Chapter 279: Rebirth - I Became the Grandpa (Part 3)
Su Chen fell into a deep slumber as the Heaven's Mandate Pearl exhausted its final traces of energy. He did not know how much time had passed before he felt faint strands of energy flowing in. The influx revived him slightly, and his consciousness gradually cleared.
However, Su Chen frowned. His foolish disciple's situation seemed far from optimistic.
...
Dongfang Yunxing was being hunted. Ever since his encounter with Su Chen and the receipt of the Nirvana Art, he had quietly accumulated energy to improve his talent and cultivation. He had finally broken through to the Spirit Gathering realm.
After painstaking searching, he located the enemy who had massacred the entire Dongfang—Chen Xuan of the Chen Family. The former useless son of the Chen Family had become its greatest genius and strongest expert.
Chen Xuan's reason for destroying the Dongfang was simple: a conflict with Dongfang Yunxing's elder brother, Dongfang Yunhai.
Chen Xuan had taken a fancy to his nominal sister-in-law, Liu Yuehong. She was the daughter of the Liu Family patriarch and had grown up as Dongfang Yunhai's childhood sweetheart.
Though Liu Yuehong claimed she had always treated Dongfang Yunhai as an older brother, she never broke off the engagement. The Liu Family had long enjoyed benefits from the Dongfang, and she had accepted every resource Dongfang Yunhai gave her without hesitation.
This nominal sister-in-law, the woman his brother loved most, had thrown herself into the arms of a man she had only met a few times.
Enraged, Dongfang Yunhai fought Chen Xuan. Only after Liu Yuehong's tearful pleas did he spare Chen Xuan's life and order him to leave Stone Mountain City forever.
That single act of mercy had brought disaster upon the entire Dongfang.
Somehow, in just half a year, Chen Xuan advanced through multiple realms. His cultivation far surpassed ordinary Spirit Vein experts. Upon his return, he slaughtered his way through the Dongfang. No one could withstand a single blow from him.
After annihilating the family, he even planned to marry his nominal sister-in-law.
A pair of adulterous dogs.
Dongfang Yunxing was determined to avenge his entire clan. He had lain low for a long time. Starting as a lowly horse groom, he spent three months preparing. On the eve of the wedding, he finally gained access to Liu Yuehong. He did not question why she had betrayed the Dongfang. He only wanted to kill the treacherous woman.
Dongfang Yunxing had miscalculated one thing: his cultivation was still far too low. Even with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what he believed was a foolproof plan, the moment he tried to kill Liu Yuehong, a protective light flashed from her body. It was a third-grade defensive artifact, equivalent to a Spirit Vein-level treasure.
Dongfang Yunxing was only at the Spirit Gathering realm. In despair yet decisive, he chose to flee. He carried the hatred of ninety-nine family members on his back. He could not die here.
The Liu Family reacted swiftly and surrounded him with their forces, including the patriarch's son—Liu Yuehong's younger brother.
"Dongfang Yunxing, you're still alive!"
Liu Rufeng laughed loudly.
"How wonderful. My brother-in-law has been searching for the last survivor of the Dongfang. Your head will bring glory to the Liu Family!"
Liu Rufeng's words sent a chill through Dongfang Yunxing.
Liu Rufeng died.
Dongfang Yunxing ignored his own injuries and killed him anyway. Having practiced the Nirvana Art—even if only once—no one in the Liu Family could easily kill him without a Spirit Vein expert stepping in.
Blood soaked Dongfang Yunxing's clothes. Like an asura descended upon the world, he stepped on Liu Rufeng's terrified face.
The rest of the Liu Family trembled in fear and did not dare confront him.
"The Dongfang treated your Liu Family well, yet this is how you repay us!"
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Dongfang Yunxing crushed Liu Rufeng's head beneath his foot.
He glared furiously, and not a single person from the Liu Family dared meet his eyes.
"Feng'er… You killed my Feng'er!"
The Liu Family patriarch arrived late, his face twisted with grief. As a Spirit Vein realm expert, the pain of losing his son drove him mad with rage. He attacked Dongfang Yunxing without hesitation.
...
Su Chen awakened. Although the Heaven's Mandate Pearl had only absorbed a tiny amount of energy, he heard an angry roar. His disciple seemed to be in danger.
Su Chen could not let him die like this.
The Liu Family patriarch's furious strike sent dust and dirt flying, leaving only a deep crater behind.
Dongfang Yunxing had vanished.
"Could the Dongfang remnant have been blasted into pieces by the patriarch?"
Some Liu Family members stared at the crater, awed by how terrifying their patriarch's power had become. Only the patriarch himself knew the truth: Dongfang Yunxing had not died. Somehow, he had escaped.
...
In a dense forest.
Dongfang Yunxing had already prepared himself to die. Yet he was still alive. The surroundings were unfamiliar, with no Liu Family pursuers in sight.
"Master?!"
A thought struck him. He looked down at the Heaven's Mandate Pearl on his chest.
"Foolish disciple, don't be so reckless next time! Life is only given once."
A weary voice emerged from the pearl.
Su Chen had barely gained a trace of energy, but most of it was now spent saving Dongfang Yunxing. This time, he was smarter. He remained inside the pearl to conserve energy. He had more important matters to attend to. He needed to learn how the Heaven's Mandate Pearl gathered energy.
"Thank you, Master, for saving my life."
Dongfang Yunxing felt deeply moved. He could hear the exhaustion in his master's voice and knew Su Chen had paid a heavy price to rescue him.
"What exactly happened to you? Tell me everything that has occurred during this time. Perhaps I can help you think of a solution."
Su Chen's voice came from within the pearl, carrying a tone of concern.
Dongfang Yunxing held nothing back. He recounted every detail: the grudge between his elder brother Dongfang Yunhai and Chen Xuan, the destruction of the Dongfang, how he obtained the Nirvana Art, his efforts to gather information on his enemies, and his quest for revenge. He spoke of enduring humiliation as a horse groom, infiltrating the Liu Family, and his failed assassination attempt that led to his pursuit.
Su Chen: "..."
A worthless nobody suddenly rises and becomes a supreme genius? Unable to walk away from a beauty, slaughtering everyone for a woman? Falling in love at first sight?
Hiss! This plot felt all too familiar.
Chapter 280: Rebirth - I Became the Grandpa (Part 4)
Su Chen's expression turned strange. This Chen Xuan was undoubtedly a child of destiny. There was no doubt about it. He just didn't know what type. The unfortunate Dongfang had clearly served as nothing more than a stepping stone on the protagonist's path, wiped out entirely.
Su Chen felt a trace of sympathy for Dongfang Yunxing's suffering. He had experienced something similar himself once. He quickly set a goal in his mind: train Dongfang Yunxing to take down Chen Xuan.
After all, Su Chen was quite experienced at dealing with children of destiny.
Of course, killing the child of destiny and helping Dongfang Yunxing get revenge was not his main objective. He suspected that the energy the Heaven's Mandate Pearl required was closely connected to children of destiny.
"Do you want to become stronger?"
Hearing the words from the pearl, Dongfang Yunxing nodded repeatedly.
Of course he did. How could he not?
Every waking moment, he thought only of becoming stronger so he could kill Chen Xuan. Every time he closed his eyes, the tragic deaths of his loved ones haunted him.
"Your enemy, Chen Xuan, possesses great destiny. With your current strength, killing him is impossible."
"Your master happens to have a method that can make you stronger—strong enough to eventually kill him. However, the pain you will endure on this path may be ten times, a hundred times, even ten thousand times greater than what you have suffered so far."
"Moreover, catching up to Chen Xuan and killing him will be a long process. It could take ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, or even longer."
Su Chen's voice was cold and stern.
Dongfang Yunxing's talent and comprehension were simply too poor. Under normal circumstances, killing Chen Xuan would be utterly impossible. With Su Chen's help, he now had a slim chance.
Dongfang Yunxing dropped to his knees with a thud.
"As long as I can have my revenge, I, Dongfang Yunxing, am willing to pay any price. Even if the path is a thousand or ten thousand times harder, even if it takes thousands or tens of thousands of years and the seas turn into mulberry fields, I swear I will kill Chen Xuan and avenge the ninety-nine members of my Dongfang! Please teach me, Master!"
Seeing his disciple's determination, Su Chen smiled inside the Heaven's Mandate Pearl.
Hatred could sometimes be the best weapon.
...
Green Stone Mountain Range.
The past six months had been hell for Dongfang Yunxing.
To grow stronger and temper his body, he stole spiritual honey brewed by scale-stinging bees. He was stung hundreds or thousands of times each day, then smeared the honey all over his body to strengthen his physique and absorb its power. His body had become as tough as spiritual iron.
To increase his cultivation, he fought powerful demonic beasts every day, dancing on the edge of life and death. Only when he was on the verge of dying did Su Chen's voice emerge from the pearl on his chest to guide his cultivation.
Under the pressure of mortal danger and with Su Chen's guidance, the once incomprehensible techniques and impossible martial skills suddenly became clear to him. He even managed to counter-kill the powerful beasts.
In just half a year, Dongfang Yunxing reached the peak of the ninth layer of Spirit Gathering. He was only one step away from breaking through to the Spirit Vein realm.
Spirit Vein realm.
Without a good spirit vein.
"Use my own body as the vein?"
Dongfang Yunxing was stunned.
To break through to the Spirit Vein realm, Su Chen did not have him choose any external spirit vein. Instead, he was to use his own cultivation as the foundation for his spirit vein. He had never heard of such a method before.
Since ancient times, breaking through to the Spirit Vein realm required killing a Spirit Vein realm demonic beast and refining its spirit vein. No one had ever spoken of using one's own body as the vein.
Still, trusting his master completely, Dongfang Yunxing followed Su Chen's instructions step by step to construct his spirit vein and attempt the breakthrough.
Half a month later, Dongfang Yunxing successfully broke through to the Spirit Vein realm. He suppressed the surge of joy in his heart.
His master had once said that once he broke through to the Spirit Vein realm, he would be qualified to begin his first step of revenge. Now that he had succeeded, he finally had the right to seek vengeance against Chen Xuan.
Stone Mountain City.
Ever since Chen Xuan broke through to the Spirit Sea realm, he had left the city behind and stepped into a much broader world. With a Spirit Sea realm expert like him, the Chen Family had become the number one clan in Stone Mountain City. The Liu Family rose to become the second.
A hunting party had also soared in status after their beautiful leader became involved with Chen Xuan, turning them into the strongest hunting party within eight hundred miles.
However, one day, shocking news spread.
In a demonic beast mountain range outside Stone Mountain City, the entire Purple Clothes Hunting Party—the so-called number one hunting party—had been wiped out.
Every member died. Even their leader, Chen Xuan's woman and a seventh-layer Spirit Vein realm expert, had met a miserable end. Someone had dared to kill the woman of Stone Mountain City's strongest expert.
A storm was brewing. Stone Mountain City would not remain peaceful for long.
...
Dongfang Yunxing began his revenge. He did not target Chen Xuan directly at first. Under Su Chen's guidance, he carried out his plan methodically, moving from the weak to the strong, from distant to close connections.
The Purple Clothes Hunting Party was his first target, but not his last.
After destroying the party, Dongfang Yunxing noticed that his cultivation speed had increased noticeably. Some previously obscure techniques and martial skills suddenly became clearer to him.
He thought it was merely an illusion.
It was not.
"So that's how it works," Su Chen realized why the pearl was called the Heaven's Mandate Pearl.
It plundered great destiny and fed it back to its owner, improving both Talent and comprehension. This was a heaven-defying treasure. It might not compare to the Reverse Fate Scripture, but it was undoubtedly connected to true immortals—perhaps even to beings above them.
In his previous life, Su Chen would have done anything to obtain such an item. Yet now, through a twist of fate, he had become its artifact spirit.
Dongfang Yunxing's intense hatred toward the child of destiny must have activated the pearl.
Su Chen: "..."
No wonder Jiang Chen had studied it for millions of years without results before awakening his memories. The price of activating the Heaven's Mandate Pearl was apparently deep hatred toward a child of destiny. He had suffered from having too high a background.
Still, destroying the Purple Clothes Hunting Party brought enormous benefits to Dongfang Yunxing—and to Su Chen as well. The Heaven's Mandate Pearl absorbed energy ten times greater than when he had killed Liu Rufeng.
Su Chen recovered some of his strength.
"Next target: the Liu Family."
Dongfang Yunxing gazed in the direction of the Liu Family, his eyes cold. He would leave no one alive—not a single chicken or dog.