"You can put me down now."

The voice of Mei Kongxu snuck into Li Yang's ears as he moved through the forest, retracing his earlier steps. She had looked to be deep in thought for a bit after his previous remark, very few people could so easily abandon the chance to acquire immense strength and a wealth of memories after all. But now she was squirming in his embrace again, a bit more vigorously than when they entered the forest so it seemed that what had been ailing her was receding. But Li Yang didn't loosen his grip, he simply flashed his usual insufferable smirk.

"Yeah, I can also just jump off a bridge whenever I cross one, doesn't mean I'm gonna do it."

He shifted his grasp slightly and slid his hand underneath Mei Kongxu's knees, his other hand still underneath her chest, lodged between her arm and ribs. In this position it would be harder for her to struggle out from his embrace, it obviously wasn't impossible, but if she went with the easiest option then she would end up in a rather embarrassing position, which would be fun in its own right.

"That has nothing to do with the current situation. I can walk on my own now, so put me down."

Mei Kongxu continued to squirm as she complained, but she felt like clicking her tongue coldly at her position. Rolling forwards would lead to her falling on her face while rolling backwards would just result in her sinking deeper into Li Yang's embrace. Even sitting up would be annoying since it would result in her face colliding with his cheek, an opportunity he would definitely not let go of.

"Potato, Potato, it sounds different but it's all the same. And dun wanna, my wifey is so nice and soft that I'd like to keep holding her forever. Doesn't that sound lovely, wifey? An eternal embrace where we can just savour each other's softness?"

Mei Kongxu almost winced at Li Yang's way of speaking, she knew this was exactly the reaction he was looking for but she still couldn't help herself. He really did have an extraordinary talent for pushing people's buttons.

"Put me down or I'll rot your tongue right out of your mouth."

Mei Kongxu raised her arm to show that she was serious, her law of decay quietly meandering around her fingers, like a snake eyeing its prey. Threats, they may be underhanded but that didn't mean that they weren't effective, quite the contrary actually. But sadly, the one that this threat was directed towards was far from normal.

"You know, Wifey, have I ever told you that I love you more and more each time you decide to play along with my little escapades? Please, go ahead, touch my tongue all you like, consider it your privilege as the wife."

Li Yang stuck out his tongue and leaned his head down slightly, as if he wanted to lick Mei Kongxu's face. His movements were a bit awkward due to the gravity-increasing array he had engraved onto his own chest so he was actually only barely able to stop himself from headbutting Mei Kongxu. His breath hit her face, a drop of saliva falling from his tongue and landing on the tip of her nose. It was uncertain if it was the proximity of his face, his hot breath, or the drop of saliva, but something finally smashed in the final button in Mei Kongxu's head.

"You...!"

Her arm shot up in a violent manner, her hand practically forming a claw as it shot for Li Yang's face, or more specifically, his tongue. Normally, even with how small the distance between them was, Li Yang would be able to easily dodge this attack thanks to his law of speed. Mei Kongxu had already been beaten and spanked by him so this was a fact she knew well, perhaps that was why part of her subconsciousness allowed her to unleash the attack.

But right now, Li Yang wasn't in a normal state. The array engraved onto his chest hampered his every movement, this was true even several weeks after he had created it. After all, if he became completely used to the array's gravity, how would he be able to use it for his training? As such, every time he got used to the gravity, he increased it half a step further, constantly ramping it up.

He quickly tried to lean to the side but it wasn't enough to evade Mei Kongxu's hand, he was also starting to tilt to the side thanks to the abrupt change in posture and the heightened gravity. Seeing his awkward posture, Mei Kongxu realized, or rather remembered, just what sort of state Li Yang was currently in. The law of decay swirling around her fingers hastily retracted into her skin, but her hand still smashed into his face, the claw curling into a fist as she practically sucker-punched him in the jaw.

It became the straw that broke the camel's back, Li Yang's already tilting and awkward posture completely crumbling. The punch twisted his sideways tilt into a backwards tilt and he felt the earth slip out from underneath him. He hadn't been using his bloodline or his law of speed to control his movements since they were just walking so he didn't have the time or grace to alter his trajectory or catch himself, he could only smirk slightly, at least this was better than a boring bout of quiet pouting or glares.

He fell on his back, and needless to say, the girl trapped in his clutches met much the same fate. She rolled over his body, the slight scent of sweat and dirt reaching his nose as she passed over his head, coming to a stop only a short distance away. The two laid there after their tumble, separated for the first time since they entered this forest.

But this time there was no black energy seeping out from Mei Kongxu's body, nothing destroyed the surroundings just for being close to her. It seemed like her reaction really was only due to the connection she likely had with Li Yang's past lives. In that case, there was a good chance that she may end up incapacitated whenever they reach places that his past selves used to visit, meaning that he would have more chances to carry her around and bully her to his heart's content.

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"I don't understand it. Even if you say that you are Li Yang, not Fang Dao Jun, I still don't get it. Haunted by visions for years, ostracized because of them, hunting for the truth behind them. And yet, you were able to abandon it all in just a moment. I don't understand it."

Mei Kongxu was the one who broke their silence, her gaze pointed at the distant sky locked away behind the branches above them. It had been in his hands, the answer they sought, the source of and the truth behind the visions that had haunted them since birth. Well, at least the answer to Li Yang's visions were there, her's not so much. It was what they had set out to do while they prepared for the upcoming competition, yet he crushed it just like that. She couldn't understand it, even if he had tried to explain it. Years of bullying and desire, crushed in a single second. Did the years really mean that little?

"I didn't abandon it. We found the answer, didn't we? Residual memories, little uncleaned specks lingering on my soul. That's the source of my visions and the voices. We found the answer, accomplished exactly what we set out for, what more is there to ask for?"

Li Yang shrugged his shoulders casually, his answer a strange mix between serious and jesting. But what he said was true, Mei Kongxu realized that. It was easy to forget thanks to the offer he had so easily turned down, but he had actually accomplished what he set out for. He found the source of his visions, the thing he abandoned actually had nothing to do with his hunt for the truth.

"Ah... Yes, that is actually true... In that case, why are you so obsessed with being 'Li Yang' and doing it all on your own? Be honest, do you really think someone with a personality as insufferable as yours would be twisted by some memories?"

One question was answered so Mei Kongxu moved on to the other question that had popped up in her mind. Li Yang said that he was Li Yang, he would live and die like that, his own two feet being the thing that brings him to the peak. But whether he wanted to admit it or not, the residual memories had already been part of him all along, a little bit of Fang Dao Jun was already in him, taking in all the memories was unlikely to produce a large change. And also, what was it about a peak reached through someone else's memories and laws that made it worthless? Li Yang didn't answer straight away, a rare moment of serious silence as he mulled over the question.

"Li Tian has seven wives and over 300 concubines, but do you know how many children he has? Don't bother answering, it's 861. 861 children, and I'm just number 830. Tell me, if it weren't for my vision branding me as the haunted child, how would others know me? Your mother, the higher-ups in your sect, the higher-ups in my sect, what would I be to them?"

Li Tian was one of the highest elders in the entire Deepsea King sect, the resources he had access to was something most people would never see in several lifetimes. The life he got to live was something most people couldn't even imagine, just the number of concubines he had easily surpassed the number of friends most people would ever have. His children alone could populate an entire village, and Li Yang was just another one of them, another number.

"...The 830th child, the 323rd Son."

Mei Kongxu knew the answer well, squeezing it out as a whisper. She was the 33rd daughter of the World-rending Behemoth sect's Second Elder, that was how she was referred to when the elders spoke, when those of the Deepsea King sect spoke. Were it not for the fact that she too bore the stigma of being haunted then that would be all she ever was to them, a number. She understood that pain, that bleak gloom that threatened to devour you. And because she understood it, she felt a slight thump in her chest as Li Yang spoke, his gaze piercing through the branches that locked away the sky.

"Yes, a number, a statistic, a line of text on a piece of paper. I refuse. I will never be just a number, a paragraph etched onto paper. Li Yang, that is who I am, that is who I will be. The Deepsea King sect, the World-rending Behemoth sect, the world, I will make sure that they all know that. And then I will laugh at them, laugh at their boring ways and their paragraphs, their numbers. For I am Li Yang, and it is because it is Li Yang that reached the peak that it has worth."

--

A ruined castle was hidden in the scorching desert, half-buried in the sand that slowly ate away at it. A few ripples would occasionally run through the sand, a sharp fin or an eyestalk rising from beneath the surface as the beings within the inhospitable land moved about.

A figure was rushing across this very surface, his rapid footsteps launching sand and scattered azure sparks into the sky. His clear blue eyes gleamed as he saw the dilapidated castle, his golden hair almost catching the rays of the scorching sun above. A stomp of his foot squashed the fin that just broke through the sand, the golden grains dyed crimson as the creature attached to the fin was crushed.

He shot through the air and burst into the castle, breaking through the walls in a straightforward and rushed fashion. He eventually reached the deepest part, the slightly lopsided smile accentuating his sharp features as he looked upon the array hidden within the grey stone. He poured his energy into it, scattering azure arcs throughout the entire room.

The array rose from its hiding spot and whirred to life, energy and light gathering in its centre and forming a green humanoid figure devoid of features. The figure seemed to turn towards the man and bowed slightly, greeting him reverently in a voice that seemed to change every second.

"It appears that the promised time has arrived, it is my honour to meet you, Exalted Paragon."

It was the exact same words that an identical figure had said to Li Yang, even the ever-changing voice was the same. The golden-haired man didn't seem to be surprised by the figure's words, nor its strange voice for that matter, he simply stretched out his hand somewhat impatiently.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Puppet. The fourth life ended here so you should have my memories safeguarded here. Bring over the memories from life one, two, and three while you're at it too, save me the trouble of heading there separately."

The man's eyes gleamed sharply as he stood there, illuminated only by the light of the array. Li Yang would be able to instantly recognize this man if he saw him, he had just seen him in his most recent vision. Fang Dao Jun, the Pristine Tyrant, this man was the spitting image of that man, if not a little younger.

"Forgive me, Exalted Paragon. But you have already picked up the memories of your first to seventh life when you visited the seventh remnant so there really is nothing that I can give you."

The green figure bowed slightly once more, emotionlessly delivering the news. But the man, Fang Dao Jun's, expression sank heavily, the space around his outstretched arm distorting quietly as lightning started to scatter throughout the room, his voice so heavy it seemed to push the air down.

"You...Say that again."