Heaven Ascension Utopia.

The mighty river of time surged as its waves relentlessly rolled forward.

After nine battles, Lin Xun defeated his final opponent and became the unrivaled supreme of the Heaven Ascension realm in all of history!

Lin Xun chuckled. "Thanks for letting me win, Thirteenth Senior Brother."

The previous number one Heaven Ascension expert was Li Xuanwei, Fangchun Mountain’s thirteenth disciple. A legend in his own right, he was a Chaos Green Lotus who gained enlightenment and created the Green Lotus Grotto Art.

As Lin Xun recalled the previous battles, strong emotions welled up in his heart.

In the True Martial World, he met his eleventh senior brother, Pu Zhen, who was the strongest in the True Martial realm.

In the Spirit Dipper World, he encountered his fifth senior brother Blazing Jun, who was the strongest in the Spirit Dipper realm.

In the Spirit Sea World, he met his third senior sister Ruo Su, who was the strongest in the Spirit Sea realm.

And now, he met Li Xuanwei.

Lin Xun couldn’t help but sigh at how freakish the Fangchun Mountain disciples were. Each of them seemed crazier and fiercer than the next, and they were basically akin to legends.

However...all of these legendary figures who once shone brightly in the river of time had now been surpassed by him, Lin Daoyuan!

Crash~

Law power surged and transformed into a figure.

An all-too-familiar scene began to play out once more.

Without any hesitation, Lin Xun entered the door of reincarnation leading to the Cyclic Derivation World.

……

Ning Province, Qixia Sword Palace.

Yun Changkong anxiously waited under the setting sun, his eyes fixed on the gates of Qixia Sword Palace in the distance.

He had been waiting here for six hours.

Suddenly, a chariot swiftly approached from a far and stopped before the gates. A man and a woman emerged and walked down from the chariot.

The man was tall and handsome. He wore a sword on his waist and was clearly an extraordinary individual.

The woman was beautiful and gave off a noble aura. Her green dress gently fluttered, exuding a dazzling elegance.

Several gasps sounded nearby upon recognizing the man and woman. They were the golden boy and jade maiden of Qixia Sword Palace’s younger generation.

The man was called Ouyang Qing. He was the young clan leader of the Ouyang Clan, one of the five sword lords of the younger generation, and the number one sword cultivator among the Qixia Sword Palace’s current generation.

The woman was called Lan Yingxue. Three years ago, she took first place in the entrance exam, and entered Qixia Sword Palace to cultivate. Over the past three years, she performed so outstandingly that she was accepted as the final disciple of the Qixia Sword Palace master!

In the people's eyes, individuals like Ouyang Qing and Lan Yingxue were akin to dragons and phoenixes. They were dazzling existences who were respected and admired by many.

Amidst the commotion, an excited voice rang out, "Yingxue! Yingxue!"

Everyone’s gazes followed the voice and found Yun Changkong standing alone some distance away. From his shabby appearance, he was clearly from a poor family.

Someone shouted, "Where did this beggar come from? How dare someone like you call Senior Sister Lan's name?"

A burst of laughter erupted from the vicinity. Everyone could see that Yun Changkong was just an ordinary youngster who was completely without aeth qi. In the eyes of cultivators, such a person was no different from an ant.

As such, it was indeed very rude of someone like him to directly call out to Lan Yingxue by name.

"You’re the beggar!" Yun Changkong's cheeks flushed. "Yingxue and I are childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Three years ago, we already..."

However, he was interrupted before he could finish, "Why have you come looking for me?"

Lan Yingxue walked over. The setting sun bathed her beautiful face in a holy glow which mesmerized Yun Changkong.

Yingxue has changed a lot in the past three years...

Unable to contain himself any further, Yun Changkong blurted out, "Yingxue, you said that I could come meet you once I found the jade pendant passed down from my ancestor..."

"Did you find it?" Lan Yingxue's eyes glimmered strangely. "Come with me."

She led Yun Changkong away from Qixia Sword Palace and into a nearby forest.

"Where's the jade pendant? Show me." Lan Yingxue stretched out her hand.

"Of course." Without any hesitation, Yun Changkong retrieved an old wooden box, carefully opened it, and handed it over. "Yingxue, look, this is my Yun family’s ancestral jade pendant."

He eagerly looked at the beauty before him and said in a low voice, "My mother said that she wants me to bring you back this time. She has already started sending out wedding invitations and has made all the preparations. All that’s missing now is you."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but reminisce about the past when he and Lan Yingxue were children. Back then, her favorite pastime had been to follow him everywhere.

Pah!

Lan Yingxue closed the wooden box and put it away. She then raised her gaze to look at Yun Changkong, whose face was full of expectation, and said, "I honestly didn’t expect that you would actually find this jade pendant."

Yun Changkong smiled and proudly said, "I will naturally complete whatever tasks you have. Yingxue, we should get going soon, my mother has been waiting all this time for you to return."

"I'm sorry, but I won't be going with you."

Lan Yingxue's expression was indifferent as if she wished to keep everyone a thousand miles away. "Not now, and not in the future. It will be best if you return as soon as you can."

Yun Changkong felt as if he was struck by lightning. Blood seemed to drain from his face as he asked, "Yingxue, why? Why is this happening? You never treated me like this before, Why? "

He was on the verge of losing control of his emotions.

“I knew nothing before.” Lan Yingxue's expression was calm, and her voice didn’t quiver in the slightest, "Now, you and I no longer live in the same world."

With that, she turned and left.

"Yingxue—!"

Yun Changkong anxiously reached out to grab Lan Yingxue, only to miss and fall to the ground. His face was smeared in dirt and leaves, making him cut quite the sorry figure.

However, Lan Yingxue didn't even turn her head.

"Yingxue, have you forgotten how I treated you in the past? Even if you no longer like me, you should at least give me a reason, right? "

Yun Changkong got up and lunged forward like a maniac, desperate to get Lan Yingxue back.

Thud!

However, a figure blocked him, causing him to stagger and fall on his butt.

"Reason? I'll tell you." The tall and handsome young man with a sword at his waist was naturally Ouyang Qing.

He stood there with his hands behind his back as he looked down at Yun Changkong.

"Junior Sister Yingxue is the most dazzling pearl of Qixia Sword Palace’s current generation. In a mere three years, she has already attained perfect Spirit Sea Stage cultivation. How can a lowly mortal like you possibly be worthy of such a prided daughter of the heavens?"

He paused briefly before he continued, "What Yingxue said earlier is right. You and her no longer live in the same world.

"Understand?"

Yun Changkong's pale expression turned even bleaker. With tightly clenched fists, he gazed at Lan Yingxue, and said, "Yingxue, even if you no longer like me, there’s no reason to be so heartless, right?

"Three years ago, my mother and I used all of our savings to send you to Qixia Sword Palace, but in return, are you...no longer going to even acknowledge me?"

His entire body began to tremble, and his hands and feet turned cold. "Yingxue, I beg you, please return with me, okay?"

Thud!

Ouyang Qing kicked him and said, "Still refusing to give up? Do you think I won’t kill you?"

Yun Changkong looked as if he was on the verge of a complete collapse. He croaked, "I never imagined that you, Lan Yingxue, would be such a person! Fine, take it that I, Yun Changkong, was blind. Return my Yun family's ancestral jade pendant. From now on... you and I will no longer have anything to do with each other!"

Ouyang Qing couldn't help but laugh. His smile was filled with disdain as he said, "How can you take back what you’ve given away? Junior Sister Yingxue, you go ahead."

In the distance, Lan Yingxue nodded and walked away. She showed only her back from start to end and never looked back.

The sight snuffed out Yun Changkong's final glimmer of hope. Overwhelmed by despair and anger, he felt darkness engulf his vision, and couldn’t help but cough a mouthful of blood.

The deeper the love, the deeper the pain.

Yun Changkong’s heart felt as if it was being cut by a knife as he thought of his mother, who was arranging the marriage and waiting for him to bring Lan Yingxue back home.

Ouyang Qing slowly said, "Junior Sister Yingxue has left. Do you know what this means?" His eyes were full of pity as he looked down at Yun Changkong as if staring at an ant.

Without waiting for Yun Changkong’s response, Ouyang Qing said, "It means that she no longer cares whether you live or die, and has given me full authority to resolve this situation."

Yun Changkong's expression suddenly changed, "You...plan on silencing me?"

Expressionless, Ouyang Qing answered, "If you live and tell others what happened today, it would inevitably affect Junior Sister Yingxue's reputation. How can I allow such a thing to stain a prided daughter of the heavens like her?"

As he spoke, he waved his sleeves.

Boom!

Yun Changkong was sent flying. Blood gushed from all of his orifices as he lay on the ground and incoherently mumbled, "I will...never...let you guys...off...even if...I become a...ghost..."

His voice gradually faded into nothingness.

"A ghost? We cultivators are not afraid of ghosts or gods."

Ouyang Qing laughed as he shook his head and turned to leave.

However, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart mid-way, and couldn’t help but turn his head.

In the dark woods, Yun Changkong, who should have been dead, was seated up.

He didn’t die?

Ouyang Qing was taken aback. He knew full-well that the previous blow should have been more than enough to easily shatter the other party’s heart. Yet, something unexpected had occurred.

A sigh echoed in the forest, "Truly a fool trapped by love..."

Next, Ouyang Qing saw Yun Changkong walking towards him.

The young man looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was still covered in dirt and leaves. A bloody stain still marked the front of his chest, and his face was still deathly pale.

However, monumental changes occurred as he approached. With every step he took, his aura rapidly soared.

From mortal to True Martial, to Spirit Dipper, to Spirit Sea...

When he was thirty feet from Ouyang Qing, the ordinary-looking youth had transformed into a perfect Heaven Ascension cultivator.

His abyss-like eyes were so deep that they seemed as if they could swallow anyone whole!

Ouyang Qing was dumbfounded as he involuntarily trembled all over. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a bizarre and terrifying event.

It was like seeing a ghost!

No, it was scarier than seeing a ghost!

"You...how...how can this happen..." Ouyang Qing couldn’t help but ask, unable to maintain his composure.

Yun Changkong asked, "Isn't this surprising and exciting?"