Past Events

Naturally, Xiao Yan could not hear the old man's words. Xiao Yan felt helpless. He had only delayed for half a minute—was there any need to be so ruthless? Staying a little longer would not kill him.

"Since that's the case, I'll make a trip to the Battle Skill Pavilion." Xiao Yan had always been troubled by his battle skills. His battle skills were practically useless against others. If not for Heavenly Fire, he would hardly have the strength even to fight someone who possessed an Emperor-Tier Battle Skill.

"Hmph, Xiao Yan, were you deliberately avoiding me? I've been looking for you all morning." Xiao Yuting's gritted-teeth voice carried over, as though she wanted to use him as a test subject for poison.

No, Cousin Xiao Yu was fairly gentle and soft. This woman was the true witch who ate people without spitting out their bones. Recalling how Xiao Yuting had stomped on him without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yan thought to himself.

"Good morning, Miss Yuting. Um, I'm hungry, so I'm going to find something to eat." Xiao Yan smiled at Xiao Yuting, though his smile was somewhat helpless.

"All you know is how to eat. Sure enough, you're not as good as..." Xiao Yuting ultimately did not finish her sentence. Stepping forward, she took Xiao Yan's hand. "Come with me."

Xiao Yan awkwardly glanced at the hand Xiao Yuting was holding, hesitated for a moment, then followed her anyway. He was rather curious about what Xiao Yuting wanted to do.

Xiao Yuting led Xiao Yan through building after building, finally taking him up onto a short structure. Only then did Xiao Yuting release Xiao Yan's hand and say, "This building is inconspicuous among the Xiao Clan's branches, but this is the only place where one can see the sunset."

Xiao Yuting sat down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her head in them without speaking again.

It was not yet noon. The sun shone upon him with an indescribable comfort. Xiao Yan suppressed his longing for battle skills and quietly stayed by Xiao Yuting's side.

Back on the Battle Qi Continent, during that year, he had liked nothing more than quietly keeping Xun'er company. Having come to the World-Creation Continent, he missed those days even more.

"My sister and I both came from the Heavenly Spirit Continent, but we were half-sisters with the same father. She was born to the principal wife, while I was born to a concubine. She was fifteen years older than me. From the time I became aware of things, she had been the beloved daughter of heaven in the Lineage. Everyone in the Lineage adored her, and she had walked her path of cultivation step by step on her own."

"The Lineage provided her with pills, provided her with battle skills, and even found her a good marriage match, yet she turned it down. She only wanted to carve out a road that belonged to herself."

"When I was ten, my mother died of poison, and I became someone whom everyone in the Lineage could bully. Even if Father wanted to intervene, he could not. After bullying me, they would run away, too fast to catch. In the end, Father stopped caring as well. My talent was not particularly good anyway. As long as they did not kill me, Father could not be bothered to step in. He had children in droves and would not care about just one of them."

"That evening, I was bullied by a group of children again. No one helped me. I merely gritted my teeth and buried all the humiliation deep in my heart. At the same time, a seed of hatred was planted there. I hated them, and I hated that heartless, selfish Lineage even more."

"But I did not notice that she was standing not far away, watching the entire process of me being bullied."

"Only after everyone had left did she come to my side and help the badly injured me up. She did not treat my wounds. She merely brought me to the top of a mountain and let me lie in her arms as we watched a sunset together."

"That sunset was exceptionally beautiful. Where sea and sky met, a half-sunken sun swayed leisurely above the horizon, rising and falling, drifting and rippling with the rolling waves. It seemed as though all beauty had paused in that ever-changing moment. Although my wounds hurt terribly, I slept very comfortably that night."

Tears began to glimmer in Xiao Yuting's eyes. Even when she spoke of being bullied, filled with grievance, she had not cried. Yet now, she could no longer hold back her tears.

Xiao Yan naturally understood those feelings. During those three years when he had been a piece of trash, he had suffered no less bullying than Xiao Yuting. Yet he had his father's protection and Xun'er's companionship. At the very least, he had been fortunate amid misfortune.

"After that day, she began systematically teaching me cultivation methods related to battle qi. At the same time, she gave me several battle skills for me to choose from. My talent was not very good, but my hatred for the Lineage made me unable to stop myself from wanting to grow stronger. So I began cultivating every battle skill she gave me. I put in more effort than anyone else, but my results were not very good."

"Under my sister's protection, I naturally suffered much less bullying. But her own cultivation was also hindered. She feared that if she entered seclusion, I would be bullied again, so she only cultivated in scattered bits of time. As a result, her progress slowed."

"My sister's slow progress naturally caused dissatisfaction within the Lineage. They gave her thirty years to cultivate. If she did not reach the Dou Emperor realm within thirty years, she would have to cultivate according to the methods provided by the Lineage. After all, the other descendants of the Lineage had all reached the Dou Emperor realm, while the one person the Lineage valued most had not made the slightest progress. That was an insult to a Lineage."

"Under the Lineage's pressure, my sister had no choice but to enter seclusion. However, she instructed several people to look after me."

"After my sister entered seclusion, I was probably thirteen that year. I began to grow cold and detached. I ignored everyone. Cultivation became the only thing in my life, and I buried all their bullying deep within my heart. Those humiliations became the force that drove my cultivation."

"At fifteen, I became a Dou King. My sister, at thirty, became a Dou Emperor just as the Lineage required. I had waited two years for that day. After becoming a Dou Emperor, my sister was even more beautiful, even more captivating. That day, she took me to watch the sunset for the second time. As the sun set in the west, everything was still so peaceful, so beautiful."

"A year later, my sister was about to leave the Heavenly Spirit Continent. Because of that, I chose someone stronger than me who had once bullied me and challenged him to a duel. In the end, I was beaten until I was seriously injured. I dragged my wounded body to see my sister off."

"My sister hugged me and told me, 'Whenever you feel pain or loss, go watch the sunset. Once the sunset ends, when you wake up, it will be a brand-new, beautiful day. And don't be so silent. No boy will like a mute. On the World-Creation Continent, Sister will protect you. Sister will shield you from the wind and rain.'" Xiao Yuting's eyes were brimming with tears.

On the Heavenly Spirit Continent, Xiao Wanqing had made a promise to Xiao Yuting. Yet many years later, an accident had dimmed Xiao Wanqing's status as the beloved daughter of heaven.