Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 908: The Hatred of a Father's Murder, The Agony of a Son's Loss

Upon learning that the Battle Soul Hall was commencing an expedition to the Starry Sky Great Forest for World Rings, and that Bixixi herself was leading the contingent, Tang Er immediately detected an anomaly.

It was common knowledge that the Starry Sky Great Forest served as the hunting grounds for the Battle Soul Hall, with countless World Beasts falling prey to their hunts annually.

However, never before had there been a necessity for Bixixi to personally involve herself.

And if Bixixi was personally taking the helm, only one conclusion could be drawn.

—The Battle Soul Hall was preparing to hunt an exceptionally formidable World Beast, one whose power necessitated Bixixi's direct intervention. Coupled with Bixixi's strategic acumen, it was readily inferable that their target this time was undoubtedly a World Beast exceeding a hundred thousand years of age.

And Little Rabbit, concealed within the heart of the Starry Sky Great Forest, lay directly within Bixixi's intended hunting trajectory.

"The Battle Soul Hall annihilated my wife! Li Qingran murdered my father! I shall never find peace alongside any of you!"

Witnessing Tang Er's hysterical, unhinged display, his accompanying teammates were taken aback.

Nevertheless, they could empathize with Tang Er's profound grief and burgeoning madness. The anguish of a father's murder, the bitter resentment of a wife unjustly taken.

Even without personal experience, such an overwhelming depth of hatred was utterly unendurable for any man.

"Tang Er, I observe no dead World Beasts here that are of the hundred-thousand-year variety. Did you not mention that Little Rabbit was under the protection of two hundred-thousand-year World Beasts?"

A teammate attempted to inject reason into his frenzy, "Given the presence of two such ancient World Beasts, even with Bixixi's personal involvement, she might not necessarily achieve success in her hunt. Please, calm yourself for a moment; perhaps she is unharmed?"

His teammate's words acted as a dousing of cold water, barely managing to extinguish the ember of delirium flickering within Tang Er's soul.

"Indeed! If she lives, I must see her; if she has perished, I must behold her remains!"

Tang Er bit his tongue until blood flowed, forcing himself to regain composure.

Drawing upon the faint, almost imperceptible thread of Battle Power that connected him to Little Rabbit, he guided his teammates on a charge into the forest's innermost sanctuary.

Within a secluded cavern.

"Little Rabbit!!"

Tang Er burst through the cave's opening and immediately laid eyes upon that perfectly safe and sound figure.

But then he halted, stunned.

For standing beside Little Rabbit were two men, utterly unfamiliar, radiating potent auras and possessing imposing physiques.

One bore a countenance etched with rugged, ferocious features, clad in a coat fashioned from bear hide, while the other possessed a sinister, hawk-like glare, garbed in a dark green robe.

Were it not for the undeniable, potent scent of World Beasts clinging to them, for a fleeting moment, he might have suspected Little Rabbit had engaged in clandestine affairs with two savage paramours.

"Second Brother!"

Upon spotting Tang Er, Little Rabbit leaped up in astonishment and flung herself into his embrace.

"It's wonderful... that you are also still alive!"

"I feared... I feared I would never see you again."

Feeling the warmth of the body in his arms, Tang Er's previously suspended heart finally found its footing.

He cast a wary gaze upon the two peculiar individuals. "They are..."

"Heh heh, Tang family brat, can't recognize me anymore?"

The burly man clad in bear hide let out a wide grin, revealing a complete set of stark white teeth.

"I am the Purple-Gold Flame Bear! And that one is Old Poison, the Jadewater Jiao! Thanks to the grace of that Master, we have also achieved human form!"

"What?!" Tang Er and his companions registered shock.

Hundred-thousand-year World Beasts... had attained human form?!

Wasn't it widely understood that the transformation of World Beasts was an exceedingly perilous endeavor, a trial fraught with almost certain death?

Why did it sound, from the pronouncements of the Jadewater Jiao and the Purple-Gold Flame Bear, as though it were a mere trifle?

Little Rabbit gently grasped Tang Er's hand, her eyes brimming with both profound gratitude and overwhelming excitement, and proceeded to narrate the entirety of the preceding events in minute detail.

"...And so, it transpired. That senior clad in white, despite his seemingly cold and detached demeanor, is in truth a remarkably benevolent individual.

He imparted to us the 'Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Chapter.' Not only did he spare our lives, but he also facilitated our shedding of mortal forms and our rebirth..."

"He is our benefactor!"

"Benefactor?"

These two words struck Tang Er's heart like cruel, sharp blades, piercing it brutally.

He violently thrust Little Rabbit away, fixing his gaze upon her with utter disbelief.

"You claim... that the executioner who slew my father is your benefactor?!"

Tang Er's eyes instantly turned a furious crimson, his voice quivering with unbridled rage.

"Little Rabbit! Do you comprehend the gravity of your words?! Not long ago, that very individual... that swordsman in white, severed my father's head directly before my very eyes!!"

"The murderer of my father, and you deem him a benefactor?!"

The smile that had graced Little Rabbit's face instantly froze.

Seeing the fierce expression on Tang Er's face, her heart ached. Nevertheless, she let out a deep breath, her eyes filled with a complicated mixture of emotions.

"Brother... I know you are in pain."

"But... grievances must have their origin, and debts must have their debtors."

"I was present during the incident. It was your father who first intended to kill Li Qingran."

The voice of Little Rabbit, though soft, struck directly at the heart with each word.

"That senior had no intention of intervening initially. It was your father who declared he would 'uproot the weeds and eliminate the roots.' He was the one who made the first move to kill... That senior was merely acting to protect his wife."

"If the roles were reversed, and someone sought to kill me, wouldn't you also act like that senior and eliminate the assailant?"

"Shut up!!" Tang Er roared in fury, cutting her off.

"That is an entirely different matter! That was my father!!"

"Regardless of who was in the right or wrong, the hatred stemming from my father's murder cannot be reconciled as long as we share the same sky!"

He fixed his gaze upon Little Rabbit, his eyes overflowing with disappointment and heartache.

"I never imagined... that you would actually speak in defense of an outsider."

"Is it because he bestowed this form upon you? Because he transformed you into humans? And so, you have forgotten that he is the demon who killed my father?!"

"I..." Little Rabbit found herself speechless, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

The burly Bear Big Man and the elegant Jiao Big Man beside her could no longer bear to watch and moved to step forward and argue, but Little Rabbit held them back.

"Fine... it is indeed fine."

Tang Er took two steps back, emitting a sorrowful laugh.

"Those who walk different paths cannot conspire together."

"Little Rabbit, since you acknowledge a thief as your father and hold that benefactor of yours in such high esteem... then from this moment forward, we..."

He gritted his teeth, forcing the words out with immense effort.

"Go our separate ways!"

"My vengeance, I shall seek it alone! I do not require your involvement, and I sincerely hope you... stay far away from that Li Qingran from now on!"

Although not explicitly stated in words.

The implied meaning resonating between the lines was already abundantly clear.

If she were to draw too close, he would not hesitate to include Little Rabbit, the Jadewater Jiao, and the Purple-Gold Flame Bear among his targets of revenge.

With these words uttered, Tang Er turned abruptly and, with his bewildered teammates trailing behind, charged out of the cave without a backward glance, vanishing into the vast expanse of the night.

Leaving only Little Rabbit standing there, her tears cascading like relentless rain.

...

Concurrently.

The Canglan Divine Realm.

"ROAR————!!!"

A dragon's roar, laden with profound grief, burning indignation, and furious rage, reverberated throughout the entirety of the Divine Realm's majestic palace.

The magnificent Golden Dragon King, coiled regally upon his resplendent golden divine throne, his colossal dragon pupils ablaze with palpable flames of wrath.

"My son... dead... my North and South Green Bean Hikikomori!"

"My one and only son!!"

He had felt it.

His beloved son, despite bearing a somewhat peculiar demeanor and perhaps not possessing the sharpest intellect, yet boasting maximum defense, his vital aura had completely ceased to exist.

And his demise had been utterly humiliating, his very soul ground into mere dust!

"Who?! Who dares to lay hands upon this king's offspring!!"

The Golden Dragon King unleashed his Divine Sense, an invisible wave that instantly pierced through the planar barrier, precisely locking onto the two figures located in the core region of the Starry Sky Great Forest.

A swordsman clad in white.

A young maiden in the process of absorbing a World Ring.

"Li Qingran... it is this Li Qingran once more!!"

The Golden Dragon King was consumed by an unparalleled fury.

"Even if you are the individual His Lordship has designated to be protected... nevertheless, the grievous hatred for my son's murder demands retribution!!"

"This king shall not slay you, but I will cripple you! I will make you comprehend that divine majesty brooks no offense!!"

He surged upwards abruptly, his colossal dragon form poised to tear through the very fabric of space and descend into the Lower Realm.

However.

At the precise moment his draconic claw made contact with the planar barrier.

*Zzzzt—!*

The eternally serene and auspicious clouds adorning the heavens of the Divine Realm above abruptly transmuted into a suffocating, inky blackness.

An immense, utterly impassive Giant Golden Eyeball materialized from the void without the slightest warning.

It possessed no discernible pupils, only an endless expanse of cosmic rules and crackling lightning.

It simply gazed with profound stillness upon the Golden Dragon King, akin to observing a mere insect struggling futilely to escape its confinement.

"You..."

Every single scale covering the Golden Dragon King's body instantly stood on end. A primal fear, originating from the deepest recesses of his soul, rendered him utterly immobile.

Before he could even utter a plea for mercy.

*BOOM—!!!*

A colossal pillar of golden tribulation lightning, as thick as a celestial edifice, carrying the absolute and irresistible will of the "Heavenly Dao," descended directly upon his head.

"ARGH!!!"

A piercing, agonizing shriek erupted from the Golden Dragon King. His previously unbreakable dragon form was instantly rent asunder, flesh ripped apart. He plummeted from the sky, crashing violently onto the palace floor and gouging out a bottomless chasm.

His entire body was scorched black, smoke rising from his form, clinging precariously to what remained of his life.

"Old Gold!!"

The Silver Dragon King beside him, utterly petrified, rushed to shield the Golden Dragon King. She knelt, pleading towards the colossal, unblinking eye.

"My Lord! My Lord, I beg of you, spare him!!"

"Old Gold was driven to madness by the grief of losing his son! It was not his intention! For the sake of our years of loyal service, please, spare his life!!"

High above.

The immense Golden Dragon Eye slowly pivoted. A chilling voice reverberated within the minds of both dragons.

"From this moment on, Li Qingran shall be known as the 'Son of the Realm' for the Canglan Realm."

"Your designated duty is to offer her your unwavering support. You must safeguard her existence, even at the cost of your own lives."

"Should any further transgressions occur, or should any disloyal intentions fester within you..."

"Then you two ancient eels will cease to have any claim to existence."

With its pronouncement delivered, the colossal Golden Dragon Eye gradually dissolved into nothingness.

The Canglan Divine Realm gradually returned to its former tranquility.

Only the desolate ruins remained, where the Silver Dragon King cradled the heavily injured Golden Dragon King, her body wracked with tremors.

With great effort, the Golden Dragon King managed to pry open his eyes, spitting out a fragment of an internal organ.

He lowered his once-proud head. Yet, concealed beneath his seared eyelids, deep within his clouded draconic pupils, a malevolence brewed, darker and more venomous than any abyss.

Son of the Realm...

What a truly fitting 'Son of the Realm'...

The pain of a son's murder, the profound humiliation of a shattered spine... how could such a debt ever be left unpaid?

It must be repaid.

But absolutely not through direct confrontation.

The Golden Dragon King sealed his eyes shut. His Divine Sense, like a sweeping tide, passed over the entirety of the Canglan Continent, ultimately settling its gaze upon that solitary figure resolutely departing into the fierce wind.

The agony of a father's fury over his son's murder, and the torment of a father mourning his son's loss.

In a certain twisted sense, were they not one and the same?

"Understood." The Golden Dragon King's eyes narrowed, a sinister smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

...