Chapter 618: Where There Is No Path, I Am the Path

He exhausted everything, yet he still died.

At the moment of his passing, the young man was filled with resentment.

Could it be that even by living so desperately, one still cannot obtain the freedom that belongs to oneself?

Could it be that he was born into this world only to suffer?

The young man's second life ended just like that.

Walking upon the frozen river, Chen Yan simply walked, yet it was as if he had clearly experienced their entire lives.

The icy cold coming from all directions seemed to have already seeped into his marrow, intending to freeze his everything.

It was as if, even if Chen Yan kept walking, he would end up just like that young man of two lives.

Having struggled for a lifetime, having fought desperately for a lifetime, what he encountered in the end was only endless bitterness.

But Chen Yan simply kept walking.

His body trembled, as if countless claws that could never reach the light were scratching at his legs.

Urging him not to walk any further.

Why bother?

Why treat yourself this way?

You could have been content with pleasure.

In the distance, another phantom was born.

It was Xia Hanzhou; he stood quietly not far from Chen Yan, revealing a smile.

"Chen Yan, your appearance makes me... conflicted."

Xia Hanzhou smiled and said with extreme self-reproach:

"You can take a rest; I do not wish to push you so hard. The Great Xia does not rely on you alone."

Chen Yan ignored him and continued forward.

Xia Qi appeared.

He sat in a wheelchair, looking at Chen Yan with his single eye.

"General Yan, my own incompetence led me to hope for the appearance of another Lu Xunyang, just like my father did.

However, this is my problem, not yours; you can take a rest."

Chen Yan revealed a smile toward the Ruler, then immediately continued forward.

He saw Chi Lao, saw Shen Yiwei, and saw Luo Puxin.

He saw San Jin.

"Chen... Yan, I am... sorry, I... I shouldn't have only thought about opening a chicken leg shop.

I... I should be fighting alongside you."

San Jin was filled with extreme self-reproach; Heaven and Earth had bestowed upon her such high talent, yet she lacked great ambition.

Her eyes were brimming with tears:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was just... my dream, that's all."

Walking on the frozen river, Chen Yan's face was covered in frost, yet he smiled:

"That is your dream, and it is also my dream."

San Jin was stunned:

"You... don't blame me? My weakness led... led to you needing to work even... harder."

Chen Yan shook his head slightly and continued forward.

He saw Luo Puxin, saw Si Wenyi.

"We are all living desperately."

Si Wenyi looked at Chen Yan with a gentle expression, wanting to pull the frozen Chen Yan into her embrace.

"But I... but I don't want to see you suffer like this."

She cried:

"I know I am not worthy of you, but I... I cannot bear it."

Her face was tear-stained, and her warm embrace almost made Chen Yan stop.

But Chen Yan continued forward.

Until the end.

A woman wearing golden palace attire possessed a pair of silver eyes as beautiful as the morning stars.

She stood quietly, her robes fluttering, cutting the sky full of ice mist into light gauze.

She did not say a word.

She just looked at Chen Yan with such deep affection.

Chen Yan turned his head to look at her, walking while watching, until at a certain moment, he had moved far away.

That woman merged into the darkness behind her.

Until the end.

Chen Yan saw another version of himself.

That day, he had just ascended to the Unity Realm, and the Extreme Satin Pattern had condensed into the brand-new Yunmeng City; Yunmeng City was like a fairyland.

Green mountains and clear waters, towering buildings.

That young man sat cross-legged, looking at this Yunmeng City.

Since he entered the Dao, it was the first time his eyes held tears.

For the first time, he shed tears that he could not suppress.

He was wondering.

Does such a world truly exist in the world?

He did not know.

He did not know.

Perhaps he would not see it even if he struggled for a lifetime.

Then why on earth must he keep walking forward?

Why must he keep walking forward?

That was merely his fantasy.

The world could not possibly become like that.

So cold, so cold, so cold that one wants to die.

So cold.

Even if frozen to death, one would still not see such a world.

On the glacial river, Chen Yan's footsteps slowed for a moment.

"Is there really such a world?"

He murmured softly.

Yet in the next moment, he continued forward.

At the same time.

Inside the Cloud-Top Gong Dian, the woman in the immortal dress revealed a look of surprise; when she looked at Chen Yan again, the color of her eyes had completely changed.

It actually carried an indescribable complexity.

How could a person like this possibly be a coward?

She had not expected this at all.

The further Chen Yan went, the more the difficulties he encountered were actually these.

The people and things Chen Yan encountered were all the greatest difficulties excavated by the Cloud-Top Gong Dian from the depths of Chen Yan's heart.

The woman in the immortal dress had seen before that a martial artist's final difficulty was their own enemy, their own fear.

But there was nothing like this.

It was not to say that these existences were Chen Yan's enemies.

Rather, they were the things most likely to cause Chen Yan to fail.

At the same time.

On the glacial river.

"Brother!"

A soft female voice rang out.

Chen Yan looked over; on the distant glacial river, the sunlight suddenly shone brightly, and in front of a dilapidated house, the locust flowers on an old locust tree were in full bloom.

The little girl stood under the tree, showing him a brilliant smile:

"Brother, time to eat!"

Chen Yan paused, he looked at his younger sister, but in the next moment, he continued forward.

Boundless darkness wrapped around him.

Yet he still walked on just like that.

Until at the very end, a massive ice wall blocked his path.

This ice wall reached the heavens, horizontally blocking all of heaven and earth, boundless and limitless.

At the same time.

Inside the Cloud-Top Gong Dian, the woman in the immortal dress stood up, and in the next moment, she looked coldly toward the back of the palace.

"What are you doing?!"

She gritted her silver teeth, rarely becoming angry.

In the original trial, there was no such ice wall at all.

It was enough for the martial artist to just cross the glacial river.

She had not interfered with this trial.

The only one who could have interfered was that old man being imprisoned.

Inside the pitch-black room.

The old man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, not saying a word.

This caused the woman in the immortal dress to speak even more coldly:

"Didn't you ask me to pass on martial arts to him at the beginning? What are you trying to do now?"

Her pretty face was icy cold as she sensed toward Chen Yan once more.

If it were like this, Chen Yan would never be able to pass this trial.

On the glacial river.

Chen Yan stopped for a long time.

There was no longer a path in the world.

There was no path left.

He could not walk any further.

He stood there blankly.

He did not know that the predicament he was currently encountering was also being sensed by the woman in the immortal dress.

The woman in the immortal dress shook her head slightly.

That entity being imprisoned was merely a wisp of consciousness, yet it was already powerful enough.

Yet, at this very moment.

The woman in the immortal dress trembled and widened her eyes.

She stood up abruptly from the jade throne, her ten-colored skirt hem billowing like surging waves.

At the same time.

Inside a dim room, an old man sat cross-legged amidst endless darkness, his expression calm.

A trace of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Yet, looking above the glacier.

Bang!

The muffled sound of knuckles colliding with the ice wall exploded in the deathly silence.

Ice shards splattered like shattered jade!

A gash opened on Chen Yan's right fist; the blood within the wound had not yet flowed out before it was frozen, sticking to his pale knuckles.

Then.

Bang!

He threw another punch.

Bang!

Another punch.

"Since there is no path, then I shall chisel out a new one!"

He spoke in a low voice, yet it was filled with endless strength.

His palm swept through the air, guiding the cold wind, guiding his own strength to converge at the center of his fist.

A mortal body is naturally hard-pressed to break ice, but what if a mortal's mastery over their own body reaches an extremely high level?

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

An ice pit appeared, and then a second ice pit appeared.

The time taken to chisel the wall was longer than crossing the glacier, and the process would be even more bitter.

His arms were gradually covered in frost, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish, yet the rhythm of his chiseling remained unchanged.

Chen Yan just like this, used his own flesh and blood to chisel ice pits one after another upon the ice wall.

This scene left the woman in the immortal dress stunned.

Although Chen Yan and the others had only entered the Upper Ancient War Gong Dian with their consciousness, and at this moment their consciousness had fallen into an illusion once more.

Consciousness would not die, but the pain and freezing cold felt were extremely real.

Could it be that this young man truly intended to chisel out a new path with nothing but his own pair of mortal fists?

Is this even possible?

This was even more difficult than crossing the glacier.

This is... what kind of will is this?

She sat back down on the throne and sighed deeply, as if she saw the existences of years past once more, as if she heard the cries of years past once more.

"The human race is saving itself."

She whispered.

If the human race were not saving itself, where would such existences come from?

At the same time.

Lu Jianxia and the other two, who were undergoing the trial with Chen Yan, were also struggling.

Shen Yiwei's body began to tremble; it was clear that his own will had reached its limit.

Jiang Yuan was not having an easy time either, and had already begun cursing loudly on the glacier.

Even so, he was still moving forward continuously.

Until a certain moment, when Shen Yiwei was nearly unable to hold on.

Hum!

On his body, a golden-red radiance began to gradually emerge, the glow of an immortal will slowly appearing.

"Damn it!"

A low roar sounded.

Jiang Yuan disappeared from the glacier and returned to the palace once more.

Glancing at the woman in the immortal dress still on the throne, Jiang Yuan shook his head, knowing he had been eliminated.

"Which number was I to be eliminated?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"The first," the woman in the immortal dress said indifferently.

Jiang Yuan was stunned:

"Give me another chance; I at least cannot be the last one."

"There are no more chances." The woman in the immortal dress waved one hand, and a ball of light appeared, landing before Jiang Yuan:

"Although you did not pass the second trial, you may obtain the reward for the first trial."

The ball of light landed in Jiang Yuan's hand; Jiang Yuan nodded, thinking this was fine, otherwise returning empty-handed would be hard to explain.

Immediately following, Jiang Yuan disappeared from where he stood.

A long time passed again.

Shen Yiwei returned to the Upper Ancient War Gong Dian, exhausted.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions; he had been so close to the end, yet he had failed to reach it.

"You have done quite well already," the woman in the immortal dress said, handing over a sphere of light.

"Your life has been full of ups and downs, and you spent too much time lost in the middle.

However, with this accumulation, you will surely be stronger in the future, and your Dao heart will be more stable."

She actually thought quite highly of Shen Yiwei.

It should not be long before this person could completely stabilize his strength at the second realm of the path of will.

This person possessed a sincere heart.

"Mm," Shen Yiwei bowed.

"Many thanks, Senior."

The next moment, he vanished.

Now, only Lu Jianxia and Chen Yan remained.

Above the glacier.

Lu Jianxia walked arduously to the end of the glacier, watching the phantom of Chen Yan beside her gradually dissipate.

"If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die without regrets in the evening."

Lu Jianxia whispered.

"I actually still remember your words."

Her skirt swayed as if she were following closely in Chen Yan's footsteps.

"Even if I am unwilling to believe it, I have changed because of you."

She whispered, head bowed, her hair mixed with frost clinging to her beautiful cheeks.

"I like your persistence, I like your sense of justice, and I like your heart that seeks the Dao."

Her eyes trembled.

"But because of that, I am also in extreme pain."

She crossed the glacier, her vision shifted, and she arrived inside the palace.

She hugged her shoulders, but the cold from before was gone.

At this moment, she sat quietly on a chair, saying nothing.

The woman in the immortal dress sat on the throne, looking at Lu Jianxia.

"Congratulations, you have become the first martial artist to pass the trial of the Dao."

"Dao?" Lu Jianxia asked in surprise.

"Mm, the Dao."

The woman in the immortal dress shifted her gaze to where Chen Yan was.

That young man was using his own white bones as a brush and his own blood as ink, carving a new path upon the sheer cliff.

The woman in the immortal dress suddenly said with a hint of melancholy:

"Only by unswervingly pursuing the path in one's heart, even if one dies, there are no regrets.

This is the Dao!"

Lu Jianxia nodded.

The Dao?

She believed it was more of a will.

If Chen Yan were here, he would probably pass the trial very quickly.

At this moment, however, she was completely unaware that someone was carving a new path with flesh and blood.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

A mixture of blood and ice fell with a rustle.

The skin on Chen Yan's hands had split open, revealing ghastly finger bones.

He had long since grown accustomed to this, long since able to face it calmly.

His life might have had different turning points.

Just like that young man who never regained his confidence in the hospital.

Just like that young man who did not create the martial path of will during the Heaven's Pride Trial.

Countless choices in life and countless thoughts had formed the Chen Yan of today.

Countless moments of Chen Yan had formed the person he was now.

He dug his blood-stained fingers into the ice pit, borrowing the force to climb upward.

Chisel a pit, climb, chisel another pit.

Time seemed to vanish.

In the silence, it felt as if a power as vast as the ocean was surging.

Until he stepped onto the ice wall.

In the distance, a morning sun slowly emerged, and ten thousand golden rays transformed into a sea of warmth, enveloping him.

He opened his arms, embracing it all.

Rumble!

The ice wall suddenly collapsed, and the morning sun poured in like a torrent.

He fell amidst the shattering ice crystals, and countless strands of rosy light, refracted by the broken ice, landed between his brows.

Inside the palace, the woman in the immortal dress watched intently, hearing the words he spoke just as he was about to appear in the palace.

"There is no path here; I am the path."