104 Darkness of his Hear

"This is truly like watching a fairytale unfold in front of your very eyes," Zhang Yong commented unsure of how to feel. He did not want to blink a single time, for fear of missing anything. To see experts—let alone mythical beings—brawl it out was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The insights within the Dao that get thrown abound were unmatched by simple teachings. With every punch and kick they exchanged, someone like him would gain immense knowledge already.

Ran Wei and Lin Zuhuyue nodded. How would they ever return to reading books or watching pictures and retellings again, when they have witnessed and tasted the allure of this store? No novel and image, no matter the masterpiece, could possibly compare with the feeling of seeing and creating the very own path you carved. It was a mystical thing.

Lan Jius' eyes were glued to the screen, enthralled. This was it. It was this power that made him set out for the city in the first place, his only hope for the path of his revenge. He eyed the witch and wizard. If he could use a fraction of their strength, he'd have no enemies within this empire. This was no exaggeration. If even one of the siblings existed in the real world, they would be able to conquer the lands in 1 day. . . and most of the time will be spent traveling. "It really makes one wonder how these siblings got so strong."

"You are setting yourself up for failure if you take them as role models," Li Yangyi commented, "these people aren't real. You won't ever meet your expectations if that is what you are aiming for. At worst, you will look like her." He pointed at his own sister.

Li Yinyi threw her hands up in the air while shouting. She behaved as if she were watching a horse race and she had money on the line, like these peasants. "Wooh! Let's go!" She cheered for the witch, her friend. 

"Who do you think will win," An Bai asked.

His friend and merchant Ah Liang replied, "It's hard to say, I can't possibly fathom their limits." He was stunned and couldn't speak for a long time when he saw the wizard revive back into the world. Of course, he knew that they as players could return from the afterlife too, but to see it from another perspective was bone-chilling.

Lan Jiu thought so too, which is why he believed in the wizard. "I think the witch will ultimately fall here. There's a saying that one lapse of judgment can undo a lifetime of achievements, and with time, the witch will wear out, while the wizard appears to have no stop." He smiled wryly.

Are revival arts that easy to obtain these days? Only a few days ago, if someone spoke of their mere existence, Lan Jiu would have spat at that person. And that was coming from someone who had been indoctrinated by an evil sect.

Yet he distinctively felt that the revival arts the player used differed from that of the wizard. The most obvious thing was that there was no need for flowers when they came back, but the wizard appeared more as if he had rewound time, while the Store of Fates was true to its name, the purest of revivals, with no gimmicks.

It was hard for him to describe, and the more he poked into that direction, the more his head ached due to his low cultivation level, but he knew he was onto something.

"No, the witch will surely win! I know for sure," Li Yinyi complained.

Her brother replied cynically, "But it was prophecied that the witch will fall here."

"But the witch has her destruction magic."

"Well, the wizard has his flowers."

Soon, the whole group broke out into a heated discussion. They theorized about who was stronger and compared their feats and accomplishments. In the end, it was Li Yangyi that quibbled, "It's because they are so different."

"True," Zhang Yong said and nodded. "It is hard to imagine that a single family could monopolize this many great arts. It almost feels unfair."

"Oh, but they use the same cultivation methods. The siblings, I mean," Shou spoke from afar, as he watched their conversation. But a single sentence of his was enough to grab the attention of everyone, making them forget the fight for a split second. In the end, it was this young man that trumped all mysteries, the enigma of enigmas. They'd always be interested in what he had to say.

"Shou, could you explain what you mean by that," Zhang Yong inquired. "I can't see how they use the same arts when one deals with fire and destruction, while another has life, death, and rebirth attributes."

"You can't look at them for what they are. If you just take a look at the insights of their Dao, you'd see that the base they use is around 90% the same. It's likely the cultivation methods the family has used to gain the name of miracle workers," Shou explained. "The fire and rebirth are only their own interpretations of this base. But I have to say, these interpretations are of incredibly high-quality."

As always, Zhang Yong and the others understood nothing. But they still wished to know. "Then what could possibly be this peerless magic formula they use to create such an indomitable might, rivaling the heavens?"

Shou placed his index finger on his lips. "No spoilers."

"..." Zhang Yong felt deflated at once. That was true, he couldn't simply waltz in and ask for Shous' trade secrets. He'd be willing to buy it for his whole possessions, including his lifespan and a limb, but he doubted that strict youth would agree. In the end, he could only try finding out himself.

Mei Xue held her head. "...These guys are way too loud," she groaned, finding it hard to concentrate on the fight.

Suddenly, the wizard landed right next to her, causing her to scream loudly. He was covered in darkness, on one side, while the other side was burning fiercely. But he was calm when he glanced over to Mei Xue with a grin. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"...It's okay," Mei Xue said. "Will you win?"

"Yes." The wizard replied with conviction. "However, I'd never have expected my cute little sister would turn into this, it is very saddening."

As she was an only child, she could not relate, but she still felt the need to ask him, "Are you going to put her down."

The bland-haired young man didn't reply immediately. He lifted his head, watching the witch who waited for him to fly up again. "I have to," he said and looked around. "If she stays alive, no one here will ever find peace, and they'd never manage to return to their old homes."

Mei Xues' eyes widened. "You could feel the outside while in the statue."

"I've heard their prayers." The wizard jumped up in the air once more, the flowers on the ground following him and forming wings that were even bigger than before. The darkness and fire rescinded as he flapped his wings, showcasing his youthful and flawless appearance again.

The witch nodded, and in her arms, a bow formed, made of fire. "Brother. All this time. . . I have searched for a way to counteract your immortality." A flaming arrow formed within her other hand, the one smithed from her own fire. "This one will kill even you."

"I am interested in finding out how, my dearest sis," the wizard joked. He raised his hand and drew a circle in the air. Incredibly, a pitch-black portal formed at the same spot, and countless spirits, undead, and skeletons marched out, and the scene looked akin to the hell itself. "Try and hit me first."

"You have no shame," the witch squinted her eyes. Within these corpses, there were even children and the elderly. They all marched towards the witch and jumped her, gnawing at her body. Even little attacks would accumulate when they reached the thousands. Yet, she did not budge.

The witch raised her bow. Her iris was tightly locked on the wizard, who felt a sudden chill, which he never did before in his life. "Goodbye, my dearest brother." She let go of the string, and the arrow flew, destroying all the undead just by phasing through. The clouds high above disappeared and the villagers, though far away, had their skin blister and lips crack, from the instant humidity. The arrow took less than a fraction of a second to land on the wizard, and he burst like a balloon, incinerating away.

And when he returned, he did so with a scream. "What. . .is this?" His whole body remained on fire, even after he came back.

The witch did not speak. Her powers left her all at once, and she slowly fell to the ground, the fires that propped her disappearing. "This fire will never extinguish, even when you or I die. . . as long as you are in this world, as long as you have breath in you, you shall burn with my hatred. There will be no respite for you. . . as long as you live."

"..." the burning wizard glanced at his sister, who had turned frail and weak. "I see." His body repaired itself, and then immediately burned away at incredible speed. "At least I got to live." He raised his arm, slowly, as if a single movement done incorrectly would destroy the whole process.

—and he let his arm fall, a giant spear made from the darkness within his heart, pierced through his sister's chest. And so, the witch was no more.

[congratulations, you have reached a completion rate of 100%]