Chapter 323: This Damn Eight-Year-Old

After a long embrace, Xia Tao relaxed her arms, turned you to the other side, facing the direction home.

"Move forward, no looking back."

"Sister Xia Tao~"

Your eyes welled with tears, as if you had grown a lot in an instant.

"I said! No looking back!"

Xia Tao snapped, "If you dare look back again, from now on I will never pay attention to you."

You seemed to hear the voice inside her heart.

She said, "I don't want you to see my ugliest side."

You no longer looked back, crying as you moved forward, your steps slowing, until a booming sound came from behind.

Sister Xia Tao left.

Cultivators, to avoid assimilation by the Shadow World, will at the last moment choose to self‑detonate their Dao bodies, shattering Deity souls.

"Sister Xia Tao! Captain! senior brothers and sisters of the Flame Squad, I will avenge you."

You forgot how you finally returned to the passage.

When you woke again, you were already lying on a bed.

You opened your eyes and saw a gentle face.

"Sister Fu Yan!"

You sat up abruptly, your mind swirling with the parting from the Flame Squad, an unstoppable sorrow.

From first meeting to life‑and‑death separation.

The process was too fast.

It was as if in a daze, everything was lost.

"Shu, are you alright?"

Fu Yan looked at you, her eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine."

You were despondently sorrowful, "It's just... Captain Gu Yan, Sister Xia Tao, and the senior brothers and sisters of the Flame Squad… they… they all…"

"They are all waiting for you in another place."

Fu Yan said, "They are there, in the true Jing Tu."

"I will find them."

For a moment, you clung to the hope that they would truly return.

You said firmly, "Sister Fu Yan, regarding the Flame Squad, I wish to report to you."

"Those matters aren't urgent; you can take your time."

Perhaps worried you couldn't bear the pressure, Fu Yan was unwilling to let you revisit past wounds.

"Not needed."

You shook your head and recounted the Flame Squad's ordeal from start to finish.

Including the fact that you could retrieve a portion of the Shadow life's pre‑death Tribe of the Spirits soul memory, you did not conceal anything from Fu Yan.

"Retrieving soul memory?"

Fu Yan was amazed at your ability, "Childlike Deity heart, indeed a mysterious talent, rare in the world."

"Your ability may play a pivotal role in future battles."

"Gu Yan did well; he is a hero."

When the Great Hammer Sect mutated, if Gu Yan had issued another order, letting Xia Tao and the other members hold the banner, there would still have been great hope of escape.

But he gave that chance to you.

He said you are the "Dawn of Hope," ranking you far above him in importance.

He ordered the Flame Squad to protect you.

In the end, every member of the Flame Squad sacrificed their lives for it.

"You have this ability; you must not tell anyone else, understand?" Fu Yan reminded you.

"Mm." You agreed.

You asked, "Sister Fu Yan, may I succeed as captain of the Flame Squad? I don't want Captain Gu Yan, Sister Xia Tao, and all those senior brothers and sisters' efforts to be wasted."

"Of course you can."

Fu Yan nodded, "The Dark Vanish Squad has been passed down through generations."

You added, "Then the Great Hammer Sect matter, can I handle it myself? I want to avenge them personally."

"This…"

Fu Yan hesitated, "I'm afraid it's a bit difficult."

She said, "With your talent, you must, after the next passage opens, enter the first Jing Tu or the second Jing Tu to cultivate."

"This point is absolutely unchangeable."

"Delaying too long will bury your talent; all elders of the Ninth Jing Tu will become sinners."

"There are three years until the next passage opens."

"Based on the intel you provided, to smoothly resolve the Great Hammer Sect issue, at least Mortal Dust Eighth Realm cultivation is required."

"Within three years, can you reach that level?"

"I can!" you replied without hesitation.

Fu Yan smiled, "Shu, do you know how many cultivators have reached this point since the founding of the Jing Tu Shi Jie?"

You shook your head, "I don't know."

"One."

Fu Yan says: "She is also the strongest in the current Jing Tu Shi Jie."

You say through the channel: "Then I can too."

Fu Yan paused briefly, smiled and said: "Sister believes you."

You know, that sentence is also comfort.

In your heart you silently vow to make Sister Fu Yan look at you with new eyes.

After this, you began to cultivate even more diligently.

Time flies.

At six years old, you successfully broke through the Mortal Dust Sixth Realm.

Your Shifu Zhu Yao often visits you, marveling at your progress.

He says: "The further your cultivation progresses, the more difficult it becomes; you might truly be able to catch up with that elder of the First Jing Tu."

That elder of the First Jing Tu is mentioned by many powerful beings.

The Four Regions Commander, the Patrol Commander, the Academy Dean, and three Fa Zhi Zhang Lao have all spoken of unwavering admiration for that elder.

You regard that elder as your goal.

You believe you will soon meet her.

Cultivation years pass swiftly; at seven, you live up to expectations and successfully break through the Mortal Dust Seventh Realm.

Pure divine heart perceives all things.

You bear the sorrow of this world and know the Heavenly Dao's ancient desire; you are perfectly in harmony with the laws of heaven and earth.

During these cultivation years, you, as captain, rebuilt the Flame Squad.

You have explored the Shadow World many times.

You wish to go to the location of the Great Hammer Sect to bid farewell to Captain Gu Yan, Sister Xia Tao, and the other seniors of the Flame Squad.

But Sister Fu Yan has repeatedly reminded you not to be reckless or undertake uncertain deeds.

She says: "What you carry is far more than the Flame Squad's hatred; it also includes the expectations of countless elders of the Jing Tu Shi Jie."

You endure, cultivating even harder.

Finally, on your eighth birthday, you successfully entered the Mortal Dust Eighth Realm.

Sister Fu Yan holds you and spins around, her face radiating an unprecedented smile.

"You did it! Shu! You really did it!"

She says: "It's like a dream; you are the dawn of hope, you will surely defeat An Ying Zhu."

Before this, only you would say "defeat An Ying Zhu"; to others it was just a child's idle talk.

Including Fu Yan as well.

Now, this sentence is spoken sincerely from Fu Yan's mouth.

The gears of fate also began to turn slowly at this moment.

Congratulations on unlocking the "Special Achievement"—what the heck, eight years old?