đź“– Chapter 1061 - Fate!
Chen Yang was kind. This had something to do with his innate nature, but also something to do with his upbringing. Although Chen Yang’s father wasn’t known for his cultivation base, his wisdom and righteousness were famous not only among the clan but even among the common populace.
Chen Yang’s mother was from a different noble family, and she was also a wise and sensible person. With her influence, Chen Yang didn’t subconsciously view himself as superior like the other noble children and was instead gentle and humble.
Coupled with his handsome appearance, Chen Yang’s childhood was full of smiles and laughter. All of this made him very firm when it came to his ideals. His motto was to ensure justice for all under heaven, to eliminate demons and eradicate devils!
And he did exactly that. Soon after joining the local branch of the Holy Sect, Chen Yang broke through to the Mundane Realm and set out into the world to gain experience. There, he saw wickedness and evil, as well as the chaos sweeping the outside world, but through it all, he held his sword and his ideals tightly, striving to uphold righteousness in everything he did.
He saved countless mortals and slaughtered innumerable demons. With his gentle personality and willingness to help, along with his own outstanding talent and strength, he quickly made many friends.
Some people were fated to be extraordinary from the very beginning. Chen Yang was precisely one of those people.
Upright, loyal, generous, gentle, sunny, humble… All of these, and many more beautiful words, could be used to describe him.
And such a person also possessed astonishing aptitude for cultivation. To a certain extent, he could already be considered a winner in life.
Ten years after he entered the branch sect, his cultivation base reached the great circle of the Mundane Realm. All his peers and elders recognized him as the First Senior Brother[1] of his generation.
Back then, his smile still contained radiance and hope for the future. Although he had seen so much darkness in the world, the smile on his face had never changed.
Back then, he was the pride of his clan, the role model for all his peers. The sect placed its highest hopes on him, and he seemed to be the focal point for countless rays of light.
“I can’t change the whole world, but what I can do is stay true to myself. Only like this can I be sure that I will never fail you!” When he was engaged with the little junior sister whom he had always been in love with, he spoke these words with a determined gaze.
Back then, he had many wishes in his heart. He wanted to make his family happy. He wanted to make his clan grow stronger. He wanted to let his lover forever wear a smile on her face. He wanted to help his friends keep up with his growth, to reduce the number of crying people in the world, to increase the happiness in people’s lives, to let the whole world slowly become a more beautiful place…
If nothing happened, then perhaps Chen Yang would really have been able to keep walking further along this path. Perhaps his relatives would really become happier, and his clan would grow stronger. Perhaps his little junior sister’s smile would indeed remain forever, and his friends would improve along with him. Perhaps the number of crying people would really decrease, and more and more people would become happy…
However, the future was unpredictable. A single choice could change everything!
And for Chen Yang… this choice appeared after his cultivation base broke through into the Spirit Realm.
The main Holy Sect suddenly offered him the opportunity to join.
As the number one Chosen of his local branch, Chen Yang was of course very excited to hear the news, and so was his clan. His only slight regret was that the main sect had ordered him to report in very soon, so he had to postpone his wedding with his little junior sister.
“After I report to the main sect, I will apply for a period of leave and come back to marry you.” This was the promise Chen Yang made as he bade farewell to his little junior sister, kissing her on the forehead before leaving.
But this promise… was doomed to remain unfulfilled.
Chen Yang never imagined that what awaited him at the main sect was a nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life…
As soon as he arrived at the main sect, he and the other ninety-nine Chosen who had reported in from other branches were suddenly imprisoned together without reason!
The place where the hundred of them were imprisoned was called Crimson Hell!
This place was a prison, and it was full of gloom and eeriness. As soon as they entered, their cultivation bases were suppressed, and they were told by a deep and cold voice that the only rule in this place… was to kill!
They had to kill each other, and they each had to kill one person every day. If they did so, they would obtain food and spirit stones, allowing them to maintain their strength and even restore their cultivation bases a little bit.
As for those who refused to kill… as soon as they died, their family, friends, and everyone related to them would be killed!
And if they both refused to kill people and didn’t die, they would be forced to personally witness the deaths of their family and friends.
Only once the hundred people were down to just one would the prison finally open.
As the voice echoed, all one hundred of them were shaken. Chen Yang felt that all of this was absurd and immediately conferred with the others to find a way out. But no matter how hard they looked for an exit, no matter how much they tried to find a solution to their predicament, everything failed…
By the end of the first day, most people hadn’t killed anyone, including Chen Yang. However, when the midnight bell tolled, a scene appeared in front of Chen Yang that made him go crazy.
Those who hadn’t killed anyone that day all had different images appear in their minds through some powerful divine ability.
The image Chen Yang saw was of his father… His father, who always had a smile on his face, who was always refined and gentle, who lived his entire life without a single blemish… That father was having his bones crushed inch by inch. His flesh and blood were flayed to bits, and miserable shrieks came out of his mouth incessantly, until… they suddenly stopped.
He had been exterminated in body and soul!
Chen Yang didn’t believe what he was seeing. He was sure that it was fake. He was a disciple of the Holy Sect! He had never done anything to betray the sect, nor had he ever done any evil deeds. This sort of thing shouldn’t be happening to him. It couldn’t be happening to him!
“This must be a test to enter the main sect. This is all an illusion!”
Chen Yang constantly told himself that everything was fake. He didn’t just say it to himself, either; he went out and repeatedly told everyone the same thing. His words were so determined that many people were convinced. However, everyone instinctively separated from each other, and the ferocity and struggle that appeared in their eyes from time to time made the prison seem even gloomier. Everyone felt their hearts pounding, and some had already begun picking out hiding spots.
Chen Yang was one of them.
On the second day, although there were a few more people who gave in and killed others, the majority still remained silent. But when midnight arrived once again, some people wailed in agony and madness.
“Why? Why? Why?! WHY?!”
“I have always treated the sect as my home. Why are you doing this to me?!”
Amidst the wails, Chen Yang’s body trembled. What appeared in his mind was a scene similar to the previous day’s, except this time it was his uncle! He died in the same miserable way as Chen Yang’s father!
“Fake… fake… it’s all fake…” Chen Yang trembled violently and repeated to himself over and over that this was nothing more than an illusion, a test to see if he was qualified to enter the main sect.
Soon, the third day passed, then the fourth, then the fifth. Chen Yang’s hair was disheveled, and he did nothing aside from remaining in hiding. In these past three days, he saw the tragic deaths of three more of his relatives. At the same time, he discovered that those who had chosen to kill had fallen silent, not screaming when midnight came. By now, the remaining people were divided into two groups.
The first group included Chen Yang. They had never killed anyone from the beginning until now. The second group was made up of those who had already killed, and as the days passed, the members of this group became more violent and decisive in killing.
Moreover, the size of the latter group was constantly increasing. Whether it was because of the images they saw every night, or for the sake of food, or in order to get spirit stones to restore their cultivation bases, there were too many reasons to kill. And so… more and more people chose to take each others’ lives!
When the ninth day arrived, a young man came to Chen Yang’s hiding spot with a fierce expression.
Chen Yang remembered him. This young man was one of those he’d spoken to on the first day, someone who also believed that this was all an illusion created by the sect. But now… it was obvious that his beliefs had changed.
“Chen Yang, since you have always persisted in thinking that this place is just an illusion and a test that the sect has prepared for us… then let me kill you. Let me help you escape, and also help you prove your thoughts.
“Maybe after you die here, you’ll wake up inside the main sect. At most, you’ll be judged to have failed the test.” The young man spoke slowly, approaching Chen Yang step by step…