Chen Hao shook his head, a perplexed look on his face as he said, "I thought I was dead too, but unexpectedly, I came back to life."

Ye Yuqiao snorted lightly and said, "It doesn't matter, as long as you're alive, that's what counts."

Having said that, Ye Yuqiao stuffed the Nether King's Heart into Chen Hao's left eye, then closed her eyes to recite an ancient spell, placing a protective seal on the Nether King's Heart in Chen Hao's left eye.

When she opened her eyes, Chen Hao immediately conveyed to her in secret, "Yuqiao, I like you!"

Ye Yuqiao smiled distantly, then reached out with both hands to pinch Chen Hao's cheeks, her eyes moistening again all of a sudden.

"Why are you crying again?" Chen Hao quickly raised his hand to wipe away Ye Yuqiao's tears.

"Silly!" Ye Yuqiao said with a smile, "I like you so much, of course, I was very upset when you died; and then you came back to life, which made me very excited, and when I can't control my emotions, I cry. Anyway, it's your fault, you're bullying me!"

"I hope such things never happen again."

"Mmmhmm!" Ye Yuqiao agreed earnestly, "Especially you, you jerk, you're always like this. Next time, please remember that there's someone at home who needs you, please cherish your life for her sake!"

"Someone at home?" Chen Hao grinned mischievously, "Who else is there at my home?"

"See! You don't even consider me family."

Chen Hao chuckled and hooked his arm around Ye Yuqiao's neck while bending down and approaching her, "You're about to marry me, how could I not treat you as family. Little miss, I feel like you've gotten a few years younger again."

Ye Yuqiao gazed into Chen Hao's eyes, emotionally saying, "Because as long as you're here, my world is like being under an umbrella. No matter what happens, I don't have to worry about anything; you'll protect me. So, under this umbrella, I'm willing to let go of all guard, defenses, and pretenses, to be a carefree, cherished little miss, do you understand?"

"I do!" Chen Hao nodded slightly; Ye Yuqiao's words were the best affirmation for him.

"I just wish I could always protect this innocence of yours."

"It can't just be 'wish'!" Ye Yuqiao lifted her hand and gently thumped Chen Hao's chest, "It's a must; you absolutely must!"

Chen Hao took Ye Yuqiao's hand, drawing her into his embrace.

"I've already given all of myself to you," Ye Yuqiao said softly, resting her cheek against Chen Hao's chest, "hurry up and defeat the Ghost King and take me as your wife!"

After what had just happened, Ye Yuqiao suddenly came to many realizations: she needed to cherish Chen Hao more; they needed to promptly do the things they had left unfinished and not leave any regrets.

Chen Hao had the same realizations, one could even say deeper than Ye Yuqiao's.

The experiences of these past few days had made both of them more keenly aware of each other's importance in their hearts, both irreplaceable and committed unto death.

"I will!" Chen Hao's eyes were incredibly firm.

After a pause, Ye Yuqiao picked up Chen Hao's right hand, scrutinizing the Dust King Ring closely, and asked, "Why did the ring absorb your Yin Soul and then release it? Have you felt any changes in your body?"

"Yes!" Chen Hao frowned slightly in agreement, then picked up the Sword of Dust with his left hand, "I have gained a power inside of me, this power seems to come from the Dust King Ring on my hand. Moreover, I can feel that there's a special connection between this power and the Sword of Dust."

Ye Yuqiao squinted her eyes, sinking into thought. After a long while, she spoke thoughtfully, "That means the Dust King must have transferred the power from the ring into your body, and he also gave you the Sword of Dust, which is why you can sense it. Strange! Didn't you fail to do what he asked?"

"Perhaps his true intention wasn't that!" Chen Hao had an epiphany, "He said he wanted to kill all members of the Dust Tribe because they betrayed him, naming his brother Chen Yu as king. Could it be that he doesn't actually hate his tribe? What he wanted me to do was only... was only..."

Chen Hao really couldn't guess the intentions of the Dust King.

"Chen Hao, stop guessing," Ye Yuqiao said. "Just ask him directly."

Both of them looked up towards the mountain peak at the same time.

"Hahaha!" The laughter of the Dust King echoed once again.

Immediately following that, the earth quaked, trees shook, and dust slowly rose into the air.

"Chen Hao!" Nearby, Lin Huashan and Yi Ning immediately ran back to Chen Hao's side.

After they reached Chen Hao, Lin Huashan, overcome with excitement, lunged forward to embrace Chen Hao, but upon seeing Ye Yuqiao in Chen Hao's arms, he quickly stepped back and said with a foolish laugh, "Chen Hao, it's so good that you're alright."

"Jerk, I hate you, I'll settle this with you later!" Ye Yuqiao's angry voice rang in Chen Hao's mind.

Chen Hao secretly grasped Ye Yuqiao's hand tighter and, facing Lin Huashan and Yi Ning, showed a bitter smile. Just as he was about to speak, the trembling on the mountain intensified, and the dust in the air grew denser.

At that moment, Yi Ning and Lin Huashan each took their places beside Chen Hao, casually grabbing his arms as if clutching onto a reliable tree.

"Yuqiao, this…" Chen Hao said with a look of helplessness.

"You're done for!" Ye Yuqiao's voice became furious.

Soon after, with a "bang," the mountaintop split in two and then turned into countless particles of dust that fell down.

Then, a tall and ghastly undead appeared and drifted toward Chen Hao and the others.

This undead was the former Dust King—Chen Ji!

When the Dust King came before him, Chen Hao asked, "Are you the Dust King?"

The Dust King nodded, then said, "You must have many questions, right?"

Chen Hao let out a cold laugh.

"Actually, what you said earlier wasn't wrong; my true intent wasn't to kill those clansmen who betrayed me. What I really wanted was to test you."

"Test me for what?" Chen Hao asked in surprise.

"To see if you are worthy of my trust," the Dust King explained. "Although my clansmen proclaimed my enemy as king, it wasn't their fault, and I don't blame them. You should know, my son is dead, and I need to find an heir to inherit the Dust King Ring and the Sword of Dust. You are my only choice. Before I entrust the Sword of Dust and the Dust King Ring to you, I needed to test you, to see if you would care for my people just like I did. You did very well!"

"What if I really had killed all your clansmen for the sake of my own name?" Chen Hao questioned.

"Don't worry, before you could raise the Sword of Dust against them, the Sword of Dust and the Dust King Ring would have killed you!"

"So that was it!" Chen Hao exclaimed. After pausing, he asked. "Then, if that's the case, why did the Dust King Ring still try to absorb my Yin Soul just now?"

"I wanted to know if you had any remorse at the last moment. Although you did feel remorse, it moved me..

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