The Reborn

Inside the pavilion, the heads borrowed from the shoulders of Li Qunfan and his cohorts lay at the feet of Fang Can.

Watching the fresh blood stain the floor, Fang Can still frowned with a hint of discomfort.

After all, this was his first time killing someone, so feeling uneasy was inevitable.

However, it didn't matter; there would be plenty of people to kill in the future, and he would eventually get used to it.

Lifting his foot to kick the heads aside, Fang Can swapped his inner garment for the Golden Silk Soft Armor, strapped his sword to his back, grabbed a stack of bills, packed the briefcase and some dry rations with cloth strips, and finally, after memorizing the map, entered the pitch-black tunnel.

Following his departure, the entire pavilion fell empty once more, leaving only a few lifeless corpses lying in the cold, congealing blood.

Inside the tunnel of the Tiger Fiend Sect, Fang Can groped his way forward through the darkness.

Minutes later, he reached the end and pushed open the stone wall above, the brilliant stars of the deep night sky filling his vision.

Even he could not have imagined that in just a single day, he would have forcibly "graduated" from the Tiger Fiend Sect.

As for the reason... not being the person involved, he was still a bit confused.

But one thing he knew: he would have to repay this favor if the opportunity arose, otherwise, he would be doing a disservice to the person who had helped him so wholeheartedly.

In the dark, late autumn night, with the evening breeze blowing, Fang Can stopped overthinking and headed toward the city outskirts according to the map he had memorized.

After all, having run away this time, the Tiger Fiend Sect would likely issue a warrant for his arrest. If he were to slip up and get caught again, it would be quite awkward when they met.

Several hours later, as the light of the next morning shone down, four guards were already kneeling before Yang Duan.

"Sect Master, your subordinates failed in our duty. That thief Fang Can killed three guarding disciples and fled with the sect's valuables."

"Don't worry about him."

Yang Duan waved his hand and said dismissively, "The war with the Shape-Shifting Sect at the border is urgent, and fighting could break out at any moment. A mere petty thief can't stir up any real trouble."

"Once we are done with this period, we will issue a bounty to hunt him down within the territory of the Tiger Fiend Sect."

"Besides, the Inter-Kingdom Tournament begins in two months. If we can secure a decent ranking, it will be beneficial for the Tiger Fiend Sect's reputation."

"Yes, Sect Master!" the four guards replied in unison.

Within the Tribulation Sword Mountain in the Liang Province of the Great Yan Kingdom, Jiang Ning'an, who had traveled through the night despite her illness, had finally returned to the sect.

In a pavilion surrounded by clouds and mist atop a high peak, the current head of the Tribulation Sword Mountain, Liu Qingmeng, came out of seclusion to look at her most gifted disciple, her willow-leaf brows knitting together.

"Ning'an, I only sent you to the Mist Cloud Pavilion this time; how did you get injured?"

"Reporting to Master, this disciple encountered two strange events on this trip, and my injuries are related to them." Jiang Ning'an spoke with a solemn expression, recounting everything that had happened in the mortal world.

Liu Qingmeng, who knew her disciple's character and knew she wouldn't joke about such things, grew increasingly grave.

But seeing her expression, Jiang Ning'an asked, "Master does not seem surprised?"

Liu Qingmeng did not answer, only slightly lifting her chin, acknowledging that she had anticipated this long ago.

After all, if modern precision instruments could detect it, how could the various strange phenomena in this world of Idealist Martial Dao go unnoticed?

Was the Idealist Martial Dao really such an inconvenient thing?

"You should stay here and recover from your injuries for the time being. As for that other world..."

Liu Qingmeng, dressed in white, felt a heaven-piercing sword intent faintly emerge in her eyes: "Leave it to me to test it out!"

"Heavenly Emperor Fang! I will kill you!"

Inside the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, under the gentle morning sun, a youth leaped up from his bed, thick killing intent coalescing in his eyes.

But upon seeing his surroundings, he froze.

Before him was his familiar room, with the furnishings exactly as they had been years ago.

"Am I... reborn?" The youth stared blankly at his own hands.

They were rough, calloused hands, the result of years of diligent sword practice, not at all like the pristine skin he had possessed after reshaping his body on the Heaven Ascending Path.

Everything before him felt like a dream, making him feel as if he were living in a fantasy.

"But if all of this is real!" The youth gripped his palms tightly, trembling with excitement.

The youth's name was Yuan Dang. In his previous life, at his peak, he had been a martial arts expert who had taken three steps on the Heaven Ascending Path, but unfortunately, he had encountered the even more monstrous Heavenly Emperor Fang, Fang Can!

That guy had emerged like a comet and suppressed the ages like the blazing sun, leaving countless geniuses unable to breathe.

If it had only been that, it would have been fine; after all, as long as he lived his own life, they would have had almost no intersection.

But this Heavenly Emperor Fang was lecherous by nature. He had played the part well while in the Mortal Shedding Body realm, but after stepping onto the Heaven Ascending Path, as his strength swelled, evil desires flooded his mind.

Guided by endless lust, that guy built the Crystal Palace, forced the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to create the Beauty Ranking, and stuffed all of the top three thousand women on the list into his harem.

That year, the solar eclipse occurred, and within seven days, all three thousand beauties in the Crystal Palace lost their virginity.

And his senior sister... she also...

Thinking of this, Yuan Dang felt a surge of grief and indignation, barely managing to suppress the roiling emotions within his heart.

As for how he died in his previous life? Because his senior sister was captured, he had been so enraged that his cultivation base collapsed, leading to his death by bleeding from all seven orifices.

"Heavenly Emperor Fang... hehehe, since I have been reborn, it is time for me, Heavenly Emperor Yuan, to dominate this era! If you can build a Crystal Palace, why can't I?" Yuan Dang laughed maniacally, as if caught in a fit of hysteria.

But as he laughed, a small detail surfaced in his mind, causing his face to freeze in place.

Sure enough, as he reached his hand down, the manhood that was supposed to grow back in the future was currently empty.

"Gah! My little brother!!!"

Accompanying a miserable shriek, Yuan Dang finally remembered that in his youth, in order to advance further in the martial path, he had chosen to castrate himself.

Unless he stepped onto the Heaven Ascending Path, he would remain useless for the rest of his life, let alone building a Crystal Palace.

After being dazed for a long while, Yuan Dang finally regained his composure:

"No rush, no rush. I still remember that dog thief's Everyone Has Kung Fu to Practice; even those with mediocre talent only need to train hard for a year to step into the realm of the Heaven Ascending Path, let alone me?"

Thinking of this, Yuan Dang finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he suddenly heard gongs and drums sounding within the martial arts hall, unusually lively.

With a bang, the door was pushed open forcefully, and a young man shouted:

"Junior Brother Yuan, you're awake! Hurry up and come out. The disciples of the Tiger Fiend Sect are here to collect rent again. Master wants us to take this rare opportunity to set up a formation to welcome them and exchange pointers."

"Tiger Fiend Sect... disciples?" The expression on Yuan Dang's face stiffened. Following the young man's words, he finally remembered what day it was.

Today was his first meeting with Fang Can, and also his only one.

Because after today, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to see the other party, only able to hear news of Fang Can from the mouths of others.

From Fang Can becoming Hero Fang and then Saint Fang and Heavenly Emperor Fang, as Fang Can's status rose step by step, he had instead fallen into the dust.

"In that case, the change begins today!" Yuan Dang secretly vowed.