Chapter 9: Passing Through
Fortune never comes twice, calamity never walks alone.
When a person’s luck turns for the worse, the only thing unimaginable is what has yet to happen.
Du Gu Farewell darted left and right, struggling desperately in the radiance, but before he could escape, a new anomaly arose. From the pitch-black heavens, clusters of thunderfire tumbled down, merging perfectly with the gleaming light, without the slightest rejection. The power of these thunderfires was ten times that of a standard general, and carried a numbing effect.
Carelessly, as he dashed toward a fleeting vacuum, disaster struck—a cluster of thunderfire exploded, its numbing force robbing him of precious seconds for resistance or escape.
Light surged, blanketing the world.
It evolved into a mountainous pressure, pinning him down.
Already leaning forward against the bridge, he instantly curled up like a shrimp, unable to move as countless tenfold-strength impacts crashed over him, as relentless as a celestial river in flood, pouring down ceaselessly.
Without his continuous skill of borrowing force to counter force, the sounds of explosion began to dwindle.
Over ten thousand warriors, who had been observing, suddenly felt a strange sensation deep within.
The world was growing quiet.
…
Butterfly Academy.
Forbidden Zone.
Du Gu Farewell’s physical body sat upright in a room.
His breathing was steady, his complexion healthy, showing no abnormalities. His eyes were closed, as if sunk in deep sleep.
Suddenly, his body trembled once, then again, before lapsing into a continuous fit, like a seizure. Two thin trails of blood slowly extended from his nostrils. His brows knitted tightly, forming deep furrows capable of holding the spine of a blade.
Agony crept across his face.
“Ugh—”
A peculiar gasp escaped his throat; his mouth gaped wide, features contorted like a fish tossed onto land. Beneath tightly shut eyelids, his eyeballs rolled violently.
It seemed he was trapped in a nightmare.
Buzz~
A halo suddenly appeared over his left hand, the outline of a glove flashing and vanishing. Then, a strange and wondrous will, as agile as a fish, slipped past all barriers, reaching the junction of body and mind…
…
On the bridge of radiance interspersed with thunderfire, Du Gu Farewell was crushed, unable to retreat, stuck fast. Above his spine, it was as if hundreds of generals struck simultaneously without reservation, wave after wave, perfectly connected.
His physical body suffered savage torment, blood and flesh mangled, limbs torn. The agony, pushed to its limit before death arrived, tortured him mercilessly, forcing him to howl.
Ah—
His head jerked upward.
At the critical moment, a mysterious power surged in!
Injuries began mending, his physique strengthening. Each fresh wound’s pain was replaced by the itch of repair, or intertwined, pain and itch indistinguishable, cycling endlessly.
Du Gu Farewell lay upon the bridge, gasping in pain.
The warriors watching heard his anguished echoes drifting through the sky, shivering in response. The mere thought conjured a scene of horror. The hundreds who had initially clustered around him grew somber, deeply worried.
“What’s the point? Why care?” someone among the later arrivals said. “You’re all wasting your emotions. This Storm Arena isn’t the real world—dying here just means leaving, with only a minor mental blow. After a few days’ recovery, you’ll be lively as ever, free to return.”
“Get lost.” Some warriors, awakened by his words, felt ashamed for their intense investment; others, angered, rebuked him. Listening to the ever-fading cries, they felt stifled, needing an outlet.
“What, I offer good advice and you not only ignore it but insult me?” The man was no patient soul, erupting with rage.
“You bastard, who do you think you are?” A warrior, unable to suppress his fury, retorted fiercely, ready to stir trouble.
“Let’s all step back—no need to escalate over a few words,” others tried to mediate, pushing and shoving, chaos erupting.
At that moment, on the bridge, within the radiance, the cries abruptly ceased!
“The senior… has failed.”
“What a pity…”
The hundreds of warriors sank into gloom, losing interest even in the dispute.
“Really, with his skills, daring to challenge the bridge—who does he think he is?” In the silence, a discordant voice mocked, “Everyone here is talented, even geniuses, but have you ever seen any of them try to cross the bridge?”
“No, I’ve never heard of any genius attempting it,” someone agreed.
The man snorted, continuing, “What does that tell us? That the Six Sovereign Kings do not endorse overreaching challenges, reminding us to cultivate steadily, step by step… step by step…”
Just as his speech grew fervent, his expression suddenly froze, as if he’d spotted something bizarre, forgetting to continue, repeating the last words in a daze.
Sensing something amiss, the crowd followed his gaze, and in the next second, everyone was stunned. This scene swept through the masses like a plague.
In a sea of over ten thousand, all were petrified within moments, their eyes fixed on one spot—the bridge!
The light lingered, thunderfire still crackling.
And a faint, steadfast silhouette stood like a pillar amid the stream.
Du Gu Farewell.
His black hair bristled like arrows. Muscles bulged across his exposed back, filled with terrifying, stable explosive power. His figure, though not tall, stood like an immovable rock, lending an air of insurmountable strength.
…
Du Gu Farewell did not know what had transpired; he only recalled, just before death, a mysterious power flooding in, repairing his wounds, resisting harm, and igniting his will, unleashing tremendous might.
With each cycle of injury and repair, his body grew stronger. Pain gave way to itch, then to numbness; soon, he felt as if bathed in a sea of light devoid of destructive force. His skin seemed coated in a smooth membrane, through which light flowed harmlessly.
It was as if he stood in the midst of a raging battlefield, chaos everywhere, yet he was a transparent figure—unseen, untouched.
“…So that’s how it is!”
After long, bitter contemplation, he finally understood, thanks to the mysterious power revealing a truth: Though the Storm Arena mimicked reality, it was but an illusory realm.
The body was merely the manifestation of mental will.
When reality is false, it is illusion.
Grasping this fundamental nature, he saw that the so-called standard battle power of the radiance was merely an imposition upon the mind; the more one believed, the more endless it became. Regard it as nonexistent, and it disappears.
In that instant, his will was refined, leaping in quality as he merged with the world of light.
Deprived of aggression, light became just light; pressure vanished. By the will of the radiance, the enemy was deemed dead—no more challengers to confront. Du Gu Farewell was part of it, its kin. He traversed the light unhindered; it caressed him like a gentle breeze, a lover’s touch.
The thunderfire clusters now seemed discordant; though they still exploded, their numbing force spread, it was no longer a threat.
His mind connected with the radiance, sharing everything—even with eyes closed, he could easily evade. Hearing derision, he turned coldly, glaring fiercely. In that gaze, the aura of hundreds or thousands of generals condensed, a cavalry charge sweeping all before it.
Thud—
The mocker felt as if struck by a sledgehammer, his chest tight, vision darkening, throat salty as he spat a mouthful of blood. His spirit faded, body flickering, on the verge of collapse, ready to return to reality.
“My emperor…”
All were stunned.
“How is that possible?”
“Crossing the bridge and still able to strike others?”
“A true senior…”
…
Du Gu Farewell ignored them, turning to continue. He sensed his will burning; it supplied special energy but could not last long.
Cautious of the thunderfire, he darted and dodged, surging forward quickly, drifting left and right, each breath covering several yards, flashing like light through the world.
Swish—
Thunderfire still erupted behind him, the radiance thinning.
Suddenly, clarity dawned before him.
Pa!
He landed.
Scattered voices reached his ears.
He had arrived at the Generals’ Level Plaza.
“Come quickly, someone has crossed the bridge!” A general shouted, summoning friends.
The bridge connected two realms, and the commotion naturally drew some generals to watch. Now, seeing a figure appear, they crowded near to witness. Unfortunately, at first glance, the face was indistinct. As they looked again, the figure flickered and vanished.
[Promotional text omitted.]