The Choice

(Timeline altered, Old Ye has been dead for fifteen years.)

"Child of Destiny?"

Ye Shu was taken aback.

Was there anyone in the world more familiar with what a Child of Destiny was than him?

"Don't speak."

Beside him, Liu Ruyi suddenly covered his mouth and pointed at the sky above the courtyard, transmitting her voice through divine sense: "The real show is about to begin."

Just then, several streaks of light shot across the sky above the courtyard, plummeting straight down toward the yard.

As they drew closer, he could see they were figures in black robes, with dense auras and a faint oppressive pressure.

"The Mo family."

Ye Shu's pupils contracted as he recognized the newcomers.

He was all too familiar with the leader—the very man he had killed with a single glare... Mo Yu!

Just as he had expected, the system had revived him.

"Hmph!"

A faint smirk curled at the corner of Ye Shu's mouth. He stared at the leading Mo Yu and chuckled inwardly. If Xiaobai had exhausted so much of its origin power just to revive him through indirect means, the system must have paid a heavy price to bring Mo Yu back.

And indeed, that was the case.

To revive Mo Yu, the system had paid a steep cost. But for the overall fortune of this world, it was entirely worth it.

"System, as long as I have enough fortune points, can my injury really heal?" Under his hood, Mo Yu's face was unnaturally pale, hairless, and his Adam's apple had shrunk noticeably.

He stared coldly at the courtyard below and asked.

To reach Xie Gubai's level of swordsmanship, saying he had been "neutered" was not a simple cut—it was the removal of his manhood at its very "root."

In other words, Mo Yu was now a "born" eunuch.

No medicine or sacred healing herb could regrow something that "had never existed in the first place."

As for why he turned to the system instead of his parents...

To heal such a "root" loss, even Mo Yuan would have to pay a considerable price. And Mo Yuan, still recovering from his own injuries, would never take such a risk for him. After all, it was only one son who couldn't procreate—not that he himself lacked the ability.

So, he had no choice but to turn to the system.

[Ding! Rest assured, Host. As long as you gather enough fortune points, you can exchange for a "Celestial Restoration Pill" in the system shop to rebuild your body and restore your manhood!]

The system housed within Mo Yu continued its deception.

It certainly had the power to restore Mo Yu's lost parts, but what did it care about that? Whether or not Mo Yu could copulate was none of its business. All it wanted was the fortune of the Child of Destiny.

Now, without any effort, it could give the host a driving purpose—why not?

"Possessing the host and helping them lose their manhood..." the system silently noted this little trick. It was far more effective than some obsession with returning home.

"That's good, then."

Mo Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At least in this bleak world, his system never abandoned him. To restore his manhood, he had set out immediately upon recovery to seize fortune.

"Young Master, this is the Ye family estate."

A black-robed figure stood behind him, respectfully handing over the estate's dossier.

"Very well."

Mo Yu nodded slightly. The system had directly marked the locations of all fortune-endowed Children of Destiny in the Central Continent, and the Ye family was the nearest among them.

The patriarch's newly born prodigal son—Ye Feng!

Rumored to walk at birth, recite poetry at three, fight a tiger with a stick at five, begin cultivation at six, establish his foundation at ten, now at fifteen he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on the verge of forming his golden core.

Mind you, the Ye family was only a minor clan.

And Ye Feng's rapid progress was far beyond what such a small family could nurture.

That was because of his childhood sweetheart.

The girl's family had been close friends with the Ye family for generations. Gifted and bright, she had been taken early into a major sect to train in a holy land. And Ye Feng thrived on the resources she brought back, enabling him to advance at such a pace.

Now, a great holy land had taken notice of him. Once his golden core was formed, he would enter the holy land for cultivation.

"Hmph! All that talent comes from his fortune alone."

Mo Yu rolled up the dossier in his hand, his expression dark.

"Young Master, should we just..." the black-robed figure behind him seemed to sense Mo Yu's foul mood, making a slitting motion across his throat.

"No need."

Mo Yu raised a hand slightly, a cold smirk curling at his lips.

Having lost his virility, his mind had long since twisted. Why should these Children of Destiny effortlessly obtain things others only dream of simply by being blessed by fortune?

Be it beautiful women or resources, it was all a gift from heaven.

Yet when he tried to change his own fate, Xie Gubai had cut off his manhood with a single stroke of the sword, reducing him to a genderless eunuch!

Was the fate of a villain not fate itself?

Were villains doomed to be stepping stones for protagonists?

He refused to accept it!

He would make these Children of Destiny watch as their fortunes failed them, leaving them with nothing!

Only he had achieved what he had through his own ability.

"Killing them would be too easy."

Mo Yu's gaze was icy.

"I'll shatter their Dao hearts, turn everyone against them."

"Doesn't he have a childhood sweetheart? Go. Capture her and her entire family—all her relatives."

"But..."

The black-robed figure hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping.

He wanted to say that killing without torturing was a rule; the Mo family, at least in name, belonged to the righteous path. Doing such a thing would cause a scandal...

But seeing Mo Yu's expression, he reluctantly nodded.

"Yes, Young Master."

With that, his figure flickered and vanished into the dark night.

Mo Yu turned slightly to the other black-robed figure beside him and said coldly, "You go. Capture Ye Feng's clan and his parents, every last one of them, and bring them to this courtyard."

"Yes, Young Master."

That figure also obeyed and departed.

Mo Yu stood on the wall, gazing down at the brightly lit courtyard, a cruel smile spreading across his lips.

"Child of Destiny?"

"Hmph..."

In no time, the first black-robed figure returned, dragging a group of bewildered men and women, and dumped them into the yard alongside the Ye family members like trash.

"Young Master, the people are here."

He stepped back respectfully to the side.

Mo Yu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the terrified faces in the yard, his cruel smile widening.

The crowd huddled together in fear, not understanding what was happening.

"Wha... what do you want?" The Ye family pressed together, trembling.

"Calm down, everyone. Calm down."

Mo Yu stepped onto the lawn, ordering the black-robed figures to separate the Ye family from the other family. Then he stood between them, offering a gentle smile to the Ye family.

"Don't be afraid. You may not all die."

What did he mean by "may not"?

The Ye family exchanged glances, seeing both terror and confusion in each other's eyes.

"It's simple."

Mo Yu turned his gaze to a young man in the Ye family—average-looking, but whose expression remained calm and unyielding—and smiled faintly.

"Mr. Ye Feng, you now have two choices.

1. Let your childhood sweetheart, along with her entire family, disappear, and allow your Ye clan to survive.

2. Let yourself and your clan disappear, while your childhood sweetheart and her clan live on.

Now, please make your choice."