Right at this moment of complete mental clarity, he broke through, advancing his cultivation to the Second Layer of Awakening Realm.
He sent out a signal to Dong Jian and Xiao Muyu, letting them know that everything went smoothly, that Zhou Yong and Zhou Kuang had already been dealt with, and that they no longer needed to worry about him.
...
At this moment, an illusory figure appeared—it was none of the other than the residual soul of the original owner.
The two souls of Jiang Tianlin began to converse within the sea of consciousness:
"You've come!"
"Yeah! I'm here. Thank you! Of course, speaking of which, I am also deeply sorry. I truly couldn't control myself. My fear of Zhou Yong and Zhou Kuang made me despise myself. Sigh!
Fortunately, you resolved it for me, and now I can safely go to reincarnation without clinging to the past any longer. From now on, I am you, and you are me; we are one and the same person. Besides, regarding Shen Xiaojie, I am terribly sorry!"
"It's nothing. I feel sorry about it too. The Shen Family has been completely wiped out, but I must say you were quite a failure—a total simper."
"Sigh, true, but I just happen to be drawn to someone as cold as Shen Xiaojie!"
"Actually, there has always been a good girl by your side—Xiao Muyu. Weren't you really aware of it?"
"Yeah, I knew. It was just my own inferiority complex, I suppose.
I felt she was a direct-line daughter of the Xiao Family, while I was merely an adopted son of the Lin Family. Although my adoptive father's family treated me quite well, and even made me the heir to the Prince of Zhenbei's Estate, I still felt inferior, sigh!"
"I didn't dare to admit it, let alone face Xiao Muyu. I knew she liked me, and I held those feelings for her too.
Yet deep inside my heart, there was always a voice telling me that the two of us together was impossible, destined to yield no results whatsoever.
Therefore, I always treated her merely as a younger sister, and over all these years, I hardly ever spoke much with her. She must have been very heartbroken."
"Later on, I met Shen Xiaojie and became obsessed with her personality. Actually, I wasn't so much infatuated with her as a person; I just really liked her icy demeanor, so I began pursuing her.
And in the end, it resulted in this outcome, sigh."
"Tell me, can you stop sighing all the time? Can you explain to me why Xiao Muyu has been taking such good care of you?"
"..." He stared blankly for a long moment before continuing: "Very well, I will tell you!"
"It happened like this: Xiao Muyu and I didn't know each other at all in the beginning. Back then, I wasn't an adopted son yet, and I had to worry about food every single day.
I didn't even know who my biological parents were. The first person who raised me was burned to death in a fire, the second person who raised me was hacked to death by mountain bandits, and the third person who raised me was eaten by a tiger."
"..."
"With no other choice, I began wandering about.
Once, when I went into the mountains to find food, I saw a girl trapped in a snare. So, I rescued her—very cliché, I know. That was our very first meeting.
Later on, as we gradually grew familiar, she would sometimes sneak into the mountains to bring me some food. I must admit, children's affections are truly pure.
Two years later, while looking for food in the mountains again, I ran into my current adoptive father. He happened to be injured at the time and resting in the mountains, so I gave him a few wild fruits. Later, when Xiao Muyu came to the mountains to bring me food again, she recognized me right away.
After that, during the few days my adoptive father rested in the mountains, we spent a very pleasant time together!
Then, my adoptive father left!
Not long after that, he deliberately returned to the mountains, took me away, made me his adopted son, and introduced all the other members of the family to me.
Just like that, I inexplicably became part of his family. But I still felt deeply inferior.
The next time I saw Xiao Muyu was at her home. Her parents wore gentle smiles—I will never forget those smiles; they were the warmest smiles I had ever seen, second only to those of my adoptive father's family.
The Lin Family and the Xiao Family were family friends, and both sets of parents were considering a political marriage. Therefore, they called me, along with my eldest brother and third brother, and gave us three items, each representing a daughter of the Xiao Family, telling us to choose for ourselves.
I didn't know what to do, because I didn't want to get married; I only wanted to peacefully accompany my adoptive parents. But my adoptive father insisted that I must choose, saying that only someone who did so could truly be a part of the Lin Family.
Right at that moment, enemies broke into the Xiao estate and kidnapped both Xiao Muyu and me. The Xiao and Lin families searched for a long time, but they couldn't find either of us.
We ate everything we could lay our hands on. In the end, hardening my heart, I decided that I couldn't let my little sister die here—if anyone was going to die, it should be me.
After all, I was a wild child who didn't even know who his parents were. How many people could truly understand my inner thoughts? I figured it wouldn't matter if I died, but Xiao Muyu had to live. She was my very first friend, and my only friend.
So, I slashed my own wrist, bled out, and prepared to cut the flesh from my arm for her to eat." As he spoke, he shook his wrist.
"So that's how the bite marks here came to be!"
"That's right!" He continued: "Just as I was about to cut my flesh, our parents found us, but I had already fallen unconscious. When I woke up later, she and both sets of parents were there, and Xiao Muyu's eyes were red."
"Later, I don't know what they discussed, but they brought out two objects—a necklace and a jade pendant—and told me to choose. I chose the necklace.
At the time I didn't understand, but later I found out. They had agreed that if I chose the necklace, we would become husband and wife; if I chose the jade pendant, we would become brother and sister.
I only knew that Xiao Muyu liked the necklace; the first time I met her in the mountains, that was what she wore. So when I was asked to choose, I recognized it instantly as Xiao Muyu's necklace, and that's why I picked it.
As it turned out, it meant I had to marry her."
"I... I..."
"I understand!"
"Yeah!"
"No wonder Xiao Muyu is so good to you."
"Sigh, very well, I've said everything that needed to be said. I must go now. You must live on well for my sake, and if possible, find my parents for me. As for Xiao Muyu, she is a good girl—cherish her well."
"I know. I am you, and you are me. We should be one body now. From now on, whatever dreams you failed to realize, I will fulfill for you; wherever you never got to go, I will go in your place.
As for Xiao Muyu, don't worry, I will marry her, and from then on, she will be the only woman in my life!"
"Thank you, farewell!" He waved his hand.
"Farewell!" I waved back.
He left, and I could feel my control over the body becoming even smoother. At this instant, he and I completely merged into one.
"Don't worry!" I muttered to myself.
...
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a thunderbolt rent the sky.
"Ding, congratulations to the Host for activating the Taboo Emperor Star destiny. Awakening level: 0.1%. Reward: one flawless-grade Heart Refining Pill, which has been placed in the System Space."
"Huh? The destiny actually awakened? But judging by this, the Heavenly Dao itself is jealous of my destiny. Sigh, that means the Chosen Son and Chosen Daughter of Luck will be arriving soon, too."
"Yes, Host, you must be careful!"
A ripple manifested in the distance and then vanished.
He did not sense it, but the System did. She murmured to herself, "I wonder who will be stronger—you, or her?"