Yang Feng stood amidst the blood-soaked battlefield, the lifeless body of the mighty Di Long sprawled before him. His once-glorious head, severed from its neck, lay discarded in the dirt like a worthless relic. The ground beneath Yang Feng's feet was drenched in the thick, dark blood of the beast. His sword, now covered in grime and splattered with droplets of blood, gleamed faintly as the last vestiges of his Qi flickered along its edge. Though the battle had been won, Yang Feng's body trembled under the weight of exhaustion, each breath heavier than the last. His once-mighty veins, fueled by the roaring thunder and crackling lightning of his Qi, now felt like chains of lead.
His legs gave out, and Yang Feng crumbled to his knees, his body heaving with exhaustion. Yet, despite his weakened state, a soft smile tugged at his lips. He had done it—he had defeated the great Di Long, a creature of legend. Few could boast such a victory, and despite the searing pain coursing through his body, Yang Feng felt nothing but pride. Every ounce of suffering, every scar on his battered form, was a testament to his strength and growth. He had reached new heights, pushed his limits, and triumphed.
As he knelt, his mind clouded by fatigue, the distant echo of footsteps reached his ears. Squinting against the haze of pain and exhaustion, he turned his head toward the source of the sound. High above, on the cliffside, a figure descended with graceful speed, leaping effortlessly from one jagged rock to the next. It was Ling Bing, his friend and trusted companion, carrying something in his arms. Di Long's egg, the very treasure they had fought for, rested in his grip.
A wave of relief washed over Yang Feng as he saw Ling Bing approach, the familiar smile on his face, the sight of his friend like a beacon of hope in the midst of chaos. Yang Feng's body, though aching and worn, relaxed slightly. He had survived, and so had his friend. Together, they would celebrate this victory. He let out a heavy sigh, his body sinking lower to the ground, his muscles finally succumbing to the toll the battle had taken on him.
"Ling Bing," Yang Feng called out, his voice weak but laced with gratitude. His eyes softened, filled with the kind of trust that only years of shared battles and hardships could forge. As Ling Bing drew nearer, Yang Feng's gaze shifted behind him, and his heart skipped a beat. A shadow loomed behind Ling Bing, massive and familiar. Di Long's headless form appeared, its monstrous body somehow intact despite the wound Yang Feng had inflicted.
His heart raced, confusion and panic gripping him. Had he not killed Di Long? Was this a clone? An illusion? He had no time to find answers as the massive beast approached Ling Bing's back. His instincts screamed at him to move, to warn his friend. With a surge of adrenaline, Yang Feng forced his battered body to rise, but just as he managed to stand, a sharp, excruciating pain shot through his abdomen.
His breath caught in his throat as he looked down, horror filling his eyes. A blade—familiar and gleaming—had pierced his stomach, protruding from his body. Blood soaked the fabric of his robes, dripping onto the ground in a steady stream. The pain was immediate, searing through him like wildfire. His heart pounded in his chest as his trembling hand reached for the blade, his fingers brushing the hilt. It was Ling Bing's puppet blade—the very one Yang Feng had gifted him so long ago.
Disbelief clouded his mind. His vision blurred as he turned his head, struggling to look behind him. There, standing with his hand on the hilt of the blade, was Ling Bing, his face twisted into a cruel smirk. The Di Long and Ling Bing ahead of him—mere illusions—faded into nothingness, leaving only the harsh reality of the betrayal.
"Ling Bing…" Yang Feng's voice was barely a whisper, his throat tightening with pain and confusion. "Why…?"
Ling Bing's smirk deepened, his eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction. "Wrong question, Yang Feng."
Time seemed to slow as the weight of his words sank in. Yang Feng's mind spun, grappling with the sudden betrayal. How long had Ling Bing harbored such hatred? How long had he been waiting for this moment, this chance to strike? Every memory of their friendship, every battle fought side by side, now felt tainted, warped by this revelation. The blade twisted in his gut, and Yang Feng fell to his knees once more, blood pouring from the wound, his strength draining with every passing second.
"I've always hated you," Ling Bing hissed, his voice filled with venom. "You were always in the spotlight, Yang Feng. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I worked, you were always the one people admired. The sun in everyone's sky, and me… just a shadow."
Yang Feng's vision began to darken, the poison laced into the blade working its way through his body. He felt his limbs grow heavy, his breaths shallow. The poison—the deadly venom of the Spider King—was spreading rapidly, and Yang Feng knew there was no coming back from it. He had heard stories of this poison, feared even by the highest Qi masters, and now it coursed through his veins like a death sentence.
Ling Bing continued, his voice rising with bitter anger. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be invisible? To be nothing while you, the lazy prince, basked in all the glory? You never deserved it! You never earned it! And yet everyone worshipped you!"
Yang Feng could barely hear him, the ringing in his ears growing louder as his body fought against the venom. He coughed, blood spilling from his lips, the taste of iron thick in his mouth. His heart raced, not from fear, but from the realization of the truth: Ling Bing had always been watching, waiting for this moment.
Just as Ling Bing continued his rant, a sudden shift in the air caught their attention. Di Long's egg, cradled in Ling Bing's arms, began to glow. The air around it shimmered with a dangerous energy, and Ling Bing's smug expression faltered.
"What…?" Ling Bing stammered, his eyes widening as the egg pulsed with an ominous light.
Yang Feng, through his fading consciousness, understood immediately. Di Long's egg—if left unattended after the beast's death—would unleash its stored energy in a violent explosion. It was a legend passed down for centuries: the egg would only hatch once every 20 centuries, but if Di Long died before it could mature, the energy inside would tear the very fabric of the earth and sky apart. If the egg exploded now, half of the Azure Domain would be annihilated.
A weak chuckle escaped Yang Feng's bloodied lips. "Looks like… we're both going down."
Ling Bing's eyes darted from Yang Feng to the egg, his fear palpable. "No! This can't be happening!" He dropped the egg in a panic, backing away from it, but the damage had already been done. The energy within the egg was growing, expanding, ready to explode.
Summoning the last of his strength, Yang Feng called forth his remaining positive lightning Qi. Blue arcs of electricity crackled around his body, swirling with intensity. The power that once coursed so easily through his veins now came at a great cost, but he didn't care. If he was going to die, if it was his destiny yang feng wouldn't let others suffer the consequences. He used his lightning to summon all the positive energy he could, enveloping both him and ling bing,the lightning fought against it's eternal enemy crackling heavily.
The storm of lightning enveloped them both, the air around them crackling with raw power. Ling Bing's expression twisted in horror as the realization dawned on him—there was no escape.What yang feng was doing was obvious from miles away.He was trying to dissolve all the negative lightning he could but in the end it would never be enough to stop the relentless negative energy from the dragon egg,thus he was using his and ling bing's body to absorb all the left over negative qi.
Ling bing screamed in teror as negative qi started to torture his veins.Yang feng spar out more blood and his body trembled from great electrocution as his eyes went white and all went out together.
As the last of yang feng's surged, the egg erupted, unleashing a massive white sphere of energy that consumed everything in its path. The ground shook violently as the heavens and earth collided in the catastrophic explosion, obliterating everything in the vicinity. The light was blinding, and then—nothing.
"Goodbye,Xiao mei," Yang Feng whispered, his vision fading. His last thoughts were of Xiao Mei, and he regretted that he couldn't keep his promise to her. "I'm sorry… Mother…"
The white sphere erupted with a deafening roar, engulfing everything in its path. The explosion tore through the battlefield, a blinding light swallowing the landscape as the egg detonated, shaking the very fabric of the Azure Domain.
_____
Xiao Mei, deep within the tunnel, felt the sudden surge of energy and the great explosion above her head, with her last reserves of Qi, she teleported herself out of the testing grounds. She collapsed on the testing arena floor, her body weak and battered. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe her eyes.The once grand arena was reduced to a massive crater, and in the center of it all was Yang Feng's lifeless body. Blue and brown lightning flickered around him like dying embers.
She tried to move but collapsed again, her vision swimming. Before she hit the ground, Xiao Long appeared, catching her in his arms. He looked down at Yang Feng's still body, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
The crowd was silent, shocked by the scene before them. The Immortal Prince, the once-mighty heir to the Thunder God's power, lay dead in the center of the destruction, his final act saving everyone from certain death.
Was this truly the end of the Immortal Prince? Of the King of Thunder? The silence that followed was deafening, a testament to the weight of Yang Feng's final act.