Chapter 285 - 271: Payback

Chapter 285: Chapter 271: Payback

But this young man... he looked like he’d lost the will to live!

Jiang Xu’s heart trembled, but he nonchalantly began to follow him.

The young man’s steps were slow yet determined as he walked, one foot after the other, toward the gates of Sun’s Immortal City.

The passersby were not blind to the young man’s strange condition. Several warm-hearted people wanted to approach him, ask what was wrong, and offer help.

However, whenever someone was about to step forward, another person would quickly stop them and whisper a few words in their ear.

The words of these dissuaders seemed to have a magical power, as all the well-meaning people gave up the idea of approaching him after hearing them and went back to their own business.

And in the gazes they cast toward the young man, there was now a faint hint of derision.

This strange scene caused a flash of suspicion in Jiang Xu’s eyes. Without hesitation, he activated his Divine Sense, wanting to eavesdrop on what the people stopping others were saying.

...

"Hey, why’d you pull me back? Look, that young fella doesn’t seem right. Shouldn’t we go ask what’s up?"

"I’m telling you, you really haven’t been paying attention to the big things happening in our clan lately!"

"What big things?"

"Tsk! Stop only worrying about selling your flatbreads and pay some attention to clan affairs! I’m telling you, he’s that Seed of Evil from our clan!"

"What?! That Seed of Evil?! You mean the one born from that affair with an outsider?"

"Shh, shh, shh, keep your voice down! Even if he is a Seed of Evil, he’s still a Cultivator! I hear he’s vicious and cruel. What if he overhears us talking about him and decides to secretly come after us?"

"Hmph, what’s there to be afraid of? I don’t believe a Seed of Evil like him would dare lay a hand on us! Ahem, well, uh, I think the air here is a bit stuffy. I’m gonna go sell my flatbreads in the southern part of the city."

"Wait for me! I think the air here is bad, too!"

...

The conversation between these two vendors was just a small part of the surrounding discussion.

From the whispers of the people around him, Jiang Xu began to piece together the young man’s story.

The young man was the product of a secret love affair between a Female Cultivator of the Sun Family and an outsider.

Everything had been fine at first, but after the Female Cultivator became pregnant, her gradually swelling belly was discovered by the Sun Family.

It went without saying that for the Sun Clan, who held an extreme animosity toward outsiders, this was an utterly intolerable humiliation.

The Female Cultivator and the man she loved were both, in fact, Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

But two ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators were no match for the furious Sun Family.

The moment the Sun Clan discovered the pregnancy, they seized the Female Cultivator and imprisoned her within the clan grounds.

As for her partner, he was likely also found by the wrathful Sun Clan.

Whether they killed him or just beat him to within an inch of his life...

In any case, the Female Cultivator’s partner was never seen again.

As for the Female Cultivator, she insisted on giving birth to the boy within the clan and raised him to this day.

It was only thanks to the Sun Clan’s Leader having a shred of humanity—or perhaps for some other special reason—that he never ordered the boy’s execution, allowing him to survive all this time.

The young man, whether by good fortune or bad, was born with a Spirit Root. Amidst the ostracism of the Sun Family, he struggled with his Cultivation until the present day.

But in the past, although the boy’s life was very difficult, he had never possessed the will to die as he did now.

The reason he had become like this was the "big event" in the clan the two vendors had mentioned—the young man’s mother, overcome with longing for her partner, had finally died of grief not long ago.

...

’This is too tragic, isn’t it?’

Jiang Xu followed secretly behind the young man, listening to the discussions of the people around them and lamenting the boy’s background.

He followed the young man out of the city gates, onto the main road, and far away from Sun’s Immortal City.

At first, Jiang Xu wondered why the young man could pass through the city gates so easily.

’Logically, a person like him should be under tight control, unable to even leave his room, right?’

But after thinking about it, Jiang Xu had another idea. ’It must be because the Sun Family doesn’t want such a stain on their name. They’re probably waiting for him to leave the clan voluntarily.’

’But if they want him to leave, why not just banish him directly?’

Jiang Xu mulled it over for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.

Just as he was pondering this, the young man suddenly stopped.

Jiang Xu was startled, thinking he had been discovered, but a closer look revealed that was not the case.

The young man was now standing on a mountain peak. Facing the open expanse before him, he gently closed his eyes, embraced the wind, spread his arms, and muttered to himself:

"I, Sun Fan—no, Liang Fan—am not resigned to this life."

"First, I am not resigned to my birth."

"Why, because my father was not of the Sun Clan, was he branded a criminal? What crime did I commit by being born into this world, only to be seen as a Seed of Evil?"

"Second, I am not resigned to my mother’s death."

"Why was my mother, who gave her true love, seen as a traitor, scorned by her own clan, and left to die alone? Why, as a Cultivator, was I unable to protect my dearest kin, only able to watch helplessly as she suffered endlessly and finally perished?"

"Third, I am not resigned to being cast out by my clan."

His fists clenched, as if suppressing the deep pain and anger in his heart.

"Why, as members of the same clan, can they not tolerate a love that crosses clan lines? Why does the world view my mother and me with such narrow-mindedness, with even our own kin treating me with ridicule and indifference?"

"Fourth, I am not resigned to my path of Cultivation."

He faced the vast expanse of the heavens, his eyes growing ever more resolute.

"Why, as a member of the Sun Clan, did I not receive the guidance and training I was due? Why was I forced to struggle to survive amidst discrimination and ostracism, fumbling along the path of cultivation alone? Why, after arduously cultivating to the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage, could I still not earn the clan’s recognition or respect, instead being forced to live within the family like a stray dog?"

"Fifth, I am not resigned to my destiny."

The young man’s voice grew firmer and firmer, as if he were making a declaration to the heavens and the earth.

"I refuse to simply accept the arrangements of fate! As Liang Fan, I will challenge this unjust destiny! I will seek my own path! I will prove that I am more than just a ’Seed of Evil’! I will show everyone that I can forge my own path of Cultivation!"

Jiang Xu, hidden in the distance, silently listened to the young man’s declaration to the world.

The young man’s once-overwhelming death wish had, amidst those cries that were like howls of grief, gradually reversed itself.

It transformed into an exceptionally strong will to fight.

Jiang Xu looked at the young man’s powerful fighting spirit. Although he sympathized with his plight, he inwardly scoffed.

After leaving his clan, this young man could only become a Loose Cultivator.

From what Jiang Xu understood, on Greed Wolf Island, the status of a Loose Cultivator was even lower than in Dinghai State.

This was because on Greed Wolf Island, aside from the Seven Stars Association, all Cultivation Organizations of any significant scale were in the form of Cultivation Clans.

In Dinghai State, Loose Cultivators at least had some hope of joining a Sect.

But on Greed Wolf Island, after leaving the Sun Clan, he would have no choice but to struggle on his own.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to cool off in the shade of a large tree.

Without a Cultivation Organization backing you, everything becomes an uphill battle based on individual effort alone.

’Obtaining a suitable Magical Artifact? An Elixir to advance your Cultivation? Mastering a handy Magic technique?’

’It’s all as difficult as ascending to the heavens.’

’Besides, if he wants to deal with the Sun Family... an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator wouldn’t stand a chance. Even one at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection would have a tough time.’

In Jiang Xu’s view, if the boy relied only on himself, he was afraid the only outcome would be dying filled with regret and hatred.

Jiang Xu shook his head and was about to leave, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He thought of Sun Zixuan.

’Perhaps... I can use this boy as a stepping stone to get my revenge.’

In truth, Jiang Xu’s desire for revenge against Sun Zixuan wasn’t entirely because he was lashing out from shame and anger.

In Jiang Xu’s opinion, the fact that Sun Zixuan had seen through his disguise meant that the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body still had significant flaws, even at the Mastery Realm.

And Jiang Xu had already understood that the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body was not a Magic technique that could be improved through simple practice alone.

To improve it quickly, one needed a certain degree of enlightenment.