The End of the Asura

Shen Family Villa, lawn.

3:00 AM.

Lin Tian slumped on the grass, covered in blood.

The Meridian Sealing Needle had locked all the meridians in his body, completely erasing the power of his peak Grandmaster stage.

He didn't even have the strength to stand up.

His body, having not eaten for three days, combined with the extreme burst and self-destructive attacks just now, had drained his last bit of vitality.

Ling Shuang walked up to him.

She looked down at him.

No mockery.

No sympathy.

Just a professional scrutiny.

Confirming the target had lost combat capability.

"Let's go."

Ling Shuang reached out and grabbed Lin Tian's collar, lifting him off the ground.

Lin Tian's legs dragged across the lawn, his toes brushing against the dirt and dew.

He didn't resist.

Not because he didn't want to.

He truly couldn't move.

Ling Xue had already driven the car to the edge of the lawn.

A black commercial vehicle.

Ling Shuang tossed Lin Tian into the back seat.

Like throwing away a bag of trash.

Lin Tian's body hit the seat with a dull thud.

He lay on his side, his face pressed against the cold leather seat.

His eyes were still open.

Staring at the Shen Family Villa outside the car window.

A window on the second floor was lit.

That was the guest room.

The room where Lin Ruobing was staying.

The light was on, which meant she was awake.

She heard the commotion outside.

But she didn't come out.

She didn't even pull back the curtains.

Lin Tian stared at that lit window.

Kept staring.

Until the car started, drove out of the villa area, and the light from the window disappeared into the night.

Only then did he close his eyes.

...

Guest room on the second floor of the villa.

Lin Ruobing sat on the edge of the bed.

She was indeed awake.

She heard all the commotion outside.

The dull thuds of fists hitting the body.

The crisp clanging of metal.

And the final, increasingly weak pants.

She knew Lin Tian had come.

And she knew Lin Tian had been defeated.

She sat on the bed, hugging her knees, curled up in a ball.

She didn't go to the window to look.

Not even a single glance.

Not because she didn't care.

But because she was afraid to look.

She was afraid that seeing Lin Tian covered in blood would make her waver.

She couldn't waver.

She couldn't waver for this man anymore.

Three years.

It was enough.

Lin Ruobing sat hugging her knees for a long time.

Until the sound of the car outside completely disappeared.

Only then did she let go.

Lay back on the bed.

Closed her eyes.

No tears.

Her tears had dried up yesterday.

...

The commercial vehicle drove on the empty highway.

Ling Shuang drove.

Ling Xue sat in the passenger seat.

Lin Tian lay in the back seat.

The car was quiet.

Only the low hum of the engine and the rustling of the tires rolling over the road surface.

Ling Xue glanced at Lin Tian through the rearview mirror.

"Still alive?"

"Alive," Ling Shuang replied faintly.

"Young Master said to send him back. Where to?"

"Military detention center."

Ling Xue nodded and said no more.

In the back seat, Lin Tian's consciousness switched back and forth between blurry and clear.

His body had reached its limit.

Three days of fasting, the extreme burst during his prison break, the self-destructive attacks when fighting Shen Fei.

Each one was draining his vitality.

Now with all three combined, his body had begun to show signs of organ failure.

His heartbeat became irregular.

His breathing grew shallower.

His body temperature dropped.

But his brain was still working.

Still thinking.

Not about the Dragon King Palace.

Not about the Four Great Heavenly Kings.

Not about the twenty-three billion.

Not about the hundred thousand soldiers.

He only thought about one thing.

Lin Ruobing didn't come out.

From beginning to end.

She was behind the window on the second floor.

The light was on.

Which meant she was awake.

She definitely heard the sounds outside.

She knew he came.

She knew he was risking his life for her.

But she didn't come out.

She didn't even part the curtains.

This fact hit harder than Shen Fei's fists.

Hurt more than the Meridian Sealing Needle.

Made him more desperate than losing the Dragon King Palace.

Because it meant one thing.

She truly didn't care about him anymore.

It wasn't anger.

It wasn't a cold war.

It was a true, complete, heartfelt indifference.

His three years of endurance didn't earn her understanding and admiration.

It earned her coldness and abandonment.

He risked his life to break out of prison, coming to find her covered in injuries.

She didn't even spare him a glance.

While Shen Fei only needed to stand at the door and say, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

And she stood willingly beside Shen Fei.

The gap.

A world of difference.

Not a gap in strength.

Not a gap in wealth.

It was the gap in a woman's attitude toward two men.

Lin Tian's lips moved.

He wanted to say something.

But only a hoarse gasp escaped his throat.

Like the sound of wind blowing through an empty bottle.

Empty.

Nothing left.

He closed his eyes.

Stopped thinking.

Because thinking was useless now.

The car continued driving on the empty highway.

Towards the direction of the military detention center.

The headlights carved two beams of light in the darkness.

Soon swallowed by the night.

...

4:00 AM.

Military detention center.

The commercial vehicle stopped at the main gate.

Ling Shuang got out and showed the temporary pass issued by the military.

When the duty officer of the detention center ran out, his face looked worse than if he had seen a ghost.

"The person... brought back?"

"Brought back. Back seat."

The duty officer led a few soldiers to the side of the car and pulled open the back door.

The moment they saw Lin Tian, everyone gasped.

Covered in blood.

His hands swollen like rising dough, his fingers twisted and deformed.

There was a still-bleeding gash on his forehead.

His knees swollen like two balls.

His face ashen, his lips purple, his breathing so weak it was almost imperceptible.

Like a severely wounded soldier dragged back from the battlefield.

"Quick, call the military doctor!"

The duty officer roared.

The soldiers frantically lifted Lin Tian out of the car and placed him on a stretcher.

The military doctor ran over and did a simple check.

"Multiple fractures, severe dehydration, hypothermia, suspected internal organ contusions. Needs immediate IV fluids and surgery!"

The stretcher was carried into the infirmary.

Ling Shuang stood by the car, watching the direction Lin Tian was taken.

Ling Xue leaned over and asked in a low voice.

"Sis, do you think he can still live?"

Ling Shuang turned and got into the car.

"He won't die."

"A peak Grandmaster doesn't die that easily."

"But his life is probably over."

The car door closed.

The commercial vehicle turned around and left the detention center.

The taillights disappeared into the night.

...

Shen Family Villa.

4:30 AM.

Shen Fei sat in the study.

A cup of freshly brewed tea sat in front of him.

He wore that black sportswear, without a single scratch on his body.

Not even a speck of dust.

He had just faced off against the peak Grandmaster Lin Tian for three minutes, and he hadn't even lifted a finger.

Just stood there taking hits.

And then, after Lin Tian crippled himself, he ended everything with a single Meridian Sealing Needle.

From beginning to end, his only active move was swatting away Lin Tian's first attack.

With one hand.

Once.

That was all.

This was the gap between a Martial Arts Great Grandmaster and a peak Grandmaster.

Not a gap in levels.

But a gap in dimensions.

Shen Fei took a sip of tea.

The system panel flashed quietly in his vision.

[Child of Destiny Lin Tian's prison break attack on host failed!]

[Lin Tian suffered severe injuries and was sent back to the military detention center!]

[Lin Tian's Dao Heart continues to collapse!]

[Core belief "Lin Ruobing will understand me" completely shattered!]

[Lin Tian's Luck Value plummets!]

[Lin Tian's Luck Value: -1200]

[Current Luck Value of Lin Tian: 1900 -> 700]

700.

From 15,000 down to 700.

It was already a flickering candle in the wind.

But it hadn't hit zero yet.

He still had one last breath.

Shen Fei looked at that number.

What did 700 luck points mean?

It meant that there was still a final trace of obsession in Lin Tian's mind that hadn't been shattered.

What was it?

It wasn't Lin Ruobing anymore.

That tie with Lin Ruobing was already severed.

The fact that the light was on but the curtains were never drawn had already shattered Lin Tian's final illusion.

Then what was left?

Shen Fei thought for a moment.

Hatred.

His hatred for him, Shen Fei.

As long as I am alive, I will never let Shen Fei off.

This was probably the only thing keeping Lin Tian going right now.

Vengeance.

Just like Ye Chen in his final stages.

But Ye Chen's hatred had shattered after seeing the video of Su Qingxue calling Shen Fei Brother Fei.

Because Ye Chen's hatred was essentially born of indignation.

Indignation is fragile.

But Lin Tian was different.

Lin Tian's hatred was pure killing intent.

It was a death wish carved into the bones, something only a veteran of the battlefield possessed.

It does not matter if I die, but you have to die with me.

This kind of conviction was far more stubborn than mere indignation.

To destroy it, a much more extreme method was required.

Shen Fei finished the tea in his cup.

He set the cup down.

He knew what he had to do.

But there was no rush.

He would let Lin Tian recover from his injuries in the detention center for a few days.

Let those 700 luck points slowly wear away.

Wait until his body had recovered a bit and his mental state had stabilized.

Then deal him the final blow.

Shen Fei stood up and walked toward his bedroom.

Passing by the door of Lin Ruobing's guest room, he heard the faint sound of her tossing and turning inside.

She wasn't asleep yet.

Shen Fei didn't stop.

He walked back to his own bedroom.

Lay down.

Closed his eyes.

It was almost dawn.

The skyline outside the window was already showing a pale hint of morning light.

A new day.

The end of the dragon hunt was only one final step away.