176: Lonely City Years

"This Lonely City has suffered from barbarian invasions for hundreds of years and has long been in ruins. Shen Lian was only passing through and did not want to get too involved, but upon seeing the lonely and bewildered expressions of the commoners in the city, he ultimately chose to stay and protect them."

Yun Shang walked up to the frozen image and raised her hand to stroke Shen Lian's weary yet resolute cheek.

"The Seven Great Sects of the Great Wilderness, who pride themselves on being esteemed masters of the orthodox path, have turned a blind eye to the survival of the Lonely City during the sixty years that Shen Lian has guarded it."

"As long as the Lonely City does not fall, no one cares about the life or death of the Mortals within. After all, Cultivators have always viewed the common people as ants, merely donning a layer of hypocrisy to deceive the world."

"Until the so-called son of heavenly mandate appears, they will never take the initiative to shoulder this responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Nian immediately retorted: "That is exactly why a son of heavenly mandate is needed to lead them back to the right path; this is also the meaning and duty of the Heavenly Dao. You say that Shen Lian sacrificed sixty years of his cultivation time for Mortals, and while this is certainly admirable, everything he has done is ultimately futile. Without convincing the orthodox Sects to intervene, the Lonely City will inevitably be conquered by the barbarians in the end."

Yun Shang shook her head: "You are right, but do you remember when the operation of a world began to rely on the son of heavenly mandate?"

"In my distant memories, in the earliest days of the cultivation world, even without a Son of Destiny, everything could still run smoothly according to the guidance of the Dao. But ever since the Law of creating a Son of Destiny was born, it seems everything has changed. It feels as if everything in the world is serving the Son of Destiny, and the efforts and sacrifices of everyone else are like a joke in the face of so-called heavenly mandate. It is as if we are in a pre-written script, where everyone is controlled like a puppet for no reason, and even personal emotions are inexplicably manipulated."

Yuan Nian countered: "The birth of a Son of Destiny is naturally because the Laws of the world are out of balance, and a specific person is needed to re-maintain the Luck. Every chosen lucky one is endowed with a sacred mission the moment they are born. While they enjoy resources and step into the Peak, they must also bear the rules of the operation of the world's Laws. This is the duty they should fulfill, and it is the price of being a Son of Destiny."

Yun Shang replied: "So, the Son of Destiny can trample on the efforts of others at will, and no matter what the Son of Destiny does, they can be forgiven? Yet someone like Shen Lian, who did nothing wrong and simply refused to submit to an unfair fate, must be suppressed and erased, forced into extremes. To be honest, this has already deviated from the original intention of deciding to create a Son of Destiny."

Yuan Nian: "Enough, Yun Shang. You must not question the Dao. We should just follow whatever the Laws of the Dao guide us to do. Whether it is right or wrong, everything has long been predestined in the dark."

"Predestined? Then why is it that this so-called predestination cannot control Shen Lian's fate?"

"Precisely because of this, such an unsettling factor must be erased by the Heavenly Dao at all costs, so as to maintain the smooth operation of the Laws of the Dao."

Yun Shang said nothing, gently raised her hand, and the scene before them changed once again.

"Big Brother, drink some water."

In the scene, Shen Lian, who was patrolling the city, encountered a girl in rags.

The girl was about ten years old, holding a bowl of water, and came before Shen Lian, looking at him with admiration.

"Hmm?"

At this moment, a look of disbelief appeared in Yuan Nian's eyes once again.

Because he saw Shen Lian reveal a gentle smile, one that was completely natural and unpretentious.

This was a Shen Lian he had never seen before.

Shen Lian crouched down, took the bowl of water, and smiled as he patted the girl's head.

"Thank you, Xiao Tao."

It seemed that Shen Lian and this girl had known each other for a long time, otherwise they would not be so close.

"Big Brother, I will tell you a secret."

"What is it?"

Xiao Tao's small, tender hands wrapped around Shen Lian's neck, and she whispered in his ear: "I put some honey in the water, don't tell my mother."

Shen Lian patted the girl's head and also whispered in her ear: "Then Big Brother will tell you a secret too."

"What is it?"

"Big Brother still has four eggs in his pocket. You eat two, and give the other two to your mother, okay?"

As he spoke, Shen Lian stuffed a bag of eggs into the girl's hand, then stood up, gently patted her head, and smiled as he went off to patrol elsewhere.

Watching Shen Lian's gentle behavior in the scene, Yuan Nian was completely shaken.

Was this really the arrogant and overbearing Shen Lian who could cause corpses to float for a thousand miles with a single rage and viewed the myriad living beings as ants?

"How is it? You find it strange, right?"

Yun Shang glanced back at Yuan Nian.

"Actually, when I saw this part of the past, I felt even more incredulous than you. At that time, even though Shen Lian had already suffered two lifetimes of suppression by the Heavenly Dao, he still maintained a sincere heart and gave enough respect to all life. If not for the Heavenly Dao acting on its own, everything that happened later would have changed completely, and Shen Lian would not have become as brutal as he is now."

Yuan Nian refused to accept this: "That only proves even more that Shen Lian is not qualified to be a Son of Destiny. A Son of Destiny should not be changed by environmental factors; they should maintain their original intention from beginning to end. Only those with a firm Heart-Nature have the chance to be chosen by the Heavenly Dao to become a lucky one."

Yun Shang shook her head: "If you had experienced the environment Shen Lian was in for ninety-nine lifetimes, perhaps you would be even crazier than him. In these ninety-nine lifetimes, has the Heavenly Dao ever given him a single chance to control his own fate? Every time, it tried by all means to put him to death. If it were you, facing such an unfair fate, would you still continue to hold on to your original intention?"

Yuan Nian: "The Heavenly Dao does not ask about right and wrong; it only looks at the results."

Yun Shang: "The result is that the Heavenly Dao used every means possible, relying on its self-righteous ability, to destroy ninety-nine worlds in a row, and last time, it even caused half of the void to be annihilated!"

"Yun Shang, that's enough!"

Yuan Nian was provoked into a rage.

"I am only stating facts. In fact, if you change your perspective, we want to target Shen Lian, so why can't Shen Lian resist? Moreover, facts have proven that those so-called Sons of Destiny are more hypocritical than the last, each one breaking moral bottom lines more than the last. At least, no matter how evil Shen Lian is, he has never raped a master's wife whom he treated as his own mother, nor has he killed his own biological father who raised him just to seduce his stepmother. He would not even kill his own close kin for personal gain, and he would not cut off the path for future generations to seek the Dao after obtaining an Opportunity. Compared to Shen Lian's open evil, it actually makes those Sons of Destiny look like clowns. Between the two, the superiority is already clear. But why are those Sons of Destiny still revered as heroes by the world even after doing such heinous things? Don't you think it's ridiculous, absurdly unbelievable? Does no one notice that something is wrong here?"

The Dao Rhyme radiated around Yuan Nian, clearly provoked by Yun Shang's words.

Yun Shang: "Angry? Lies never hurt anyone; the truth is the sharp blade. This is the bloody reality. Shen Lian's greatest evil is that he has repeatedly torn up the script arranged by the Heavenly Dao, and this is precisely making up for the mistakes committed by the Heavenly Dao. Thank Shen Lian; he used his ninety-nine lifetimes of experience to tell us a truth that has long been forgotten: No one supported his ambition to reach the blue clouds; he stepped on the snow to climb the Peak himself. Can the Heavenly Dao really defeat someone who can force a Dao Lineage into helplessness with his own power?"

The next moment, the scene changed again; a million-strong barbarian army invaded.

Shen Lian stood alone on the city wall, one man and one spear, picking off all the invading barbarians below the city.

In just a moment, a sea of corpses had already gathered beneath the Lonely City.

"Shen Lian stands here; who else dares to invade this border city!"

Facing such a valiant warrior, the barbarian people's eyes flashed with despair.

As long as Shen Lian remained in the Lonely City for a single day, the barbarians could never break through that barrier that locked away all prosperity.