Chapter 691: Survivor

I don't know how long it has been.

Wu Tie woke up.

His whole body was in excruciating pain.

He lay quietly beneath a heap of rubble, his flesh and blood almost scoured clean by the earlier explosion, leaving only a skeletal frame; between his bones lay flexible periosteum enveloping his organs, making him appear somewhat unlike a pure skeleton.

Even his once‑near‑indestructible bones were now riddled with fine cracks.

Pain, deep pain, piercing bone marrow and reaching the soul.

It was the kind of pain that made him wish to slash his own head off with a blade to be utterly free; if Wu Tie hadn't endured enough tempering over the years, he likely couldn't have withstood such all‑encompassing agony.

He drew a shallow breath; Wu Tie couldn't be bothered to move.

The ambient primal energy was thick as substance, enveloping Wu Tie; he needed do nothing as the energy seeped into his body, slowly regenerating flesh and mending the cracks in his bones.

Lazy.

Lazy.

Couldn't be bothered to do anything.

Wu Tie gave a soft grunt, straining to stretch his limbs so he could lie flatter under the weight of the rubble.

For no reason, many memories surged in his mind.

When did that happen?

That old man with gray hair all over sat properly before a small slate, teaching Wu Tie to read and write word by word; goodness, I hadn't expected Grey Master back then to be so handsome and clear‑eyed.

Eh, Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong have been trouble‑makers since childhood.

These memories had long faded; how old was Wu Tie back then?

But in this unique atmosphere, Wu Tie recalled them again.

Was the first clash between Wu Family Shibao and its neighbors caused by Wu Jin?

Actually it wasn't a big deal; Wu Jin got his first real metal longsword, swaggered about secretly brandishing it, got lost, and strayed into the neighbor's territory.

Starving, he snatched a large mushroom from a neighbor child's hand.

Put in the surface world, a fist‑sized mushroom… and of terrible color and taste—who would give it a second glance?

No.

But down here, such a mushroom is life.

Wu Jin came back hacked and bleeding, and Wu Zhan led the newly formed Wu Family Shibao warband back to retaliate.

That was the first neighbor wiped out by Wu Family Shibao.

Just a mushroom.

Wu Tie suddenly recalled Wu Jin's blood‑soaked state: thirteen knife wounds crisscrossing his body, each deep to the bone—it was only his tough luck that let him struggle to survive.

Ah, past events are hard to bear, yet Wu Tie inexplicably found himself flooded with all sorts of chaotic thoughts.

Eh, Wa Valley is a nice place.

Ah, old lady bringing Wa Xiao Xi to stay in Wa Valley—this is no good, no good, really no good.

The women of Wa Valley—tsk, their customs are too weird and domineering.

Shall we, let the old monsters of the Wu Family take the young lads……

Hehe, smash Wa Valley and snatch wives?

As far as Wu Tie knows, the Wu Family is vastly stronger than those Wa Valley women.

But the Wa tribe as a whole? Hard to say.

The Wu Family is merely a vassal clan of the Fuxi Divine Kingdom.

And the imperial Xi clan of the Fuxi Divine Kingdom are old allies of the Wa tribe; the Wa tribe is equally strong, ancient, and miraculous as the Xi clan.

Wu Tie recalled the strange influences that had surfaced from his bloodline during his many cultivation sessions.

Those twin spirals of strange light‑shadow, that pair of male and female with human bodies and serpent tails.

Primordial deities.

Wa and Xi…… tsk tsk, not to be provoked, cannot be afforded.

The thoughts in his mind were utterly scrambled.

Wu Tie recalled the mission given to him by Wu Prison and Xi Bu Bai…… He must have completed quite a bit, right?

At least, on the surface there is now a patch of land; the Wu Family people have also furtively moved a few folks there, taking up residence in the Wu Family Fort on Huan Yun Mountain.

Especially, that Xi Yao kid—uh, no, that old brat—hasn't Wu Tie also found him?

This guy never showed up at the duel battlefield, and no one knows what he's up to.

Tsk…… Wu Tie inexplicably felt a bit sour.

Figuring his age, he's actually not that old; all this fighting and struggling, then fighting and struggling again. If Wu Tie's luck weren't decent, even a steel‑forged body would have been smashed to pieces.

Tired.

Inexpressibly tired.

Tired to the bone marrow, tired to the soul.

Life, why must it be so desperate? Wanting to pause, even just catch a breath, is impossible.

Is life always like this?

Or is it only those living in this damned era who are so weary?

People of the underground world already have a hard enough life.

But in the surface world, do the folk of the Three Kingdoms live very comfortably?

Perhaps the subjects of Great Wei fare well; Great Wei is the most culturally advanced of the Three Kingdoms, and its hundred‑odd aristocratic clans, forming a league‑like mechanism, indulge in poetry and painting, wine and song, yet they are also fairly kind to their populace.

And the former Great Jin, now Qingqiu…… plus the even more cruel Great Martial God Kingdom.

The common folk aren't living very well.

Life, I suppose, has always been like this.

Those in low positions have the hardship of low rank.

Those in high positions bear the weariness of high rank.

Who can be more at ease than anyone?

Even the Three Kingdoms' God Emperor, and the various families' ancestors who outrank even the God Emperor, weren't they all forced to come and join some battle to unify the Three Kingdoms?

Hehe, the formerly dignified high-level figures of the Three Kingdoms, tsk tsk.

At the gods' command, aren't they just like a pack of fighting dogs, rushing to this tiny place to risk their lives in a bloody slaughter?

Woof, woof woof.

Wu Tie lightly mimicked a few dog barks, hehe laughing.

However, the gods suddenly employed such a strange method, which is different from their usual style, very different.

So, do they live without worries, with enjoyment?

Not necessarily, really not necessarily.

A sudden change in their conduct proves there is a huge upheaval within them.

Hehe, a huge upheaval.

No matter what the change, using the just-grown butt to think, everyone knows it will surely be a bloody storm, surely rivers of blood.

Really, no one is simple, living easily and comfortably.

In Wu Tie's mind, from Lao Tie's massive database, some obscure phrases slowly flowed through his heart.

"Life, damn life, not a single moment is easy, so when a person is born wailing, they cry to heaven and earth, because everyone knows the suffering of this lifetime awaits you."

"Tired, it's not easy. But even more tired, even less easy."

Wu Tie looked at the new flesh grown on his arm bones, began to struggle, exerting effort.

Even more difficult, even more bitter, even more tired.

Even as a big sir, you must give your all, must strive.

Before his eyes flashed the faces of Wu Zhan, Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tie, Lao Tie, Pei Feng, and others……

Laziness slowly dissipated.

Strength gradually recovered.

"Even more tired, even less easy, big sirs, you must straighten your backs—whether facing demons and monsters or gods and buddhas—the only thing is, fuck his mother."