Cailin's evolution had failed!
She was dead!
That realization was like a colossal hammer forged from Nine Heavens Profound Ice, brutally smashing apart every shred of Su Baichen's luck and mental defenses.
His mind went blank. The sounds and colors of the world rapidly faded away, leaving only the charred corpse before him—the symbol of an irreversible loss.
Cailin, who had stood before him not long ago, slightly shy yet still brave enough to smile and tell him she loved him... was dead?
Cailin, who usually carried herself with a touch of pride yet displayed astonishing resilience and wisdom when governing the Snake-People Tribe... he would never see her again?
Cailin, whose eyes would light up over a casual piece of advice from him, who would sincerely thank him for a pill he refined, who had placed the Snake-People Tribe's hopes for the future upon him... had turned to ashes in flames he had personally controlled?
Boom!
Su Baichen's usual composure and confidence, that detached cloak of superiority he had worn because he knew the "plot," as though everything were within his grasp, were ruthlessly and utterly shattered by reality at that moment! The fragments pierced his heart, leaving it bloody and torn.
Ever since he had accidentally come to this world, he had relied on his foreknowledge and sailed smoothly through everything.
His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, his pill refinement had never met failure, and even when pursued by Soul Hall experts, he had calmly escaped through schemes and maneuvering.
Deep down, perhaps he had truly believed that he could control everything and avert every tragedy.
But now, this bloody reality had delivered the loudest slap across his face!
What he found even more unbearable was that the price of this first failure, this first miscalculation,