No.

This had to be a dream.

But Ming Yao knew how fruitless her wish was. She took pride in her realism,in her ability to accept the cold, hard facts without as much as a flinch.

Yet, for some reason, she found herself struggling desperately to deny the fact that Shiyun lay a few steps away in a pool of her own blood, struck to death before anyone could react.

Shiyun... kind, lovable Shiyun,who was not even a fighter. Shiyun, who had been with Ming Yao her whole life.

"This is supposed to be heaven, is it not?"a voice spoke, the words dripping with scorn.

All eyes turned to a spot which had been very empty just a second ago, although no one needed to.

Sure enough, that man stood there,in robes so crimson she was sure they were dyed in blood. His expression was arrogant, his smirk haughty.

The demon king, Huang Yichen.

Ming Yao heard shuffles as the other gods put as much distance as possible between them and the renowned "Scourge of Heaven".

What was he doing here, she heard them whisper. How was he able to infiltrate heaven so brazenly without anybody sensing him?

Five hundred years ago, she would have said something like "the gods only know".

But right now she was the most powerful martial god, peerless and unparalleled, and she did not know.

Suddenly, her pain turned to anger.

How dare he show his face here? How dare he take Shiyun from her?

'I love him, A-yao',Shiyun had said, 'I trust him. I trust that I will never regret loving him '.

Sweet, naive Shiyun. Only she could have seen any good in this treacherous beast.

And where did that get her?

On the golden floors of the heavenly palace, dead before she hit its glowing surface, her silk robes and long jet-black hair soaked in the blood that kept pouring out of a gaping hole on her chest.

With a cry of rage, Ming Yao drew her sword and dashed towards him.