Tatsuya's Decision

Tatsuya had finally finished his secluded training, reaching the partial mastery over the earth element. The aura around his body became more ancient and profound, however it's mostly hidden in the eyes of normal cultivators. Only people at the same level will be able to sense his terrifying strength.

"Master, congratulations!" Fenlong approached Tatsuya with a smile.

"Thank you, Fenlong. I see that you have also broken through to the Sovereign Profound Realm. What do you think? Are you powerful enough to dominate everyone at this stage?" Tatsuya smiled back.

"I feel confident Master that I can dominate everyone at the same realm as me. Right now, only beings at the Divine Origin Realm will be able to defeat me." Fenlong looked determined.

"That's good then. The inheritance of the Primordial Azure Dragon really suited you." Tatsuya said.

"Yes. I was shocked too, Master. After all, even though we are of the same race, there should still be some difference, but the divine blood easily accepted me…" Fenlong looked troubled.

"Are you thinking that perhaps your origins are not that simple?" Tatsuya asked.

"I just feel that something is wrong, Master." Fenlong said.

"Don't worry. As you grow stronger, you will also get the power to seek for the answers of your questions." Tatsuya consoled.

"Thank you, Master! Are we going to go back to the Divine Phoenix Empire now?" Fenlong excitedly asked.

"Are you that impatient to show off your prowess?" Tatsuya smiled.

"Unfortunately, we can't still return to the Divine Phoenix Empire." Tatsuya then shook his head, as his eyes turned cold.

Fenlong felt surprised when he saw his master's current expression. He then deeply thought and tried to recall what other business they have not done yet. Then, his eyes brightened, recalling the Divine Realm Practitioner in Tatsuya's hands.

Tatsuya then waved his hand, his eyes coldly looked in front of him. The Sky Poison Pearl within his soul brightened under Tatsuya's orders, emitting a strange power that affected the space.

Specks of lights appeared before Tatsuya, finally turning into a petite figure. She lied limped on the ground, unable to move her body because of her severe injuries and wounds.

"I underestimated you… If I knew that you're this strong, I wouldn't have antagonized you…" The red-haired girl who initially showed Tatsuya arrogance in their first meeting, now looked completely different in terms of demeanor and state.

"You can only blame your arrogance…" Tatsuya coldly said to her.

"Just be done with it. Kill me. It's not like there's a miniscule chance that you'll spare me." She stared at Tatsuya with her hollow eyes.

She was a practitioner who came from the upper realms. A Divine Realm Practitioner like her naturally looked down upon beings of the lower realms. She truly hadn't expected that the person she branded as a weakling is even stronger than the strongest being in the upper realms!

Her eyes looked hollow and empty, while she gazed at Tatsuya with her calm eyes. It was like she had completely given up any resistance because she understood that she wouldn't be able to put up a fight before the young man in front of her.

Tatsuya looked at her and did not feel pity. She had utterly offended and provoked Tatsuya when she tried to kill Chu Xin. It was partly Tatsuya's fault too, but the red-haired girl is the true root cause of the problem.

"…" Tatsuya looked silent, flicking his finger.

The air within the cave rumbled, the sky in the heavens turning dark. Lightning began to appear beside Tatsuya, intertwining to form the figure of a beast. The profound energy around them congealed and shuddered.

"Such strength…" The red-haired girl looked at the lightning beast, while she mumbled quietly.

It was then that a formidable pressure pressed down upon her shoulders. It was the most terrifying might that she had experienced in her whole life. She understood that the beings in the upper realm are just ants before Tatsuya.

"If only I possessed this kind of strength back then, I would have been able to protect my mother and brother…" She closed her eyes, while tears trickled down in her cheeks.

Boom!

The lightning beast suddenly moved and flashed towards the red-haired girl. It charred her body in an instant, while the lightning beast entered her body.

Tremendous power ran turmoil inside the red-haired girl's body. She felt a numbing feeling across her body that originated from her profound veins that are currently in chaos. She didn't feel any pain and she understood that in the end, the big brother of the girl she tried to decapitate, had pitied her.

"Thank you…" She muttered a small of words of gratitude.

"And I'm sorry, big brother." She whispered, while she felt her body losing strength.

Crackle!

The lightning beast in her body had thrown her in the verge of death. She only needed a slight push to completely descend to the purgatory. However, before she even succumbed to the death, she howled in pain.

"Aaahhh!" Her eyes bled while her body crackled in red lightning.

Fenlong and Tatsuya was caught unprepared, both of them staring at her in surprise. Tatsuya looked at her with complicated emotion flashing in his eyes.

"How truly unexpected… I didn't expect that I'll encounter the red lightning here…" Tatsuya sighed.

Red lightning continuously jumped around her body, splitting apart her skin. She felt extreme pain, but she did not complain. She could only accept it as the heaven's retribution because of her sins.

Flick!

It was then that Tatsuya moved and took action. The red lightning around the red-haired girl's body dispersed. It then gathered and formed a chunk of red ball filled with lightning energy. The lightning in her profound veins also vanished, stopping its rampage.

The ball of red lightning flashed towards Tatsuya who easily caught it with his hand. He could sense the monstrosity and cruelty of the lightning. The red lightning is the evilest among the nine divine lightning.

"Only people who have reached the abysmal state of utmost despair and hope can produce this lightning…" Tatsuya felt complicated.

He actually did not actively look for this type of lightning because of its peculiarity. Just as he said, people who have reached the abysmal state and possessed lightning energy, are the only people who can produce this lightning.

It just so happened that the red-haired girl had reached that abysmal state while Tatsuya's divine lightning was coincidentally inside of her. Her current state affected the divine lightning which caused its mutation that turned it completely crimson in color.

"…" Tatsuya stared at the girl who was in the verge of death, hesitation filling his eyes.

"If Chu Xin was here, would she spare her?" Tatsuya asked himself.

"Master, spare her." It was then that Fenlong suddenly spoke.

"Why should I spare her, Fenlong?" Tatsuya softly asked.

"I can see… within her eyes the desire to live because she have yet to do what she ought to do." Fenlong sighed in pity.

"But she tried to kill Chu Xin." Tatsuya argued.

"Then, why are you hesitant, Master?" Fenlong looked sadly at Tatsuya.

"I…" Tatsuya fell quiet, as he recalled his little sister's death.

I'm sorry, big brother. Those were her words before she passed away. Despite the distance between them at that time, Tatsuya could clearly hear her every mutter.

He felt the extreme desire to live within her words, there was an extremely strong emotion that resisted death with all of its might. Those eyes just happened to resembled the red-haired girl's eyes.

"I don't know whether I should spare her life. She might just cause trouble in the end…" Tatsuya, for the first time, looked emotionally affected.

"Master, I know that I'm not in any position to say anything about your decision. But I need to atleast say that I'm here when you need someone to talk to. I will definitely listen to you." Fenlong slowly approached Tatsuya.

"Because if I did not, Chu Xin might beat me up." Fenlong then chuckled.

"Fenlong… This master of yours is really grateful to have you." Tatsuya then smiled brightly at Fenlong.

At this moment, Tatsuya's emotion finally became stable. His gaze looked unusually bright while his heart remained calm. It was as if something within him had come undone.

"Hehe. It is what I ought to do, Master." Fenlong cheerfully smiled.

"Then, what do you plan to do now?" Fenlong looked at Tatsuya.

Tatsuya slowly approached the red-haired girl. Fenlong smiled while he watched his master. This disciple felt deep within his heart that the Tatsuya before him is the real Tatsuya.

Tatsuya then placed his hand on the girl's palm, guiding the profound energy in the surroundings to assist her recovery. He even injected a thread of Primal Origin Energy within her body that will rapidly boost her rate of recovery.

"I wonder how Chu Xin will react about my decision…" Tatsuya said, while he waved his hand.

The red-haired girl's body turned into spots of light, vanishing into the Sky Poison Pearl. With the Primal Origin Energy, her recovery is now completely guaranteed.

Fenlong watched everything unfold happily. He felt very happy for his master. He could sense that Tatsuya was slowly changing. It was a positive change that everyone will be happy for.

Tatsuya was unaware that the ice cold barrier in his heart was slowly melting. Only Fenlong who was close to Tatsuya noticed it. But the disciple did not take the initiative to tell the master.

"Let's go, Fenlong. We can now return to the Divine Phoenix Empire." Tatsuya smiled calmly.

"Yes, Master." Fenlong then approached Tatsuya happily.

Tatsuya and Fenlong appeared on the surface of the Wasteland of Death. Their surroundings had turned upside down because of Tatsuya's fight against the Primordial Azure Dragon.

Tatsuya then used his powers to revert the Wasteland of Death to its original appearance. The mountains, rivers, and the forest reappeared on the land. The whole proximity still had the aura of wither, but it was inexplicably better than a completely flat land.

Upon reverting the Wasteland of Death, Tatsuya and Fenlong then vanished from the area. Their business and adventure had finally come to an end, with the both of them gaining huge benefits. Tatsuya not only broke through, but he also managed to thaw a part of the ice cold barrier inside his heart.