Never Regret Even in Death!

Regret?

A faint ripple stirred within his remaining consciousness.

Regret what?

Regret saving those comrades who had lived and died beside him? Or regret questioning the supreme laws of Heaven?

No. He only regretted being too weak, and thus ending up dead, his Dao extinguished.

His drifting remnant soul looked below. The scenes within the illusion did not end with his death; instead, they continued to unfold what came after.

Because of his choice, the black flood dragon swallowed Li Chongwen in one gulp, then lunged toward the battlefield.

Yet rather than saving its comrades, it stirred up wind and waves, plunging them into an even more brutal battle.

Even so, the warriors' eyes remained resolute. Even when they fell, the weapons in their hands still pointed at the enemy.

The artillery fire suddenly intensified, and the banners of reinforcements finally appeared on the horizon...

No, that was not the result of his choice.

This should have been the regret buried deep in his heart over that battle in his previous life—or perhaps the illusion was showing him another possibility?

But no matter what, as he watched those familiar figures shouting amid blood and fire, what surged within him was not regret, but an even deeper sorrow.

He had done his best. He had made the choice his heart commanded, wanting to save those who should be saved and protect the righteousness that should be protected. As for the outcome, it was beyond his control.

"Though my body dies and my soul fades..."

The remnant soul gathered its final sliver of weak intent and spoke word by word. "Where the Dao lies, though ten million stand against me, I shall go."

"Where my heart points..."

"Though I die a hundred times... I shall never regret it!"

The instant his words fell, that wavering remnant soul, on the verge of scattering, suddenly steadied.

Then, a tiny glimmer lit up within it. At first, the light was so faint it seemed it could be extinguished at any moment, yet it also seemed to possess inexhaustible vitality.

It swayed gently, drawing in the scattered specks of soul-light around it like a star drawing in dust.

More and more points of light gathered, growing brighter and brighter, until they finally formed a humanoid figure of light. Though illusory, it was remarkably stable, radiating a clarity cleansed of all worldly dust.

Crack—

The blood-red battlefield, the savage black flood dragon... all of it fractured inch by inch, turning into countless motes of dust and vanishing into nothingness.

The illusion shattered.

In the small courtyard, the first faint light of dawn pierced the darkness.

After lying dormant for a moment, Li Yuan's waning aura suddenly surged!

No, it was not a surge. It was a majestic sublimation.

A unique spirituality flowed through his meridians like spilled mercury, finally returning to his dantian, where it slowly spun into a tiny vortex.

The Questioning the Heart realm had taken initial form!

His aura rose steadily, swiftly stabilizing at the early stage of the Questioning the Heart realm. His foundation was incomparably solid, without the slightest trace of instability. That brutal tribulation of inner demons had not destroyed his will; instead, it had become his finest crucible.

At the same time, Li Yuan's spiritual sense swelled dramatically, allowing him to once again see the scene deep within his sea of consciousness.

The Bronze Palace floated silently, the patterns on its surface becoming somewhat clearer.

Beyond the enormous gate, within that vast and boundless hazy river of stars, an exceedingly tiny star seemed to have broken away from the stellar river and was slowly flying toward him.

The instant his spiritual sense touched that tiny star—

Boom!

A vast, ancient, blurred image crashed into his consciousness.

It was a world-shaking battle beyond the power of words to describe. Its participants were neither humans nor ordinary demons.

Strange bodies as immense as stars wielded divine powers he could not comprehend. The auras they gave off made even his soul tremble.

They fought in the boundless starry sky. With a wave of their hands, stellar rivers shattered and the Great Dao wailed.

The image was fragmented beyond recognition, impossible to make out clearly. Only an ancient, desolate aura seemed to pierce through eternity itself, branding itself deeply into his sea of consciousness.

At the end of the image, he vaguely saw a thread-thin ray of light. It seemed capable of severing time and annihilating all things. It drifted from the center of the battlefield, crossed endless time and space, and merged into the river of stars.

A trace of that star's lingering resonance fell upon his soul.

Buzz—

Li Yuan's entire body shook violently. Deep within his soul, it was as if some profound and mysterious mark had been branded upon him.

His perception of time underwent a subtle change. He could clearly sense the passage of his own time and accurately anticipate the rhythm of the next surge of blood and qi.

He could even... when his spiritual sense was highly focused, faintly perceive a nearly imperceptible stagnation in the flow of time around him.

Li Yuan abruptly opened his eyes.

A flash of golden light flickered through them and vanished. They were deep as ink, with a faint, strange gleam flowing within.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling the changes in his body.

He had successfully entered the Questioning the Heart realm!

And he had unexpectedly gained a strange perception of time.

Just as he was still immersed in his joy, the door was pushed open and Mister Mo entered, his face grim.

"Foolishness!"

Liu Hongyan followed close behind, her beautiful face frosted with cold. "Li Yuan, do you know how dangerous that was just now?"

"Forcing your way into the Questioning the Heart realm—the backlash from the inner demons would be ferocious beyond measure. If your foundation had not been fairly solid and you had not barely made it through, your cultivation would already have been destroyed, and you would have become a cripple!"

She was truly shaken by fear. Li Yuan's aura had nearly collapsed several times just now, and even Mister Mo had prepared to intervene to preserve his life.

In her eyes, such an almost gambling-like method of breakthrough was simply destroying his own future.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Yuan hurriedly rose and gave the two of them a deep bow, his attitude utterly sincere.

"This student knows his mistake. In my impatience, I took a risk to break through and caused Instructor and Mister to worry."

He secretly glanced at their expressions. "This student will surely remember this lesson in the future and advance steadily, step by step..."

Seeing how sincere he was in admitting fault, and with her heart aching for her beloved student, Liu Hongyan's expression eased slightly. "Your talent is unprecedented, and the academy has placed great hopes on you. But the road of cultivation is long, and what must be avoided most is rushing for quick success."

"You were fortunate to make it through today, but fortune will not always stand at your side. After you return, properly consolidate your realm. For the next three months, you are not to attempt another breakthrough."

Even in Liu Hongyan's heart, she had no choice but to acknowledge his monstrous talent, unconsciously setting the time limit at three months.

"This student obeys." Li Yuan nodded rapidly, afraid that if he delayed, he would earn another scolding from his instructor.

Mister Mo had not spoken all along. He merely looked Li Yuan up and down, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes before he returned to normal.

"It is good that you broke through." Mister Mo finally spoke, his voice calm. "How do you feel?"

Li Yuan pondered for a moment before answering, "My true qi has condensed, and my spiritual sense has increased severalfold, but..."

He hesitated, then decided to temporarily conceal the matter of his time perception. It was simply too shocking.

Besides, even he had not yet fully understood it. "But during the tribulation of inner demons, I gained some strange insights that are difficult to put into words. I still need to contemplate them slowly."

Mister Mo nodded at his vague answer and did not press him further. "Your foundation is not yet stable. In the near future, practice controlling your true qi more. Do not greedily pursue too many techniques."

"Yes."

Liu Hongyan repeatedly confirmed that he was truly unharmed, and only then did her heart settle somewhat. Just as she was about to offer a few more instructions, Li Yuan's expression suddenly tightened and he spoke urgently.

"Honored Instructors, this student has a request. I beg you to help!"

"What is it?" Liu Hongyan raised a brow in confusion.

"This student has an old friend in Western Market named Aji." Li Yuan took the letter from his robes. "Previously, I asked him to keep watch for and purchase certain special materials for me. But today, I received his reply, and it bears a special coded mark we had agreed upon."