After Betraying the Whole World, You’re Telling Me They Were All Real? - Chapter 12:

Chapter 12: What Do You Mean What to Do? What Does He Have to Do With Me?

Back then, Ling Qi had merely passed by and happened to discover the Snow Sect. What caught his attention was their outdated and rigid sacrificial ceremony. Without hesitation, he took Saintess Xu Qingxue with him and destroyed the sect’s sacrificial formation. At the time, he thought it was just a mini-map quest in a game world—something to pass the time.

But now that he realized the Snow Sect was a real tribe, he felt it no longer deserved to exist. A sect like that, clinging to such backward traditions, had no place in the modern world. They even wanted to use their own daughters as Saintesses?

He already owed too much to Xu Qingxue and her daughter. How could he let them suffer again? Just the way the Snow Sect had treated Xu Qingxue alone was reason enough for Ling Qi not to spare them. And now, they dared to set their sights on his daughter?

Ling Qi’s gaze swept across the Snow Sect members. Then, without saying a word, he stomped his foot down hard.

Swish… BOOM! The Sect Master’s bloody head shot out like a ball, piercing through the chests of several people in an instant.

Immediately after, Ling Qi pressed down with his foot again. BOOM! The ground exploded, and countless shattered rocks flew into the air.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh… The fragments turned into deadly bullets, blasting in all directions.

In a flash, the entire sacrificial plaza became a bloodbath. Members of the Snow Sect were struck one after another, chests crushed, heads shattered, bodies falling lifelessly. Blood dyed the snow-red ground.

The Snow Sect instantly fell into disarray. Screams echoed as they scattered and fled in panic. But Ling Qi didn’t intend to let anyone escape. He shot forward, cutting off all escape routes. Against him, killing anyone took only one move.

He was a Supreme Limit Realm cultivator. No one in the Snow Sect could stop him.

A few of the sect’s stronger cultivators tried to step forward, attempting to stop him. But they were all instantly killed. Even the few Heaven-Revering Realm cultivators among them were wiped out in a single move.

The entire square descended into chaos. Corpses piled up, and the screams of the Snow Sect grew louder and more desperate.

“Help! Help! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

“It was the Sect Master! He told us to do it! Hero, great master, this has nothing to do with us!”

“We were wrong! We know we were wrong! Please, take the Saintess and leave!”

“Please don’t kill me! Someone save me, please…”

At that moment, everyone regretted their choices. Their cries and pleas echoed across the icy landscape. All they wanted now was to shift the blame.

But it was too late.

It was all because of that old Sect Master. Ling Qi had been ready to leave, but the Sect Master insisted on provoking him by demanding his daughter be left behind. After everything the Snow Sect had done to his woman, Ling Qi was already furious. Now they dared to target his daughter?

There was no way he would spare anyone!

Screams filled the air as corpses flew in all directions. Buildings around the square were destroyed one after another.

Ling Qi alone rampaged through the Snow Sect, unstoppable.

At the edge of the square, Ye Youluo stood with the members of the Demon Sect, silently watching Ling Qi massacre the Snow Sect.

This man… when he acted, he was truly terrifying.

If he truly wished, he could wipe out all 100,000 members of the Snow Sect on his own.

“Sect Master! Sect Master, save us!” someone cried out, looking toward Ye Youluo.

They knew they couldn’t stop Ling Qi. Their only hope was Ye Youluo.

“Sect Master, from this day forward, the entire Snow Sect is willing to serve you. Just please, help us! Save our tribe!” several elders shouted, placing all their hopes on her.

They weren’t bargaining anymore. They didn’t care about terms or conditions. As long as they could survive, they were willing to serve the Demon Sect.

But Ye Youluo remained unmoved.

How could anyone save a tribe targeted by Ling Qi? Even if she intervened, it would be useless.

This was a true Supreme Limit Realm cultivator!

At this point… the Snow Sect was finished.

Her original plan to ally with them against the Great Yan Empire was now a lost cause.

Who would’ve thought the Saintess of the Snow Sect had such a connection with Ling Qi?

Even Ling Qi hadn’t expected it to turn out this way. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited so long to rescue Xu Qingxue.

“Sect Master! Are you really going to stand by and watch the Snow Sect be wiped out by this man?” someone cried out.

The sect members were desperate. If Ye Youluo didn’t step in, there would be no one left to save them.

Ye Youluo sighed and shook her head, then slowly said, “Your Snow Sect offered a Saintess for sacrifice every generation. So why… is there no divine protection now?”

Her words pierced their hearts like a dagger.

Divine protection? Hah. What a joke.

If there really were gods, where were they now in this moment of disaster? Were even gods afraid of Ling Qi?

Everyone in the Snow Sect now realized how foolish and useless their traditions were.

They had sacrificed a Saintess every generation—for what?

There was no divine protection. Instead, they had summoned the wrath of a slaughtering god like Ling Qi.

“The Snow Sect… is finished!”

Despair filled every heart. Some no longer had the strength to run or resist.

As more people died, as chaos consumed the sect headquarters, tears fell, and all faces turned pale with hopelessness.

Only now did they truly understand—they had brought this on themselves.

And when you bring disaster upon yourself… there is no escape.

This was retribution!

In the chaos, Ling Qi snatched a sword from someone’s hand and raised it high. Without hesitation, he brought it down with a mighty swing.

SWOOSH!

A blinding flash of sword light soared into the sky, scattering the falling snow, and then crashed down on the Snow Sect headquarters.

BOOM!!!

With a thunderous explosion, the sword strike tore through the entire sect grounds and the surrounding ice mountains.

A massive chasm split the sect in two. Countless lives were lost in the blast of sword Qi.

Yes—he truly had the power to destroy the entire Snow Sect on his own.

Holding the sword, Ling Qi prepared to strike again.

But just then, Xu Qingxue stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

“That’s enough. There are still many innocent people in the Snow Sect,” she said softly.

She hated the Snow Sect too, just like Ling Qi did.

But there were still children… innocent lives. Ling Qi had already killed the Sect Master and countless others. She couldn’t let him continue slaughtering everyone.

She wouldn’t kill innocents—and she didn’t want Ling Qi to either.

Hearing her words, seeing her pale and delicate face, Ling Qi smiled softly and nodded.

He dropped the sword, and the murderous aura that had blanketed the entire world disappeared in an instant.

Since she said it was enough, he would stop here.

“From now on… the Snow Sect must never hold another sacrificial ceremony,” Xu Qingxue said as she looked at the survivors. “Otherwise… face the consequences.”

“Yes! Yes yes yes yes!” they all cried, falling to their knees and nodding repeatedly. “We promise! The Snow Sect will never do it again! Thank you, Saintess. Thank you!”

“I’m no Saintess,” Xu Qingxue said calmly. “From now on, I have nothing to do with the Snow Sect.”

She would stay by Ling Qi’s side. She belonged to him.

The Snow Sect… no longer had any ties to her.

“Yes!” everyone responded, nodding again.

Whatever it took to survive.

Xu Qingxue said no more. She turned and waved at Xu Qiyue.

Xiao Chan brought Xu Qiyue down from the shattered altar, landing before Ling Qi and Xu Qingxue.

Ling Qi bent down and picked up his daughter, a smile blooming on his face.

He looked nothing like the butcher who had just taken countless lives.

Even though he now knew this was the real world, in his eyes, irrelevant people were still like NPCs—he would kill however many he wanted, however he wanted.

“Let’s go. And then… I want to hear your explanation,” Xu Qingxue said softly, holding Ling Qi’s hand.

Ling Qi nodded, then glanced at Ye Youluo in the distance, who had never made a move. “Sorry for ruining your plans.”

“Sorry?” Ye Youluo smiled and shook her head. “You think one apology is enough? Aren’t you going to compensate me somehow?”

“What kind of compensation are you asking for?” Ling Qi asked.

Ye Youluo looked at the reunited family of three and took a deep breath. What kind of compensation?

She wanted many things—including Ling Qi himself.

But now she knew… it was impossible.

Ling Qi already had a wife and daughter.

“I haven’t decided yet. When I do… I’ll come find you,” she said softly.

For now, their little family had just reunited.

Forget it. They could talk later.

“Alright. If you ever need anything, you can send someone to the imperial palace of the Great Yan Empire to find me,” Ling Qi said with a smile. “Or you can come yourself. I guarantee no one will threaten your safety.”

Ye Youluo smiled faintly and said nothing more.

“I’ll be going now. Goodbye,” Ling Qi said.

Ye Youluo gave a gentle nod.

Ling Qi said no more. Holding Xu Qiyue, he soared into the sky with Xu Qingxue and Xiao Chan.

Ye Youluo and the Demon Sect members watched them leave, only looking away once they vanished from sight.

“Sect Master, um…” one of the Demon Sect members finally spoke. “He has a wife and daughter?”

“He didn’t seem to know he had a daughter until now,” Ye Youluo said with a deep breath.

“Then… what do we do, Sect Master?” they asked helplessly.

“What do you mean, what do we do? What does he have to do with me?” Ye Youluo frowned.

She and Ling Qi… were merely acquaintances.

Now that he had a wife and child, they could just be friends.

But everyone could see the disappointment in her eyes. Even if she didn’t admit it, it was obvious.

No one dared say anything more.

Then Ye Youluo waved her hand. “Let’s go. The Snow Sect… is finished.”

She led the Demon Sect members and turned to leave the way they came.

This time, they had come for nothing.

As Ye Youluo’s group disappeared, all that remained was the ruined Snow Sect and the massive rift left by Ling Qi’s sword.

The Snow Sect hadn’t been completely wiped out, but nearly all those with strength were dead.

From now on, they would be nothing more than an ordinary tribe—no threat to anyone.

“How… how did it come to this? It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”

Someone knelt on the ground, crying bitterly.

They had thought that once the Saintess’s sacrificial ceremony was complete, everything would end in celebration. But then Ling Qi suddenly appeared out of nowhere. In an instant, the Snow Sect’s centuries-old foundation was utterly destroyed.

“It’s all that damned altar’s fault!”

Someone turned their gaze toward the now shattered pyramid-shaped altar. “It was completely useless, and now our Snow Sect has suffered a catastrophe because of it.”

If only they had never placed their hopes in sacrifices or so-called deities from the very beginning, and instead focused on strengthening themselves through their own efforts… perhaps the Snow Sect would have become even more powerful, and today’s disaster wouldn’t have occurred.

At this moment, everyone who had come to their senses directed all their hatred toward that altar. A single rigid, feudal ideology had been enough to bring an entire race to ruin.

In the icy snow-covered land, the Snow Sect was filled with howls of grief and deep regret.

After a long time, the highest-ranking person still alive stepped forward. He weakly raised his hand and said, “Tear down this altar. From now on… our Snow Sect will rely on our own hands to create everything.”

They would no longer hold onto any backward thoughts, nor would they entrust the fate or strength of their people to some non-existent deity. From now on, everything would depend on their own hands.

The surviving members of the Snow Sect all nodded. Then, they stepped forward and began dismantling the already broken altar, piece by piece…

But just then, just as they were taking it apart and preparing to start anew, someone suddenly noticed something.

“W-What is this?”

That person stared in shock at something beneath the rubble of the altar. Hidden among the shattered stones was… something strange.

Everyone hurried over and quickly cleared away the surrounding debris, revealing the object beneath.

It was… a black coffin!

A pitch-black coffin made from a unique dark jade-like stone, giving off an aura of ancientness.

“What’s going on? Why is there a coffin under the altar?”

Everyone was stunned. No one in the Snow Sect had ever known about this. The altar had been built by their ancestors, and none of the ancient records had ever mentioned a coffin hidden beneath it.

What was inside?

“S-Should we open it?”

Someone hesitantly suggested.

The highest-ranking middle-aged man among the survivors stepped forward. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded solemnly. “Open it.”

They had to see what their ancestors had truly left behind.

Everyone agreed. Several strong men stepped up and began to slowly pry the heavy coffin open.

As the lid creaked open, the contents were revealed—there was a man lying inside!

A man with long white hair and a handsome face.

“What…”

Everyone was shocked. There was a person in the coffin?

And that person… was completely unharmed?

How many years had it been since the altar was built? How many generations had passed? Yet the person inside hadn’t rotted at all?

How could this be?

Everyone was filled with disbelief and confusion.

And then, just as they were still trying to process what they were seeing, the white-haired man lying inside the coffin suddenly opened his eyes.

“A ghost!”

The sudden movement terrified everyone. Their scalps went numb, and they all retreated several steps in shock.

He was alive?

The man in the coffin… was still alive?

How was that possible?

He had been lying inside for countless years. Not only had his body not decayed, but he was also still breathing?

Everyone stared in disbelief, their minds blank.

Then, as they stood frozen in fear, black mist began to surge around the white-haired man’s body. He slowly began to float up.

The sight of him, surrounded by swirling black energy, floating out of the coffin left everyone paralyzed in place. No one dared to move.

What… was going on?

Under their stunned gazes, the white-haired man hovered in mid-air wrapped in black mist, before gently landing atop the coffin. He took a deep breath and twisted his neck forcefully.

He looked like a man who had just awoken from an eternal slumber.

“So close… I was just a step away!”

He slowly raised his hand, black energy swirling around his clenched fist. That refined face now carried a trace of resentment and unwillingness.

“So close… to reaching the Supreme Limit Realm.”

His voice echoed.

No one spoke. They all stared at him in silence.

What did he mean? Had he been sleeping inside this coffin to break through to the Supreme Limit Realm? And failed?

“You useless fools. At the most critical moment, you offered me a filthy woman who wasn’t even a virgin?”

The white-haired man’s voice rang out again, and his eyes swept coldly across the Snow Sect members.

Yes, he had indeed been sleeping in the coffin, using the sacrificial formation to break through to the Supreme Limit Realm. Originally, if the Saintess of this generation had completed the ritual, he would’ve succeeded.

But unfortunately, this generation’s Saintess—Xu Qingxue—was not a true virgin.

Because of her… he had no choice but to stop his cultivation and emerge early.

“S-Senior… may we ask who you are?” someone from the Snow Sect finally mustered the courage to speak.

Just who was this man, hidden beneath the altar since the beginning?

“Me?” the white-haired man sneered coldly and said, “I’m your ancestor.”

The crowd fell into confusion.

What did he mean? Ancestor?

Could he be… the founding Sect Master of the Snow Sect?

It did make sense. Who else besides their ancestor would be lying in a coffin under the altar?

“Now then, who leads the Snow Sect?” the man asked.

“I-I do!” the middle-aged man from earlier stepped forward. “The Sect Master is dead, the high priest is dead too. The Snow Sect is currently led by me—”

BOOM!

Before he could finish speaking, a burst of black energy shot out and exploded his head into a bloody mist.

His headless body collapsed slowly to the ground.

Everyone was horrified.

This ancestor… what was he doing?

If he was truly the founder of the Snow Sect, shouldn’t he be protecting them?

Why would he kill his own descendants?

“Now then… who’s in charge?” the white-haired man asked again.

Everyone took a step back, too afraid to step forward.

Clearly, whoever stepped up next… would die.

Then, someone among the crowd suddenly had an idea. They dropped to their knees and shouted, “Y-You, Ancestor! You’re in charge! Everything in the Snow Sect… is yours to command!”

“Yes! Yes, that’s right! Ancestor makes all the decisions now!”

One by one, everyone dropped to their knees in agreement.

“Very good.”

The white-haired man smiled faintly and stepped down from the coffin.

He glanced at the devastation left behind in the Snow Sect, then turned his gaze to the massive chasm created by Ling Qi’s sword. “I didn’t expect… someone else would reach the Supreme Limit Realm before me.”

Though he had been asleep, he had still been able to sense everything happening around the altar.

When Ling Qi attacked earlier… he could have acted. But he didn’t dare.

Because he was still one step short of the Supreme Limit Realm, while Ling Qi had already achieved it.

If he’d appeared then, Ling Qi wouldn’t have let him live.

After all, he was the real mastermind behind the sacrificial traditions of the Snow Sect.

“That man just now… what’s his name?” he asked coldly.

“Ancestor, we… we don’t know who he is. He came to the Snow Sect once several years ago and was the one who took away the Saintess back then.”

One of the sect members replied, “We never expected the Saintess had already borne his child.”

The white-haired man’s expression grew colder.

So he had failed to break through… all because of that man!

Because he defiled the Saintess, his own breakthrough had been ruined.

“Then… that red-dressed woman from earlier—who was she?” he asked again.

“Red-dressed woman?”

Everyone thought for a moment and quickly realized he was referring to Ye Youluo. “Ancestor, she’s Ye Youluo, the Sect Master of the Demon Sect. She came to the Snow Sect to seek an alliance against the Great Yan Empire.”

“Heaven-Revering Realm, untouched, perfect body. Not bad at all.”

The white-haired man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Thanks to Xu Qingxue, his cultivation had failed.

The only way to make up for it… was to dual cultivate with a woman as close as possible to the Supreme Limit Realm—and she had to be untouched.

This Ye Youluo… was the perfect candidate.

With a faint smile, he said slowly, “Give me a detailed report… on this female Sect Master of the Demon Sect.”