Within Captain Zhào's Xīnyù, the confrontation with his Soul Beast, the Grey Wolf, commenced the moment his elements found balance.

  [Wolf]: "Boy, give me your absolute best, or you will never see the sun again. [Hahahahaha!]"

  [Captain Zhào]: "I never knew wolves could be so optimistic."

  [Wolf]: "[Hahahaha!] I like your guts!"

  The wolf laughed, thoroughly enjoying the fight, while Captain Zhào desperately strategized a way to tame it. The clash of the Soul Scratcher against the wolf's claws echoed through the forest, the resulting sparks generating enough heat to set a dead tree ablaze. "[HAHAHAHAHA!] I love this! Let me change my form!" The wolf shifted, taking on Captain Zhào's own appearance but rendered stronger, colder, with a palpable bloodlust in its eyes and a devilish smile on its lips.

  He thought frantically, "What does this beast truly need? What could possibly satisfy its endless bloodlust?" He had no time to breathe as the wolf pressed its assault; a single strike he dodged cleanly cut down ten trees behind him. The sheer force of each swing was enough to slice an elephant in half, and he was being relentlessly pushed back. "What could it be?!"

  [Rooster]: "Do not overuse your brain, Mr. Genius. Look at yourself."

  His guardian's words cut through his foggy thoughts, providing a moment of crystalline clarity. He struck back with his first meaningful counter-attack. The cut was small, yet it made the wolf bleed.

  [Wolf]: "Now it is getting exciting! [Licking the blood, slurp]"

  Captain Zhào's mind raced to the killer. He asked himself, "Who could possibly survive in the Devil's Mountain?" He knew the answer immediately: "Jian Zhi?!!" Fueled by the searing thought of betrayal by the very man he had sworn to protect and die for, he moved with renewed, aggressive fury. "[AGHHHH!]" Their swords clashed, the wolf merely playing with him and laughing all the while.

  [Wolf]: "That is the kind of thinking that makes you improve! Burn it up more!"

  Not wanting to drag the fight out forever, he asked the wolf, "Are you not profoundly alone? Is that the true reason you are doing all this?" The wolf, which had been laughing with amusement, suddenly stopped. Its laughter was replaced by significantly harder, more furious strikes. Zhào pressed on, "See? I was right. You are indeed lonely, Mr. Lone Wolf." His words fueled the wolf's anger, making its movements reckless. He continued his provocation while hiding himself among the trees. As the wolf searched for him, he called out, "I know how it feels to be lonely! I know the agony of losing something you treasure! Join me! This fighting is futile since we are just going in circles!" The wolf located the source of his voice and sliced the tree open, but Zhào had already leaped to another. He waited in the deep shadows, lurking to prey upon the predator. The moment the wolf lost all control, Captain Zhào disarmed it in a swift motion, pointing the Soul Scratcher at its chest.

  "Let us work together," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "I need you... [tears flowing freely] to… to avenge my sister… I need to kill someone far stronger than me. Please... please..." The wolf looked straight into his pure eyes, which were filled with nothing but tears and a ferocious determination to achieve vengeance.

  [Wolf]: "Fine. Let us fight together, for the pact. [A warm smile] You won anyway."

  The wolf's appearance began to fade. As it dissolved, a brilliant, radiant light grew brighter and brighter. Captain Zhào returned to reality.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  In the royal training ground, "Agh..! Your Majesty, how can you be this strong? You leave me no opening to strike!" Lian could not help but complain playfully about her King's immense strength. Jian Zhi smiled at her grievance. "You will become like me in a few years if you practice harder." Lian nodded her head in agreement, and they both exchanged warm smiles.

  Scribe Wén arrived at the field. His eyes blazed with a furious, profound sadness. He was holding his sword tightly in his hand. Jian Zhi looked into the Scribe's eyes, which were silently screaming a torrent of unanswered questions at him. At that exact moment, from his left, a crescent-shaped flash of light hurtled toward him. Jian Zhi grabbed Lian and dodged with preternatural speed.

  Captain Zhào ran as fast as lightning to the training ground and launched another Hún Guāng attack from the Soul Scratcher. Jian Zhi dodged again and picked up the Punisher. "Why are you attacking His Majesty? Captain Zhào, are you out of your mind?!" Lian demanded, furious on her King's behalf.

  Jian Zhi commanded calmly, "Lian, leave the field immediately. They are not in a state to answer questions rationally."

  Lian hesitated for a single moment. "GO!" The sharp command from her King made her reconsider his capabilities. Lian glared at Captain Zhào, "You will die by my hands for this transgression!" before she swiftly departed.

  Now, only the three of them remained in the training ground—father and son attacking the man they had sworn to protect. Captain Zhào launched multiple Hún Guāng Chōngjí (魂光冲击 - Soul-Light Impact) projectiles at him. Jian Zhi looked completely unscathed after receiving the barrage; his armor nullified the Hún Guāng Chōngjí completely, and the Punisher began to illuminate with a crimson glow within the swirling dust.

  Both men launched themselves at Jian Zhi. "You leave me no choice," he stated as a final warning. In one fluid motion, Jian Zhi kicked Scribe Wén squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward to the entrance of the training field. He then blocked the Soul Scratcher effortlessly with the Punisher.

  Captain Zhào screamed at him, "WHY?!!!.. WHY???? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?.. [Tears flowing from his eyes] AGHHHH!" He began striking with wild, aggressive desperation. Jian Zhi used his Ghost Step to disarm him, knocking the Soul Scratcher from his hands. He then pointed the Punisher at Captain Zhào's throat.

  "What question are you both so desperately searching for an answer to?" Jian Zhi asked, his voice dangerously low.

  Scribe Wén could not meet his King's eyes, overwhelmed by the shame of his powerlessness against his daughter's alleged killer. He asked, looking down at the ground, "Seven years ago… did you set a house ablaze and flee to the Devil's Mountain? Answer me, you Devil of the Devil's Mountain."

  Jian Zhi's expression turned icy. His devilish aura became dense and palpable, starting to haunt the very space around them. Their souls trembled, feeling an unnatural, deep chill.

  Jian Zhi replied, "Yes. I did."

  Captain Zhào cried out, "Why did you kill my sister's family and make a pyre of their house? Who are you? Why would you do that?!"

  Jian Zhi's eyes narrowed. "Sister? Are you speaking of Lín Wèi?" Father and son looked at each other, a mixture of utter confusion and burning anger in their eyes. They both nodded.

  "I did not kill her," Jian Zhi said, his voice dead and icy. "I merely made the pyre for her body..." The confession hung in the air.

  Both men stared, aghast. "What? Then how did she die? What happened to her family?"

  Jian Zhi could no longer hold back his tears, the memory of his mother's love and her tragic death overwhelming him. He replied, voice cracking, "[Sobbing] I was buying her favorite sweets for her that day… when I came back, her husband was beating her… But I was too late… She died in my arms." He looked at them with eyes filled with tears and an anger that defied all description.

  Scribe Wén realized the monumental truth. "Are you… her son? Did you set the pyre for her body… and for your father?" He could not help but cry, a devastating mixture of regret and shame for leaving his own grandson to endure a lifetime of torture. He opened his arms, his voice breaking, "Come to your grandpa. [Sob] I… I have never even seen your face… come here…"

  Jian Zhi had known they were his mother's family the moment he heard her name from Captain Zhào's mouth. Without another word, he turned and left the field, walking straight to his room and leaving his long-lost family behind in stunned, sorrowful silence.