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Jiang Wang awaited his follow-up.

But Qinghuo Qiming then asked, “Do you also think I’m a coward?”

His expression seemed very earnest.

Jiang Wang pondered for a moment, and replied with equal sincerity, “I haven’t experienced what you’ve experienced, so I can’t easily judge you.”

Qinghuo Qiming was silent for a while, then, with reddened eyes, asked with a smile, “Is the world above the Azure Sky a very bright place?”

He said, “I’ve never heard anyone say something like that. People always parrot others, always quick to dismiss someone. Someone says he’s a coward, and everyone knows, ‘Oh, he’s a coward.’ Someone says he only became a shaman because of good luck, and everyone knows, ‘He’s just lucky.'”

“In Fuland, no one ever asks another question. Do you understand?” He looked at Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”

He said, “Our world is not a very bright place. Parroting is commonplace. Repetition breeds conviction, and slander can easily change or destroy a person. Many times, people are too lazy to think, sticking to convention and blindly following. There are also many times when people suspect everything, trusting no one. Desires are insatiable, conspiracies run rampant, interests are paramount, human affections are cold, and everyone only considers themselves, caring nothing for others…”

“What I’ve said is just a drop in the ocean, a negligible speck of filth in a sea of corruption. The darkness of the world is beyond my ability to describe.

But I’m not trying to tell you how hopeless my world is.

Because there is light, there are many lights. Burning in the places beyond the reach of the sun and moon in that world.

Some people commit heinous crimes, while others heal the wounded and rescue the dying.

Some people betray trust.

Others keep their promises, valuing them above life and death. Willing to sacrifice everything for an oath…”

Jiang Wang was calm. “The world is just such a world. You see the light, and there is light. You close your eyes, and there is darkness.”

“You asked me what my world is like. This is the world I’m in, above your Azure Sky.”

Qinghuo Qiming fell silent.

The warriors in the Wuzhi Grotto were all resting at this time. No one glanced in this direction, probably because they had exhausted their strength in the previous battle.

The two sat in a secluded corner. It seemed neither of them belonged in this grotto.

Jiang Wang was a passerby, but Qinghuo Qiming seemed to be one as well.

“Would you like to hear my story?” Qinghuo Qiming asked.

“Might as well, with nothing else to do,” Jiang Wang said.

He appeared nonchalant, which seemed to ease Qinghuo Qiming somewhat.

“My father was a coward, and I am the son of a coward.”

Qinghuo Qiming began his story with this opening.

“He was originally very talented and was highly regarded by the clan. His cultivation progressed smoothly and quickly. But the first time he entered the grotto to guard it, he encountered the largest beast tide at the time. Countless clan warriors died or were injured.

He was the only survivor of the group that descended into the grotto at the same time. This was very unfortunate.

Because he was afraid. Utterly terrified.

He even… abandoned his own totem in order to avoid the responsibility of guarding the grotto.

He would rather be spat upon and reviled, would rather be looked down upon by everyone, than take another step into the grotto.

Later, he died. He died in winter.

My grandfather couldn’t bear the shame he brought, and killed him with his own hands.”

Speaking of his biological father’s death, Qinghuo Qiming’s tone was cold. He stared in the direction of the grotto, his face showing little emotion.

“From a young age, my grandfather told me that I must become a true warrior, that I must be brave, and wash away the shame of our family. I also took this as my goal, cultivating diligently, dreaming of participating in the battles in the grotto as soon as possible. And my grandfather, he led by example, descending into the grotto every year… and so he died in the grotto.”

“Later, I was adopted by my foster father. I said that my goal was to face You Heaven directly, to become a warrior who could fight star beasts. He praised my ambition and supported me greatly. But every time I applied to go down into the grotto with him, he said I was still young and had to wait a few more years. Every time, he left me in the Fire Shrine.”

“Later, he also died.”

“The day he died, I was standing outside the fortress of Wuzhi Grotto. When the door opened, people handed me a piece of torn cloth, saying it was a fragment of his clothes. It was all that was left of him. He had fallen into You Heaven.”

Speaking to this point, Qinghuo Qiming took a deep breath. “I don’t know why, I really don’t know why. That day, looking at the fortress of Wuzhi Grotto, I suddenly felt extremely afraid. I had always wanted to go down into the grotto, had thought about it for many years, and had worked hard for it for many years, but from that day on, I never wanted to again. I was afraid to even think about it.”

Jiang Wang said, “But you still came today.”

“I didn’t want to come, but I had to. The clan’s patience with me is nearing its limit. Do you know? When I presided over the Star Summoning Ceremony, some clansmen said that if the ceremony was unsuccessful, they would offer me, the shaman, as a sacrifice to the heavens.”

Qinghuo Qiming pursed his lips. “I know they were serious.”

Jiang Wang remembered the Senhai Holy Clan’s Hunting. Those who betrayed tradition, those who deviated from mainstream values, would always be abandoned by the clan. Such things could not even be judged as right or wrong.

If Qinghuo Qiming even refused to bring the “Azure Sky Advent” to the grotto to select people, the consequences he would face were imaginable.

The reason he argued with the one-armed Qinghuo Yuanchen was not entirely out of spite. It was just that he was even more afraid to leave Jiang Wang like that and return to the tribe.

“Before you appeared, I was already planning to flee the Qinghuo tribe. But…” Qinghuo Qiming bitterly shook his head. “Which tribe would want someone who is afraid to descend into the grotto?”

“Are you curious as to why I’m telling you all this?”

Qinghuo Qiming answered himself, “Because I am still very afraid.”

“I hate why I am so afraid, but I have no way to change it. I am indeed afraid.”

“I have to say something.”

“But apart from when I’m praying, no one is willing to listen to me.”

Qinghuo Qiming’s tone was bleak, filled with a sense of isolation.

Jiang Wang simply patted him on the shoulder, saying nothing.

Was Qinghuo Qiming wrong?

Everyone on Fuland faced the threat from You Heaven. All warriors risked their lives for the survival of the clan, while Qinghuo Qiming hid in a safe place, eking out a living.

Was Qinghuo Qiming truly wrong?

He could not overcome his fear, was that his fault?

Not everyone could become a hero. Then did those who were not brave have no right to live? From a harsh reality, perhaps so. But it shouldn’t be that way.

Jiang Wang believed that with his experience and wisdom, he was not qualified to judge whether Qinghuo Qiming was right or wrong. Or perhaps this question simply had no answer.

So, he said nothing.

Silence lasted for some time.

Whoosh whoosh…

Whoosh whoosh…

In the Wuzhi Grotto, the sound of wind arose.

The wind seemed to come whistling from an unknown and distant place, howling closer and closer.

“Star Beast!”

“The Star Beast is coming!”

Someone shouted.