Back to the Beginning

A man lay unconscious on the stairs of the mountain, while others ran upwards, ignoring him.

Suddenly, as if awakened from a bad dream, "AHHAAAAAAA!" he yelled, jumping to his feet, founding himself in a familiar place.

"This is...?"

 Confusion was evident in his eyes as he looked around, seeing young men and women his age running upwards, giving him familiar, disdainful looks.

"I was about to disqualify you since you were unconscious, but seeing you back on your feet, I can give you another chance so, Run fast!"

a manly voice called from behind. Shi Jian turned, knowing who it was, and saw two figures approaching him from the sides.

One was a man, whose formidable aura inspired awe in others.

He gazed at Shi Jian with disdainful eyes, his expression a mask of contempt. Beside him stood a woman with raven-black hair and green robes, her neutral eyes fixed on Shi Jian.

"Su'er," Shi Jian whispered, the single word barely escaping his lips as tears welled up in his eyes.

The man's expression darkened; his anger piqued.

"What did you say?" he growled, his voice low and menacing.

Su Linye's eyes flickered as she gazed into Shi Jian's tear-filled eyes, the depth of his emotion resonating deep within her soul.

She took a step forward, her voice laced with curiosity. "Do we know each other?"

Shi Jian's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice. He felt an overwhelming urge to hug her, but the memories of her brutal murder in front of him flashed before his eyes.

A searing pain shot through his head, unleashing a torrent of anguish he had long suppressed.

"AAHHAAHAHAAAAAAA!"

Shi Jian's anguished cry echoed through the air, releasing the pent-up pain he had sealed within his soul since abandoning the Dao of Lust and embarking on the Dao of Life.

The memories he had tried to forget came flooding back, and the weight of his past threatened to consume him.

As Shi Jian's anguished cry faded, he collapsed forward, his body wracked with pain. Su Linye instinctively opened her arms, catching him as he fell. Her touch sparked a fierce glare from Xin Ren, his eyes blazing with indignation and possessiveness.

"Leave him," Xin Ren said, his voice laced with disdain. "He is disqualified, effective immediately. We don't need weaklings in our Sky Heaven Sect."

Though his tone was measured and polite, a fierce rage simmered beneath the surface, his eyes blazing with intensity.

"No!" Shi Jian yelled; his face twisted in dissatisfaction.

"I haven't given up yet, and you don't have the authority to remove me from this assessment!"

He struggled to his feet, his eyes fixed intently on Su Linye. "Thank you, Senior Sister, for lending me a hand. I wish to continue the assessment test."

Ignoring Xin Ren's seething glare, Shi Jian glanced at Su Linye before turning to ascend the mountain. Xin Ren's composure snapped, and he snarled, "Where do you think you're going?"

Su Linye intervened, her voice calm and measured. "Let him go, Senior Brother. He's right; he's still qualified for the assessment. Let's resume our duty."

With that, she turned and flew back to her original position. Xin Ren's glare lingered on Shi Jian, who had disrespected him, before he reluctantly followed Su Linye.

As Shi Jian ascended the mountain, his mind reeled with a mix of emotions: surprise, awe, and fear. Initially, he thought these visions were just fragmented memories flashing before his death.

But now, with his Dao of Life nearing completion, he felt an unsettling conviction that this was not merely a memory or a dream, but a jarring reality.

"How did I come back?" Shi Jian wondered, his mind racing to recall his final moments before the secret realm's destruction.

He struggled to remember the devastating impact that had ravaged the realm, eradicating all life within it. The memories lingered, shrouded in a haze of pain and despair.

The destruction was so cataclysmic that even a Quasi-God like Shi Jian, with his formidable powers, couldn't withstand the devastating force. He had vanished entirely, erased from existence along with every other life form within the realm.

"Su Linye," Shi Jian whispered her name, a soft smile spreading across his face.

In an instant, a cascade of happy memories flooded his mind, reminiscent of the joyous moments they had shared.

He recalled their first meeting on these very stairs, the subsequent times she had helped him, and how those encounters had blossomed into a deeper connection.

Together, they had embarked on the pursuit of the Dao of Love, their bond growing stronger with each passing day.

But beneath the warmth of those memories, a darker recollection began to resurface - one that Shi Jian had desperately tried to forget.

His smile twisted, replaced by a fleeting glint of bloodlust in his eyes. The memories of their desperate struggle for survival came flooding back, as they were relentlessly hunted by powerful forces.

The pain of that fateful day still seared his mind - the day Su Linye had fallen, her life brutally cut short.

Su Linye had been the true target, as she possessed of something that shouldn't exist in this world.

The anguish and rage that had fuelled Shi Jian's relentless pursuit of power now simmered, ready to unleash a maelstrom of fury upon the world once more.

But looking at his surroundings and feeling his weak mortal body, Shi Jian took a deep breath, taking step by step towards the summit of the mountain.

"I've been given a second chance. From now on, I won't consider things as evil or good. To save those who are dear to me, I'll choose whatever is needed to save my loved ones."

Shi Jian's life had been a tumultuous journey. Initially, he had walked the righteous path, devoted to the Dao of Love.

But the tragic loss of Su Linye had sparked a transformation, leading him down the unorthodox path of Dao Lust.

Later, driven by the hope of resurrecting his beloved, he had shifted his allegiance once more, embracing the Dao of Life. Yet, despite his efforts, he had failed again.

Surrounded by enemies and battered by fate, Shi Jian had come to a profound realization: in the grand tapestry of existence, there was no absolute evil or good.

True power lay not in moral labels, but in the ability to shape one's own destiny, to bend the fabric of reality and redefine the boundaries between light and darkness.