Chapter 1007: Witness to the Human World

"So that is how the Path of Will was born."

"The Heavenly Divine General of the past was barely seventeen, yet he dared to face an Ancient Divine Beast directly; such courage..."

"It is hard to imagine that back then, he was still locked in a Limit-Breaking Struggle with Chen Min."

"This is the true god belonging to the human race..."

Voices rose one after another across the land of the human race.

Countless people watched this scene, their eyes filled with hot tears.

The process by which Chen Yan created the Path of Will was horrifying.

It was a chance he had gambled for by nearly sacrificing his own life.

Above the void.

Chen Min gritted his teeth.

He could hear his own name being spoken by countless people.

In an instant, he seemed to recall those years.

That day, that sky, that moment—Chen Yan's voice seemed to traverse the cycle of time and space to enter his ears.

"I dare not die, so I struggle desperately to live."

Chen Min had thought that was Chen Yan's limit at the time, and that the Limit-Breaking Struggle was Chen Yan's greatest obstacle.

He had not expected this.

The Limit-Breaking Struggle was nothing more than a small hurdle beneath Chen Yan's feet.

Chen Min clenched his fists; it was not out of anger, but a sudden realization.

Chen Yan, whom he had once regarded as an enemy, had actually never viewed him as an enemy.

Because he was not worthy.

Ji Ling watched intently, as a former supreme powerhouse.

She understood that creating a Martial Path was by no means this simple.

There was only more that Chen Yan had not shown.

"Monster!"

She spoke heavily, not knowing if she was saying it to herself or to the avatar of Chen Yan beside her.

The next moment.

The phantom in the sky changed once again.

It was a gray, dim world; it was a tall tower.

The young man named Chen Yan had his physical body cracking, golden light erupting from his entire being, his consciousness blurred.

He was climbing the tower incessantly.

Upon his physical body, individual Extreme Satin Patterns emerged.

Two hundred and twenty-four of them!

This was a number of Extreme Satin Patterns that surpassed the imagination of all humans in the past.

"Immortality, will it truly come?"

"I do not know, but where the Dao lies, it is just ahead..."

He mumbled vaguely, already trapped in an endless struggle.

On the earth, countless people watched this scene.

"That is the Xunyang Tower from the college entrance exam secret realm; it is the scene from when the Heavenly Divine General climbed the Xunyang Tower back then!"

"The Heavenly Divine General's physical Extreme Satin Patterns had long since far surpassed all martial artists throughout history; I never expected he was breaking his limits in such an environment!"

"Only at this moment do we realize what he did that day..."

People watched in horror.

Just watching from afar, one could feel the pain Chen Yan was facing at the time.

It was a struggle hovering on the edge of life and death.

To many people, it even seemed as if Chen Yan was truly going to die.

"Don't climb anymore..."

Tears welled up in the eyes of a woman; even though she knew the outcome, she still could not bear to keep watching.

"It's enough already, why bother? Don't climb anymore, if you continue, you will die..."

Someone's voice trembled.

But above the firmament.

That Chen Yan was still climbing the tower.

People widened their eyes, watching helplessly as Chen Yan's aura dimmed, watching helplessly as Chen Yan's physical body shattered.

"How could this..."

Someone sobbed uncontrollably:

"Why on earth is it so, why must cultivating the Martial Path be so difficult?"

Some could not imagine it.

Chen Yan's cultivation was not the same concept as the cultivation understood by ordinary people.

"Why do I feel..."

A woman's face turned deathly pale:

"The Heavenly Divine General at that time was seeking death!"

Her voice rang out and was heard by many.

People's throats choked up.

Was Chen Yan seeking death that day?

Why?

What on earth must a person do to train themselves to death?

"You... you're joking, right..."

Someone's voice trembled:

"Who would ever cultivate to seek death?

The Heavenly God General has been alive all this time, hasn't he? He was just breaking through his limits, not seeking death..."

Many people agreed.

After all, Chen Yan has been alive all along; he didn't die.

That must mean the Chen Yan of that time was not seeking death at all.

Although...

In the phantom image above the firmament, the Chen Yan of those years did indeed look...

Indeed very much like he was seeking death.

Yet in the next moment, people heard his murmurs.

"My physical body is enduring agony, but it still refuses to give up the fight."

"My will is soaring and brilliant, yet it must head toward death."

Covered in blood, he hung his head and crawled toward the upper floor, on the verge of death.

"My physical body is pleading, begging my will not to head toward death."

"But my will must become the firewood in the endless eternal night..."

He murmured.

In a gray world, the struggling murmur of a single person.

But that whisper from back then.

Now rang out in the hearts of countless living beings in the human world.

People heard his voice; their hearts pounded violently one by one, their breathing stalled.

"The Heavenly God General really was seeking death!"

Someone spoke with difficulty:

"His instinct did not want to die, but his will was forcing him to die."

"His instinct was too powerful, so his death was extremely difficult..."

That person's voice turned hoarse:

"To die like this is like driving needles one by one into a body as strong as an iron wall, endless pain, endless torture..."

As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide:

"But why, why did the Heavenly God General of that day have to struggle like this?"

His voice fell into the hearts of the crowd like blades.

Only at this moment did people truly realize the pain Chen Yan felt that day.

He really was seeking death.

Seeking death in the way his instinct least desired, in the most painful way possible.

But...

Why?

"Why?"

Ji Ling's eyes widened, shock surging in their depths.

Even though Ji Prefecture had fallen and her heart was as cold as ash, seeing this scene.

The deepest throb of human nature was still strongly stirred.

She looked at Zhao Zhugui beside her, wanting to get an answer.

Zhao Zhugui, however, did not speak, continuing to watch the firmament.

Because, upon that phantom image in the firmament.

The young Chen Yan stated the answer himself.

"What I wanted to end was the suffering of all living beings..."

He stopped breathing, the light of his will fading away from his entire body.

"Not my own life..."

His voice before death rumbled through people's hearts like heavenly thunder.

"I am the person who least wanted to die, yet I still headed toward... death."

He died.

His physical body lost its warmth, devoid of any sign of life.

This scene stunned the countless living beings of the human world.

People had gasps stuck in their throats but could not utter a single word.

Their hands and feet were cold and trembling, extreme awe and horror surging in their eyes; they even forgot to breathe.

Chen Yan had truly died.

The Chen Yan of that day had truly died!

Yet the Heavenly God General of later times was clearly alive.

But on that day, he truly sought death.

"Could it be..."

Someone breathed tremulously and shouted aloud:

"This is the creative process of the second realm of the Path of Will, the Realm Establishment!"

Someone felt their scalp tingle:

"The second realm of the Path of Will, Realm Establishment, can give birth to an Immortal Will, making one immortal!

But the first person to create the Immortal Will... the Lord of Will... the Heavenly God General... Chen Yan...

He needed to truly die, to attempt it!"

That person's voice rang out.

Countless people listened, their hearts beating violently.

An old woman spoke with difficulty:

"What he wanted to end was the suffering of all living beings, not his own life!

Therefore, he did not die for the sake of seeking death; he did so to seek the Dao, to strive for that one possibility!

An Immortal Will requires one to verify it with their own life!"

The old woman's voice boomed into people's hearts.

People's pupils contracted wildly.

It was hard to imagine just how much determination Chen Yan had possessed at that time.

Every bit of his pain, every wail of his physical body, every tearing of his flesh.

Were warnings from his body trying to stop him from dying.

Yet he still went to verify the Dao with his own body...

Above the firmament, powerful figures of the human race watched in astonishment.

At this moment, they thoroughly understood why Chen Yan could become the Lord of Martial Dao, while they could not.

"Hahahahaha!"

Someone laughed aloud; it was Jiang Yuan.

Many people cast looks at Jiang Yuan as if they wanted to kill him.

Yet a look of desolation appeared on Jiang Yuan's face:

"You're something else; after I helped you and San Jin survive back then, I left the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm.

I never expected you were secretly..."

Jiang Yuan could not go on.

He did not know how many times he had hated Chen Yan for snatching away all his glory.

He did not know how many times he had sighed, saying things like "Since there is Yuan, why must there be Yan."

But when he truly saw what Chen Yan was doing, and what he had done.

His heart held only admiration and reverence.

He could not do it.

A hundred of him could not do it.

If he were placed in Chen Yan's position, he would have failed long ago and would not have today.

He should even be grateful, grateful for Chen Yan's appearance.

Only then could he, Jiang Yuan, live until now, and only then could the Great Xia struggle to this point.

It was just that now...

He suddenly discovered that all his accusations and all his dissatisfaction were wrong.

All wrong.

"Chen Yan, you make me feel complicated!"

Jiang Yuan turned around, glanced at Yu Siyan not far away, and spoke coldly:

"If you dare to speak, I will beat you to death!"

Yu Siyan glanced at Jiang Yuan mockingly and did not speak either.

The next moment.

Under the witness of countless people.

Within that phantom image presented above the firmament.

Faint golden-red light began to emerge on the youth whose body had withered to death.

People looked at him, with shock, reverence, pity, and being moved...

Seeing...

The second realm of the Path of Will had appeared!

Originally, the world only knew that Chen Yan was the Lord of Will.

Yet they did not know what those four simple words, Lord of Will, truly represented.

Jin Province.

In front of a chicken leg shop, San Jin, wearing a chef's uniform, had tears streaming down her face.

She had waited for such a long, long time.

But now...

"I'm... I'm sorry, I'm... I'm sorry..."

She said dazedly.

She knew that Chen Yan's path required someone to walk alongside him.

Rather than someone waiting for him behind.

Yet San Jin had done the latter, naively believing that after everything settled, Chen Yan could return, could come to her side.

That day, she was clearly right by Chen Yan's side.

Yet she did not know what Chen Yan had actually done.

At this moment.

She felt so much regret.

Incomparable regret.

Regret that she had given up the Martial Dao, regret that she had not entered the Five Clans Conflict, regret that she had not joined Chen Yan in the surprise attack on Ji Province.

Regret...

For letting Chen Yan bear all the weight alone.

PS: One chapter today.