The improved female villains regained their memories.

Yang Pingsheng struck his own chest, causing blood to flow back, and the severe internal injury forced him to break free from the dream once more.

"Subconsciously unleashing the rudiments of a killing move, the immortal artifact is indeed close to awakening. The test of the sword soul heart can help one see their own heart clearly, see the path ahead, and strengthen their will, naturally allowing them to summon their immortal artifact." Blood trickled from Yang Pingsheng's lips. "But, I..."

He sighed softly, looked up, and seemed to see someone.

"Do you really have to push me to this point...?"

Amidst the swirling mist, Du Wanli clung desperately to the edge of the cracked ground, struggling to climb up.

Still shaken, he mentally screamed, "Didn't you say the human chess piece didn't have a killing move?!"

“He definitely doesn’t know how. That was just a prototype of a killing move. If it were a real killing move, you would be dead already.” Ling Tiandu’s voice rang out, thoughtful: “The reason he could unleash a prototype of a killing move at this moment is either because you’ve been pressuring him and he had no choice but to do so, or…”

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet. Let me do some deductions first." After saying this, Ling Tiandu fell silent.

Enveloped in mist, Du Wanli, without Ling Tiandu's guidance, dared not pursue the enemy.

Yang Pingsheng's sudden outburst just now left him with a psychological shadow. If he hadn't been cautious, he might have been doomed here.

"Is this merely the prototype of a deadly move?"

Du Wanli's face turned ugly: "That really is..."

Although shrouded in mist, he still clearly knew that before him lay a deep ravine.

The terrain was changed by Yang Pingsheng.

---

"Get down!" A strong force came from above Yang Pingsheng's head and pressed him to the ground.

Before Yang Pingsheng could react, he heard a loud bang behind him, and wood chips flew everywhere, leaving a deep crater.

"Senior..."

"Don't speak, run!"

Jiang Shiyu grabbed his hand and dragged him along, the two of them running awkwardly into the depths of the dense forest.

"Senior, why don't we fight back?"

"Then we're just courting death! And we'll die even faster!" Jiang Shiyu's voice trembled with a slight sob. "Evil cannot triumph over justice, understand?!"

Light pierced through the dense forest, dispelling all the darkness.

Behind them, the sounds of footsteps, curses, and the barking of hunting dogs echoed incessantly.

"They're coming! Run!" Jiang Shiyu's expression changed drastically. She grabbed Yang Pingsheng tightly and ran forward.

Her shoes were gone, and there were many bloodstains on her skin. Her hair was disheveled, covered with leaves and dirt, and she looked quite disheveled.

But she still held onto Yang Pingsheng's hand tightly.

The pursuers came in droves, shouting at them to stop while firing their guns.

boom!

"careful!"

Jiang Shiyu tackled Yang Pingsheng again, but this time, she wasn't so lucky.

Yang Pingsheng felt a surge of heat on the top of his head. When he looked up, he saw a dazzling display of blood flowers blooming.

"Senior!!"

------

"what!!"

Yang Pingsheng roared and broke free from the dream once again.

The repeated replays of the scene and the constant calls of "senior sister" made him feel truly uncomfortable.

"The pursuer is not dead. I can sense his spiritual energy now."

Yang Pingsheng's face was contorted with rage as he looked toward a spot in the mist: "First, kill this person who's impersonating Wen Shihan, then find a place to properly organize the Sword Soul Heart assessment."

At this moment, Du Wanli was unaware that Yang Pingsheng had already harbored murderous intent and had even sensed it, and he still stood there foolishly waiting.

Fortunately, at this moment, Ling Tiandu's voice rang out: "So that's how it is. I understand Song Panning's intention. Du Wanli, use the secret treasure I gave you to input your spiritual energy, and then you should leave this place. Don't let Qi know that you are impersonating Wen Shihan."

"it is good!"

Du Wanli responded, immediately threw something out, and then retreated rapidly, fleeing the scene.

It was a ball of light.

System 1456 is at your service.

A mechanical voice rang out, and then the sphere of light transformed into a human.

[Scanning the current environment to identify hazardous situations]

[Beep beep, a strong killing intent has been sensed not far ahead. Initiating confirmation of the current danger level.]

[Current danger level: Level A. Activate kill mode.]

The sphere of light changed, gradually evolving into the shape of a man.

It was exactly what Yang Pingsheng looked like.

Yang Pingsheng burst out of the mist and was stunned to find that the location he sensed was another version of himself.

Then, he saw himself slap the ground with both palms.

Rumble.

The earthquake caused a massive collapse in the surrounding area, effectively isolating this place from the outside world.

Before Yang Pingsheng could react, the dream returned. He covered his head, missing his chance to escape.

[Imitation complete, kill mode activated]

Yang Pingsheng looked up and saw himself breaking through the mist, his hand bursting with brilliant light, and punching him.

"You're asking for it!!!!"

Yang Pingsheng was completely enraged, whether it was the memories of his past life that angered him or because he saw another version of himself.

The earthy yellow spiritual energy enveloped him tightly, and in the next instant, it actually formed a suit of armor.

The armor was a bright, golden color, with a ferocious lion faintly visible on the chest. The two shoulder armors were adorned with golden dragon heads, and the waist was also golden. However, the ribs on both sides had brown textured leather. The helmet was attached to a mask, which was decorated with the image of a demon.

At this critical moment, Yang Pingsheng's immortal artifact awakened.

boom.

He simultaneously raised his hand and punched the system.

The earthen-yellow spiritual energy rippled, and the surrounding mist receded, revealing the rugged, ravine-covered earth. The system retreated a few steps, but before it could react, Yang Pingsheng attacked again.

Bang bang bang!

Fists rained down on the system, which was unable to resist and was hammered into the ground.

---------

Previous life

The battle is over.

Yang Pingsheng carried Jiang Shiyu on his back, walking through the forest, stepping on the fallen branches and leaves scattered on the ground.

"Senior, hang in there, I'll find a way to save you." Yang Pingsheng walked tremblingly, his face contorted with rage, gritting his teeth as he stared intently ahead.

He wanted to shout, to cry for help, but in the darkness, no one answered his voice.

"Put me down, Pingsheng," a weak voice came from behind.

He carefully laid Jiang Shiyu down, letting her lean against the rock and lie down as comfortably as possible.

"Senior," he said in a hoarse voice, looking at the other woman's horrific wounds, "I'll turn myself in. That way, they can save you."

This was the only way, but Jiang Shiyu shook her head, her face bitter.

“I’ve figured out the true nature of this deal. It’s not about the goods, it’s about us. We are the goods.” She gave a helpless bitter smile. “The organization is packaging us up and sending us to them as political achievements.”

She looked at the grieving Yang Pingsheng, raised her hand, and touched his cheek: "Don't turn yourself in, Pingsheng. Rather than be judged by so-called justice, I'd rather die here."

"Why!" Yang Pingsheng could no longer bear the grief and almost cried out, "You were unwilling to fight back, unwilling to accept judgment, and now you're even willing to risk your life! Do you really like darkness and reject light so much?!"

"That's not how it is. In my life, darkness has made it hard for me to see the way, but so has light."

Her life force was fading, her lips were pale, but she still forced herself to say, "Light or darkness, in the end, I have never had a choice. That's why I'm so afraid. I'm afraid you'll follow in my footsteps. But you have a chance. Right now, you're just my assistant, you don't have an official number yet, so you still have a chance."

“I’ve already killed someone, I have no chance,” Yang Pingsheng said.

“You have…” Jiang Shiyu said, “The one you killed was a wicked man. He was a human trafficker, in charge of the air route from the Central Plains to the Southeast. I killed him because he violated the interests of our organization. He took a liking to the bait I threw out, which is why he appeared near our school. I asked you to use him as a pledge of loyalty because you still have a chance to back out, and you still have a conscience.”

“But I have nothing left. My life is gone. I was born in an orphanage. They took me in to train me to be the best assassin. My hands are stained with too much blood, including many innocent people. My conscience has long since fallen into the abyss, beyond redemption.”

“Senior, you’re not that kind of person.” Yang Pingsheng burst into tears. “I’ve met you. I’ve seen you do volunteer work, you’ve stopped charity work, and I know you always go back to the orphanage to visit those people. You’re not a bad person at heart. I know all of this.”

"...No, you don't know, in my life, I did those things simply because I wanted to, not to atone for my sins."

Jiang Shiyu's wound kept bleeding, and she was in great pain, but she still forced herself to say, "Light and darkness, justice and evil, I have never chosen or distinguished between them, because they are equally difficult for me to see clearly."

"The person who dragged me down is standing in the darkness, and I can't see his face. Now the person who injured me is standing in the light, and I still can't see his face."

"Ping Sheng, do not turn yourself in for my sake. Darkness can destroy a person, and so can light. Do not ruin the rest of your life for my sake. I do not want to see that."

"But, senior, your injury..."

“My injuries are not important. Someone like me will die sooner or later. Since that’s the case, I might as well die meaningfully. At least I can’t be a burden to you.”

Jiang Shiyu leaned against a rock. The dark, dense forest blocked out the sky, obscuring both the night and the blue sky.

"see......."

She murmured to herself, then suddenly asked Yang Pingsheng, "Pingsheng, can you see what the sky is like right now?"

"It's night, senior."

"No, it is emptiness, illusion, the end of everything, the destination of all things, the end of all things."

She laughed again, a hint of confusion in her smile: "Only loneliness truly belongs to an individual."

Whether it was darkness or light, in the end, it all consumed her, leaving her without a complete corpse.