A Hero’s Heart

The phantom of the giant bull that flashed across the heavens was viewed as a sign from the gods. When the new land appeared, various powers rushed to send out teams to map out the territory. Even the Heaven Faction, who's usually disinterested in the happenings within the mortal realm, sent an envoy to investigate.

Yang Jiang surveyed the land before him with a cautious gaze. Something about it gives him a prickly feeling and his senses have never failed him before. For the benefit of others, he hoped he was wrong. But it's better to act with prudence during the exploration. He looked at his team and inwardly sighed. He'd never moved with a group before and now he's tasked to protect and preserve three lives aside from his own.

The journey to the new territory was uneventful but the moment they stepped through the boundary an array was activated and trapped the people within. The nightmare was just beginning. Out of nowhere, screams of terror echoed as the scent of blood spread through the air. The slaughter lasted for several hours before it quieted down.

Yang Jian and his team were battered and exhausted but otherwise alive.

"What's going on?" Yan Di asked in confusion and rage. "Those people were from the mortal realm. I've seen them enter the new land with us. They knew we're from the Heaven Faction but still dared to attack us!"

"They were bewitched!" Fu Xi, who was sitting on the side, snarled. With his vast knowledge in regards to arrays and formations he briefly explained, "The array was coupled with an enchantment that beguiled those people to attack their allies!"

Asura Realm… Yang Jian couldn't help but shudder at the thought. He'd heard of a place of chaos and death, where blood flows like endless rivers. If they are indeed trapped within the Asura Realm then they are in trouble. It wouldn't be long until they, too, are affected by the enchantment. Before that happens, they need to find a way out!

Yang Jian was about to call out for a discussion when he felt cold steel graze the side of his neck. He immediately turned to avoid a fatal strike.

Yao Ji's eyes were bloodshot as she continued to attack her comrades. No matter how much they called out to her, Yao Ji didn't seem to hear them. In the end, Yang Jian had no choice but to step forward and incapacitate her. They then fed her a sleeping tonic to prevent her from attacking them again.

The group travelled deeper within the realm and eventually found the core of the array. A group of cultivators had already reached the area before them and were fighting a spiritual beast, the same monster who's ghostly image attracted everyone to the hellish place.

"Fu Xi, protect Yao Ji." Yang Jian instructed. "Yan Di, with me!"

The two joined the battle and the scales immediately tipped to their side. The spiritual beast suffered grave injuries but just when they thought the fight was over, the beast slowly regained its power by absorbing the deathly aura within the Asura Realm.

"Yan Di, watch out!" Yang Jian shouted but it was too late.

The bull's horn savagely speared through Yan Di's chest. Yang Jian managed to catch Yan Di's lifeless body as the bull shook it off.

Yang Jian looked back at Fu Xi who was still protecting the unconscious Yao Ji and the other cultivators who were dying around him, one after another. He gritted his teeth in anger and wiped the blood off the corner of his lips. Yang Jian then drew a sigil on his forehead and made a matching symbol on his sword.

"No, Senior brother, you'll die!" Fu Xi bellowed when he realized what Yang Jian intended to do.

But Yang Jian's mind will not change. He has to try and save the people he could save, whether he lives or dies does not matter. Yang Jian activated the forbidden technique that increased his fighting prowess as he became one with his sword.

The spiritual beast has yet to accumulate enough strength and with Yang Jian's interference, it could not gain more power.

The two fought a seemingly endless battle. There was a moment when Yang Jian felt like he was losing himself to the enchantment of the Asura Realm but he soldiered on. In the end, he managed to kill the beast and dispel the hellish array.

The next time he woke up, Yang Jian was already back in Heaven Palace.

What happened at the Asura Realm created a huge commotion. Songs about the final battle were sung in every public place imaginable. But in the midst of all this, Yang Jian remained impassive and detached. He did not feel like a hero. A lot of people perished that day including his good brother, Yan Di. He would forever carry the weight of their death in his heart.

The end… or is it?