Shroud stood at the center of the Divine Palace, the glow on his body started growing increasingly stronger.

He walked up to the destroyed statue, knelt down on one knee, then chanted an incantation:

"Divine Artifact of Radiance, as the final light, I call upon you. If you are willing to follow me, then we would still have hope"

"If you are unwilling, when the Law of Radiance is completely destroyed, I will leave by myself"

After saying that, he silently waited.

After a few moments, nothing occurred.

Shroud stood up and sighed: "Very well, then I can only------"

Before he even finished speaking, the destroyed statue abruptly shattered into fine golden dust, which then manifested into a golden book.

"The Book of Prophesized Destiny!"

Shroud at this point was still a young man, so he couldn't help but shout out in surprise.

The book opened by itself and manifested various lines of text for him to read.

After Shroud swiftly finished reading, he took the book with one hand before turning towards Gu Qing Shan and said: "We can leave now"

Gu Qing Shan asked: "What about this Divine Palace?"

Shroud patted the book and replied: "It's ok, the foundation of the Law of Radiance as a whole is inside this book, this Divine Palace is nothing but an empty shell now, left here to temporarily deceive those Law Behemoths"

He caught Gu Qing Shan's hand, opened the book with the other, then whispered: "Return to the mortal realm!"

The golden book gave off a bright flash of light that enveloped the two of them.

Immediately, both of them disappeared.

In the cave.

Gu Qing Shan abruptly appeared.

"You're finally back" Epta called out.

Gu Qing Shan turned around to look, only to see that Epta was sitting next to Shroud while she held Scarlet in her embrace.

Epta was also cautious, so she had unleashed a small defensive barrier that would be able to repel simple forms of spying and attacks.

Scarlet laid still in her arms, completely unmoving.

"What happened!?"

Gu Qing Shan's heart felt heavy and hurriedly asked.

"…Some people came, Scarlet then killed them all" Epta explained.

"Did she use up all of her powers? Or was she wounded?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"She drank too much" Epta replied.

Gu Qing Shan froze.

Epta explained everything that happened from the very beginning.

Gu Qing Shan slowly understood.

… How… did things become this way?

If that's the case, wouldn't that mean the one who made the entire domain of Death become addicted to alcohol was me?

At this point, Shroud slowly opened his eyes and struggled to speak: "Hurry, we need to hurry up and leave!"

-------his wounds hadn't completely healed, so it was still a bit inconvenient for him to move.

"Will those Law Behemoths chase after us?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

Shroud hurriedly replied: "Yes. They originally wanted to divide the power of the Law of Radiance among themselves, so they'll soon notice that the Divine Palace is now completely devoid of power"

Gu Qing Shan sighed and said: "That's not good"

Shroud confirmed: "That is extremely not good, they'll definitely come to this cave to look for us, so we need to flee right now!"

"Got it, let's go!"

Gu Qing Shan carried Shroud on his back, and Epta also hurriedly got Scarlet to her feet when she saw them like that.

"Wait!" Shroud suddenly called out.

"What is it? We need to hurry" Gu Qing Shan said.

"But, where are Reneedol and Atley?" Shroud asked doubtfully.

Gu Qing Shan paused.

Epta also had no words to say.

Everyone knew that Shroud and Reneedol were a couple, having lived so many years together, and it was also Shroud who saved Reneedol in the beginning.

However, just a bit prior when the Overlord of Radiance disappeared, while Shroud remained inside the Divine Palace of Radiance and looked like he was going to die, Reneedol abandoned them.

Having formed a covenant with the Overlord of Wind, Atley also left with Reneedol.

Gu Qing Shan was a bit hesitant.

I should tell Shroud about Reneedol right away.

But Shroud's injuries hadn't completely healed, so suddenly hearing something like that would most likely be a huge blow to him.

If it worsens his wounds…

While Gu Qing Shan was hesitating, Scarlet briefly snapped out of her sleep, mumbling with an intoxicated tone: "The World Valley is already done for! Even Shroud with the most potential is done for! Atley considered us to be baggage and ran away with Reneedol, we're so helpless, we couldn't do anything, the only thing I can do is to drown it all in alcohol, then---- hic------"

Scarlet hiccup softly, then laid her head back into Epta's chest before falling back to sleep.

The atmosphere became a bit chilly.

Gu Qing Shan could only follow up: "Shroud, don't listen to Scarlet's mumbling. All of us staying together would make us too big of a target, so splitting up to flee was the right choice"

Shroud exhaled a deep breath, then said: "Reneedol's choice was correct, if she followed us right now, that would only cause everyone to be in more danger"

His voice was a bit cold.

Gu Qing Shan couldn't tell his emotions, only sensing that he seemed to have gotten extremely distant from everyone.

-----but this couldn't be helped.

Nothing good would come with Reneedol around.

Shroud briefly hesitated before he struggled to raise his hand.

A golden book manifested.

It opened by itself.

A small spherical pendant flew out of the book and hovered in mid-air.

"Rhode, put this pendant on, it can provide an aura that would obscure our traces" Shroud explained.

Gu Qing Shan received the pendant and held it in his hand.

Lines of glowing text appeared on the War God UI:

[Radiance Divine Artifact: Sheltering Prayers]

[Those who wear this pendant will obtain the three forces manifested from Light Origin power]

[Firstly, Light Origin: Those who wear this pendant will have their spells bolstered by 30%]

[Secondly, Protection of Light: Those who wear this pendant will have half of the damage that they receive be reduced by their surrounding light]

[Thirdly, Hidden Light: By holding onto this pendant with your hand, a hidden area within a radius of 100 meters will be created. Within this zone, you and your companions will not be traceable by any spells or techniques]

[Attention: The three powers above can only take effect during the day]

Gu Qing Shan exclaimed: "What a great treasure!"

Shroud continued struggling to speak: "All the treasures in the Divine Palace of Radiance are currently in my hands------ we need to find a suitable place to take refuge. After my wounds have healed, we'll consider our next step"

"You're right" Gu Qing Shan replied.

He released his inner sight to carefully observe Shroud's expression.

Only to see that Shroud didn't seem to be heartbroken, nor had the mind to mention Reneedol.

…wait a minute!

This had always been the most difficult obstacle to resolve, could Shroud have always been charmed by Reneedol so that he would continue to stay by her side?

Gu Qing Shan's heart abruptly jumped.

Or perhaps…

When Reneedol first appeared, she was flowing down the River of Fate.

Could it be that ever since that time, she had already charmed Shroud, which caused Shroud to save her?

Gu Qing Shan felt a chill from his entire body.

If it was such a strong charming ability, no one would be able to prevent it…

He left the cave before regaining his bearing, then chose an irregular small path.

It was currently midday, the time when the light was at its strongest.

Thanks to the power of the pendant, the four people's traces vanished completely from the world.

…

At another location.

Reneedol was sitting in a luxurious horse carriage.

Atley lifted the curtains as he entered and cautiously asked: "Reneedol, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I just need to rest for a bit" Reneedol smiled.

Atley blankly stared at her, greedily taking in her unparalleled beauty.

Reneedol muttered: "Shroud will most likely not be able to live for much longer, Atley, I'll have to rely on you from now on"

Atley said right away: "Don't worry, since I've already formed a contract with the Law of Wind, I'll definitely grow increasingly stronger, I'll be sure to protect you, Reneedol"

Reneedol's smile contained a bit more warmth.

She slightly leaned forward and looked straight into Atley's eyes: "Increasingly stronger… during this era, that wouldn't be enough, Atley"

Atley asked: "Then what should I do? Should I become the strongest in the world?"

"…No, you must become the strongest person in history, so that no one in the past, present, or future, would be able to surpass you. This is your goal, Atley"

"Only then, would you receive my affection"

Atley was shocked.

The most he had heard was for someone to become the strongest in the world, never did he consider that Reneedol would demand such a thing.

Then again, since Reneedol had demanded it, all I need to do is follow her wish.

Atley reached her hand forward, wanting to touch Reneedol's face.

Reneedol softly caught his hand and asked: "What I said, can you achieve it?"

"Reneedol… for your sake, I will definitely achieve it" Atley replied.

"Hm" Reneedol said satisfactorily.

Suddenly, the world disappeared around them.

The World of Laws had abruptly manifested.

Endless wind formed a tornado that gave off a resounding voice:

「 Go, mortals who had formed a covenant with me, traverse the world and search for that newly born Overlord of Radiance! 」

「 He carries countless treasures on him, he is the common enemy of all the Laws of this world! 」

Within the empty World of Laws, a dim light began to display a portrait.

Shroud.

Shroud's portrait had appeared in the void of space.

「 Head out, search for him, kill him, and retrieve the treasures and Origin------ 」

「 Achieve this, and you shall be rewarded by all the Laws of this world! 」

The Law Behemoth of Wind angrily shouted.