Shen Ming trembled slightly.
Or perhaps, at this moment, he should have been called Si Ming.
It had been a long time since he had heard that name. So long that even he had nearly forgotten it.
So long that, during his first few years after ascending, he had still occasionally dreamed of his Lineage's old residence in the lower realm, but those dreams had gradually grown fewer.
Later, even his parents' faces had blurred, and he could no longer remember his wife's voice.
He only remembered that he had a son, but he could no longer even recall what his son looked like.
His son had still been young when he ascended. He had thought he would make it up to him properly once he grew stronger.
Then there had been no "afterward."
Ascension was destined to be a journey with no return.
From his early struggles to the suppression by the Immortal Emperors, then the Other Race invasion, massacres, hiding, counterattacks, and sealing.
By the time the dust settled, he had long since ceased to be Si Ming.
He was a masked shadow, with no Immortal Domain, no sect, no disciples, no Dao companion, not even a single friend.
Every time he changed his name, he kept the character "Ming"-fate-merely to leave himself something to hold on to.
In the distance, Jiang Ling realized something as well, and her expression turned hideous. If the Immortal Emperor before her was related to Si Chen by blood, then she...
The other Immortal Emperors, including Chen Xu nearby, also looked shocked. Si Ming? Was that his real name?
Wait... Si Ming, Si Chen!? He...
Before they could react, another voice thundered through the Void.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"
Si Shuo pointed at Shen Ming, his voice urgent and aggressive. **"Y-you evil heretic!