At the highest peak in the Great Dividing Range, the air was so thin that even bishops would struggle to survive. Although dawn had broken, the sky atop the mountain was still as dark as night. By the cliffs of the mountain was a single withered flower, gently drifting in the faint wind, it seemed as though the stem was about to break at any moment, and the flower would soon be lost to space.

The mountain the flower grew on was called the Metopo. On the continent, it was the place closest to the sky.

Standing atop the mountain was Cai Hua - squatting down, he drew very straight and fine lines onto the mountain. In his hand he held a piece of rock he found somewhere on the mountain.

The rock was completely ordinary, the same kind children would use to carve simple figures onto the ground, or use to skip rocks across a pond. Yet in the hands of Cai Hua, the marks engraved into the mountain was so deep, carrying a power that could destroy mountains and rivers

He was recognised as the strongest swordsman in the world. Though he was not strong enough to fight against the strange monsters that were capable of changing fate and living forever, no one was able to kill him, because he was exceptionally good at fleeing.

But now he was forced to directly confront one of the most established powerhouses in the world.

When Ovid had finally arrived at Juliana, the vast majority of his injuries had recovered at last. Though he was certain that it was only possible to defeat Julia in a direct confrontation in his peak state, he did not hesitate to pass Ovid his sword intent.

That was because he needed the pig-steel sword to become a sword spirit.

Placing down the stone, Cai Hua unbuttoned his collar with his slender fingers.

With a creek, the door to the cave was pushed open. Walking before Li Zhan, Cai Hua wiped the blood flowing down her lips with a handkerchief. “How is the formation? There is no need to overexert yourself.”

Li Zhan took her handkerchief, setting it ablaze with a spell. Feeling the warmth on the tip of her finger, she replied calmly, “My injuries are fine. The formation will be ready at noon.”

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Hearing that, Cai Hua relaxed a little. However, he noticed that Li Zhan’s hands hidden within her sleeve were faintly trembling. He comforted her, “Ovid’s fate is quite good, he cannot die.”

Still, Li Zhan could not help but feel some unease. “What if that’s not the case?”

Cai Hua turned his gaze toward the south, landing on the position where Juliana stood. He said, “You left the life-saving treasure with Ovid already, he will be able to survive even an attack from the natural world.”

Li Zhan shook her head gently, looking toward the sky above them, she said, “You know I am not referring to that.”

Cai Hua feigned ignorance. “I’m too young to recall that person.”

He was regarded as the youngest immortal since the appearance of Alexander. He was even younger than most bishops, being only three hundred years of age.

However, it was impossible for him to not know the existence of that person. Her name had once shone as brightly as Alexander’s had.

---

If one were to describe Ovid as an immaculate person, then that woman would be perfect beyond perfection, to the point where she could not even be considered a person. Sometimes, the people who had seen her roam this world thousands of years would question if she truly existed, or was a figment within their collective imaginations.

She was exceptionally intelligent, yet held no schemes against others. She pities the people but possesses not a childish heart that knows nothing of the world. Someone with the will and strength to change the course of history.

If there were a heaven, then she would be from the heavens, above the common man, kind and benevolent.

While she was not the strongest person in the world at the time, every person in the world respected her; whenever her name was mentioned, nothing but praises would be heaped upon it. To all people of this world, she was a myth. But before she left her mark on this world, she had disappeared a mere ten years after her name was made known to the world.

No, it was exactly because she was a myth, a person beyond perfection, that she should have left. There was no place for her in the real world, so she had left.

Yet in the brief time she had existed in this world, it was more than sufficient for her status to be elevated in the hearts of all saints to the same position as Alexander.

That was why her existence was so unacceptable to the natural world and Julia. A myth should simply continue to be in the figments of men’s imagination. There was no place for a true myth, and to the world, it was best she never returned.

---

Cai Hua eventually could no longer pretend he wasn’t aware of her existence under the gaze of Li Zhan. He sighed and said, “Unexpectedly, I managed to select her child as my disciple. Fate truly has a strange, strange taste.”

“But you still choose to protect him,” Li Zhan calmly said.

Cai Hua knew that Li Zhan was by no means criticising his actions. Those words were praise.

“I’ve spent all my life to get to the point that I can live outside of fate. I’m doing this simply because I want to.”

Li Zhan smiled. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked in a serious tone, “Are you sure the formation can ward off Julia?”

Cai Hua said, “It should be possible. Although we cannot imitate the original formation fully, we are more than capable to hold out long enough for that woman to act.”

After saying these words, Cai Hua walked outside the cave, and quietly looked at the dark sky.

The cold wind blew over the tip of the mountain, dispersing a thin layer of snow.

When the breeze disappeared, Cai Hua had left