Bell of Broken Spirits
What makes the mark of a real man? Some would say that a man puts his family on his back, shelters them to the best of his abilities and provides the tools for their fulfillment and success...every step of the way.
Others would claim that a man ought to chase the best version of himself—forever climbing upward in a perpetual hunt for growth and empowerment.
Others still that a man should stay as stoic as a rock and as unshakable as a redwood tree before all the trials and tribulations that nature and fate put in his way.
Are any of them right? What makes the mark of a real man? Shiyuan couldn't answer that question. But as the Heartless Venerable stood up—stabilizing at the peak of martial cultivation, he couldn't feel any progress in his inner self. He was stronger, yes—with no shackle or weakness. But from that moment on, Shiyuan had lost his individuality—giving up on being a person just like Yuanqi had done in a time long forgotten.