All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 350: The final roll will win! (Thanks to the leader of the ancient demon refining prison!)

Chapter 350: The final roll will win! (Thanks to the leader of the ancient demon refining prison!)

——I want to stay in Da Chen.

This was the true thought in Cang Linzu’s heart.

Through the shaking of his Life Star, An Jing was able to clearly understand Cang Linzu’s thoughts.

Cang Linzu had both excellent aptitude and perception, ranking just after An Jing and Bai Qinghan among the Children of Calamity.

When he was young, he was a student of the Northern Border Martial Arts Academy; although for various reasons he eventually left, deep inside, there was always a regret.

——Am I really not as good as those from the Martial Arts Academy?

——If I had stayed at the Academy, would my family also have received the Academy’s protection? Would my mother not have died, my father not have been injured, and my uncles not have vanished in the Frost Forest?

——Is it me that has the problem, or is it Da Chen?

He always thought this, always.

However, the answer had been in Cang Linzu’s heart for quite some time already.

——It’s Da Chen that has the problem.

He wanted to stay in Da Chen.

Not to join, but to observe.

Cang Linzu wanted to understand how the country of Da Chen operated.

He wanted to figure out why, in a country that supposedly valued rules highly, there are still those who could ignore the rules, distort the nation’s laws at will, and destroy the very foundations necessary for their own survival.

The Northern Border Martial Army was a good opportunity for this. Relatively independent with enough room for advancement. General Gu was capable, ambitious, and willing to take risks. Following him might lead to losses, but certainly not stagnation.

——Big Brother, I know you despise Da Chen, and I do too. Only you can’t tolerate the filth and refuse to conform, but I don’t mind.

——Talking about our hometown, you always wonder why Da Chen, which was once peaceful and prosperous, suddenly changed? Just a few years ago, even the village fool’s family could occasionally eat meat and buy new clothes, the atmosphere of peace and joy seems like it was just yesterday, how did it suddenly overnight fall into decay to the point where eating something warm is difficult, and we must gnaw on grass roots?

——I wonder too.

——You always think a lot, Big Brother, and it seems you already have the answers. You seem to see right through to why Da Chen fell into its current state... but I can’t figure it out, I need to understand.

——But... I am not just myself now.

——I am also the leader of my brothers.

——If I stay in Da Chen, there will surely be some junior brothers and sisters who will want to stay in Da Chen as well... I can make decisions for myself, but I... I’m a bit afraid... I’m not afraid of death, not in the slightest, I’m just afraid...

——Afraid of carrying the ’fate’ of others.

——So tell me, Big Brother. How should I choose?

——If you asked me to wait for you at the Bright Mirror Sect along with Ye Qi, I would go without hesitation. Even though there would be some regrets, I would feel at ease and wouldn’t think it a bad choice.

——But if you let me follow my own will, then I would stay according to my own thoughts and bear the burden of other willing stayers.

An Jing slowly opened his eyes, his gaze slightly rising, suffused with a trace of emotion: "Has it really come to this point... Ah Cang. Have you also found the meaning in your life, the path you seek?"

"You’ve grown up so quickly."

Although it was just a few short sentences, a few fragments of memory, the situation of the Children of Calamity was already very clear.

As Cang Linzu awakened his Fate Pattern, he also came to the attention of Ye Qi’s grandfather, the Northern Border Commander, Gu Yunzhi.

This old man, who was likely already renowned in Shenjing and had been granted a talisman and a military title, admired Cang Linzu, a young man who was brave in battle, who did not fear reconnaissance missions on the battlefield, and wanted to keep him under his command for careful grooming as a confidant.

Cang Linzu himself was somewhat tempted; for this youth who was wholehearted about martial arts and had once stayed in the Martial Arts Academy, a military career was exactly what he aspired to.

Moreover, by this path... he might be able to figure out why the Northern Border guards crumbled so readily in the face of the Northern Barbarians, handled the Frost Calamity so carelessly, and could even be said to neglect it.

On the other hand, the situation for Ye Qi was much simpler.

Being the only remaining lineage of the Gu Family, staying in Da Chen was no longer possible for her, and Gu Yunzhi would send her to the Five Sects before her existence was discovered by enemies.

Originally, Ye Qi was to go to Taiming Sect, the strongest of the Five Sects, but with An Jing’s recent actions, and knowing that An Jing had become associated with the Bright Mirror Sect, Ye Qi could only choose the Bright Mirror Sect.

Gu Yunzhi was not too troubled by this aspect, rather say, his interest in An Jing made it likely that An Jing’s activities in the Northern Border could become a connecting force, and with his help, arranging for his mother’s safety would definitely be more effective.

Gu Yunzhi certainly also intended to keep a batch of Children of Calamity with potential under his command for cultivation, these ones already confirmed by the Demon Sect to have potential, possibly even producing one or two with a Fate Pattern.

But just as certainly, with Ye Qi being sent to the Bright Mirror Sect, a batch of people would follow her.

Thus, the Children of Calamity were split.

Staying in Da Chen with Cang Linzu or going to Bright Mirror Sect with Ye Qi?

An Jing felt that most would choose the Bright Mirror Sect, as he was there. But some would stay in Da Chen, as for them, it was all the same; even though they admired An Jing, instead of gambling on the treatment in Bright Mirror Sect, they might as well continue to train and grow in the Martial Army where they were already well-treated.

And Cang Linzu had much longer-term considerations, but his current identity did not allow him to easily make a decision.

"Do what you want to do."

An Jing answered straightforwardly, his tone calm and encouraging, "If someone is influenced by you, it means they should be influenced by you."

"Cang, if you want to stay in Da Chen, that’s also a good thing because people from the same batch shouldn’t stay in the same place; it’s easy to be wiped out all at once."

"If you stay in Da Chen and truly become a confidant of General Gu Yunzhi, then if the brothers and sisters from the Bright Mirror Sect are having a hard time, they’ll also have a way out in Da Chen."

"On the other hand, being in the Bright Mirror Sect, you also have your own fallback within the Five Sects. If anything happens, both sides can support each other and can also do things that the other side can’t easily do. Just like this time when my master and I encountered assassinations from other sects within the Five Sects, the biggest mistake in these situations is to act personally, whereas if we’re not in the same camp, we can solve each other’s troubles."

"In short, do what you want to do. You and I have our Life Stars connected; it’s the same wherever in the world we might be."

"As for bearing the lives of others... Cang. Remember. Both of us are Martial Artists, both of us have the power to kill someone with a single punch. Ever since we had this power, we have always carried such lives."

"Believe in yourself, and if fate wills it, we may meet again at the Northern Border."

With those words, the faint link was about to break, and An Jing decisively cut it off, then laughed heartily, drove his carriage eastward, and disappeared into the snowy fog.

Northern Border, Martial Army camp.

The eyes of Cang Linzu slowly opened, no longer confused, and Gu Yeqi, who was guarding the door, turned his head, waiting for him to speak.

"Eldest brother said, do what I want to do."

Raising his head, Cang Linzu said to Gu Yeqi, "I want to stay in Da Chen."

"Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Gu Yeqi chuckled, "I told you, this is a minor matter... After all, we’re the ones who sold our lives and chose to follow Eldest Senior Brother in leaving the Demon Sect."

"People like us, why hesitate for such a reason? Instead of worrying about that, imagine how awkward it would be if none agreed to stay with you."

"Also, be mindful of your safety, or else, dying in battle, it would be difficult even to tidy your grave."

"What kind of talk is that?"

And Cang Linzu lifted his head, snorted coldly, "You should think about what you would rely on to secure your footing if you arrived at the Bright Mirror Sect before Eldest Senior Brother!"

"I know the competition in the Inner and Outer Sects of Bright Mirror Sect is fierce. You better be careful not to get kicked out of the outer courtyard before big brother returns to Bright Mirror Sect, only to end up crying and seeking grandfather!"

"Ha, you do think a lot."

Verbally sparring but genuinely caring, Gu Yeqi was used to it, and as for the competition within the sect, she was not the slightest bit fearful.

The descendant of the Gu Family from the Northern Border slightly narrowed her eyes, a fleeting, stern azure serpent pupil flashed, "I really like grandfather’s saying."

"A good person dies from virtue; a wicked person thrives on poison... I wish to be a good person, but if need be..."

"We originally come from the Demon Sect, don’t we?"

They looked at each other, as if facing mirrors, each discerning a hint of nervousness, a hint of fear, a hint of longing... and a surge of confidence from nowhere.

Yes. Whether staying in Da Chen or going to the Bright Mirror Sect, such a life-changing decision loomed before them. For these young boys and girls, how could they not be nervous?

But then, they both started to laugh.

"Can you make it?"

"Of course."

Full of youthful spirit and vigor. Young people should laugh. If they were always cautious, weighing pros and cons and only thinking about gains without daring to face losses, then they wouldn’t truly be young, nor would they have survived till now.

First Year of the Yanping Era, spring, Dragon Venerable battles his son in the Northern Sea.

First Year of the Yanping Era, spring, Iron Li and the Northern Barbarians break through YunZhong City in seven days.

First Year of the Yanping Era, spring, the Phoenix crosses the dome, and the Sky Torch of Yu Yao Country once again ignites the Holy Fire.

First Year of the Yanping Era, spring, the Origin Judgment Land sounds the heavenly bell.

Same spring, First Year of the Yanping Era, Divinely Commanded An Jing beheads the Grandmaster in Kanming, returns to his homeland the Northern Border to find his mother.

He had now mastered his Fate Pattern; he had now broken through calamities.

Same Frost Calamity; same boundless, gray snow; same endless silver frost; he was now able to cope, to ignore, to overcome.

On the snowy field, Tengshuang White galloped, breaking into a straight path.

Now, he was returning to his homeland where he had once been defeated.

And this time, he would win.

Win everything, without regrets.

—Volume Two, "With Mirror Kanming" Completed.