"Some are born into the finest families; some are born with peerless talent."
"But what of those born into poverty, without talent? Are there few of them?"
"Not at all. Not only are they not few—they make up the majority."
"And yet, how many powerhouses in history came from ordinary beginnings and ultimately stood at the end of all paths?"
"So tell me, were they talented or not? Were they lucky or not?"
"Birth, talent, luck—those things are merely icing on the cake. If the person himself is no good, then he truly is no good."
"On your journey, haven't you surpassed countless people? Haven't you trampled underfoot plenty of bastards whose talent far exceeded yours?"
Ye Xiu said with a hearty laugh as he drank.
Ye Lin, meanwhile, sank into thought.
He hooked a finger around the wine jar and watched droplets of fine wine fall downward one by one.
He understood all these principles.
But at this moment, he could not make sense of them.
"What you saw was not some opponent you could never defeat. You were defeated by yourself."
"Because you were afraid. You were afraid of that so-called opponent of yours."
"You didn't dare face your own heart, so you found yourself such a perfect excuse—you had encountered an opponent you could not defeat."
"Hahaha."
Ye Lin remained silent, while Ye Xiu continued laughing uproariously.
At this moment, that laughter sounded incredibly grating in Ye Lin's ears.
Ye Lin slowly lowered his head and sank into contemplation.
Was he really... afraid?
All along his journey, he had never been afraid. He had never shown fear toward anyone.
Was he truly afraid?
How could he be afraid?
How could he possibly be afraid?
Impossible. Completely impossible.
How could he be afraid?
What a joke.
"The moment