The Weight of Rage and Mercy

The Icecalm Riders' 'General' had long held a grudge against the Heaven Triumph Palace. This incident was merely the spark. The General genuinely cherished his disciple, 'Bloodfeud,' and had decided that this was his true successor. Bloodfeud’s talent was immense, but it had always been suppressed by his hatred. Once his revenge was fulfilled, Bloodfeud would undergo a transformation like a phoenix rising from the ashes. So, the General seized this opportunity… to annihilate the Heaven Triumph Palace in one fell swoop.

“Flee, flee, flee.”

“As long as I live, the Li Clan is not destroyed.” The white-bearded elder saw the situation on the battlefield and lost all will to fight; he began to flee.

The silver-armored knight madly slaughtered all those who obstructed him, desperately trying to get closer. As for the soldiers of Heaven Triumph Fort, seeing their ‘Fort Lord’ beginning to flee, their morale plummeted, and they too began to scatter.

The Icecalm Riders began a frenzied massacre… following Bloodfeud’s orders: kill them all, leave not a single one alive.

“Li Tianxun, stop struggling.” An ancient voice rang out.

Two streaks of light flew over from the distance. It was the two Elders. At the same time, the mutilated corpse of the Celestial Immortal Tongxiao fell from midair.

“No.”

The white-bearded elder watched in despair as the two armored Elders appeared in the air before him.

“Bloodfeud, he’s yours.” One of the Elders spoke.

“Thank you, Elder.” The silver-armored knight strode forward, his killing intent soaring to the heavens.

And then—

The world suddenly fell silent.

All the sounds of battle, pleas for mercy, and weeping vanished completely, replaced by an absolute stillness. The Icecalm Riders, swinging their long spears; the mother shielding her child from blades with her own body; the silver-armored knight, his eyes filled with boundless hatred; the two calm Elders in the air… their faces were all frozen in shock.

Because they all realized they could no longer move.

Even the two Elders in the air were utterly frozen.

“Alas.”

A sigh echoed between heaven and earth.

A black-robed youth walked out of the void in the distance. A moment ago, he was far away; with another step, he was already in the sky above Heaven Triumph Fort.

Everyone present was terrified. Even the silver-armored knight and the two Elders felt a chill in their hearts. Even the ‘General,’ who was ranked among the top three in all the world, was far less terrifying than this youth. The black-robed youth stood there as if the entire world revolved around him. The very world seemed to tremble faintly, as if the youth could effortlessly destroy it.

“Are you the leader of these riders?” The black-robed Ji Ning stood before the white-bearded elder and the silver-armored knight, looking at the latter.

The silver-armored knight suddenly found he could speak again. He nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you the leader of this fort?” Ji Ning looked at the white-bearded elder.

The white-bearded elder also found he could speak. He hurriedly said, “Senior, these Icecalm Riders have destroyed my tribe and massacred innocents. I beg you, Senior, to grant us justice.”

Ji Ning looked at the silver-armored knight.

“Him? Justice? The entire Heaven Triumph Fort is nothing but a lair of demons. They all deserve to die.” The silver-armored knight’s eyes were filled with hate.

With a single probe of his divine sense, Ji Ning examined the soul memories of both the silver-armored knight and the white-bearded elder. He fully understood the situation, as well as the boundless hatred within the knight’s heart.

“Our Heaven Triumph Fort has brought prosperity to this land. Though a large population inevitably has some bad elements, you can ask anyone about our reputation.” The white-bearded elder understood that this ‘existence’ before him was his only hope. Tears flowed from his eyes. “But these Icecalm Riders are despicable… they wouldn’t even spare the children.”

“Enough talk of reputation.” Ji Ning glanced at the white-bearded elder, his gaze calm. “Fort Lord of Heaven Triumph Fort, leader of the Black Wind Cave.”

The white-bearded man’s face turned ashen.

Heaven Triumph Fort was indeed secretly the ‘Black Wind Cave.’ Every male was trained, their murderous intent honed from the age of three. But even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow. Heaven Triumph Fort’s reputation in the surrounding area was indeed excellent; they were known for their charity and good deeds. However, in foreign lands… they were truly the Black Wind Cave, a den of evildoers who stopped at nothing. They committed countless murders and robberies, which was the source of Heaven Triumph Fort’s wealth and power.

This was a secret known to very few.

Bloodfeud only learned of it because he was a victim and later joined the Icecalm Riders.

“They all deserve to die. They deserve it.” The silver-armored knight spoke like a madman.

“But what of the children? What of the women who have never killed? Especially the babies still in swaddling clothes?” Ji Ning looked at him.

“Uproot the grass and pull out the roots.” The silver-armored knight looked at Ji Ning. “I know you are powerful, Senior. But I have already taken my revenge. Do with me as you will, kill me or flay me. Please, just don’t implicate the others. My brothers in the Icecalm Riders only attacked here on my orders. I have lived in hatred for so many years. Now that my revenge is complete, I am content.”

The silver-armored knight stood there.

Ji Ning shook his head.

“Whoosh.”

With a wave of his hand, Ji Ning swept all the children and women in the fort into the minor world treasure he carried with him.

Then Ji Ning vanished into thin air.

“Huh?” Everyone felt they could move again.

“He didn’t kill me?” The silver-armored knight was stunned, then knelt down solemnly and kowtowed three times.

As for the white-bearded elder, he was utterly panicked and dazed.

The two Elders looked solemn. “Bloodfeud, finish Li Tianxun quickly. We need to leave immediately and report today’s events to the General.”

“Yes.” The silver-armored knight nodded and walked forward. The white-bearded elder closed his eyes.

Thrust.

The long spear pierced the white-bearded elder’s chest. With a pull, blood sprayed out. The white-bearded elder’s eyes snapped open, and he laughed, a mad laugh, before his breath faded completely.

Soon after, the three thousand Icecalm Riders departed that very night.

…

“The resentment and killing intent in the Three Realms grow ever stronger.”

Walking across the land, Ji Ning could faintly sense the resentment and killing intent building within the world.

It had been over a hundred and sixty years since his two true bodies had entered the Moon Underwater Abyss. He couldn’t sense what was happening inside, but he could confirm that both true bodies were still alive. If they died, his other true bodies would sense it, and he could recover two more.

“Ji Ning, if you want to save your senior apprentice-sister, don’t get involved in the Realm War for now.”

“Master, she is my senior apprentice-sister, but this war is a different matter.”

“Don’t worry. When the final decisive battle over the struggle for karmic luck comes, you will be allowed to participate. For now? Your presence or absence won’t matter. Focus on training. Fuxi, Suiren, and the others have high hopes for you. If you can become a True God or Daofather before the final battle, that would be a far greater help.”

“Yes.”

This was the conversation Ji Ning had with Bodhi back then.

Since then, Ji Ning had been wandering the Three Realms. He had seen far more. As the battles of the Realm War chained on, the Seamless Gate grew increasingly frenzied. Their infiltration and influence had grown so vast that even ordinary mortals were drastically affected. All kinds of slaughter, hatred, and cycles of vengeance had become far too common.

Ji Ning had seen too much and understood that the root cause of all this was the Seamless Gate’s instigation, turning a once-peaceful order into chaos.

What the Seamless Gate loved was a chaotic world.

But in a chaotic world, the lives of mortals were as cheap as grass!

And Ji Ning had always believed that children were innocent. Just as when he was young, avenging Chuncao by tormenting that enemy from the Riverside Tribe, he had still spared the enemy’s child, ‘Cai’er. He had said, ‘If you have the ability, cultivate and come seek revenge.’ But in the end, that child, ‘Cai’er,’ only managed to reach the Zifu Disciple level before dying in the chaos unleashed by the Seamless Gate.

…

He observed the myriad facets of life, the cycles of gratitude and enmity, love and hatred.

Ji Ning couldn’t quite articulate the feeling, but he felt his own ‘heart’ subtly shifting.

Night.

On a mountain peak, atop a block of stubborn stone, the black-robed Ji Ning sat cross-legged. Before him floated a single Heavenly Stargold Bead, its divine runes shimmering. Ji Ning would regularly study the Five Treasures Sword Art and the Ninefold Chaos Seal. Studying them together led to faster comprehension. The Ninefold Chaos Seal required observing this Stargold Bead.

“Hm?” Ji Ning’s heart stirred.

“Appear.”

Instantly, three thousand six hundred Stargold Beads appeared around him like a sky full of stars. With a surge of his ki, all the beads began to glow. The runes on their surfaces shifted and morphed. Gradually, wisps of profound, mysterious energy emerged from the void, gathering upon each bead, imbuing them with an ‘incredibly profound’ aura.