National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

"Is Xia Chengli the hope you've pinned everything on?"

Chu He asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"The strife and conflicts within the Human Race,"

"have never been about the amount of wealth one has, nor about differences in gender."

"The core conflict is one of hierarchy—"

"the vast, chasm-like gap in status between Deities and mortals."

"The Deities who ascended first would never show favor to those who came after."

"They simply enjoy all the world's wonders for themselves, high upon their divine pedestals."

"The reason Deities are revered as such,"

"is precisely because they possess a power so rare and immense that mortals can only gaze upon them from afar,"

"not daring to show the slightest disrespect."

"And it's because of this power that they can enjoy the world's splendors with a clear conscience."

"Meanwhile, mortals struggle just to survive in this complicated world,"

"leaving them utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically."

"To the Deities, everything in the mortal realm is nothing more than an illusory game."

"Even the suffering that mortals endure,"

"is just a bit of seasoning to them, something that adds a little amusement."

"Occasionally, a few scraps might accidentally fall through the cracks of a Deity's fingers,"

"and mortals will be endlessly grateful, treating it as a divine gift."

"But the tragedy is that the vast majority of mortals are kept completely in the dark,"

"like lambs lost in the dead of night, unable to find their way."

"Most of the Human Race is like grass on a wall, swaying with every gust of wind."

"Those lofty Deities need only release a few subtle signals,"

"and they can easily bewilder their minds,"

"plunging them into chaos and confusion."

"In the end, all their energy and life are consumed by the world's pointless conflicts and trivial matters."

"In recent years, these meaningless struggles have become more and more frequent."

"The internet, in particular, has become a foul and murky cesspool,"

"like a swamp shrouded in darkness, trapping people within it, unable to escape."

Xia Yunya let out a deep sigh, his breath heavy with helplessness and sorrow.

He slowly turned his gaze back to Chu He. "So, tell me, how are we supposed to save all this?"

Hearing this, Chu He fell into a long silence.

After a moment, he nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "You are absolutely right."

"Xia Chengli is one of our hopes."

"Even within our group, among those who have been quietly fighting for the freedom and happiness of the Human Race,"

"there is no shortage of traitors."

A flicker of anger and worry crossed Xia Yunya's eyes. "That's why we've been extremely secretive about everything related to Xia Chengli,"

"not daring to relax our guard for even a moment."

"When Xia Chengli was still a child,"

"by a stroke of fate, she merged with the power shed from the husk of a Human Deity."

"To be precise, the blood of a Deity flows through her veins."

"I'm sure that during your time together,"

"you must have faintly sensed that there was something unusual about her."

"The reason I tacitly allowed Xia Chengli to stay with you,"

"is because you are someone who, through pure effort,"

"endured countless hardships and obstacles,"

"and clawed your way up from the very bottom of the human world of Martial Arts."

"The pure aura about you won't provoke excessive rejection from the Deities."

"This way, Xia Chengli is relatively safer with you."

"As for people like us, for various reasons, we are always under the Deities' intense scrutiny. We're like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring,"

"forced to hide cautiously in the shadows."

"Coming to find you this time was also an enormous risk. The slightest misstep could have led to our utter and irreversible doom."

Xia Yunya's words,

struck Chu He's heart like a heavy hammer, making it jolt violently.

'He never would have imagined that Xia Chengli actually had the blood of a Deity flowing in her body.'

He subconsciously glanced at Xia Chengli,

only to find her expression blank, as if she hadn't heard a thing, her eyes vacant.

'Xia Yunya must have used some kind of mysterious technique,'

'so that only he and I could clearly hear that crucial conversation.'

As if reading his mind, Xia Yunya explained, "You've spent a long time with Xia Chengli,"

"so you should have some understanding of her personality."

"To use a popular term among you young people, she has what's called 'eighth-grader syndrome'."

"Xia Chengli has a lively personality and gets complacent very easily."

"The moment she achieves some small success, she slacks off and starts wandering around, challenging people at random."

"After observing you in secret for a long time,"

"I've found your character and personality to be of high quality and trustworthy."

"Therefore, I won't force Xia Chengli to return."

"She can continue to stay by your side."

"I only hope you will take good care of her and not let her fall into danger."

Chu He's eyebrows shot up. His eyes filled with shock and surprise, and his mind was thrown into turmoil.

'He truly hadn't expected that Xia Yunya could have followed him for so long,'

'shadowing him without him ever noticing.'

'It felt as if a pair of hidden eyes had been'

'silently watching his every move,'

'while he remained completely in the dark, lost in a fog, unable to find his way or see the truth.'

"You've probably heard something about this already."

"Those people from the White-Red Empire have been secretly plotting something."

"They sent people to infiltrate the Great Xia Empire and sneak away with a mysterious item."

"That item is an ancient and mysterious coffin."

"Its location was a place called Lirong Mountain."

"This mountain is quite distinctive, primarily formed by the adjoining East and West Embroidery Ridges."