Zhang Qingqian's expression was unusually firm, yet also carried a sense of relief:

"It's not so bad that an opponent like you can end this aimless drifting for me."

She knew that if she overdrawn everything, she might still have a fighting chance.

But at this moment, facing this person who understood loneliness, she felt it was no longer necessary.

She gave up.

It was not exhaustion, nor fear, but a kind of voluntary surrender and entrustment on a spiritual level.

In this unfamiliar star, she saw a possibility to end her aimless drifting and her lonely life.

Zhang Qingqian closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly in the dark seawater, calmly awaiting her final destination.

Lu Fan was stunned when he saw Zhang Qingqian's choice.

Looking at the woman before him, who had abandoned all defenses and whose eyes were as clear as the purest seawater, a certain string in his heart was gently plucked.

They harbored no animosity towards each other, and all reasons for fighting had long since vanished in their silent exchanges and dialogues, replaced by an indescribable, complex, and turbulent emotion.

Lu Fan raised his hand, and energy condensed at his fingertips.

Zhang Qingqian could feel the energy gathering at the fingertips, and a strange tranquility settled in her heart.

Immediately afterward, Lu Fan's figure broke through the seawater and instantly approached.

However, the anticipated attack did not occur.

Lu Fan's fingertips, imbued with energy and carrying a slight coolness, gently touched Zhang Qingqian's brow.

A gentle mental fluctuation was transmitted, not an attack, but an unknown ability.

"You lost." Lu Fan's voice rang in her ear.

Zhang Qingqian suddenly opened her eyes, her pale purple eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at Lu Fan, who was standing right in front of her.

"Buzz—!"

The tenth light path indeed experienced a violent fluctuation after Lu Fan announced the result.

The runes flowing on the inner wall flickered wildly, and the power of the rules was triggered by this logical "defeat" result!

According to the rules, the battle is over.

Immediately afterwards, to Zhang Qingqian's still shocked gaze, the entire path of light collapsed like a bubble, turning into specks of light and merging into the surrounding deep sea.

The gentle push generated when the light path dissipated gently pushed the two people who were very close apart.

Zhang Qingqian steadied herself and floated blankly in the sea.

She is still alive.

The rules of the light path seem to only trap and determine the winner, without any mechanism to eliminate the loser after they concede defeat.

Lu Fan's special ability allowed the light path to sense a strong signal that "the outcome has been decided"!

She became the deep-sea guardian who survived the battle on this path of light.

Zhang Qingqian looked at Lu Fan not far away, with an emotion she couldn't quite explain.

He didn't kill her.

In that brief spiritual exchange, they seemed to see the loneliness and wounds deep within each other's souls.

Two equally wounded and mismatched souls meet on a battlefield in the deep sea.

Lu Fan didn't speak, but simply looked back at her quietly.

As the light path gradually dissipated, the aura of isolation from the outside world faintly drifted in.

Zhang Qingqian knew she couldn't stay any longer.

Regardless of the outcome, the other star lords may notice the anomaly at any time, and the Whale King may also be paying attention.

Since Lu Fan had given her a chance to live in such a peculiar way, she couldn't let him take the risk.

Zhang Qingqian felt the coolness between her eyebrows.

At the very least... she couldn't let Lu Fan down in the slightest.

Zhang Qingqian looked at Lu Fan deeply, very deeply.

Her gaze pierced through the seawater, through time and space, determined to firmly remember the image of the only man who understood her loneliness and gave her a ray of light.

Then, she no longer hesitated.

The sphere of light enveloped his body, and he slowly drifted backward, his figure melting away as he came into contact with and merged with the silent "oceanic rock" behind him.

At the same time, he suppressed his aura to the extreme and sank into the seabed along with the sleeping Tide Stone Turtle, disappearing silently into the deep sea.

She didn't say thank you, nor did she say goodbye.

But Lu Fan knew they would meet again.

This duel has no winner or loser; it is simply two lonely souls who met by chance in the deep sea and illuminated each other.

The two parted ways silently in a way that was full of tacit understanding and subtle emotions.

......

The eleventh light path, with its occasional flashes of electric light, briefly illuminated the surroundings.

Lei Xiao, the First Star Lord, was surrounded by fine electric snakes. He hovered in the sea on his sword, his sharp eyes locked on the deep-sea guardian on the other side of the light path—"Ink Squid".

The ink squid's form was elusive, sometimes coalescing into a human shape at one end of the light path, and sometimes dispersing into a blurry ink shadow, perfectly blending with the surrounding darkness.

Its sea monster, the "Giant Deep-Sea Squid," was even more ferocious, with dozens of tentacles covered in suckers dancing wildly in the dark seawater. With the power to tear through the water, it constantly lashed and tested Lei Xiao, who was protected by lightning, and splashed up countless tiny sparks.

"Lei Xiao? Ha, just a kid. Never heard of him." Mo You's voice came from near and far, carrying a hint of mockery.

"I've heard of your father, Lei Zhanyong. It seems he's been hiding in Jincheng for many years and hasn't come out."

"What? Your father is all show and no substance and doesn't dare to come out, so you send your son out to make a name for himself?"

Mo You's words made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction and contempt for the previous attack on land by Lei Xiao.

Lei Xiao's face was cold and stern. He did not answer, but simply pointed his fingers like a sword and pointed forward into the air!

"Razer Dance!"

In an instant, dozens of energetic purple lightning bolts burst forth from Lei Xiao's fingertips, crackling and tearing through the seawater.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!