Chapter 37: Children, I’ve Edited Out Your Flashback

The beginning was forgotten.
The middle was forgotten.
The end was forgotten too.

In short—after a series of utterly meaningless flashbacks, Luo Chen somehow rediscovered his courage and strength.

“This Young Master will not fall here!”

With a furious roar, he ignited his own blood essence, forcibly rousing the potential within his body.

In the next instant, his figure blurred into an afterimage and shot out of the ruins.

Behind him, the beast-headed phantom let out a furious roar, but it could not catch up.
The moment Luo Chen burst past the exit of the ruins, the phantom dissolved into black mist and scattered on the wind.

Only after confirming his safety did Luo Chen collapse onto the ground, panting heavily.

He lifted his head to the sky and burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha! I truly am the protagonist! Escaping great peril only means fortune yet to come!”

“Hahahahahaha…”

He laughed until tears streamed down his face, as though all his misfortune had been washed clean in that instant.

Until—

Luo Yuanshan’s figure casually walked out of the ruins’ exit behind him.

Luo Chen: ?

He shut his eyes.
Opened them.
Shut them again.
Opened them once more.

Only after confirming he wasn’t hallucinating did Luo Chen push himself up from the ground.
The smile on his face gradually faded.

He stared at Luo Yuanshan, voice cold.

“How did you get out?”

At his questioning, Luo Yuanshan halted his steps.
Then, thumping his chest and stomping his foot, he cried out with tragic grandeur:

“Young Master, it was my failure—!”

Luo Chen: ?

Luo Yuanshan sighed heavily and went on.

“Just now in the stone chamber, I joined forces with Skinny Ghost and those two Su Clan brats to besiege Luo Jiutian…

But he was simply too strong! One against four, and—snap!—the Su Clan’s team was gone!”

At this, his eyes turned red.

“Skinny Ghost, in order to save me, burned his very life essence to block Luo Jiutian. He bought me a chance to escape… I—I only survived by that slim opening!”

Luo Chen’s expression turned complicated.

He had thought four people working together could at least hold Luo Jiutian evenly.
Never had he expected the battle to be so one-sided.

“Then how did you—”

Before he could finish, Luo Yuanshan cut in:

“Just now, I fled down a passage and found that most of the mechanisms were broken, the traps unresponsive. I hardly exerted any effort at all… and walked right out.”

“……”

Luo Chen fell silent for three breaths.

The blood in his body surged so violently he nearly spat it out on the spot.

He had just fled for his life, dodging both phantom beasts and endless traps, even burning his own blood essence just to cling to life.

And this fool… strolled out as though on a leisurely walk?

Luo Chen felt his skull buzzing, his fists clenching involuntarily.

Truly, he wanted to stab Luo Yuanshan through the heart then and there, just to vent his rage.

If this oaf had contributed even the tiniest bit, he wouldn’t have been chased like a stray dog by that beast phantom.

But before he could act, Luo Yuanshan dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Please punish me, Young Master!” His voice rang out loud and earnest.

“Back in the stone chamber, I failed to draw that monster away for you. It was my dereliction of duty!”

Luo Chen sneered, forcing down his fury.

“So you do know you were wrong?”

“Subordinate knows his fault!” Luo Yuanshan lowered his head at once.

“I am unworthy of the Luo Clan, unworthy of the Young Master, unworthy of this very earth—”

“Shut up!” Luo Chen finally exploded, kicking Luo Yuanshan sprawling.

“Are you confessing, or delivering a speech?!”

Luo Yuanshan rolled half a turn across the ground, then scrambled back to kneel in perfect posture.

Glaring down at him, Luo Chen vented every ounce of pent-up rage.

“Do you know I was just chased like a mangy cur by that thing?!”

“Do you know I nearly ended up skewered on a wall like some trophy?!”

“Do you know I burned nearly all my blood essence just to survive?!”

Luo Yuanshan bowed low, nodding rapidly.

“Yes, yes, this subordinate deserves death, this subordinate is worthless, this subordinate is less than human!”

“I never said you’re not human!” Luo Chen bellowed.

“I said you’re not a qualified human being!”

Luo Yuanshan’s eyes brightened.

“So I still qualify as human!”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Yes, sir!”

Luo Chen jabbed a finger at his face, trembling with rage.

Finally, he took a deep breath and swallowed back all the curses on his tongue.

“Forget it. This Young Master can’t be bothered with you.”

“This subordinate is endlessly grateful!”

“I’ll give you one chance to atone through merit.”

“This subordinate is willing to charge through fire and water for the Young Master!”

“Good.” Luo Chen sat cross-legged on the ground.

“My injuries are severe. I’ll need to meditate and recover. You stand guard. Keep your eyes wide open—whoever comes near, you kill them.”

“Understood!”

And so, at the ruins’ exit, one man sat cross-legged to recuperate while the other stood rigidly on guard.

Surprisingly, the scene looked almost normal.

Meanwhile, above the secret realm.

A spirit sword cut through the wind, carrying two figures toward the central region.

Standing upon the blade were Luo Jiutian and Su Wan’er.

More precisely—Su Wan’er was the one flying the sword.
Luo Jiutian was merely the passenger.

But this passenger’s ride was anything but normal.

During flight, Su Wan’er would suddenly accelerate, then abruptly stop, sometimes even drawing big S-curves in the sky.

Not because there was any danger.
But purely because she wanted to see when Luo Jiutian would finally lose his balance—so she could ‘accidentally’ make him fall against her.

Unfortunately, her little scheme fell flat.

Luo Jiutian stood steadier than she did, not even blinking, as if he had already anticipated all her tricks.

Su Wan’er puffed her cheeks in frustration.

She was still maintaining Nascent Soul cultivation at the moment, her speed frighteningly fast.
Ordinary people would’ve long been flung off.
Yet Luo Jiutian hadn’t been affected in the slightest.

“Brother Jiutian, can’t you just play along a little?” she finally blurted, turning to complain.

Luo Jiutian only smiled faintly and said nothing.

Of course, he would never tell her that in one of his simulations, he had ridden the flying swords of Void Refining cultivators while still only at Foundation stage.

Now that was fast.

Compared to that, this was nothing at all.

Su Wan’er muttered under her breath.

“…So boring.”

She huffed and turned her head away.

Just then—

【Ding! Host has successfully forced Child of Destiny ‘Luo Chen’ to burn a large amount of blood essence, causing severe damage to his foundation. Qi Luck Value converting…】

【Current countdown to Blue Star’s return: 291 years.】

【9 years deducted. Remaining time: 282 years.】

The moment Luo Jiutian saw the system prompt, he almost burst out laughing.

Su Wan’er caught the change at once, whipping her head back.

“You just smiled, didn’t you?”

“No.” Luo Jiutian coughed lightly, face calm.

“I merely thought of something pleasant.”

“Bad brother!” Su Wan’er pouted.

“You were definitely teasing me just now, weren’t you?”

Luo Jiutian: “…”

The more she thought about it, the more indignant she grew.

She thumped him lightly with her little fist.

“Your lips were curling up—I saw it! Still pretending?!”

Luo Jiutian considered explaining, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
He let her be.

Before long, a towering ancient tree came into view.
Its branches and leaves blotted out the sky, its roots sprawling across the ground in majestic power.

They had arrived at the center of the secret realm.