Reaper of the Martial World

Book 9: Chapter 110: Golden Clouds (3)

Two figures stood in the skies, bloodied and beaten.

On one side, there was a young man with a handsome face hidden behind a curtain of streaking crimson liquid. His wounds were a mixture of small a large, no doubt inflicted by a worthy opponent.

To the other side, there was a middle-aged man, equally as bloodied. But any medical expert could tell you that it was impossible for his wounds to be inflicted by another. A large majority of his wounds were self-inflicted.

The middle-aged man coughed. “It’s a shame…” He muttered to himself. “This body is too weak.”

The young man smiled, a confident light still shimmering in his eyes. Despite being well aware he only won because his opponent was a Higher Celestial, a fiery warmth thrummed in his chest as though he could still face the world.

“You’ve improved a lot…” The middle-aged man mumbled. “… of the 7 wounds you’ve inflicted upon me, two of which were fatal, 4 of them came in the last week…”

Dyon shrugged. “I did say you were better than a decent training partner, didn’t I?”

“You held back?”

Dyon thought for a moment. He felt he needed to increase his battle sense so he stopped using his soul all together in the last four months. If not, the battle would have likely pushed Oshire’s body over its limit within a week.

“You shouldn’t take that as a slight. After all, you weren’t battling in your own body.”

The Ancestor coughed, chuckling bitterly.

“How sad. I was meant to use this opportunity to gather more Karma for my reincarnation, but who knew I would just make an enemy of my Sapientia Clan stronger…”

The Ancestor’s voice faded away. With him, the thousands of Sapientia Ancestors in the skies became like wisps on smoke in the wind.

Oshire stumbled in the skies, slowly crashing down to the grounds below. His body was completely spent, maybe he wouldn’t live much longer than just a few seconds.

Dyon watched with a calm gaze as he fell. In the last four months, Oshire had been completely silent. But, Dyon knew that this wasn’t because the Ancestor had suppressed him, that wasn’t how Faith worked. He had remained silent simply because he had nothing to say.

After watching Dyon dig himself back out from an abyss of despair, Oshire felt that life simply wasn’t worth living anymore. He didn’t allow the second form of [Incarnate] to activate because he wanted to kill Dyon, he allowed it to activate because he was too cowardly to take his own life.

There would be no grand redemption for Oshire. Even to the end, his thoughts remained as pathetic as they were from the start.

Too cowardly to take your own life? Since when was committing suicide an act of courage? Dyon had never seen it that way…

Well, at least in his youth, he didn’t. It was why he hoped Madeleine wouldn’t take her life all those years ago, even if it meant marrying Chenglei.

However, to the more mature Dyon, he saw things a bit different. Not everything was in black and white… Not every suicide was cowardly and not every decision to live was brave.

Still, even believing there might be subtle nuance to certain situations, Dyon would always respect those who chose to live and fight.

Even now, Oshire simply believed that Dyon was too great, that he himself was just too pathetic, that this entire battle was just another proof that he was a simple man not meant for this world.

But was this true?

Dyon would never claim that he started at the bottom in talent. Though his qi and body realm talent didn’t become whole until recently, his soul talent had always been overwhelming. This fact alone had helped pull him through many troubles… Even today was another example.

But did Oshire start at the bottom either? Didn’t he come from one of the greatest Clans in current existence? Even if he didn’t get the best resources from his Clan, was he as helpless as others in this regard?

Just look at his Faith. He had been in the tower quadrants for so long, a place where the greatest Faith available was of the Comet Grade, yet he could find a way to improve himself here? Who could match him but a select few?

Even Clara became a Celestial in just a few decades when her cultivation talent was pitiful. Who would you be trying to fool if you said Oshire couldn’t become a Dao expert with thousands of years?

“[Devour]…” Though Dyon didn’t want to do it, Oshire’s memories had too much useful information.

The person Dyon felt the most sorry for wasn’t Oshire at all, but the woman he claimed to love.

“She cared for you so much… Yet you didn’t even dare to fight.”

Oshire’s lifeforce faded away slowly.

“… Everything… Should just burn… Everything… Will burn…”

Those were his final words before what remained of his soul was sealed away and preserved by Dyon. He wouldn’t be tortured like Matriarch Niveus, but Dyon couldn’t allow him to die completely just yet. If the Sapientia’s main clan realized he had died, there would be endless troubles.

“The Sapientia are still keeping tabs on the 99 universes, hm…? Interesting.”

Dyon looked up and into the skies, his blood matted white fur slowly retracting into his skin.

But the moment this happened, a rumbling of golden clouds began to circulate above.

Dyon sighed. “… Why can’t I have nice things…”