Chapter 1656 I Lost to Myself

In the independent space, everyone was completely frozen when they saw that scene.

Even Meng Xiaoyao and Yu Xuening both stood up abruptly and watched Yang Chen going to his death in astonishment and disbelief.

“W-What the hell is he thinking…” Meng Xiaoyao did not know whether it was anger or confusion or some other emotion that caused him to clench his fists tightly. However, his emotions could not be stabilized, which was rare.

Yu Xuening’s eyes were filled with tears, but her smile was one of gratification and relief. “Why is that brat so silly…”

Jane had fallen to her knees feebly, her pretty face ghastly white as she closed her eyes in sorrow. Two lines of tears flowed down her face. Biting her lower lip, she shook her head incessantly.

“I knew it… I knew it…”

It was too late to say anything.

Yang Chen’s choice was beyond everyone’s expectations.

“W-Why…”

In the cold wind, Athena asked him softly in a dazed voice. Her eyes were crystal clear. She was still unable to believe the reality she saw before her eyes.

At that moment, she felt as if all her energy had been emptied from her body. Apart from muttering that question, her mind was in turmoil.

When her Great Prophecy could no longer tell her what the future would be, and the future, in turn, brought her an incomparably strong blow, she finally fell into a situation where she was at a loss.

For some reason, she did not dare to meet Yang Chen’s gaze or look at the fatal wound in his heart. At the same time, she could not understand why she wanted to shed tears.

When a drop of tear spilled out of her eyes and slipped down her cheek, it was gently wiped away by Yang Chen’s finger.

“What’s wrong? You’re crying…” he said with a relaxed smile.

Despite the fact that blood was gushing from his heart, he was calm and collected. Instead, he was unusually composed.

“Are you asking me why I’m doing this? Didn’t I tell you? It’s fate… Since you can’t stop, and I can’t leave you in the lurch, then other than killing you, it’s me who has to die… If I die, I won’t have to carry any responsibility. I won’t disappoint anyone, and I naturally won’t need to care about these things. Also, I won’t have to struggle with what to do to you… and you, in turn, will be able to live well…”

Athena tilted her head upwards to try and make the tears stop but could not do so.

Her hand that was holding the spear instantly lost all its strength and went limp with a light tremor.

As she released her grip, Yang Chen’s body, along with the spear, fell from the air.

That startled her for a moment, and she hurriedly used space laws to hold him in place.

As Athena watched his face turn paler and paler, she realized that Yang Chen had deliberately prevented his body from recovering.

His Unwavering Resolve Restoration Scripture had long since ceased to function, and Yang Chen had purposefully dropped all defenses, allowing the spear to penetrate his body.

After all, the spear was Pallas. As long as Yang Chen did not actively defend himself, it was easy to penetrate his body.

At that rate, it would not take long for his bodily functions to stop due to excessive bleeding even if his physique was different from normal people.

It was already a miracle for him to be able to speak so clearly with his heart broken.

Yang Chen, who purposefully did not use his cultivation, clearly did not intend to allow his spirit to live. Without the support of his cultivation, his spirit would slowly dissipate as his physical body and brain died.

Suicide was not a difficult task for an expert in any realm.

Even if one possessed the Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture, a technique that could almost bring back the dead, no one could save Yang Chen if he himself was bent on seeking death.

“Do you really want to die… Is it worth it to die for me?“ With a lump in her throat, Athena forced out those words and kept shaking her head. “Don’t you hate me!? I’m not Lin Ruoxi, nor am I Seventeen… I single-handedly arranged your encounter with Lin Ruoxi and have been using your feelings for Lin Ruoxi and Seventeen. Why did you do this…”

Yang Chen’s breathing began to become weak. Smiling, he replied, “Even if you are not Ruoxi or Seventeen, you still protected and gave birth to my daughter, didn’t you… Whether you did it for me or not, I truly am thankful to you… I can’t let any woman in your soul die, much less kill the mother of my child with my own hands… If I let you kill me, perhaps you won’t be able to face Lanlan, and I don’t want that… so it is the perfect choice for me to kill myself.”

When she felt that his vitality was slowly slipping away, her delicate body kept trembling, and the deepest part of her soul began to become unstable as if it had withstood a strong turbulence.

She was perplexed by an emotion deep within her that she had not previously recognized. It was impossible for her to concentrate.

This man, how could he have never hated me? And he’s thankful to me!?

Yang Chen gazed deeply at her. The view before his eyes began to become a little unreal and gossamery.

Her crying face made him reveal a hint of a satisfied smile.

“Ruoxi…” he called out softly as if he saw Lin Ruoxi smiling at him in front of his eyes.

At that moment, the memories of the past flashed before his eyes one by one like a beautiful painting.

Athena’s body jolted, and she held her temples with one hand with a pained expression, as if she was struggling with something.

Yes, the person he loves is Lin Ruoxi, or even Seventeen. It’s definitely not me; it has nothing to do with me… Why would I be sad about his death? Why would I shed tears for him? Is it just because I’ve accompanied him through it all in the dark… No, isn’t this the ending I’ve been waiting for? Isn’t this what the future should be like? Haven’t I waited 20,000 years for this day!? But… my heart really hurts…

Yang Chen did not know that Athena’s soul was experiencing an unprecedented impact at the moment.

Three souls were beginning to interact, fuse, explode, struggle, subdue, split, and integrate continuously because of a previously suppressed, dormant emotion…

The identity of the woman in front of him no longer mattered. With a contented smile, he murmured, “Ruo Xi… my life is very short, but too many things have happened. Some are good, and some are bad. I can’t remember many of them… But I can be sure of a few of the best things in my life. Oh, no… the single most beautiful thing was meeting you. Lin Ruoxi, even if you want to kill me now… you are still my most beautiful memory. Everything that happened today is my choice. They have nothing to do with you… Don’t let your future self become unhappy, sad, or sorrowful because of me… as that would make me feel more miserable when I’m dead compared to when I’m alive…”

Athena’s head ached terribly. Every word he said was like a sharp knife, stabbing into her head, rendering it impossible for her to hold on any longer.

The woman forced herself to endure the pain and cried, asking, “Why didn’t you stop me… You knew what I was up to… you knew it long ago… If you told me your choice today, no… even just now, if you told me your choice, I might have been swayed… I might have relented…”

Yang Chen held onto the spear in his chest with two hands. The massive loss of blood was causing him to lose consciousness, and he began to lose control of his body…

“Because I can’t…” His eyes were half closed as he laughed in a low voice. “You can’t stop, right? Didn’t you say that the future would never change… You’ve held on to your mission for 20,000 years, so how can I let you give up because of a sentence? I use my life of twenty-odd years in exchange for the 20,000 years you held on to. It’s a good deal… It doesn’t matter who you are. I’m willing to do it anyway… It’s the only thing I can do, the last thing I can do for you…”

“No—” The woman clutched her head hard with both hands and shook her head repeatedly, breaking down and letting out a loud cry.

All the main Gods could not help but mourn in silence when they witnessed that scene.

Yang Chen’s voice was getting weaker and weaker. Still, the smile at the corners of his mouth remained. “After I’m gone… don’t trouble those who are mourning for me. Tell them that I’m useless and that I’m sorry… And more importantly, don’t let Lanlan be a motherless child… Before I came here, I told her that her mother will return soon…”

“Stop talking… Stop talking…” the woman pleaded, slowly falling to her knees in the air in front of him. Her arms could not help but wrap around his waist.

Yang Chen no longer had the strength to stand, so he bent down softly. The bright red blood dripped down on the woman’s body and cheeks, but she was oblivious to it and just kept wailing in pain.

He closed his eyes, and his voice slowly became inaudible.

“Ruoxi… you know, I once thought that the person who could kill me one day might only be me… I didn’t lose to anyone, and I didn’t lose to you. I lost to myself because, Ruoxi, I couldn’t not love you…”

The sentence ended there, just like a kite with a broken string, flying off to a faraway place that could never be found again…

At that very moment, the woman breathed in a mouthful of icy air, opened her bright eyes, whipped her head up, and hugged his already cold torso with a firm grip.

Gazing deeply at the man’s face, which had lost all signs of life, she pressed her moist cheek to his and tenderly kissed him on his cold lips.

The woman forced a smile of despair and tenderness as she said in a hushed voice, “Didn’t I tell you long ago… You will die if you stay with me… I have been having nightmares for so long, yet you refuse to believe my words… Now it’s all too late. The nightmare has become reality, and you’re telling me not to feel guilty… Hubby, how could you do this to me. Did you hurt yourself again on purpose? Please, don’t scare me, okay? Wake up. I’m Ruoxi…”

The woman’s hysterical cries were torn to pieces in the air by the wind.

No matter how hard she called out, there was no longer any response from the man’s cold body.