I tried to kill the heroines of destiny, but they ended up chasing after me.

Zhang Shen narrowly escaped Jueyi's deadly move, but his body was forced to retreat several dozen meters.

Seeing that he had gained a subtle advantage with his first strike, Jue Yi remained calm and took a step forward. With that one step, his powerful true energy immediately filled the entire dark world. He walked towards Zhang Shen with great calmness, though his speed was not fast.

Zhang Shen's expression was solemn as he quickly retreated. Although he had dodged the previous attack, his aura was somewhat disrupted by it. He was puzzled as to why Jue Yi's power was now even stronger than his own.

Just then, Jue Yi paused, muttering softly, "Great Fall!"

A huge rock appeared out of nowhere above Zhang Shen.

As the boulder fell, the earth centered on Zhang Shen collapsed rapidly with a roar. Large cracks suddenly appeared in many spaces around Zhang Shen, and these cracks continued to extend, as if they were going to divide the space around Zhang Shen into pieces!

However, the space was only on the verge of collapse, while the ground beneath Zhang Shen's feet could not withstand such a powerful force and collapsed with a crash. Countless fragments of stone, which had just been shaken from the ground and floated in the air, were immediately engulfed by the overwhelming pressure and forced to explode again, turning into powder and becoming part of the air.

At this moment, Zhang Shen was surrounded by ruins. The dust and smoke from the land collapse could not rise into the air. Instead, they rolled around as the boulder fell, as if there was nothing there.

"Hmph!" Zhang Shen stared at the boulder, quickly raised his right hand, and an ancient and huge mark materialized through his palm, immediately spinning and floating in the air. It transformed into a beam of dazzling blue light, heading straight for the nearby boulder.

The moment it approached the finger, the mark erupted with an intense light so bright it was almost blinding. If an ordinary person were to see it at that moment, their eyes would likely shatter instantly, leading to a agonizing death. Even those around the sixth level of martial arts and magic would likely be filled with fear if they were careless, making further progress in their lives impossible.

Even Zhang Shen himself felt a stinging sensation when he saw the bright light at such close range, but fortunately, the feeling disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The moment the mark emitted that light, it began to shrink rapidly, disappearing by more than half in the blink of an eye. Upon contact with the boulder, the mark barely held on for a moment before transforming into countless smaller marks beneath it, which continued to spin in the air.

At that moment, Zhang Shen's eyes gleamed, and he waved one hand.

Countless marks, as if alive, emitted a series of howling sounds and rushed towards the boulder. The surrounding true energy of heaven and earth also frantically gathered into those tiny marks during this process.

The marks did not directly impact the boulder, but instead wandered around its surface. Each time they moved, they drew long arcs across the boulder, making it appear as if a giant net was wrapped around it when viewed from the ground.

At this moment, the boulder suddenly stopped in mid-air and stopped sinking.

But those marks still linger on its surface.

Jueyi frowned as he looked at the motionless boulder.

On the contrary, Zhang Shen revealed a hint of joy.

Both of them looked exhausted, indicating that they had reached a critical stage. After this process ended, the real winner would be the one who could leave this place with even a little strength left.

boom!

Finally, the giant rock suspended in the sky was completely disintegrated by these markings. In an instant, it was as if a rain of pebbles was falling from the sky, rapidly landing on the ground, and the markings, as if using their last ounce of strength, slowly vanished into the sky…

The rain of pebbles hit the two of them, but neither of them showed any emotion; they simply looked at each other!

Once the rain of pebbles had completely fallen, the dark space became unusually quiet.

"Do you know... why I hate you so much?" Jueyi suddenly asked at this moment.

"Is there any point in talking about this now?" Zhang Shen asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Nothing for you! But for me… yes.” Jueyi said, but there was a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Shen asked, puzzled.

"Hahahaha..." Jue Yi laughed wildly, while also questioning, "Do you really think that I hate you so much because of past grudges?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Shen was startled, and at this moment, he seemed to hear some different emotions in Jue Yi's words.

That was a kind of pain, unlike physical suffering...

……

Many years ago, the Emperor Sword Clan.

"Ha...hey..."

A handsome young man stood in a courtyard where maple leaves were falling, endlessly wielding his heavy sword. He seemed tireless, repeating the same movements over and over again. Sometimes, his shirt was soaked with sweat, but he remained oblivious.

The boy was about eleven or twelve years old. He was not very strong; on the contrary, he seemed a bit weak. Judging from this alone, he was only suitable to be a hothouse flower and could not withstand any wind or rain.

But this is only one side of the story, because this seemingly weak and powerless boy actually has the cultivation level of the late Transcendent Realm. If you look at his proud and resolute little face, you can tell that he has a determination that even some adults do not possess.

Beside him stood a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe with seven swords, his face serious.

"The speed at which you swing the sword with your left hand must be fast, otherwise, repeating this motion over and over will be useless!"

"Your lower body is too unstable. Remember, your body should follow your sword... If you can't even hold your own sword, how can you defeat others?"

"I've told you so many times, pay attention to the balance of your sword heart."

The middle-aged man is the boy's father. Although his teachings are strict, the boy often finds them very beneficial.

"Yes."

He always fulfilled his father's demands perfectly, and he sincerely hoped that his father could approve of him.

For him, his father was his role model.

My father kept telling me to cultivate diligently, so that when I reached a certain level, I could inherit the position of clan leader.

How simple and pure are the thoughts of a child! Yet sometimes, even this simplicity and purity can be swallowed up by the river of time, leaving not a trace behind...

"Alright, take a break!" the middle-aged man said to the boy, his face expressionless.

"Hmm!" The boy nodded, sheathed his heavy sword, walked to a shady spot, and plopped down on the ground.

The middle-aged man also randomly found a spot and began to close his eyes and rest.

A moment later, the boy was lying flat on the ground, staring blankly at the blue sky, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

"Jueyi, what are you thinking about? Why are you laughing like that!" A middle-aged man not far from the boy asked softly when he saw this. Then he slowly walked to the boy's side and sat down cross-legged next to him.

Although the middle-aged man was strict when teaching Jueyi, he was also a father who cared most about his son. Over the years, Jueyi's talent had made him have higher and higher hopes for him. However, deep down, he hoped that his son could live an ordinary life.

But fate did not unfold according to his wishes. After all, he only had this one son, and in the large Imperial Sword Clan, there were many things that even he, as the clan leader, could not decide.

"Nothing! I was just thinking about when I'll be able to reach my father's level?" Jue Yi shook his head and said softly.

"To my level?" The middle-aged man paused, then asked, "Why do you want it to come to my level?"

"I want to help my father share the burden..." A weak yet determined voice came from the child's tender face.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man gave a slight, bitter smile.

"Ha...sigh!" The middle-aged man let out a sigh as he gave a bitter laugh.

"Father? What's wrong?" Jueyi asked, puzzled.

At Jueyi's young age, how could he know that the pressure the middle-aged man, as the clan leader, faced was not something that could be alleviated by his own efforts?

"Jueyi, I want to ask you a question?" The middle-aged man did not answer his question directly, but asked it again.

"What's the problem?" Jueyi looked at the middle-aged man with a curious expression.

"Jueyi, if I had to choose between the position of clan leader and an ordinary life, what would you choose?"

Upon hearing this question, Jueyi fell silent, as if he were considering it...

The middle-aged man beside him didn't urge him; he knew that some things were best left for him to figure out on his own.

quite a while!

Jueyi looked up at the sky, and in his eyes, he saw the reflection of several magpies, flying happily and freely in the sky...

One of them looked a little old, but its gaze toward the other small magpies was full of kindness.

An old magpie was slowly flying towards a certain place in the sky, and the little magpies behind it followed without hesitation.

At that moment, he gave his answer in a firm tone.

"If I had to choose, I would follow my father's wishes..."

"My thoughts?" the middle-aged man asked, puzzled.

"No matter what, I believe in my father. Whether it's the position of clan leader or a mundane life, as long as my father is by my side, I don't care what choice I make."

Hearing Jueyi's words, the middle-aged man was deeply moved. He had underestimated his son and misjudged him...

He had initially assumed that Jueyi had a high probability of choosing the position of clan leader, but he hadn't expected him to say such things. Furthermore, he had made another plan: if Jueyi chose a simple life, he would help him achieve that goal even if he didn't want the clan leader position.

But he was wrong.

It turns out, he just wanted to stay by my side...

The son just wanted to stay by his father's side.

You are too young.

You don't understand.

You don't know, there are many things that you can't do just by wanting to.

These words kept swirling in the middle-aged man's mind. When he suppressed the surprise his son had given him and wanted to use these words to scold him, he swallowed them back down because of his son's words and behavior.

“Father, I don’t know if I have the right to say these things… but I will try my best to prove them, because I know you believe in me, and I don’t want to disappoint you…”

Jue Yi smiled, and with that smile he spoke his heart, without any grand pronouncements or elaborate words, only... a young boy's promise to his father.

Yes, perhaps that's true, but perhaps he doesn't understand.

The middle-aged man sighed again. He didn't want to say anything more. He already understood his son.

"Focus on your cultivation! It's too early for you to think about the future."

After saying this, the middle-aged man turned and left...

He never heard that small, thin body say another word.

"I will definitely do it!"

Emperor Sword Clan, Emperor Sword Village.

The decisive battle between Jueyi and Zhang Shen.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's the point of telling me all this? I have no interest in hearing about your past," Zhang Shen said, staring at Jue Yi in front of him.

"No interest? Hmph! That's right! How could you, a descendant of such a despicable person, possibly want to know the despicable things he has done?" Jue Yi sneered.

But Jueyi's words displeased Zhang Shen. He frowned and asked in a harsh voice, "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything, I just want to make everything public, so everyone knows what your father did," Jue Yi said, his eyes flashing.

“Past grudges…” Zhang Shen murmured.

“Yes! The grudges of the past, my father and your father! The grudges between our first lineage and your second lineage! It all started from that time…” Jue Yi thought.

But as soon as he uttered those words, the expressions of the several Emperor Sword Clan lineage leaders hidden in secret locations changed drastically, as if they had heard something extraordinary.