The truth is revealed

"Darian," Selene said with deep hatred.

"I missed you too, Selene," Darian responded with a smile on his face as he descended.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked, trying to gather information. She had been very discreet all this time in the mortal plane.

Darian guessed her intentions but didn't seem to care.

"I didn't know," he replied.

His response confused Selene even more.

"It's simple. If I wanted to find you, I just had to make sure I left no stone unturned in either plane," he said, a mad look in his eyes.

"Besides, I knew you would be desperately searching for a way to grow stronger. I just had to set the right bait, and you would eventually take it," he continued explaining.

"While I was searching for you in the mortal plane a few years ago, I heard that the second princess of this kingdom was sick. It was easy to deceive that stupid mortal by promising a cure for his daughter's illness," he added disdainfully.

"Although, I must admit, the last time I saw her, she was quite beautiful for her age. Now that she's grown, perhaps I'll take her before she dies. It would be a shame for such beauty to leave this world without experiencing carnal pleasures," he let out his horrific thoughts without caring that Selene could hear him.

Adam felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing him. He was far more rotten than he had imagined. However, he couldn't respond—he was too focused on absorbing the qi from the formation.

Darian hadn't noticed until now, but there was a hooded figure a few feet away from Selene, seemingly tampering with the formation.

"Who is that man?" he asked, releasing his killing intent.

"WHORE! ALL THIS TIME I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU, YOU'VE BEEN HAVING FUN WITH MORTALS?!" he erupted in rage upon sensing his lack of cultivation.

In a fit of fury, he unleashed one of his spiritual techniques on Adam.

"Abyssal Dragon's Roar!" he bellowed.

His qi took the form of an abyssal dragon and charged at Adam with a speed indistinguishable from teleportation.

"Adam!"

Selene barely had time to warn him. With her cultivation sealed, there was no way she could reach him before the attack landed.

CRASH!

Adam didn't even have time to process Selene's words before the sound of the formation shattering into a thousand pieces echoed in his ears, followed by the worst pain he had ever felt in his life.

"AAARRRGGHHH!!"

Adam, who had endured countless injuries without uttering a single complaint, could only scream in agony. The pain he felt at that moment was unlike anything he had experienced before—it was as if his body was being cut into countless pieces. The suffering was so extreme that he lost consciousness instantly.

"Adam!"

Selene, now freed from the formation, appeared by his side.

She saw how the qi from the technique healed his body to a certain degree only to tear it apart again. It was a cruel technique. Medicinal pills seemed to have no effect on him.

"Bastard! What did you do to him?" Selene roared in fury. Her heart ached as if she had been struck by a technique. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I gave that worm what he deserved for approaching what's mine," Darian said coldly, devoid of emotion.

-------

Meanwhile, inside Adam…

Darkness. It had always been like this. Adam couldn't remember anything else since he was born.

"In the end, I couldn't save Selene, huh?" he thought, accepting what had just happened.

He didn't want things to end this way. He had tried his hardest, but it hadn't been enough.

"I hope I can reunite with her in my next life. Maybe this time, we can be happy," he murmured to himself as death loomed over him.

"Pathetic."

A majestic voice echoed within him.

The words seemed to shake Adam, pulling him away from the grip of death.

"Who are you?" he asked, startled. Hadn't he died? How could someone else be here?

"Who I was stopped mattering a long time ago. What's important here is who you are."

"Who… am I?" Adam repeated.

"A coward," the voice said bluntly.

Adam frowned. Hadn't he done everything he could all these years?

The voice seemed to know what he was thinking and spoke with disdain.

"You had just given up."

"It's not like I had any other choice… I'm already dead."

"A true cultivator can't simply 'give up,' even in the face of death. You must stand tall, even if the heavens fall upon you. That is the true nature of the cultivation path."

Those words reminded Adam of something Selene had once told him.

As if the voice's words carried some mystical power, Adam's head began to throb in unbearable pain.

"Nngh!"

Memories of his life started replaying in his mind. He remembered everything as if he were reliving it—the moment of his birth, the first time he met Althea, how Selene had saved him, every moment he had spent with her over the last eleven years, and finally, the moment Darian had "killed" him.

He had been fighting since birth, had found people he cared about, and when the crucial moment arrived, he had simply given up, throwing away everything he had worked so hard for.

Adam could only feel shame. Was this who he truly was?

"No… I can't die like this. I need to wake up and kill that bastard," he thought, furious at himself. Selene was still there, probably about to kill herself or, worse, being captured by that bastard. He had to return.

"You passed the trial," The owner of the voice felt that Adam had understood his words.

"Trial?" Adam didn't understand what he meant.

"Up until now, your entire life has been nothing more than a trial. This was simply the final part. The heavens are fair and do not grant unparalleled talent freely—you must prove yourself worthy." The voice spoke a shocking truth.

Adam was confused, but before he could speak, he felt a hand rest on his head.

"Let's show this world what true power is."

That was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.