Three Towers Game

Chapter 355 Dying for a Heroic Spirit

"You've worked hard, Liu Jianxin, or rather, Liu Jianxin. From this moment on, in this filthy world, you've played the role of the chivalrous hero you truly desire in your heart."

"I can imagine another version of you, who has suffered many setbacks in life..."

"Now, we should go and save him."

Liu Jianxin grew increasingly confused. Looking at the kneeling crowd, he realized who the newcomers were, and at the same time, he also figured out something...

This person's voice is exactly the same as the Blade Spirit's.

Now he understood everything.

"You...you...So you're actually Wen Xishu? You're the sword spirit in my mind?"

The truth was somewhat devastating; the sheer volume of information left Liu Jianxin at a loss.

He really didn't understand why Wen Xishu did this.
Wen Xishu also knew that her appearance had caused Liu Jianxin's brain to shut down.

The great demon was actually the sword spirit in his mind, and along the way, he kept helping him kill the demons under his command. How could this be?

After thinking it over, Wen Xishu decided to tell Liu Jianxin the truth.

"It was I who forced you to uphold justice along the way. It was I who gave you strength at crucial moments. It was I who made you abandon other martial arts and forcibly awaken the original sword technique."

"The crises you faced at critical moments were all arranged by me."

"Even your current position on the stage, fighting for the righteous path of martial arts, is part of my script."

Wen Xishu does indeed seem like a major villain now.

And it's so strong that it inspires despair.

He didn't use any special moves, but only words, voice, and facts to completely defeat Liu Jianxin.

So I really was just a puppet?
He resisted the idea of ​​"playing house in the martial arts world" all along, but eventually became part of someone else's game of playing house in the martial arts world.

Liu Jianxin never put down his sword when facing the Mighty Vajra Palm or the Heavenly Demon Harp, but at this moment, facing Wen Xishu, he once again felt boundless weariness and despair.

How can a puppet on strings defeat the person controlling it?

If the opponent's martial arts are not traditional martial arts, but rather the power to control destiny, how should one fight against them?

Liu Jianxin's face showed no sign of despair.

Wen Xishu noticed this and thought to himself, "Oh no, I think I went too far with my bragging and made the other person misunderstand."

Wen Xishu smiled:

"But I wasn't trying to play you?"

Liu Jianxin raised his head and looked at Wen Xishu with a confused expression:
"You've got so many people cooperating with my performance, aren't you just toying with me? Ha... Our strengths are worlds apart, and now all the people of the martial world are trapped here..."

“I am your only chance to turn things around, but now you have appeared and told me that all my strength comes from you.”

Liu Jianxin couldn't continue speaking.

There was a sense of powerlessness, as if betrayed by one's own magic touch, and all confidence crumbled.

It turns out, I didn't become strong because I have a chivalrous heart.

Instead, someone made me strong, made me play the role of the chivalrous person. It was all a game.

Wen Xishu could probably guess that this was a possibility.

After all, he was playing the role of Liu Jianxin's cheat code, and the moment he revealed his true colors, it could very well shatter Liu Jianxin's Dao heart.

“I guided you, and I forced you to make a choice. I know you must be thinking now, ‘If only I hadn’t become a hero, it’s so difficult, so painful, and I have to act like a clown.’”

"All the highlights along the way have become something someone else has orchestrated at this moment. But if I told you..."

"You once reached the top through intrigue and betrayal of friends?"

"Killing you would be easy for me. Do you even deserve to be toyed with by me?"

An invisible barrier of air isolated everyone who tried to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Although both the heroes and the demons of the martial arts alliance were present, no one knew what the great demon Wen Xishu and Liu Jianxin, the future hope of the martial arts world, were exchanging.

Wen Xishu's strength is clearly a level above everyone else. Perhaps only Ye Jianxin can match him, or even... surpass him.

Wen Xishu said:
"Next, I will tell you what exactly happened."

"Actually, I am not the leader of the martial arts alliance, you are."

“Originally, I was the one who should have challenged the martial world. In this game of the martial world, if I committed many evil deeds, I could survive well by betraying and scheming. I could complete my own challenges, and maybe, when I return to the bunker in the future, I can even learn a martial art, a power outside the sequence system.”

"But in that case, I won't be able to learn about the hidden storyline of this game by leveling up the Beginner Sword Technique."

"I believe you have also felt it; during the process of upgrading the Original Heart Sword Technique, you will see many illusions."

"In fact, the martial arts world is just a shell. The real stage of the story is in another world, right there in the illusion you're seeing."

“Let’s call that world the True World, and this world the Realm. The True World has technology that you can’t understand. In that world, the real you has experienced betrayal, scheming, and petty scheming.”

"Just like you in this world, you were once a young hero full of ambition and chivalry. You aspired to become a great hero... but in the end, you did not become a great hero."

"I can imagine that you in the True World are probably doing quite well now, unlike the unfortunate people I have redeemed before. You may be very successful. Because you had a great father in your childhood, just like the martial arts world in this world once had a great hero named Ye Jianxin."

"But that you who dreamed of being a great hero will never appear again."

"You, in the True Realm, have finally reached the pinnacle of your life and career. Along the way, there has been intrigue, betrayal, and scheming."

"You in this world, have you had a similar experience? How many friends' blood has stained your throne as the leader of the martial arts world?"

Liu Jianxin was stunned.

Wen Xishu continued:
"The martial world has become the most treacherous martial world. Even though deep down you still yearn to be like Xiao Jianglong... you always let these people linger on."

"But you know that if one day they block your way, you will kill them without hesitation. You also know that chivalry, justice, kindness, and integrity are weaknesses in this world."

"Congratulations, Liu Jianxin, you've succeeded. Whether in the True Realm or this Realm, you've reached the pinnacle."

"But this has become your obsession. You always hope that there is someone who can do those difficult things, someone who... doesn't have to step on piles of bones like you to sit on the throne of the martial arts world."

"But every time a challenger appears, you will kill him."

Liu Jianxin looked at Wen Xishu in astonishment:
"You...you mean I'm the leader of the martial arts world, the greatest demon in this martial arts world?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Yes."

"When facing Xiao Jianglong, when facing the birthday gifts... did you ever think about betraying Xiao Jianglong and stealing those treasures?"

"Even if you enter the martial arts tournament, you can tell at a glance that there is a conspiracy. You seem to be inherently evil, and you have developed a path dependence on all these kinds of things."

"You can deny what I'm saying, but you can't fool yourself."

Liu Jianxin was somewhat dazed. He quickly realized the key point:
"But why did you, the challenger, become the leader of the martial arts alliance? And why did I become the challenger?"

Wen Xishu said:
"This is my authority. I can reverse the positions of both sides in the world of obsession. You can think of it as me letting you relive the journey of the martial world, making you the one who challenged it back then."

"Now you see what the martial world looks like." "In this martial world, everyone is for themselves; in this martial world, bandits are everywhere; in this martial world, officials and merchants collude; in this martial world, the righteous heroes are weak and people are filled with fear."

"Liu Jianxin...is this the kind of martial arts world you've been looking for?"

"Sitting on the throne of the martial arts alliance leader, you can't see these dusts, but now, entering the world with dust, ask yourself honestly, is this the same martial arts world as when you were thirteen, when your father cheered for you breaking the rules to uphold justice?"

Liu Jianxin really wanted to say...

Just reach the top, why ask about the method? This world is full of dust, this world is stained with blood.

But as long as I'm at the top, I can pretend I can't see it, right?
But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He looked at Xiao Jianglong, and then at the group of heroes behind him who were trapped in a desperate situation but hoped to escape their predicament, and fell silent.

Justice exists in this world.

This world is rotten to the core, yet there will still be people who choose to be like Xiao Jianglong.

"So...you're going to wake me up?"

"Yes, I want to awaken you. Deep down, you have a sense of chivalry. This martial world is indeed rotten to the core, but Xiao Jianglong and others never died in this martial world. Ye Jianxin only went into seclusion, he did not die."

Wen Xishu continued:
"The Original Intention Sword Technique tells me directly that it is to help you find your original intention. So I intervened in every evil deed you committed, I forcibly reversed your evil behavior, and made you do chivalrous deeds in a confused way."

"Because I need to make sure you get the invitation. You can think of this invitation as a ticket to the real world."

"At that time, I will become the challenger and challenge the real you."

Liu Jianxin basically understood it all.

It was absurd, but he could feel Wen Xishu's sincerity.

Because he truly saw himself in that world.

He did indeed recall certain things.

"If you were me... would you defeat me in a chivalrous way?"

Liu Jianxin looked at Wen Xishu:

Even if there is absolutely no hope?

Wen Xishu shook his head:
"I will, but I want to tell you that there is no hope, it's just very difficult."

“If we go back to our original roles, I’ll be the challenger and you’ll be the boss, and I’ll defeat you.”

Liu Jianxin was puzzled:
"Why? Given the current disparity in our strength, do you really think... without scheming or underhanded tactics, you can win? Just based on your meager sense of chivalry?"

Wen Xishu smiled and said:
“I said it’s difficult, but not impossible, because the person who provides the obsession thinks he’s bad, but he’s not actually that bad.”

"Just like you, you keep calling chivalrous people foolish, but when I really push you to the brink, when you really have no way out... your heart still yearns to be a chivalrous person."

"So I will win, even if it's difficult, even if it's a humiliating victory, even if I start to question the world along the way, I will still win."

"I will find the reclusive Ye Jianxin, and I will use my Mahayana Initial Heart Sword Technique to make him come out of seclusion."

"You ask me what gives me the right? It's not based on what seems like a ridiculous sense of chivalry in this era, but on... your most genuine expectations."

Liu Jianxin stared at Wen Xishu for a long time.

Yes, he longs to start over, to roam the martial world again with a chivalrous heart, and to reach the top by following the right but difficult path.

He hoped he could live like Ye Jianxin, but he... betrayed his original ideals.

He failed; he couldn't do it. If Ye Jianxin were to witness all of this, wouldn't he be utterly disappointed in him?
If I could do it all over again, if I could do it all over again!
That's precisely why it became an obsession. So this world, though seemingly treacherous, always... always holds onto hope.

"And now? Now... what are you going to do with me?" Liu Jianxin asked.

This was also an extremely difficult moment for Wen Xishu.

Actually, Wen Xishu had been thinking about this from the very beginning...

If Liu Jianxin is utterly corrupt, if this person has no connection with Ye Jianxin, if he only thinks about petty scheming, betrayal, and plotting...

That might not be so bad; I could kill him without any guilt.

But now he has discovered that Liu Jianxin is not as bad as he thought.

He has experienced many things and was once very successful, but the realities of society dealt him a heavy blow.

Wen Xishu found it hard to imagine how much betrayal and scheming Liu Jianxin had endured.

Even so, Liu Jianxin still harbors a chivalrous spirit within him.

When he summoned the sword spirit, yearning to single-handedly intercept the Martial Alliance, just as the Heart Sword Technique truly returned to its maximum level on him...

Wen Xishu knew that Liu Jianxin was still the same Liu Jianxin.

“I have to admit, it was a very difficult choice. If I were the challenger, I would kill you without hesitation.”

“But I am not the challenger, and I do not want to kill you, but due to the inversion of power, I must kill you.”

"Only in this way can I go to the real world and awaken the real Liu Jianxin."

Liu Jianxin suddenly laughed:
"I see, I believe you are better now."

Wen Xishu remained silent.

Liu Jianxin said:
“If you wanted to kill me, I think you didn’t need to beat around the bush like this. Actually, everything you told me was… both real and unreal.”

"But I believe you."

"After all, according to you, if you were the challenger, I would die too, right?"

Wen Xishu nodded.

Liu Jianxin raised the Impermanence Sword, and at that moment, Wen Xishu suddenly realized what Liu Jianxin was planning to do.

A hint of surprise flickered in Wen Xishu's eyes.

He had considered that he would feel somewhat sad to kill Liu Jianxin, but he never expected that Liu Jianxin would make such a choice.

"Since my death will restore the martial world to its original state, and only in this way can my other self rediscover the sword spirit of the past..."

"Then I'll gladly accept my fate!"

Many years ago, due to the corruption of society, Liu Jianxin accepted a set of easy, yet unethical, principles of conduct.

The thirteen-year-old boy seems to never be able to wait until he becomes a great hero in the future.

"This sword strike is the greatest act of chivalry I have ever witnessed! Wen Xishu... From now on, it's up to you!"

Liu Jianxin handed the invitation to Wen Xishu.

Then, the sword of impermanence flashed, and this true demon of the martial world died with a smile on his face.

Many years later, in the incredibly filthy world of martial arts, he seemed to have found himself again.

(End of this chapter)