"We were impuissant. No one had expected things to get so far out of control, in such a spectacular fas.h.i.+on. This should have been done in a ritual before the altar while one consumed medicine to heal and recover. One should then take the fluid of taboo to eliminate any possibility of rejection… all this in addition to being supplemented by twelve rare spiritual herbs and guarded by powerful experts, mystical Qi injected continuously by at least twelve men… I have none of these now. I can only risk everything to complete it."

"Constraints cannot mean anything to me now. The retaliation triggered by embedding different G.o.d's Bones into a single person can turn him into a ghost, lost for eternity. Once he dies, he won't be able to reincarnate, forever. This terrifying backlash shall all be shouldered by me…"

"Do not say that I've maligned you all… The suffering I am enduring now is far greater than all of you dying quickly by the blade. My sacrifice is more than you can imagine."

"Ultimately… I'm left with no other choice. If I don't do this, I can only accept total and utter defeat served to me on a silver platter."

Mr. Nian's eyes gleamed. Another cut was made, the destination this time was his thigh. The same process was repeated, taking a piece of bone out and replacing it with another piece. The cycle went on almost without stop.

The fire glowered. The corpses of the Four Seasons Tower's men slowly reduced to ashes in the flame. The bodies convulsed and went into spasms as the heat stripped them of their human forms. They were engulfed by the flame, burned and ceased to exist…

The blaze flickered, as if many pairs of eyes were watching Mr. Nian, be it in rage or in resentment.

Mr. Nian was covered in blood as he reflected by the fire, but gash after gash, the slits continued to open on him. He dug out pieces of his bones from himself and installed pieces of G.o.d's Bone into where the gaps remained.

He was turning pale. The blood he had lost was weakening his already unstable physique. In spite of this, his gaze grew savage, his expression turning into a growl…

…

Early in the morning, Yun Yang and Ji Lingxi walked out, shoulder to shoulder, looking exceptionally serious.

"Leave Mr. Nian and the seasons bearers to me," Yun Yang said slowly, "You block the others. Come a.s.sist me only when you have eliminated them. We must win this war."

Ji Lingxi nodded slowly. "Alright. Don't worry. Even if I can't overcome those on my end quickly, I can at least guarantee that not one of them will slip over to your side."

"Today's battle shall end all resentment and humanly affairs of this realm!"

…

The thick fog drifted, almost tangible amidst the silence as one could touch it.

Mr. Nian was already standing before the Nine Supremes Temple.

He was dressed in black as usual, but he was unusually pale. His gaze was like a famished wolf, indescribably fiendish and thirsting for blood. Long gone was his handsome manner and grace.

Yun Yang asked, "Why are you the only one here? Where are your subordinates?"

"They've gone down to wait for you. I won't let them wait for long," Mr. Nian's voice was strangely discordant.

Yun Yang's squinted as he replied mockingly, "Ah, just as I've guessed. Mr. Nian, the leader of the Four Seasons Tower – sufficiently brutal, sufficiently merciless indeed. A model of the so-called villain."

"Hmm?"

A ghostly light flickered in Mr. Nian's eyes.

"When you came to collect the bodies and bones yesterday, I was guessing that you were a.s.sembling the G.o.d's Bones and would insert all of them into one person to unleash the maximum strength of the G.o.d's Bones. Only then could you contend against the two of us."

Yun Yang spoke coldly, "Other than this tactic, I can't think of any other way you can resort to, to overturn your defeat."

"Right now, the reality shows that my prediction is completely correct. Mr. Nian, Four the Seasons Tower is considered thoroughly ruined in your hands!"

Yun Yang's gaze was filled with ridicule.

"Since the very beginning when you delivered victims to me until now when you've killed all your men… the Four Seasons Tower had finally ceased its existence. My greatest goal – is finally accomplished."

"Is it? If you die today, do you consider it a death without regrets?" Mr. Nian stood with his arms resting on his back, his eyes trained maliciously upon Yun Yang.

"Dying without regrets is only meaningful to those who have lost. It usually has nothing to do with me." Yun Yang smiled gently.

"Before our final battle, I want to know. You knew the real intention of my G.o.d's Bones collection. Why did you still give me the four pieces of bones?" asked Mr. Nian in curiosity.

This was what he could not figure out.

Even if Yun Yang saw through his real intent and wanted to kill the others by leveraging on him, it was unnecessary to give him the four pieces of G.o.d's Bones. He did not even need to reject the three bodies. Mr. Nian would still kill the survivors anyway to retrieve the G.o.d's Bones within them in order to reel in the strongest combat prowess in the face of the final battle.

"It's because I'm afraid that your collection is incomplete."

Yun Yang smiled.

"If it isn't complete, I was worried that you wouldn't put the plan into action. The chance isn't high, but I don't wager on possibilities. What if you didn't execute this plan? I couldn't be sure if there are people left in the Four Seasons Tower – how many are left."

"However, once you carried this plan out, once you have really done so, your subordinates would all have died by your hand. I don't even have to worry about it!"

"You would have definitely executed all of them."

"Based on my deduction, it's more than worth it if the four pieces of bones I gave can make certain of this case!"

Yun Yang smiled faintly.

"Of course, the main reason lies within my accomplished skill. Excited by my confidence, I wished to see the greatest countermeasure of the Four Seasons Tower."

"If I didn't allow you to display it during our last war, I believe you would have been very, very indignant. You would die with many regrets!"

Yun Yang chuckled.

"As the opponent that I wished to kill the most, I was more than happy to let you wipe out all your subordinates and extinguish the opportunity of the Four Seasons Tower being pa.s.sed down – I'm happy to precipitate this situation!"

Mr. Nian smirked icily.

"Yun Yang, do you know what? I've heard of how some people dug their own graves. I've always thought the martial world's negative examples to be fabricated, that they're stories repeated to others. How can someone in power be so foolish?"

"Today, though, I believe all of them to be true. Because right on front of me, stands such a person – an intelligent man who's called Supreme Wit."

"Supreme Wit, who is famed from his clever plans. Nonetheless, at the very core, he is but an arrogant, close-minded man!"

His lips were tugged into a cold smile as Mr. Nian cruelly said, "I'm very happy now because I'm about to contribute to such a legend in the martial world. I'm truly honored to leave my name in the history of martial world's battle in this manner."

Yun Yang was grinning in equal satisfaction. He felt a very strong sense of accomplishment.

"You've asked me a question. I wish to ask you one too, Mr. Nian."

"May I know how did it feel when you killed your brothers of millenniums one by one last night? How did it feel, too, when you cut yourself open bit by bit after that and dug out piece after piece of your bones? Was it a pleasant feeling?"