The ground was covered in grey mists, making it look hazy and mysterious.
A gust of cold wind blew at Ou Yangming’s clothes. He glanced at the child behind him and sped up.
Nonetheless, the child did not say a word. He followed him from a distance, not daring to get too close or fall behind.
“Stop following me!” Ou Yangming turned his head and said in a low voice.
The child bit his lower lip lightly. He looked stubborn, and he did not answer, but he still lowered his head and followed behind Ou Yangming silently. Even so, not answering was the best answer. He still had to follow the young fellow.
His bare foot stepped on a withered branch and broke it with a creaking sound.
Ou Yangming looked into the distance. He executed his body technique and increased his speed to the level of a Rudimentary Spiritualist, where he almost turned into a whirlwind.
The child was panting and white mist was coming out of his hair. He gritted his teeth and followed Ou Yangming closely. After 2 days, the spiritual Qi in the little boy’s dantian was exhausted. He was only supported by the strength of his physical body and his strong will.
Ou Yangming found that every time the child was forced into a desperate situation, a black pattern on his body lit up, especially the one-inch-long pattern between his eyebrows, which was even more prominent. Even the air within 3 meters from him became scorching hot. The unexpected discovery greatly increased the young fellow’s interest.
He deliberately slowed down and stood in place, waiting for the child to catch up.
The body of this 6 or 7-year-old child was emitting heat, and his eyes revealed a dazed look. His body staggered.
He was really too young, and he had forced himself to unleash his potential. His spiritual power had long been exhausted, and the burden on his body was too great. It was not easy for him to be able to hold on for so long.
Ou Yangming flipped his hand, then a white medicinal pill that emitted hints of fragrance appeared in his hand.
With a flick of his finger, the pill drew an arc and was swallowed by the child in one gulp.
After an hour, the listless look on the child’s face had already dissipated by more than half. This kind of recovery speed surprised Ou Yangming. He thought to himself, ‘As expected of the Big Ruins. This is indeed strange.’
Nevertheless, his expression was calm. He squatted down and asked softly, “What’s your name?”
The child’s eyes revealed a blank look. He looked at Ou Yangming quietly as if he wanted to remember him and imprint him into his soul. After a full 10 breaths, his voice was dry and hoarse as he answered, “My name is Lil’ Man—Lil’ is short for little, man should be pronounced like “man” in “mantra”.”
“Lil’ Man?” Ou Yangming repeated it and sincerely praised, “It’s a good name.”
Lil’ Man’s mouth curled up, revealing a pair of tiger teeth. He looked a bit more playful and cute, which was how he should be at his age.
“Why are you here? Where’s your family?” Ou Yangming asked again.
Lil’ Man’s expression darkened, faintly carrying a hint of hostility toward the world. He replied to Ou Yangming softly, “I don’t have any family. I only have Grandpa but half a month ago, Grandpa was seriously injured and is about to die, which is why I came out to look for spiritual herbs.” He was not loud, but he spoke in a monotone. Only when he said the word “Grandpa” did his voice soften and the red color in the depths of his eyes fade.
Ou Yangming was startled. He let out a turbid breath and explained, “Karma is something that no one can escape from.”
He had a faint premonition that Lil’ Man’s identity was not as simple as it sounded.
Struck with a thought, he suggested in a low voice, “Lil’ Man, let go of your mind and let me see what happened, okay?”
Lil’ Man did not answer immediately. He stared at Ou Yangming’s eyes for a long time before nodding and agreeing to it. Afterward, he released his mental power.
This made the softest part of Ou Yangming’s heart feel like it was pierced by thousands of fine needles at the same time.
At the child’s age, he should be acting coquettishly in his mother’s arms, but he hid his true self like a hedgehog. He was ruthless and fierce, and he only wanted to protect himself. What exactly did he experience?
Ou Yangming’s golden mental power was as gentle as rippling waves. He began to watch the child’s memories from when the child started to remember things.
The reason he wanted Lil’ Man to relax was once Lil’ Man resisted, Ou Yangming would not be able to retreat in time. If the 2 mental powers collided, the child’s spirit might be shattered into pieces.
Lil’ Man was too young, so he naturally did not have much experience. In less than 15 minutes, Ou Yangming had already gone through these memories.
The one who left the deepest impression on Ou Yangming was the grandfather that Lil’ Man talked about.
Ou Yangming saw that the old man had instilled an idea into Lil’ Man since he was young: ‘You’re an orphan, and you don’t have a family. Only when you’re strong can you not be bullied.’
Furthermore, the cultivation techniques that the old man taught Lil’ Man were all about killing people. There was not the slightest bit of complexity as they were only meant to be used to kill people.
“Let’s go. I’m going to see your grandfather.” Ou Yangming’s voice also became gentler. He looked at Lil’ Man as if he was looking at himself when he was young. If he had not met Old Craftsman back then, he would have probably frozen to death in some corner.
Lil’ Man nodded and led the way.
The child’s grandfather lived on a cliff and was very hidden. It was only several kilometers away from the place where he used his arrow feathers to sneak an attack on Ou Yangming. It was not clear that Lil’ Man had gone out to look for spiritual herbs and thought that the young fellow had evil intentions, which was why he launched a sneak attack. After that, Ou Yangming rescued him and made him think that he was a good person that was rarely seen in the Big Ruins. As such, the child stubbornly followed the young fellow.
Inside a cave that was facing the cliff, an old man was nearing his end, and his lifespan was almost used up.
His face was full of dense wrinkles like the oldest tree bark.
“You’re back?” The old man’s voice was unusually gentle, and there was a hint of unwillingness and helplessness in it.
“Yes!” Lil’ Man nodded heavily and responded with a nasal voice. He threw himself to the old man’s side and tears welled up in his eyes.
“Don’t cry, you can’t cry. What have I taught you since you were young? You can bleed, but you can’t cry!” The old man glared at the child, and his face became stern, looking very imposing.
“Grandfather, stop talking, stop talking. I won’t cry, I won’t cry,” Lil’ Man spoke in a sobbing tone.
The aura that the old man had gathered with great difficulty dissipated. He smiled bitterly and said, “I’ve played the role of a strict teacher to you my entire life. This is the last time, but it was ruined by your words, little brat.”
Upon seeing this, even Ou Yangming felt bitter.
After a while, the old man pulled Lil’ Man to the side. His turbid eyes emitted a bright light. He looked at Ou Yangming and asked, “Are you from the outside?”
“Yes!” Ou Yangming nodded. He did not hide it as there was no need to hide it.
“Walk with me!” The old man stared at Ou Yangming as if he wanted to look into him clearly.
As soon as he finished, the Qi in his body became smooth again, faintly showing the power of a dragon and a tiger splitting open the sky.
Ou Yangming understood that this was the sign of his lifespan being burned and a momentary recovery before his death.
At this point, even the Eternal Pill would not be able to save him.
Following behind the old man, they arrived at the precipice.
The world was dark and countless hurricanes condensed, stirring the surroundings.
At the spur of the moment, the old man raised his hand and pointed into the distance. His eyes had a complicated expression and nostalgia but more than that, there was a faint hatred. He softly spoke, “Lil’ Man was born in the Blood Dragons’ family. When he was born, he caused an unusual phenomenon, where a blood-colored horned dragon condensed out of thin air and swept through the area. The density of his bloodline has also reached the level of atavism. If there are no accidents, there isn’t a single obstacle that’ll prevent him from becoming a Venerable One. The natural moat that hinders God-favored ones when Spiritualists become Venerable Ones can be easily overcome for those with Atavistic Bloodlines.
“Unfortunately, Lil’ Man isn’t a direct descendant. 3 days after he was born, his ancestral blood was sucked clean by the direct descendants to be refined and devoured by others. Such a natural supreme being fell just like that. His father fought to his death, and his bloodline self-destructed. At that time, I took advantage of the chaos to bring him out and live in seclusion here.” The elder retracted his gaze, and he spat out two mouthfuls of cold air.
“Why are you telling me this?” Ou Yangming’s voice was cold as he seriously analyzed the authenticity of the elder’s words.
“Lil’ Man believes in you. Moreover, you’re an outsider, so I hope you can bring him out. As long as you go far away from this whirlpool, it’ll be enough. Besides, given Lil’ Man’s talent, there’s still a chance for him to become a Venerable One, so he’ll be of great help to you.” The old man was almost pleading with Ou Yangming at this point.
Ou Yangming was silent for a long while. After pondering for some time, he nodded. “I promise you!”
It was not an excessive request to bring such a child out of the Big Ruins. Of course, the most important reason was that the old man reminded him of Old Craftsman. This made him unable to refuse the old man’s request.
As his voice reverberated, the old man’s face was filled with relief.
He swallowed the last breath in his throat, and the light in his eyes disappeared. He fell to the ground with a bang.
Lil’ Man, who was in the stone house, saw this. He was as agile as a cheetah that shuttled through the jungle all year round as he moved in a flash and came to the old man’s side.
He could not hold back the tears that were rolling in her eyes. They flowed down her thin cheeks, dripped down from her chin, and fell on the old man’s clothes.
Ou Yangming sighed in his heart. He could not bear to watch.
Lil’ Man did not say a word. He only shed tears as he was filled with grief and silence.
After a day, Lil’ Man blasted a stone pit on the precipice and buried the old man.
“Big Brother Yu, don’t you think that all good people have bad karma? Grandfather has never done anything against his will his entire life, and yet he’ll be buried here without a funeral and without anyone to send him off. Why is this so?” This was the first time he had spoken. His voice was dry, and there was a hint of resentment toward the entire world. The purity of this resentment was something that even with Ou Yangming’s cultivation base, he was shocked.
Ou Yangming thought for a moment and responded, “Good people still have good karma.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I don’t believe it…”Lil’ Man shook his head. He sat on the bluestone and looked into the distance.
He wanted revenge. He blamed all his hatred on the Blood Dragons. His father was dead, his mother was dead and now, even his grandfather was dead. His young heart was filled with hatred.
When Ou Yangming saw this, he took a light breath and thought, ‘If Lil’ Man can’t resolve the hatred in her heart, this world will probably have another person who will attain the path through killing. This will be a disaster for the Spiritual Realm.
After spending a few days together, Ou Yangming knew Lil’ Man’s talent was astonishing. The child was persistent in doing things, so tenacious that it made people’s hearts tremble. Additionally, his execution was incredibly strong, and he also had a ruthlessness where he would not stop at any means to achieve his goals.
