Chapter 171: Why Did You Come Here

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Slumping to the ground with vacant eyes, Shao Pincheng seemed to have lost all hope at this moment, and the world before him appeared to be gray.

When one's final spiritual sustenance becomes a backstab, the only final result is despair.

"Is that so? Actually, you already have the answer in your heart; you just don't dare to admit it yourself."

"Heh, seeking skin from a tiger—so this is what it means to seek skin from a tiger. Yes, I have already been abandoned!"

A bitter smile crept onto his face as Shao Pincheng looked up at Shen Yu; at this moment, the look in his eyes no longer held that man-eating hatred.

His gaze was dull and lusterless; at this time, he likely only wished for a quick death.

"The matters in Xichuan were my doing, all my doing!"

"Shen Yu, do you know? Back then, my greatest dream was to be like you, able to sweep away injustice and cleanse the world with my sword."

Looking at Shen Yu, Shao Pincheng's face held a bit more envy; this was the life he had originally wanted.

"I was born of a concubine, and my father was a henpecked coward. The first wife ruled the household, so my mother and I lived lives worse than the servants every day!"

"But my mother still tried hard to teach me to be kind every day. She was a disciple of a small sect; after her sect was destroyed, she was saved by my father and then gave herself to him."

"Yet I never expected that this father of mine was just an incompetent coward who couldn't protect her at all."

"Even so, she never complained. She pinned her hopes on me, hoping that I could become a great hero who upholds justice in the future!"

"But she was tortured to death by the first wife early on. My mother was an expert of the Hou Tian Realm, yet she was tortured to death alive. Can you imagine how much torture she had to endure every day?"

"Even then, she was still teaching me, hoping I could become a hero famous throughout the martial arts world, respected by all."

"Perhaps in her eyes, becoming a hero was the only way to stand out and be respected. She hoped that whenever her son was mentioned, it would be with reverence!"

Struggling to crawl up, Shao Pincheng muttered to himself, beginning to recount his past, regardless of whether Shen Yu was truly willing to listen.

There were some things he had kept pressed in his heart, and now that his life was coming to an end, he had to let them out.

He hated this world, and he hated everyone; it was the world that had abandoned him first!

"I, too, once strove for this dream back then. I wholeheartedly sought to enter a sect. My master taught me to learn to sacrifice, and my senior brothers told me to learn to let go."

"When I first stepped into the sect, I thought I had arrived at a true righteous sect. But you don't know—my sect was a pack of wolves that would eat people without spitting out the bones!"

"Except for my junior sister who treated me with sincerity, everyone else wanted to eat me."

"A dignified major sect, yet so many people died or were injured every year; I should have realized there was a problem long ago!"

Quietly watching Shen Yu, the more he looked, the more he envied him. Since Shen Yu's debut, he seemed to have never encountered any major setbacks, sailing smoothly all the way.

Powerful strength is the confidence that allows one to act recklessly; Shen Yu can kill corrupt officials and eliminate evil bullies without restraint, without worrying about any retaliation, living his life as he pleases.

But I couldn't. He, too, had dreamed of roaming the world with his sword, but reality did not allow his wishes to come true.

The bloody reality taught him about life, forced him to bow his head, and made him discard his original intentions early on.

"Shen Yu, Lord Shen, not everyone is as lucky as you. Have you ever thought about how dark this martial arts world is!"

"The Martial Arts our sect practiced seemed powerful, but in reality, it was just a Seed sown by others; only a very few people truly benefited."

"All the remaining fellow disciples were just food for them to improve themselves!"

"How ridiculous the teachings of the sect elders and the affection of the senior brothers were. They weren't caring for juniors; they were planting crops, they were raising pigs and sheep!"

"When I accidentally saw my senior brother being sucked into a husk by our master, do you know how desperate that was for me!"

"The master I respected, the existence I viewed as a father, actually wanted to kill us. From that moment on, my sky had already collapsed!"

"And later, when the master discovered me, he didn't hesitate to suck me dry as well."

Speaking to this point, Shao Pincheng couldn't help but laugh out loud. He laughed at his own ridiculous self, and he laughed at this ridiculous martial arts world.

"Perhaps it was because I had practiced for a short time, or perhaps my constitution was special; I survived, though my body was depleted and my internal energy completely ruined, but fortunately, I didn't become a husk."

"Since then, I drifted through the martial arts world. I have killed people, been a beggar, been a refugee, and seen all kinds of falsehoods and evils in this world!"

"What great heroes upholding justice, what seniors of the righteous martial arts world—they are all hypocrites and swindlers."

"To achieve their status, how much blood has stained their hands."

"Only then did I know what it meant that 'good people don't live long, while those who kill and burn get the golden belts'."

"In such a martial arts world, deceit is everywhere; good people cannot live long. Only by being more ruthless and evil can one survive."

"Evil people commit all kinds of crimes, yet they only need to do one small good deed to become a great philanthropist, a top-tier hero. This martial arts world has long since rotted to the core!"

"Until I accidentally broke into that place, a voice rang out from the bottom of my heart. If this martial arts world is dark, then I must be darker than them; only then can I live, live well!"

"I personally killed my entire family and everyone in my sect, killed the junior sister I admired and the senior brother who took good care of me, cutting off all paths of retreat."

"I offered up my conscience and harvested unprecedented power, true power."

"Ruthless enough!" Shen Yu raised his eyebrows slightly; this was the rhythm of one person succeeding at the cost of their entire family. And not just the family—everyone in the sect who had even the slightest connection was dragged into it.

Shen Yu had already sorted out the whole process; this negative energy first caused Shao Pincheng to fall, becoming someone truly used for his own purposes.

Then, in this process, it slowly merged with him completely, able to pass through and strengthen itself by devouring Shao Pincheng's origin. Then it made him find targets to invade, spreading the negative energy silently.

Until now, the entire Xichuan was in chaos because of this, the common people were complaining, and the person behind it had likely grown strong because of this.

The sweet benefits he gave Shao Pincheng were only a very, very small part, perhaps only a tiny bit.

Shao Pincheng was like a donkey pulling a millstone; didn't he need to be given a little sweetness to be fed? The lion's share had already been collected.

At this moment, they were likely in some dark corner, looking at the outside world with greedy eyes.

"Afterward, I became one with that power, able to absorb negative energy for my own use. I spread those Mental Powers out, slowly infecting the upper echelons of the entire Xichuan."

"They were corrupt and lawless, living in a drunken stupor, their inner desires magnified infinitely. The common people were treated like fish and meat, living in hardship, with complaints everywhere."

"But so what? Pain, sorrow, despair—all kinds of negative emotions gathered like the sea, and my power grew stronger and stronger."

"I paid so much just so I could win. I could sacrifice everything; my conscience was long gone!!"

"This was my final sustenance. It pulled me up from the dust and mud, allowing me to become someone above others. But now it has abandoned me, throwing me ruthlessly back into the dust!"

"You are right; I was just a tool that could be discarded at any time, a discarded pawn."

"Not everyone is Lord Shen, and not everyone can sail smoothly; this martial arts world has never been friendly!"

"But I don't regret it; at least I once possessed it, instead of always being in the dust!" Laughing once more, Shao Pincheng's smile was very ugly, his laughter filled with sorrow.

Back then, Shao Pincheng would fantasize every day about sharpening a sword for ten years, to soar into the sky today and sweep away all the affairs of the world.

Yet in the end, she walked down an entirely different path, a path he was unwilling to take, yet one he was deeply trapped within.

By now, the original resistance had long since vanished without a trace, leaving only dependency behind.

Shao Pincheng is no longer the youth of the past; as for the man he is now, his death would not be a pity!