A Choice in the Face of Death

Fate was the result of countless choices intertwined.

And choices were the crossroads one had no choice but to face in life.

Some roads were smooth and open, some were full of bumps and stumbles, some led to the pinnacle, and some connected to hell.

Long Yi now stood at such a crossroads, one with countless branches, and the moment had come when he had to make a choice.

"Mortals. So insignificant, yet so fragile."

Within the space of consciousness, the ghost god Kazan, who had not appeared for a long time, manifested once more. Looking at Long Yi lying in the center of the sacred ground, he wore a regretful expression and gently shook his head.

"Kazan."

Long Yi's gaze was unfocused, his lips slightly parted as he murmured Kazan's name.

Kazan gave a faint sneer. Rather than answer Long Yi, he continued speaking on his own.

"Young child, I think you should already understand your limits—or rather, the limits of humanity."

Spreading his hands and opening his arms, Kazan's voice was filled with temptation.

"So stop being human! Long Yi, become my believer!"

The power of the ghost god materialized into rusty chains, one end linked to Kazan's body and the other placed at Long Yi's side.

With a single thought, he could be reborn.

With violent blood energy coursing through him, Long Yi would no longer fear death. He would become the ghost god's representative walking the human world, spreading Kazan's gospel of blood and destruction.

Yet Long Yi remained silent, merely lying there quietly.

"What? You refuse? Or is that little bit of boring persistence in your bones causing trouble again?"

Long Yi's reaction drew a sneer from Kazan. He was not afraid that Long Yi would refuse to yield. At this moment, Long Yi had no other choice. Only by becoming a believer of the ghost god could he continue living.

The suffocating silence continued.

Kazan frowned, but soon relaxed again and began listing the benefits of becoming a ghost god's believer.

"My believers are called Berserkers. They are beings capable of controlling blood energy. They are the greatest of warriors, never knowing fatigue, with strength enough to defy death. Aren't you tempted?"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and the more manic Kazan's expression grew.

Those enormous palms loomed over Long Yi, as though they could close around him and crush him at any moment.

"They never tire because Berserkers are nothing but killing machines. Their defiance of death comes from the madness buried in their bones."

Long Yi spoke calmly as he slowly rose to his feet. Through the gap between Kazan's fingers, he met the ghost god's blood-red eyes.

"Those who will pay any price for power will ultimately be devoured by it. Did you really think I knew nothing, Kazan? You underestimate me."

"Hmph!"

Having his lies exposed, Kazan gave an angry snort and awkwardly withdrew his hands.

Yet moments later, he put on another cold smile and said disdainfully to Long Yi, "Insect, you have no choice."

That was right. Kazan knew the situation in reality perfectly. Having been attached to Long Yi all this time, he naturally knew that Long Yi was now trapped in a desperate situation.

"Without my power, you can only die."

This was Long Yi's only way out. Whether he wanted to or not, only by becoming a Berserker—becoming Kazan's believer—could he gain the power to carve a path out of this hopeless situation.

Long Yi looked coldly at the smug Kazan without saying a word. He merely lowered his head and looked at his hands.

They were hands covered in calluses and scars, proof that Long Yi had never once slackened since coming into this world.

"Do not resist. My power will merge with yours. And you will become my representative in this world, a believer of the ghost god."

To Kazan, Long Yi lowering his head was a sign that he had accepted his fate. Smugly, he controlled the chains and moved to bind Long Yi's body.

Once Long Yi was infected with Kazan's Plague and gained a ghost hand, he would never be able to escape Kazan's grasp for the rest of his life.

"Hey, do you know something?"

Before Kazan could act, Long Yi suddenly spoke, interrupting him. A flash of displeasure crossed Kazan's face, but he forcibly stopped where he was.

"You're right. If I don't accept the infusion of blood energy now, then when my consciousness returns to reality, I might die—no, I will definitely die!"

Long Yi understood his own condition. He had entered the sea of consciousness not of his own accord, but because those pirates had beaten him unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he would surely be on the verge of death from the exhaustion of his body and mind. Looking at it that way, becoming a Berserker, enduring Kazan's curse, had become Long Yi's only choice.

"That's right! Become the ghost god's representative—become my believer!"

Kazan laughed madly, delighted that his plan had succeeded.

Although that damn power called the "system" prevented him from actively harming Long Yi, Kazan knew that sooner or later, he would get an opportunity like this.

The young man before him was not one willing to live in obscurity. On the road to the pinnacle, whether he wanted it or not, he would eventually face a desperate situation that his own strength could not overcome. And making a deal with a ghost god would be his only choice.

"But! I refuse!"

Long Yi's gaze was like a blade, his tone utterly resolute.

"What?! You dare toy with me?!"

Kazan flew into a rage and was about to lash out. Though he could not truly lay a hand on Long Yi, frightening this reckless brat would at least let him vent some of his anger.

But Long Yi was utterly fearless. Staring straight into Kazan's furious eyes, he said word by word, "I have no interest in becoming someone else's slave. I'll use my own strength to cut through this predicament!"

Hearing Long Yi's answer, Kazan's expression darkened. He laughed in fury, his eyes full of mockery and coldness.

"Good, good, good! What a stubborn fool. I'd like to see how you die!"

Ignoring Kazan, Long Yi had his own plans.

Borrowed power was rootless duckweed. Only cultivating his own strength was the true path.

"System, I have a very unusual feeling. Display my level data."

Long Yi had sensed it faintly even in reality, but before seeing the exact data, he had not dared to be certain.

[Current host level: 15]

"Heh, just as I thought."

A sharp gleam flashed through Long Yi's eyes. Level 15 was a very special threshold—it meant that he had qualified for a class advancement.

Since that was the case, Long Yi decided to take a gamble. But before that, he wanted to test his luck. If he could draw an item like an HP potion, his chances of surviving would increase by a few points.

"System, I want to draw a lottery. Select the item category."

[Host has selected lottery category: Items]

The draw did not take long. After glancing at the result, Long Yi's expression turned strange.

This item was very special, but it was not the restorative medicine he needed most.

But since things had come to this, Long Yi no longer forced the issue.

"To endure endless suffering without growing weary—such is the path of Asura!"

Muttering under his breath, he tightly gripped the faintly glowing scroll in his hand, and his consciousness returned to reality.

A dragon stranded in shallow waters was mocked by shrimp; a tiger fallen to the plains was bullied by dogs.

Long Yi, once held in awe by the pirates, had fallen into their hands. How could this pack of scum possibly show him any mercy?

After a storm of punches and kicks, they laughed wildly, frantically venting the fear they had felt moments ago. Gradually forgetting Belik's instruction to leave him alive, they began striking with lethal force.

"Stop hitting him! Stop! This kid's going to die!"

Only when Long Yi's breath was barely there and his face had turned as pale as gold paper did one pirate lackey suddenly come to his senses and shout for them to stop.

Remembering Belik's orders, the pirates who had been focused only on venting their rage fell into a panic. But what they failed to notice was that Long Yi, who had been lying facedown on the ground, suddenly twitched one finger.

"Damn it, we were so busy venting that Belik will definitely—"

The pirates clutched their heads in regret, but before they could finish, they widened their eyes as if they had seen a ghost and fled in all directions.

Long Yi, covered in blood, staggered to his feet. Though riddled with wounds, he still stood tall. Blood had clumped his hair together, concealing his eyes.

"Ugh."

Swallowing nervously, the pirates looked at one another, seized by the urge to run.

But after the pirates endured their fear and stood watch for a full minute, Long Yi still did not move. Finally, one bolder pirate could not hold back any longer. He rushed forward, swinging a fist at Long Yi.

Long Yi trembled slightly. His body reacted instinctively, but his sluggish body could not keep up with his mind's response, and the pirate's punch sent him crashing to the ground.

"Hahaha! So this kid was only putting on a brave front."

That display reassured the pirates. They seemed convinced that Long Yi no longer had any room to resist.

But they were wrong. Long Yi, who had been knocked down again, still rose to his feet. Though his breath remained weak and his body unsteady, he had not remained on the ground to be slaughtered at their mercy.

"Just a little more... just a little more..."

Long Yi muttered indistinctly. The pain throughout his body had begun to go numb. At the same time, however, a brand-new power was slowly awakening within him.

"I'd like to see how long you can hold out!"

The vicious pirate flew into a rage and charged forward once more, landing another punch on Long Yi.

The result was naturally exactly the same as before.

"Pah. What kind of tough guy is a little brat like you pretending to be?"

The pirate spat on Long Yi, viciously rubbing his reddened, swollen fist.

That punch had contained all of his strength. He did not believe Long Yi could still stand after taking such a blow.

But reality slapped the pirate across the face again. Like an unyielding giant, Long Yi braced himself against his sword and painfully rose once more.

"Go die!"

The enraged pirate's eyes reddened as he raised the curved blade in his hand.

Long Yi stood where he was, neither sorrowful nor joyful. His blood-soaked clothes fluttered without wind. Time seemed to freeze at that instant, and he suddenly understood.

"Cast away the eyes, endure endless suffering... only then can one comprehend the waves of all things. Unbroken by a hundred setbacks, unextinguished by ten thousand trials. I am Asura, walking among mankind."

Killing intent erupted in every direction, exploding beneath his feet in rippling waves! In an instant, it blasted away every pirate who sought to attack him. A profound Wave Imprint revolved above his head, while beneath Long Yi's black hair, his eyes transformed into a chaotic, miserable white.

Asura Soul, awakened!