The Heartless Path

"A long, long time ago."

"Before the Qingxuan Sect even became the number one faction in the Eastern Wasteland, two young men were born. They possessed extraordinary aptitude and formidable strength. They reached Qi Condensation at three, Foundation Establishment at eight, and Golden Core at fifteen."

"The year they formed their Golden Cores, the two left the sect to gain experience."

"While passing through a city, they happened to encounter a demonic rampage. Perfected Xuelian, the branch master of a demonic faction at the Soul Formation stage, had set up a massive array, attempting to refine a large city of a million people to break through to the Void Return stage."

"At the time, the situation was extremely critical."

"The two of them were just passing by and were completely unprepared. Moreover, the blood sacrifice array had already been activated, and the lives of the city's commoners were in imminent danger. There was simply no time to return to the sect for reinforcements."

"So, they made a crazy decision."

"Just the two of them fought the entire demonic branch."

"????"

Ye Shu was completely dumbfounded.

He could hardly believe his ears.

Two Golden Cores fighting a demonic branch, with the opponent being a Soul Formation grand cultivator about to break through to Void Return? Was this a fairy tale?

Seeming to notice his astonishment, Jian Wuhen gave a bitter smile.

"It sounds absurd, right?"

"When I first heard about it, I found it just as unbelievable as you do, but it is an undeniable fact. Even today, some people still question it, but this event is recorded in black and white in the Qingxuan Sect's archives."

"No one knows just how tragic that battle was."

"When the former Martial Uncle Li, who is now the Sect Master, heard the news and hurried over, all he could see was a devastated battlefield, countless demonic disciples beaten into a bloody pulp, and Perfected Xuelian, beheaded by a single sword strike, hanging from the city gates."

"Ultimately, the Sect Master found the two of them on their last breaths in a pile of corpses."

"They were lucky to survive. After returning to the sect, the Elder of the Medicine Peak said that if they had been brought back even a few moments later, if they didn't die, they would have at least been completely crippled for the rest of their lives."

"Golden Cores fighting a Soul Formation cultivator, and they actually won."

"What kind of heroic feat is that?"

Speaking up to this point, Jian Wuhen sighed with some emotion, his eyes filled with unparalleled respect.

"That is our master!"

Chu Jinghong crossed her arms, looking at Ye Shu with a proud face, as if to say, I didn't lie to you, did I?

Ye Shu could not help but feel a sense of longing.

Asking himself honestly, with his current strength, would he be able to fight a Soul Formation cultivator once he reached the Golden Core stage?

The answer was uncertain.

Even though he had seen far too many Soul Formation cultivators in his life, and on his current path, there was almost never a time when he didn't deal with Soul Formation grand cultivators.

Yet, he still couldn't make any guarantees.

"And then what happened?"

Ye Shu asked curiously.

For such stunningly brilliant geniuses to actually choose to leave the Qingxuan Sect, what exactly happened?

"After this battle, the two became famous overnight!"

Jian Wuhen continued.

"Every faction in the entire Eastern Wasteland paid attention to them. Even the Qingxuan Sect poured a massive amount of resources into these two geniuses, rather than the current Sect Master."

"And they did not disappoint the sect's expectations."

"After recuperating for three years, the two broke through simultaneously, becoming the youngest Soul Formation cultivators in the history of the Eastern Wasteland."

"You have to know, they were only eighteen years old at the time."

"The Eastern Wasteland had never seen such geniuses before. The pond here was too small to hold these two true dragons."

"So, they went to the Central Continent?"

"Yes."

Jian Wuhen nodded and continued.

"That year, two young men went to the Central Continent."

"They wanted to meet the outstanding talents of the world, to see the vastness of the world, and to venture out while they were still young."

"They are the only people from the Qingxuan Sect to have ever gone to the Central Continent."

"And that trip lasted for thirty years."

At this point, Jian Wuhen suddenly paused.

Ye Shu understood.

Whenever it came to moments like this, it meant a turning point in history was approaching.

Sure enough, Jian Wuhen slowly spoke:

"It was a night with heavy rain."

"It happened to be my turn to guard the mountain gate. Suddenly, I saw two limping figures emerge from the distant rain. I looked closely and saw that it was the two who had left many years ago. Covered in blood, they staggered back, supporting each other. One of them was even holding a half-grown baby girl in his arms."

"A baby girl?"

Ye Shu was taken aback.

"That's right." Jian Wuhen nodded. "You should be very familiar with this baby girl too."

"It was Lin Qingxue."

"???"

This news was so sudden that Ye Shu was completely stunned for a moment.

He digested the information before tentatively asking.

"So... the other person from back then was Lin Qingxue's grandfather, Lin Heming?"

"That's right."

Jian Wuhen nodded.

"Martial Uncle Lin and our master were those two peerless geniuses back then, collectively known as the Peerless Twin Talents."

"So that's how it is."

"And then what? What happened next?"

"Next?"

Jian Wuhen continued.

"I was shocked at the time and quickly went up to help them back up the mountain to find the Elder of the Medicine Peak."

"Along the way, I had never seen my master like that."

"His head was lowered, his eyes hollow, completely unlike the high-spirited demeanor he had when he left. There was only a pool of dead silence."

"Martial Uncle Lin was the same."

"Later, the Elder of the Medicine Peak said that the meridians in their bodies had been shattered into eight pieces. They couldn't use spiritual energy at all and had walked all the way back purely on willpower."

"After returning, they slept for three consecutive months."

"During this time, no one knew what had happened to them in the Central Continent. After they woke up, they kept their mouths shut about it, and everyone was too afraid to ask."

Ye Shu remained silent for a moment.

"And then?"

"Then..." Jian Wuhen gave a bitter smile. "After Master and Grandpa Lin recovered from their injuries, the Elder of the Medicine Peak said that Grandpa Lin's injuries had damaged his foundation, and in this life... he would be stuck at the Void Return stage."

"Master's expression was a bit complicated, but he didn't say anything."

"What about Old Master Lin?"

Ye Shu recalled Lin Heming's appearance in his memory. Even though they had only met once, he never expected that this smiling old man had such a legendary past.

A peerless genius who overshadowed the entire Eastern Wasteland.

Just hearing this title made one's heart yearn.

"Grandpa Lin was quite open-minded about it. He just chuckled and said that he now had an emotional tie in this life, and he had already seen the outside world. This was the perfect time to quietly accompany his granddaughter as she grew up."

"Moreover, his foundation was damaged, and his cultivation would stop there for the rest of his life. So he didn't have to compete with Master for the position of Sect Master."

"Originally, the two who returned were both candidates for the next Sect Master."

Although it was said like this, Ye Shu already understood.

There must have been another unexpected turn of events later.

Because the current Sect Master of the Qingxuan Sect was not either of these two people.

Sure enough, Jian Wuhen slowly spoke:

"Later, the entire sect poured all of its resources into cultivating Master, helping him recover from his injuries and helping him break through to Void Refinement."

"Master also took in two more disciples."

"They were Shouzhuo and Chu Jinghong."

"Everything was getting better. With a Void Return mighty figure and a Void Refinement mighty figure holding down the fort, the Qingxuan Sect leaped to become the most powerful faction in the Eastern Wasteland, even surpassing its past."

"Just as everyone had forgotten that past event."

"Just on the day Master was finally about to succeed as Sect Master."

"Master made a decision."

"What decision?"

Ye Shu's heart leaped into his throat at this moment, and he couldn't help but ask.

Jian Wuhen was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"He said his sword back then wasn't fast enough, nor was it ruthless enough."

"So he made a decision that exceeded everyone's expectations. In order to become stronger, to pursue the Great Dao, and to attain immortality, he chose to practice... the Dao of Ruthlessness."

"The Dao of Ruthlessness?"

Ye Shu was taken aback.

"You mean the one that claims on the surface to sever all emotions and desires, remain undisturbed by external things, and focus solely on the Dao?"

"But in reality, it's just being selfish and an extreme egoist, taking benefits without doing any work, acting as pure bloodsuckers, robbing things everywhere, and completely abandoning all morals? The Dao of Ruthlessness where anyone who practices it is no different from a pure beast?"

Hearing this, Jian Wuhen's mouth twitched.

This newly arrived junior brother had an unexpectedly venomous tongue. But thinking about it carefully, it seemed he was absolutely right.

"You are indeed not wrong."

Thus, Jian Wuhen admitted it quite frankly.

"The very day he began practicing the Dao of Ruthlessness, Master abandoned everyone in the Qingxuan Sect and rode his sword to the Central State, seeking an opportunity to break through and become an immortal."

"He just left like that?"

Ye Shu was completely dumbfounded.

Despite being mentally prepared, he was still stunned by this version of the Dao of Ruthlessness.

Abandoning the sect that nurtured him and his own disciples.

Is he even human?

"Then didn't all the resources of the Qingxuan Sect just go down the drain?"

"Exactly."

Jian Wuhen nodded.

"And as Master's disciples, a master's debt is paid by his apprentices. The resources he consumed naturally fall upon us to repay."

Hearing this, Ye Shu had a look of utter bewilderment.

Suddenly realizing the implication, he pointed at his own nose. "So you're saying that I haven't even done anything yet, and I'm already saddled with a massive debt I can't pay off?"

"That's right."

"That's right."

"That's right."

Jian Wuhen and Chu Jinghong nodded together, and even Lu Shouzhuo, who was chopping wood, nodded along.

Ye Shu: "........."

"Eldest Senior Brother, is it too late for me to quit now?"

Jian Wuhen slightly drew the longsword at his waist and gave him a friendly smile.

"What do you think, Junior Brother?"