Song Yi held the lantern close to her chest, clinging tightly onto the exceedingly faint heat that seeped out of the glass that surrounded the flame within it. Her entire body almost seemed to curl around the light of the lantern, shrinking away from the surrounding darkness. Huang Ying had never heard about this Dark King before, but it was clear that he had planted the fear of darkness deep within Song Yi, to the point that she hadn't moved a single step ever since she had set up the lanterns. Song Yi felt into a short moment of silence after talking, Huang Ying deciding to take this chance to question Li Jun.

"Li Jun, have you ever heard about this Dark King or the Tiansheng dynasty before?"

Since it was supposedly only seven years ago since the downfall of the Tiansheng dynasty started, Huang Ying guessed that there might be a chance that someone like Li Jun might know a bit about it. And since he was unable to lie right now, Huang Ying was certain to get the truth out of him. There was a slight moment of silence from Li Jun as he gathered his thoughts, seemingly going through his memories and tracing them back to the past.

"Yeah, I've heard about them both, knew the Dark King extremely well actually. I and the Dark King worked for the same assassination organization, the Shrouded Moon Agency, he, of course, had a much higher status than a mere Li Jun. The agency is in fact just a front for the assassination organization, which is a covert branch of the grand Heaven's Secrets Company that covers the entire main continent. I was even there when the Dark King accepted the mission to assassinate the rulers of the Tiansheng dynasty, it was a really well-paying job. But he died just before I met you, after cleaning up a few remnants of the dynasty, and failed to enter reincarnation with his consciousness intact so there is no chance of the Dark King appearing in the Shrouded Moon Agency again."

This was the first Huang Ying heard about the Shrouded Moon Agency, which he had actually visited before, being nothing more than a front for an assassination organization. But of course, if it was so easy to learn about an assassination organization then it would be a terrible place to do business. Huang Ying got the information he was curious about, or at least what he was curious about right this instance, turning his attention back onto the cowering Song Yi.

"So those events are why you said what you did back at the academy."

Huang Ying still clearly remembered what Song Yi said back at the academy, that the world was stagnating and rotting, collapsing under the weight of its own decay. It didn't need grand heroes or the like, it needed people that could stir up a massive wave to rock everything, to force the world back into motion. Song Yi's eyes blazed alive upon hearing Huang Ying's words, never before had Huang Ying seen eyes that contained such a fierce and burning hatred, such utter disdain and contempt.

"Yes, yes they are. After my parents were assassinated, I had to witness the downfall of our dynasty with my own eyes. My siblings and other family were all rounded up and killed, their bones used to forge weapons while their flesh and blood were used to concoct pills. I alone was able to escape death due to the fact that the heir to one of the families supporting the dynasty had taken an interest in me, he said he liked them unripe. I spent four years in his hellhole of a dungeon and had to experience everything he had to offer, had to let him explore every nook and cranny of my body time and time again. I only managed to escape due to the fact that he got careless and arrogant, he and his entourage were killed while parading through the capital of Dawnstar planet, giving me a chance to flee from the prison cart he dragged me around in. The world is diseased and rotten, otherwise, there is no way that it would allow things like that to happen. So I'll rock this entire universe, I'll force these stagnant waters to move once more, and in the process, I'll kill the Liangyu family as well as anyone else who had a hand in those events."

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Song Yi's teeth were grit so hard that Huang Ying was starting to worry that they just might shatter, but Song Yi quickly managed to get her emotions under control again. The fire in her eyes sank deep down into her heart again, her shoulders actually looking somewhat lighter than before. This was, in fact, the first time she had told anyone else her full story, the first time she had gotten the full weight off her shoulders. She had told others bits and pieces before, but never everything.

But looking at Huang Ying and his boundless confidence, the bone-chilling determination he occasionally showcased, she couldn't help but spill everything. She felt that this was a man she could trust with her tale, he wouldn't try to sell her out for a quick profit, nor would he try to use the information to blackmail her. And she could also see that he and Chen Hong both shared the same trait as her, a part of them was broken, a piece within them had shattered one day and had since been unable to fix itself. Song Yi had told her story, so now she turned the subject around towards Huang Ying.

"What about you? What's your story, what tragedy broke the kid who refuses to kneel?"

Huang Ying wasn't terribly caught off guard by her suddenly asking about him, it was only fair that he spoke about himself after she did. He moved his body away from his sideways laying position and sat up, Song Yi wincing back slightly on instinct. Things were fine in the light, but it seemed like her fear of the dark also brought back all the memories of her years in captivity. Huang Ying slowly raised his arms and showed his empty palms to ease any lingering fears, crossing his legs while shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, but I don't really have any tragic story or the like, all I have is a pathetic and uninteresting story, the likes of which can be found all over. But if you must hear it, allow me to humor you. I'm not like you, I don't come from some great family or the like, I'm just a child that was abandoned in a poor village, left with an old man who quickly failed to even recognize my existence, he couldn't even see me while looking straight at me. I also didn't have any talent, I was a cripple in fact, I didn't even have a dantian that could be used for cultivation. So I did what I had to in order to survive, I lowered my head and I bent my waist, I allowed others to do as they pleased, handed over what I needed to so that they would leave me alone."

Huang Ying was very casual as he gave a rough detailing of his background, there was no changing who he had been back then so he might as well be perfectly upfront about it. Of course, there were a few things that had to be left out when it came to the next part of the story.

"The village was attacked by bandits a while back and everyone was captured and thrown into cells, it was within that dungeon that I saw the true depths of human depravity, it was also where I received a lucky chance and became able to cultivate. I killed the bandits without letting a single one flee, but the other villagers were all dead already, and the only person I can consider a family member had long ago already left the village. So I set out on a journey, I want to see as much as I can, experience as much as I can, and never again will I allow myself to be as I was back then. I'm done with lowering my head and bending my waist, I'm done with kneeling, I'll live as I please from here on out, even if that should lead to my death."

Huang Ying didn't mention anything about the law of devouring that he had acquired, it was his greatest trump card and one he wanted to keep hidden for as long as possible. Song Yi clearly also felt the same, after all, she hadn't said anything about her bloodline while retelling her story. Trump cards were important, they couldn't just be spoken about carelessly.

Song Yi gave an understanding nod, her pupils flickering all across Huang Ying's body. She knew that there were things he hadn't told her, but that was just fine with her, it was just like he had said earlier, you didn't have to know everything about each other to be friends. There would come a day where everything was revealed, it was just a matter of waiting for that day.

Huang Ying and Song Yi started chatting to pass the time, Song Yi didn't seem to keen on going to sleep in this environment so they had nothing to do all night. They took turns talking about themselves, going a bit more in-depth about their past as well as what they had experienced after entering the forest. And slowly but surely, the sun started rising and allowing its rays of light to enter the cave, both Huang Ying and Song Yi standing up. Now that dawn had broken it was time for them to look for the third member of their broken trio.