In the next few days, a piece of earth-shattering news spread throughout the entire Yan kingdom.

The entire Heavenly Sword Sect was devastated by a massive natural calamity. People who witnessed everything described it as a punishment from heaven. There were all kinds of rumours floating around. Some blamed the fact that Heavenly Sword Sect was getting too arrogant, while some blamed Duality Sect for orchestrating something as sinister as this. And with every passing moment, the rumours only increased in numbers, getting more and more ridiculous.

Though there was one thing that almost everyone said the same…

A white beam of light pierced through the heaven and after that, a massive cyclone descended… a cyclone as big as three miles in height and almost half a mile in length. No one knew where it came from or how it appeared in the first place, but the cyclone tore through the entire Heavenly Sword Sect like it was tearing through a fragile piece of paper.

The so-called Mighty Grand Elders in the realm of Soul Tempering, as well as the Core Condensation realm Elders, were nothing more than mere ants in front of such a force. Initially, they tried to fight against it, but no matter what they did or what techniques they used, nothing made any difference. In the end, they could only run away to save themselves from being engulfed by that cyclone.

But the cyclone didn't just stop there… almost half of the Heavenly Sword Sect's peaks were destroyed. Some were uprooted entirely, like carrots, while a few large ones were torn from the middle.

As for the number of casualties… Almost a thousand members of the Sword Sect were within the radius of the cyclones. Almost seven hundred dead bodies have been discovered after a week, and three hundred people are still missing… presumably dead.

This was the first time the Heavenly Sword Sect suffered such a massive casualty.

But rumours didn't just stop there… There were also rumours that it happened because the Sword Sect's leader, Jian Yu, was fighting against someone. The rumours only got more outrageous, some even mentioning the fact that Jian Yu was dead.

Though the Sword Sect never addressed this issue.

It wasn't until seven days passed that the Sword Sect issued a statement for the first time. According to the statement, it was a powerful demonic beast that suddenly attacked the Sword Sect. And it was with the help of all Grand Elders and the sacrifice of the Sect Leader Jian Yu that they managed to repel it.

This statement took the entire Yan Kingdom by storm. No one expected the demonic beasts to venture this deep into human territory, much less attack the Sword Sect. Though there were a few suspicious people who doubted the authenticity of the story, their voice didn't really make any difference. The majority of the people around the Yan Kingdom were beginning to discuss whether to go to another place for safety or stay here, under the protection of the Sword Sect.

While the outside world was going through such a storm, an eerie silence had enveloped the entire Sword Sect.

It was as if the entire sect had been deserted overnight. Though one could still see the figures of the normal members of the Sword Sect, scavenging for survivors as well as rebuilding the sect. But none of the Grand Elders or Elders were present on the scene. It was as if they had disappeared overnight. If not for the white masked grand elder making an appearance and giving them instructions, the entire Sword Sect might have been thrown into chaos, like a headless chicken.

And just at the very edge of the Sect's boundaries, an enchanting woman with large breasts and deep red eyes was quietly looking at the destruction in front of her while holding the figure of an unconscious woman in her arms.

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you?" Xiao Ruolan didn't think Yang Ze would be hiding such a trump card. When she saw him plucking out his own eyes and rushing towards Han She, she wanted to take action. But who would have thought that someone else would be faster?

Not only was Yang Ze taken away, but he also left something that even she didn't expect.

"A natural phenomenon?" Xiao Ruolan couldn't help but mutter under her breath, but then soon shook her head.

"No… not quite."

She was well aware of the fact that Yang Ze practises Mystic Nether Art. But she didn't believe that he was able to step into the second realm of Mystic Nether Art and comprehend a natural phenomenon.

If the cyclone truly was a natural phenomenon, then it wouldn't have dissipated so soon. It would have lasted for a full one hundred years or till Yang Ze himself cancelled it; otherwise, it would have taken a Heaven Step powerhouse to destroy it.

That was just how ridiculously powerful and outrageous the Mystic Nether Art was.

Though the cyclone Yang Ze summoned was powerful, its power was limited. A Heaven Step powerhouse could easily squash it into nothingness.

"A talent…" By now, Xiao Ruolan was slowly beginning to have a better understanding of Yang Ze and the various means he possesses.

"Should I take him back from that wench?" This moment lasted briefly before she shook her head. "Let's just focus on this last thing first. I will take him once this matter is taken care of."

Speaking till here, she glanced at the figure of Lin Yue in her arms before taking a step forward and disappearing from that place.

—-------------------------------------------

Yang Ze didn't know how long had passed. He was in a constant state of pain, regaining consciousness and then losing consciousness again.

Every time he lost consciousness, he would see the smiling face of Cang Yue, whose chest was pierced by a woman who looked eerily similar to her, all the while she mocked him for being absolutely useless and naive.

Every time Yang Ze saw that scene, he would wake up in agonising pain and then would lose consciousness again.

The only thing he remembered of the outside world was the fact that someone was constantly poking his nose.

Finally, after what felt like an extremely long time, Yang Ze woke up from the nightmare.

Sitting on what felt like a soft bed with a gentle flowery fragrance, he didn't move. He just sat there in silence for a long time. At the moment, his entire body was in agonising pain, but how could it compare to the pain in his heart and mind?

His entire world was enveloped in darkness. Not because he plucked out both his eyes, but because he lost the only person whom he ever loved. And for what…

Yang Ze just sat there in silence… the only thing on his mind was the loss of Cang Yue and self-blame.

He just wanted to die… with Cang Yue gone, he found no meaning in living in this world. To him, this world wasn't any different from Earth.

Back on Earth, he sacrificed everything… his sleep, his comfort, his peace... Everything that he had, he gave it all away for his mother and sister.

Even though he was a child, he did his best to keep his family together. He worked, he provided, he struggled. All he ever wanted in return was love, a smile and appreciation. Instead, what he got in return was scorn and mockery. And if that wasn't enough… his own mother and sister…

Yang Ze's body shuddered at the mere thought of it.

And the result was that after going through so much abuse, overworking and a miserable life, he died at the tender age of seventeen.

And when he opened his eyes again in this new world of cultivation, he thought it was a new life… a new beginning. And when he found out about his system as well as the fact that this was a cultivation world, he was beyond ecstatic. So much so that he even forgot about his past.

In his excitement to explore this world and reach the pinnacle of cultivation, he didn't even mind becoming a slave for the Lin family and getting dragged around by the women around him.

Perhaps it was partly due to his indecisiveness, or perhaps it was due to his meek personality that was shaped after years of abuse…

Though he often acted tough and thought about being in control of the situation around him, in the end, it was merely a pretence.

Deep inside, he was still a child… A child who never grew up. At an age when he should have friends, family and mentors to guide him, help him grow up… at such an age, all he had was a mountain of responsibility that crushed him. What accompanied him were not peers his age or mentors, but a broken phone upon which he would read novels to escape his difficult life. Even if it were for a while… it filled him with dreams and imagination. He read about going on gradeour adventures with friends and imagined himself in it. He read about those love stories and wondered what he would have done.

A child who grew up in the world of fiction, constantly running away from the real world around him, bereft of human touch or companionship… how could such a child grow up?

In the end, what remained was the husk of a frail, malnourished teen with the mind of a child.

Even after arriving in the world of cultivation, where he hoped to live out his dreams, his condition didn't improve. It was a miracle that his mind wasn't already crushed by the sheer trauma and events that he went through.

And when he finally found someone he loved… someone he wanted to start a new life with… she was taken away from him.

At this moment, Yang Ze's heart was akin to a dying ember. He just wanted it to be all over… The only thing he thought about was death.

"Well." Yang Ze, in his stupor, didn't even realise that there was someone already sitting next to him. It was a gentle voice that brought him back to his senses.

"...." Yang Ze turned his head around, trying to look at the person sitting beside him with his hollow eyesocket. Even though he could't see her, Yang Ze already knew who she was.

"You appear better than I had initially thought." Lin Meilin clicked her tongue in wonder as she looked at the otherworldly face in front of him. Even with his eyes gone, she didn't find him terrifying or disgusting. On the contrary, the only feeling she got was a sense of pity.

Yang Ze didn't reply to her. He just stayed silent, not a single word coming out of his mouth.

"Don't wanna speak?" Lin Meilin merely tilted her head with a gentle smile as she raised her hand to poke his nose again.

"Don't worry. You just sit there, and I will speak."

"How about it?"

With this sentence, she poked his nose again.

Were it before, Yang Ze would have definitely protested or even turned red in shame, but now… now he merely sat there lifelessly.

"Hmm…" Lin Meilin kept on poking his nose with a leisurely expression before thinking about something and then slowly using her hand to take her lustrous white hair towards his nose before using it as a brush, running it in a circular pattern.

*AcchChoo

This time, Yang Ze finally sneezed, as his hands instinctively patted away Lin Meilin's hands.

"Well, at least you are reacting." Releasing her hair, Lin Meilin pulled the chair even closer to Yang Ze as her eyes gazed deeply at his face.

"I know what you are going through." Lin Meilin's voice finally had a trace of seriousness as she began to speak slowly. "Losing someone so close to you… It isn't easy."

"I can feel your pain. I can feel your desperation. And I can even feel your willingness to die."

"But…" Speaking till here, Lin Meilin poked his nose once again. "Do you think this is the answer?"

"....." Her question was met with silence as Yang Ze just sat there in silence.

"Do you think you are the first person who has lost a loved one? Do you think you are the only one who is grieving?"

This time, Yang Ze finally opened his mouth to speak as a hoarse voice escaped his lips.

"Grief doesn't work the same way for everyone."

"I know. It's just... sometimes it feels like it should, you know? Like if it were predictable, maybe it'd hurt less."

"...." Yang Ze simply turned his head away in response, not wanting to have a conversation with her.

Lin Meilin, on the other hand, didn't seem to give up. She raised her hand once again, poking his nose before speaking again.

"Didn't you say you wanted revenge?"

The moment she mentioned the word revenge, Yang Ze's body trembled for a moment before returning back to normal.

"How about I tell you a story?"

"If you still don't want to talk after that, I will no longer pester you."

"You can wallow in your guilt and grief for all you want."

"And if you wish for it, I will even give you the thing that you want the most..."

"Death."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.