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Meanwhile, in the sky above the Outside, Ye Zichen looked utterly bedraggled. He looked back at the black hole and pounded his chest. He was still gasping for breath.

He wasn't the only one. Pu Jingwan, Yang Jian, and the twenty rulers Han Nan had assigned to protect him weren't any better. They all looked back at the black hole with lingering terror.

The Howling Celestial Dog's black fur was standing on end. It lay down and rolled its eyes at Yang Jian.

"Yang Jian!" Ye Zichen roared, then tried to force himself to remain calm.

Yang Jian smiled bitterly back and walked up to them. "My bad, my bad!"

When the rulers heard his half-hearted apology, they came close to losing their tempers. They only held back out of consideration for Yang Jian's status as a special emissary.

Pu Jingwan didn't share their reservations, so she sent him flying with a kick.

Her sudden ambush sent Yang Jian rocketing over a hundred meters away. When Ye Zichen saw this he hurriedly grabbed her by the arm for fear she'd tear Yang Jian limb from limb.

He was angry too, but he didn't want his bro to die.

Pu Jingwan glanced at Ye Zichen and pulled her arm free of his grip. Yang Jian flew back, an apologetic smile on his face.

As soon as he arrived, Pu Jingwan started cursing him out. "I practically died in that blasted black hole. I haven't even gotten married like that! A pure, flower-like jade maiden like me practically died in that spatial rift!"

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Yang Jian apologized repeatedly.

As for how things turned out like this…

We'll have to rewind to around an hour ago to explain.

Ye Zichen and the others left the Outside through a black hole. Their destination was supposed to be the God Realm's Central Divine Mountain.

But en route, the black hole started to collapse. Everyone got trapped in the chaotic spatial flow.

At the time, everyone was stunned!

Fortunately, they had lots of rulers with them. Add that to the fact that Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan were strong even for rulers, and they'd managed to force their way out of the chaotic flow of space.

"You really scared me half to death!" Pu Jingwan put her hands on her hips, her breathing ragged with anger.

Yang Jian smiled bitterly and kept apologizing. He knew better than to fault them for getting angry.

After all, he'd set up the black hole.

At his level, setting up a black hole only for it to undergo spatial collapse was the lowest possible mistake.

And yet, because of this slip-up, he'd almost sent twenty people to their deaths.

"Enough, Ol' Yang. No need to reproach yourself any further. We're all still alive, aren't we?" Ye Zichen couldn't bear to watch Yang Jian blame himself like this. He patted his friend on the shoulder, then turned to Pu Jingwan. "Please let this go as well."

Pu Jingwan's anger faded in a heartbeat. She threw herself into Ye Zichen's arms and wept, "Costume Guy! I was so scared!"

Ye Zichen had wanted to reassure her, but from the looks of things, he knew he'd worried for nothing.

He pried her head from his chest and pushed her away, maintaining an appropriate distance from her. She bit her lip, visibly aggrieved.

Before she could object, Ye Zichen spoke solemnly, "When we arrive, you'd best be careful to maintain a ten-meter distance. Don't act coquettishly either, and whatever you do, don't touch me directly."

"Why?" asked Pu Jingwan. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"More than one, actually," replied Yang Jian deviously.

He's clearly just trying to stir up trouble! Ye Zichen fought the impulse to whack him.

However, Pu Jingwan only nodded and laughed. "Got it. I'll try my best to control myself going forward. To bounty hunters and body guards like us, satisfying our clients is our highest honor and top priority. As a gold-ranked bodyguard, I can't possibly cause my boss problems!"

She swore to behave herself, but Ye Zichen wasn't sure how serious she was.

Still, hearing her guarantee her good behavior let him relax a little. He looked up at the surrounding sky and said, "How far away are we now? Do we need to make another black hole to get there?"

Traveling between eras required spatial leaps. Relying on flight alone, even rulers would need hundreds of years to travel back and forth.

Their last black hole had shattered, so he had no idea where they were now. That's why he had no choice but to ask.

"Actually, we're pretty close. The black hole broke because it couldn't contain so many rulers; the pressure was too much for it to bear. We're just outside your era's space. If we fly, it should only take half a day. If we go by black hole…."

"Let's fly!" Pu Jingwan raised her hand and cut him off. She was still scared; if they got swept up into chaotic space again, she really couldn't take it.

However, she'd learned quite a bit from their brief exchange. They'd left through a black hole, but they weren't going to the Quarantine Zone like she'd first feared. From the sound of things, they were visiting another era.

She was quite enthusiastic.

She'd never once left the bounds of the first era. This time, she wasn't just making a lot of money; she was even getting a paid vacation out of the deal. This was looking to be her most profitable mission to date!

"Yes, I think flying sounds good," said the other rulers.

Even the Howling Celestial Dog let out a few whimpers. Yang Jian looked at Ye Zichen last, his eyes gleaming with faint hope….

"Let's just fly, bro. I don't doubt your abilities, but majority rulers. Let's be democratic about this, right?" Ye Zichen shot him an affirming look and patted him on the shoulder.

Yang Jian had nothing to say in response. Besides, he couldn't afford to lose any more face at the moment. If he wanted to reclaim his dignity, he'd have to wait for next time….

Of course, there wouldn't necessarily be a next time.

He'd traumatized the lot of them.

Yang Jian had been to the third era and knew its location. With him to guide the way, all Ye Zichen and the others had to do was follow him.

Ye Zichen had been gone about a month. He didn't know what was going on back in the third era. Shortly before he left, the three emperors had made an appearance. Given the current, tense inter-realm relations…

War hadn't broken out already, had it? Surely not!

Ye Zichen couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It's possible!"

It was possible that the Demon Emperor had used that demon general's death as an excuse, found some reason to blame Zhou Wu for it, then gone to battle. The yao might have then taken advantage of the chaos to send in their own troops.

Could it be that the current third era was in chaos?

"Ol' Yang, can we go a little faster?" asked Ye Zichen, but before he finished his sentence, Yang Jian came to a sudden stop. It wasn't just him, either; all the rulers did. Pu Jingwan even stepped in front of Ye Zichen protectively.

"What is it?"

"There's something going on up ahead." Yang Jian narrowed his eyes.

Pu Jingwan furrowed her brows as well. "That person's cultivation isn't low, either."

Ye Zichen's heart shook. Before long, a frantic-looking girl ran into view. When she saw them, she ran right towards them.

As she ran, she shouted….

"Save me!"