s them. I always thought those two were rising stars, but it turns out they’re just a couple of ancient fossils.’ A cold sneer played on Jiang Zuo’s lips.

In the future, Blood Demon Blood Butterfly and Blood Demon Blood Rift would become formidable Blood Demons. They weren’t foolish—in fact, they were quite cunning, able to lead the Blood Demons in causing trouble right under his nose and survive. Even Jiang Zuo had been surprised by that.

Later on, to amuse himself a little longer, he refrained from dealing a killing blow to them. ’After all, one gets bored in old age.’

He had only heard later that they died, though he never learned how.

’A shame, too. I lost a couple of interesting toys.’

But he truly hadn’t known they were from this era. It wasn’t just him; it seemed everyone had assumed they were from an era much further in the future.

’Heaven knows why they hid themselves so well.’

Just then, Jiang Zuo sensed a berserk aura.

He focused his gaze and saw that, to his surprise, the expert from the Holy Land was planning to self-destruct.

’Ah, so that’s it,’ Jiang Zuo realized. ’These two idiots got crippled by the blast. It probably took them hundreds, maybe thousands, of years to fully recover.’

Seeing that Yue Xi was about to self-destruct, both Blood Rift and Blood Butterfly panicked.

"Run, you idiot! If you’d just worked with me to kill her earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess!" Blood Rift cursed.

"Forget running! It’s too late!" Blood Butterfly said fiercely. "We’ll have to take the hit. We might be able to withstand it. The worst that can happen is we get seriously injured."