Chapter 123: Each Person's Path

Bang!

Lin Fan raised his palm to block Ou Hu’s strike, bringing Ou Hu back to his senses. Ou Hu scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, while Lin Fan shook his head to indicate it was nothing.

Only Lin Fan understood that these individuals had truly gained some insight. Guided by the Dao, they were compelled to express their inner thoughts; whether through words or actions, they were simply manifesting their own Dao, unable to act otherwise.

Just then, with a sharp clang, a sword was drawn.

"All land under heaven belongs to the King, and all people within the borders are the King’s subjects. The ultimate form of the Emperor is the ancient sovereign who rules over all, pacifying mountains and rivers, gathering the dragon's aura—Imperial Dragon in all eight directions!"

Li Ji thrust his sword forward, only to have it caught between Lin Fan’s two fingers. Lin Fan looked deeply at Li Ji. In that moment, Li Ji realized that his deepest secret had been uncovered by Brother Fan.

Lin Fan had a general idea of the truth, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Xiao Shuihan, Sun Hao, and Lin Hongyi, who were still deep in meditation.

At this moment, Xiao Shuihan slowly raised his head. His forehead was beaded with large drops of sweat, and he spoke in a weary voice, "Brother Fan, I saw nothing else. I only saw endless slaughter. With a single sword strike, heaven and earth vanish; there is no one in this world who cannot be killed, and nothing that cannot be destroyed."

Hearing this, Lin Fan’s calm eyes narrowed. He looked sharply at Xiao Shuihan and asked in a low voice, "Why do you harbor such profound hatred in your heart?!"

Lin Fan had originally thought that Qian Jin was the one with secrets. He never expected that once his Dao guidance was unleashed, he would discover that all of them carried heavy burdens. Their paths were not simple; they were fraught with danger, where a single misstep could lead to eternal damnation.

He even felt a twinge of regret for letting them touch the path of the Dao so early. Once their inner resolve was clear, there was no turning back.

"This... regarding my background, Brother Fan, I can trust you, right?"

Sweat rolled down Xiao Shuihan’s face. He sighed, as if trying to shed the pressure weighing upon him. Lin Fan nodded and waved his hand, raising a light barrier of energy to shroud them both. Xiao Shuihan pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.

"My real name is Xiao Beihan. I am not a true son of the Xiao family. Only Xiao Jianhao, who treated me like his own flesh and blood, knows this—not even the rest of the Xiao family is aware."

"My biological father was the Sword King Xiao He of the Ice and Snow Kingdom, and my aunt was the Imperial Concubine Xiao. Back then, Concubine Xiao was framed, and the Xiao family was massacred. My father fought his way out of the siege to escort the Nineteenth Prince and me away from the imperial capital."

"Countless people died in that battle; the Xiao family’s blood flowed like a river. I was only five years old then, and Zhao Changfeng was also five. We witnessed with our own eyes how those executioners slaughtered our family. My clan was destroyed, and that memory has been buried deep in my heart ever since."

"Later, my father, severely wounded, fled all the way to Qingxue County, unable to run any further. Among those sent from Qingxue County to hunt us down was my foster father, Xiao Jianhao. My biological father had once bestowed knowledge upon Xiao Jianhao, who was a man of gratitude and intended to let us go."

"However, my father was a proud man. He knew that even if my foster father spared him, he would soon be hunted down by others, and it would only implicate his benefactor. So, he handed my brother Zhao Changfeng and me to Xiao Jianhao, then drew his sword and took his own life, telling my foster father to take his head back to fulfill the mission."

"And so, my foster father presented my father’s head to receive his reward, and the Kingdom granted him the city of Xiaobei!"

"My foster father first followed my father’s instructions and entrusted Zhao Changfeng to the Li family in Feixue City. Then, he brought me to Xiaobei City and sent his own five-year-old biological son away to be raised by his close friend, Long Tiexin, changing his name to Long Ya."

"I grew up in Xiaobei City until I was ten, and under my foster father’s cultivation, I learned everything about the Xiao family. Since my foster mother had long passed away, when I returned to the Xiao family at ten, no one suspected a thing. That is how I have grown to this day!"

Xiao Shuihan—no, he should be called Xiao Beihan now—finished his tale, his face filled with murderous intent.

"I cannot forget that night. That night, my mother, my sister, my brothers, and my elders were all slaughtered one by one. It was a night stained with blood, and I must use blood to stain it back!"

"So that’s it!"

Lin Fan realized. No wonder Xiao Beihan harbored such earth-shattering hatred, and why the Dao he grasped was so fierce. It all made sense.

Suddenly, a thought struck Lin Fan. He looked at Li Ji outside the barrier and asked Xiao Beihan, "You said the Nineteenth Prince, Zhao Changfeng, was entrusted to the Li family in Feixue City?"

"Yes. The Li family is my grandmother’s kin. Whether it was my father or my aunt, the Imperial Concubine, they all called the old master of the Li family 'Uncle,' and the current head of the family 'Big Brother.' I have to call him 'Uncle' as well."

"Because that side of my grandmother’s family was a distant connection, and the Li family was weak and secluded in Qingxue County, those enemies never found out."

Xiao Beihan looked at Li Ji outside and continued, "He is my younger brother, Zhao Changfeng, the Nineteenth Prince of the Ice and Snow Kingdom, now known as Li Changfeng. He only uses the name Li Ji because he is not yet eighteen!"

"So, both of you carry a blood feud, and since Li Ji is a prince, it is no wonder you grasped the Dao of Slaughter and he grasped the Imperial Dao!"

Lin Fan nodded and placed his hand on Xiao Beihan’s shoulder. He said earnestly, "If the path of your Dao is treacherous and a single misstep means death, are you still willing to walk it?"

Xiao Beihan replied firmly, "As long as I can have my revenge, I am willing!"

"As long as you don't die, let alone revenge, you could even slaughter your way to the Nine Heavens!" Lin Fan said with a smile. He then withdrew the protective barrier, looked at Sun Hao and Lin Hongyi who were still meditating, and nodded at Li Ji. Li Ji understood, glanced at Xiao Beihan, who also nodded back.

Li Ji felt a weight lift from his heart. This was his and his brother’s greatest secret. Just now, when he performed his sword technique, he had been worried that Lin Fan might have glimpsed a part of his secret and held a grudge. Now that his brother had spoken, he figured Lin Fan would not hold it against him.

"Everything in the world has sound—flowers, grass, trees, insects, birds, beasts! Where there is life, there is sound; where there is a soul, there is sound. Blades have the sound of blades, swords have the resonance of swords, the wind has its howl, the sea has its waves. All things have a cause, and all things have a sound!"

"Cause and effect cycle; slaughter, destruction, all are accompanied by sound. The strife of individuals, the fall of dynasties, or even the annihilation of heaven and earth—none can exist without sound. In the long river of time, all things have a voice. Sound can determine life and death, and music can extinguish the soul and dissolve the Dao!"

Sun Hao opened his eyes and suddenly smiled. He threw his long spear deep into the sea of clouds, pulled out the Demon-Suppressing Zither, and said to everyone, "This is my weapon from now on!"

"Hahaha, good!"

Lin Fan clapped and laughed. Whether it was Shangguan Feihong, Qian Jin, Ou Hu, Li Changfeng, or Xiao Beihan, they had all seen their own Dao, yet they hadn't understood what it truly was. Only Sun Hao had cast aside his spear—a farewell to his past—because he understood that his path was the Dao of Melody!

This was a profound awakening, a complete realization of his true heart.

He had thought that in terms of the Dao, Shangguan Feihong was the fastest. He never expected Sun Hao to surpass them all. This leap was so significant that he had directly identified the essence of his Dao.

Lin Fan glanced at Lin Hongyi, whose hands were clenched white, and said to the group, "Hongyi is still comprehending. As for you, Feihong has grasped the Dao of Extreme Speed; Qian Jin is the same, though Feihong focuses on finding life within death—either he dies, or the enemy does."

"Feihong’s martial arts are very similar to a friend of mine. He pursues the ultimate; the peak state is when the person and the weapon become one."

Lin Fan paused and added, "But in Feihong’s fusion, the person is the master. Qian Jin also pursues the Dao of Extreme Speed, and he also fuses with his weapon, but he focuses on the weapon. They both pursue the extreme of speed, but from two different directions. Their fusion is not merely man-and-weapon as one, nor man-and-nature as one, but a higher level of integration!"

"This level of fusion—never mind that I cannot explain it clearly now, even that friend of mine could not, for he has yet to reach it!"

"However, for now, Qian Jin, this long blade does not suit your path. You might want to switch to throwing knives. Later, I will teach you how to use them!"

Hearing this, Qian Jin nodded. Lin Fan then looked at Ou Hu and Li Changfeng.

"Ou Hu, you have the bloodline of a Fierce Tiger. Influenced by your blood, your personality is straightforward, and your strength is terrifying. The Dao you have grasped is simple and direct—it is the Overbearing Dao, or perhaps we can call it the Ultimate Dao of Strength!"

"This is similar to Feihong and Qian Jin’s Dao of Extreme Speed, only where theirs is the extreme of speed, yours is the extreme of strength!"

"As the saying goes, 'One force can overcome ten techniques.' The extreme of strength is also known as the Overwhelming Dao—a path that overwhelms all. No matter what is in front of you, you have the confidence to smash through it with a single punch, like crushing a city or sweeping away withered leaves. Any obstruction is shattered by this overwhelming power!"

"It is a very simple Dao, yet also a very difficult one."

"It is so plain that a punch might seem slow and weak, yet it can shatter stars; it is so domineering that a punch can be violent enough to pierce the heavens!"

"Holy crap, that fierce?!" Ou Hu exclaimed. He scratched his head and gave a silly grin. "Looks like I’m not stupid after all. On the contrary, my comprehension is quite high. I actually grasped such a powerful Dao—the extreme of strength, the Overwhelming Dao. I love it!"

"I am talking about your Dao, not you," Lin Fan corrected.

Ou Hu chuckled, "It’s fine, it’s fine. I just love the idea of blowing everything away with one punch. Simple and direct!"

"Forget it!"

Feeling that talking to Ou Hu any longer would lower his own IQ, Lin Fan turned to Li Ji, who was waiting impatiently. "Changfeng, I will call you that from now on. You should return to that name eventually!"

"Alright!" Li Changfeng nodded. It was indeed time to return to that name. Li Ji was his childhood name; Li Changfeng was his true identity.

"I was wondering why your Dao was the Imperial Dao. This path requires one to be either a sovereign or of royal blood. Only those born into an imperial family, possessing the dragon’s aura and a clear goal, can grasp this."

"The Imperial Dao is the path of a leader, the path of supremacy, the path of the Dragon's Head. It is like the sun looking down upon all things—everything is beneath your gaze, everything is under your shroud. It is the pride of bearing the gaze of all, the Dao of Pride, the Ultimate Imperial Dao!"

"I will teach you a technique. Not just you, but all of you. However, I need to organize it after the trial ends before I can pass it on to you."

Lin Fan spoke, and without waiting for Li Changfeng’s reply, he looked at Xiao Beihan.

He could not explain Li Changfeng’s Dao too clearly, or else he might lose his way; his Dao needed to be understood by himself. The Ultimate Imperial Dao was the path of a sovereign; Lin Fan could not teach it, he could only guide it.