People always have things they hold most important.
No matter how indifferent or lofty they may be, there is always something they would die rather than lose.
The people of the Li family were unwilling to lose their homeland, unwilling to let their children be sacrificed on the lands of Eternal Sun Prefecture.
A person like Tian Xing likewise has many things he is unwilling to lose.
Take Qu Yang, for example; in the end, he still had friends and relatives he regarded as his bonds.
Li Wei said that the family had always operated on the principle of "blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth."
The clansmen had once been torn to pieces. After the destruction of the family, after watching the children die one by one, every single one of them, just like him, their Old Ancestor, had experienced confusion and rage.
When you lose the thing you hold most important, every day you continue to live is a torment.
...
"So then, what is most important to you?"
On The Mountain, Li Kuanghua asked Lai Teng out of the blue.
She remained composed and calm, as if the Garrison Commander and his men from the Imperial Capital meant nothing to her.
The Raging Sky Flood Dragon beneath her also showed not the slightest hint of fear, and the same was true for all the cultivators from Azure Cloud.
This indifferent inquiry caused Lai Teng, who had been on the verge of raising the banner of victory, to freeze for a moment. "What? What did you ask me?"
He hadn't clearly heard Li Kuanghua's question.
As far as he was concerned, his primary focus was simply on the whereabouts of Ye Xiu and Daoist Shanchen.
In his eyes, the two Divinity Transformation experts who had once fought Qu Yang on This Mountain were the absolute top priority!
He wanted, here in the Imperial Capital, on this land that belonged to him, to kill these two Divinity Transformation experts who had forced Qu Yang into retreat, and thereby declare to all the other Tian Xing avatars that he alone was the one truly worthy of becoming the main body!
"Where are Ye Xiu and Qu Yang? Have them come out!"
Lai Teng let out a cold sneer.
"Since they want to act like cowardly turtles," he commanded, "then... kill them. Leave not a single one alive!"
Lai Teng waved his hand, the very picture of a great leader directing the affairs of the nation!
And yet...
The Imperial Capital's Garrison Commander, who had come to his aid, as well as the numerous soldiers clad in armor, did not move so much as an inch.
They just stood quietly in their original spots.
That, Garrison Commander suddenly began to stare at Lai Teng, a playful, mocking expression on his face.
This look caused Lai Teng to feel an inexplicable panic.
A cool breeze, coming from some unknown quarter on the Mountain, stirred up the black dust and sand, revealing a glimpse of the true face of the land beneath.
This Mountain was so vast, yet Li Kuanghua's voice seemed to linger everywhere, so piercingly clear it left Lai Teng endlessly alarmed.
"You have always wanted to become Tian Xing's main body. You pride yourself on your extraordinary talent; you look down on everyone, including the main body itself, and always want to do everything better. For you, the most important thing is your own effort."
"You thought that by climbing up step by step, you could secure a place for yourself in the Imperial Capital."
"When all of your efforts are reduced to nothing, will you not fall into utter despair?"
Her words were like a demonic whisper in his ear.
Lai Teng had lost his composure. Pointing at Li Kuanghua and the numerous Azure Cloud cultivators who had come from the Snowy Region, he screamed at the Garrison soldiers, "Kill them! I'm telling you to kill them, do you hear me?!!"
"In reality, you're a piece of trash. From the moment we Li family members could wantonly take things from your treasure vault, that fact has never changed."
Li Kuanghua continued to disturb his state of mind, and the most terrifying part was that what she said was the truth.
The man who attempted to change his destiny was roaring, "I told you to kill them! All the things I have given you over these past hundred-plus years, was it all just fed to the dogs?!!"
And yet, the Garrison soldiers remained standing in their original spots, every one of them staring at Lai Teng as if they were watching a street performance.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance.
"Lai Teng, what do you think you are? You are merely one of Tian Xing's avatars. You are destined to be reduced to nothing more than a material, a cultivation cauldron! No matter how hard you cultivate, no one will ever take you seriously! Because everything you have was given to you only after other avatars died."
"You delude yourself into thinking you can become the main body; you delude yourself into thinking your talent will catch the eye of the people in the Imperial Capital. Did you truly believe anyone saw you as a real person?"
That person gradually drew closer, appearing beside one of the Garrison soldiers!
It was...
Li Xinghuo! The one who had gone to the Northern Border all those years ago and become the adopted son of Grand Tutor Lin Jiu!
Over a hundred years had passed. Li Xinghuo had been cultivating at the Grand Tutor's side the entire time, serving as a scout and undertaking the most dangerous missions.
Once, he had been but a child, but now he had become even more handsome and possessed a greater measure of a man's resolve.
And he was also wearing the battle armor of a Northern Border... general!
He must have come in a great hurry, covered in the dust of his journey.
In his hands, he held a helmet adorned with feathers. Upon arriving, he immediately bowed towards Li Kuanghua.
"Xinghuo greets Grandaunt Kuanghua."
As Li Kuanghua nodded in acknowledgement.
Li Xinghuo looked at Lai Teng, who had already stumbled back several steps in panic, and sneered, "You are a pile of dog shit."
The Garrison Commander, under Lai Teng's despairing gaze, bowed deeply to Li Xinghuo. "This humble one greets General Li!"
As a Garrison Commander, his rank was technically the same as other generals.
But in the end, there was an immense gap between someone like him and a true general forged on the battlefield, and that was not to mention that Li Xinghuo also held the status of the Grand Tutor's adopted son.
Especially since Li Xinghuo was not only in charge of the Northern Border's 'Death Commandoes' but was also a young general of the scout battalion, with a thousand soldiers skilled in all manner of tracking and concealment under his command.
If a person of his caliber were to wait until the war on the Northern Border concluded and then return to the Imperial Capital, he would become the kind of figure who acts as a secret operative supervising all the court officials.
Who would dare to provoke him?
"Tell him," Li Xinghuo said, giving a slight nod to the Garrison Commander, "exactly what kind of thing he is. So that he may at least die understanding why."
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