Published: March 8, 2025
Chapter 168: The Sword is Drawn! [Second Update!]
Chu Yang took a deep breath and said, “The third option is to choose the path of martial arts, dedicating one’s life to arduous cultivation. Extending one’s lifespan, this life can be colorful, yet also lonely and isolated; filled with perilous waves and near-death experiences. One does not necessarily stop at any moment…”
Chu Le'er fell silent for a moment and asked, “Big brother, is there a fourth option?”
“The fourth option…” Chu Yang took a breath, “Yes!”
“The fourth path in life is the path of the Great Dao!” Chu Yang swallowed hard and said with some difficulty, “The path of the Great Dao transcends both the path of martial arts and the path of heaven’s way! The path of the Great Dao… has no end.”
“To walk the path of the Great Dao, one must give not only diligence and sweat but also unwavering faith. This path is the most difficult and the loneliest. When you reach halfway, you may discover that everyone around you has already fallen; they have all disappeared; but you cannot look back, only move forward, even if there is nothing ahead…”
Chu Yang spoke in a deep voice.
“Forward… is there really nothing?” Chu Le'er bit her little finger and, with a childlike innocence, gently asked.
“Perhaps there might be something, but… everything ahead will eventually become behind, transforming into the scenery of the past…”
After saying this, Chu Yang stared blankly at the burning campfire, falling silent.
Chu Le'er took two steps outside, looking at the darkening sky and the dim forest. Standing beside the fire, she softly said, “Big brother, you know me. I have been enduring pain since birth… I grew up in suffering, experiencing hardships that others might not endure in ten lifetimes, yet I have gone through several within a month.”
Chu Le'er smiled bitterly, “Most women in the world would choose the first path, marrying and raising children, finding a place to settle down, and live their lives.”
“But… in this life, after enduring so much pain, I did not do so to marry and raise children, to walk that most ordinary path.”
Chu Yang said solemnly, “Then, the first path is denied.”
“Denied.”
“The second path, the path of power… I don’t want to participate in the family struggles; after all, they are my closest kin. Just thinking about that situation terrifies me,” Chu Le'er said calmly.
Chu Yang sighed, “Then, the second path is also denied.”
“Denied.”
“The third path, the path of martial arts.” Chu Le'er smiled sweetly, “Big brother, since there is a path that transcends martial arts, why should I choose this obviously lower-level path of martial arts?”
Chu Yang helplessly stated, “The third path is also denied.”
“Denied,” Chu Le'er replied playfully.
“Then only the fourth path is left to choose,” Chu Yang said.
“So I don't need to choose,” Chu Le'er laughed, “The fourth path is filled with hardships, the loneliest and most desolate, yet… someone must walk it. The scenery ahead may indeed turn into the past, but the scenery remains scenery. The unknown scenery is the most alluring because you never know what you will encounter next.”
“How do I know there won't be travelers beside me on this road? Since those who walk the Great Dao are all exceptional, the geniuses of ancient and modern times, the eternal legends, all walk this path.”
Chu Le'er softly said, “If I quicken my pace and take a few more steps, I might surpass a legend.”
“Every time you surpass, it is an achievement.”
Chu Le'er's eyes sparkled: “Big brother, I love this feeling of achievement!”
Her face, illuminated by the firelight, seemed to glow.
Chu Yang exhaled a long breath, as if he had released all the feelings and concerns he had been holding inside.
“Good!”
Chu Yang exclaimed.
Then he stood up, “Since that's the case, Le'er has determined her own path. I just want to say one thing: in the future, do not regret!”