6: Gu Wanquan

Gu Wanquan lay on the bed, panting heavily. As his chest heaved violently, he seemed to still be processing a massive wave of emotions.

No one knew that Gu Wanquan's body was now inhabited by a forty-something-year-old Soul.

But Gu Wanquan was still Gu Wanquan; it was just that this Soul was himself from thirty years in the future.

The sounds of slaughter seemed to still echo in his ears, yet Gu Wanquan lay on the bed with an unprecedented sense of calm.

He had followed his Master to cultivate at the age of fifteen, and at eighteen, he left the mountains to challenge the world with his sword.

By twenty-five, he was already the number one under heaven, and was known by the world as the gentleman sword and the White Lotus Sword Immortal!

Finally, at thirty, he was pushed to become the Leader of the Righteous Path, becoming the foremost person of the Righteous Path and leading them against the Demon Sect in a Great Righteous-Demon War that lasted for ten years.

But just as he was about to lead the Righteous Path to victory, he was backstabbed by the Twelve Sects of the Righteous Path working together.

The two sides, Righteous and Demon, joined forces to kill him!

To his surprise, when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the age of fifteen, the time when he had just begun his apprenticeship!

Even after his Rebirth, Gu Wanquan still didn't understand what he had done wrong.

In his past life, he was one man with one sword. Although he defeated countless people, he never took a single life.

Even if they were Demon Sect Evil Cultivators, as long as they were not truly wicked, he would spare their lives.

Slaying Evil Demons and removing Evil Devils, the illustrious name of the Sword Immortal once again resounded throughout the entire world after several centuries.

He was the Sword Immortal's personal disciple, another Sword Cultivator comparable to the Aotian Sword Immortal!

Gu Wanquan felt that he had done exactly the same things as that Aotian Sword Immortal from hundreds of years ago.

Why was the Aotian Sword Immortal revered by thousands, while he was assassinated by the combined forces of the Righteous and Demon paths?

He asked his conscience; since he began his cultivation, he had never indiscriminately killed the innocent, and everything he did was open and honorable.

Before Gu Wanquan died, he seemed to hear countless voices.

They were cheering for his death, discussing who his corpse belonged to, and arguing over who should inherit his Sect... 'He always had that self-righteous look, as if he was always right!'

'A Savage Demon is a Savage Demon. Even if he has a human appearance, he's just a Savage Demon disguised as a human.'

'After planning for so long, we have finally succeeded. We've cleared out this Savage Demon who dared to try and infiltrate the Human Race. Heaven bless the Human Race!'

'Fairy Ruyan endured humiliation for so many years, and now the clouds have finally parted to reveal the moonlight!'

'We need to study his corpse; this boy is too strange!'

... 'Ah, so that's it. I have the Bloodline of the Savage Demons. It turns out they never trusted me from the very beginning!'

'It turns out even the lover I shared every trial with was only pretending to love me for the sake of this backstab?'

Gu Wanquan now understood everything and knew where the problem lay.

After he had been promoted to a Great Cultivator, Gu Wanquan had discovered the secret hidden within his body.

He had the Bloodline of the Savage Demons within him.

Savage Demons—they were the race that had been the mortal enemies of the Human Race for centuries.

Gu Wanquan even suspected that the village he lived in as a child was destroyed by himself after his Bloodline's Awakening, and that the death of the Taoist Grandpa was also related to him.

Carrying such feelings, Gu Wanquan felt that he himself was original sin, no matter how much he did to make up for the stain on his Bloodline.

But in the end, he was still that 'damn Savage Demon' in people's mouths.

Yes, how could a Savage Demon not deserve to die?

How could anyone fall in love with a half-breed carrying the Savage Demon Bloodline?

Gu Wanquan laughed self-mockingly, as if laughing at his own naivety in his past life.

In this world, the Northern Savage Demons viewed the Human Race as food, knowing only slaughter and devouring throughout their lives.

The Human Race and the Savage Demons had fought for hundreds of years, and there was already a blood feud between them.

With his Savage Demon Bloodline, he had actually been naive enough to believe that as long as he did the right thing and always thought of the Human Race,

Then he would be part of the Human Race and would be recognized and accepted by them.

As it turned out, he had been hopelessly stupid in his past life. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how incredibly correct his Master had been when he forbade him from getting involved with those so-called Prestigious Orthodox Sects.

In the eyes of the world, what he was had already been decided from the day he was born!

Gu Wanquan opened the door. At this moment, the night was quiet and the moon was round; even the air had settled into a hush.

The small courtyard before him was the place where he had learned the sword. He had followed his Master to travel across the country, but in the end, they would always return here.

In Gu Wanquan's heart, this place had long been his inner sanctuary.

But when he had proposed to leave the mountains, to compete for the title of number one under heaven, and to become the Leader of the Righteous Path to eliminate demons and defend the Dao, he had met with his Master's most intense opposition!

At the time, he didn't understand and thought his Master, who had no cultivation, was being overly cautious and timid. He even felt back then that he had already far surpassed his Master!

But now, the reborn Gu Wanquan finally understood his Master's painstaking intentions.

In all likelihood, his Master had already foreseen that he would end up in such a state.

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Gu Wanquan walked to the large locust tree in the middle of the courtyard.

He looked up at the canopy, and as his gaze narrowed, a branch snapped and fell into Gu Wanquan's hand.

He gave it a few casual swings, and his Sword Intent hummed. Although he had no cultivation, the profound Sword Intent still made the branch unable to bear the burden, and it instantly turned to dust.

He pulled out that Sword Immortal's Notebook from his chest. The notebook, which had seemed obscure and difficult to understand just a moment ago, was now clear and simple in Gu Wanquan's eyes.

In his past life, he had flipped through this notebook tens of thousands of times over ten years, and he already knew it by heart.

The Legacy left by that Grandmaster was simply taken from the character for 'Sword.' Every stroke was a sword move, resulting in a nine-move sword technique derived from the word 'Sword.'

It was by relying on these nine sword moves that he had defeated countless Great Cultivators in the world and reached the pinnacle of heaven.

But looking at the Sword Immortal's Notebook now, Gu Wanquan felt an indescribable annoyance in his heart.

That Aotian Sword Immortal was indeed a world-shaking talent, and the nine sword moves he created were infinitely profound.

But the more he cultivated toward the end, the more Gu Wanquan felt that the nine sword moves, which were originally very suitable for him, were becoming increasingly awkward to use.

He even felt as if his pure True Essence and supreme Sword Intent, having just reached the level of a Ninth-Rank Great Cultivator, were not his own.

He was merely a Puppet, a sword.

A Puppet of the sword moves realized by the Aotian Sword Immortal, a sword in the hand of that Sword Immortal who had already become history!

The more he thought this way, the more Gu Wanquan felt a sense of fear.

The more he feared, the more he wanted to surpass that Aotian Sword Immortal.

In order to prove that he was only himself and not a replacement for that Aotian Sword Immortal.

But the more he wanted to surpass him, the further he felt he was getting from his true self.

But what Gu Wanquan hadn't expected was that he would eventually end up deserted by everyone and have his body perish and his Dao extinguished.

Gu Wanquan's black pupils began to turn crimson, and the shadow at his feet began to twist.

It was as if a pitch-black Evil Beast was slowly trying to break free from Gu Wanquan's shadow.

Creak... Su Yi's door opened again. Su Yi, draped in an outer robe, leaned against the doorframe and looked at Gu Wanquan under the moonlight, sighing softly: 'He really left me a major problem. This kid actually has a demon Bloodline too?'

Tightening his outer robe, Su Yi walked to Gu Wanquan's side through the moonlight.

As Su Yi approached, the twisting shadow behind Gu Wanquan slowly calmed down. By the time Su Yi reached Gu Wanquan's back, the shadow at Gu Wanquan's feet had returned to normal.

Gu Wanquan didn't turn around, but instead asked in a soft voice: 'Master, this notebook has given me a question. When you look at me, are you always reminiscing about that Aotian Sword Immortal?'

In his past life, he never had the chance to ask Su Yi about this before he died. Now that he was reborn, Gu Wanquan wanted to confirm this with his Master immediately.

'Though one may possess Wan Wan, she is but a resemblance of the one who came before.'

Su Yi was surprised for a moment, then asked curiously: 'Oh? Why do you think that?'

'That Sword Immortal was your dear friend who passed away. He traveled the world with you, while I am merely someone who follows in his footsteps, inheriting his Legacy and learning his sword. Am I not like his shadow?'

At this point, Gu Wanquan's voice trembled slightly; this was also an inner knot he couldn't get past in his previous life.

He wanted to hear the answer, but was also afraid to hear it.

This was also the reason why he didn't dare to die facing the south, because the home he shared with his Master was in the south.

Even though he was asking this question to his Face now, he thought his Master probably wouldn't give a direct answer and would likely just offer some kind words of comfort.

But Su Yi's next sentence left Gu Wanquan stunned on the spot.

Su Yi admitted generously: 'Yeah, if we're being honest, every time you practice the sword, I'm reminded of that fellow!'

Gu Wanquan felt his heart suddenly stop beating. His Master was the person he respected most in both lives, and the person whose recognition he craved the most.

But now, it was confirmed from his own mouth that he was merely a replacement for that Sword Immortal.

Master didn't even bother to hide it; he just admitted it so openly.

Gu Wanquan laughed self-mockingly, his heart turning to cold ash. It turned out that from beginning to end, his existence was nothing but a joke.

'The man is dead, so why bother mentioning him? Actually, I'm more looking forward to seeing exactly when you will surpass him!'

Su Yi's voice rang out again. Gu Wanquan looked up in surprise and met Su Yi's clear eyes.

Gu Wanquan's figure was reflected in those eyes. At this moment, Gu Wanquan looked as helpless as an abandoned young beast.

Su Yi raised his hand and spoke with a bit of frustration at his student's lack of spirit:

'Everything perfect, everything complete—didn't I say that? You brat, why do you always think you can't surpass him? If you're like this, I, your Master, will lose a lot of Face!'

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand. Gu Wanquan instinctively closed his eyes, thinking another rap on the head was coming.

But that large hand pressed gently on Gu Wanquan's head, and a calm voice similarly soothed Gu Wanquan's heart:

'You are you. You are not anyone else!'