To the future.

Liang Chen and Yumao were brought to the pitch-black space and then quickly appeared in the air above their own planet again, it was as if they hadn't moved a single step. But Liang Chen's shoulders were slumped and his face somewhat pale, never before had he looked this weak and defeated, this aimless. His gaze drifted across the planet beneath them for a bit, a whisper-like voice escaping his lips.

"Take me there... please..."

Yumao nodded his head without making a sound, flapping his wings and shooting down to the planet at full speed. It didn't take them long to reach the abandoned Green Rivers city with Yumao's speed, the two descending to the ground in front of a very familiar set of ruins. A plot of scorched lands that just barely held the remains of a few trees and two small buildings, a wooden fence surrounding the entire thing, these were the ruins of Liang Chen's childhood home. Liang Chen stepped down from Yumao's back and walked up to the fence, his gaze wandering around the ruins for a bit before a weak laughter slipped out from his throat.

"Heh... It really feels hollow all of a sudden."

Liang Chen had multiple times thought to himself that there was nothing left for him on this planet, but only now did he truly realize what it meant to have nothing left here. His parents and sister had died and already reincarnated, his sole friend had died and likely also reincarnated, his lover had left and the sect he used to belong to had already been erased from the planet. The only thing left for him here now were ghosts of a past that would never return to him no matter how hard he fought.

His gaze continued to roam around the ruins, his hands gripping the wooden fence and slowly applying more force. A thought flashed past his mind, the fence suddenly splintering under his grasp as a burst of disdainful laughter rang out.

"Haha, the title of scourge really does fit me, so selfish and vile."

It was just for an instance, but the thought that he could just wait until his parents and sister died again so that he could have the Bloodwind Emperor snatch up their souls and implant them in bodies of his choosing while also awakening their memories of the life with him flashed past his mind. The three of them had finally gotten some measure of peace and happiness in their lives, and yet the thought that flashed past Liang Chen's mind was a sliver of desire for their deaths.

They had gotten the happiness that he desired for them, but since their happiness wasn't with him it seemed like a part of him was displeased, maybe even jealous. Liang Chen's left hand let go of the broken fence, wooden shards dropping to the ground as he raised his hand and touched his face, tracing the area just beneath his eyes before letting out a third burst of hollow laughter.

"Really, I lost more than half of my reason for fighting and yet I can't even bring myself to shed a single tear on my own. What a broken and pointless existence I am, only able to cry when I'm surrounded by my loved ones, only able to cry when they can give me their attention."

Liang Chen couldn't stop himself from talking, reviving his parents had been one of his main driving factors, he had wanted so desperately to erase the pain of their deaths by reuniting with them. But now that he knew that it was impossible to do just that, he was utterly lost and shattered, his thoughts in complete disarray.

Something heavy suddenly hit his back and sent Liang Chen flying forward for a bit before he landed face first in the center of the charred ruins, ash and dust staining his face. He felt Yumao's scaly and feathery tail flip him onto his back, Yumao shrinking slightly and then coiling up on top of Liang Chen's chest.

Yumao placed his head right in front of Liang Chen's face, opening his jaws and letting out an ear-piercing hissing sound. He continued to hiss at Liang Chen without pause, the faint undertones of a roar within the hiss causing Liang Chen's bones to vibrate slightly. He continued to hiss for almost five minutes, speaking words that only Liang Chen would be able to understand, occasionally stopping to catch his breath. When Yumao finished his hissing, Liang Chen rested his head against the ground and looked up at the vast blue sky.

"Heh, weak, so very weak. A single setback and I break like this, I really haven't changed at all from how I was as a child. No, actually, I might have gotten worse, back then I could at least muster up the will to fight."

A glimmer of clarity and determined had returned to Liang Chen's gaze, slowly getting brighter as he gazed at the sky. Yumao let out a short hiss from joy and slithered down from Liang Chen's body, allowing him to twist into a kneeling position. He lowered his head and knocked his forehead against the dirt ground three times, his voice already having regained a bit of the power it usually had.

"Thank you for raising me and teaching me how to love, I promise that I won't forget you, and I pray that your next lives end up peaceful and loving."

Liang Chen stood up once he finished, the wind in the area suddenly increasing in strength and gathering around him. The charred remains, as well as the wooden fence, the dust, and the ash, were all picked up by the wind that only grew stronger and stronger. Before long, everything on the plot of land that used to be his home was reduced to nothing but a fine powder that spun around Liang Chen like a tornado, slowly ascending towards the sky.

The past was in the past, his parents and sister had already been reborn and thus moved on with their lives, it was only he who remained living in the past, reveling in the sorrow of it. It was time to move on, time to do as he had already done once before, right after his parents died. At that time he didn't believe that they could be brought back so he took all his pain, his sorrow, his weakness, and he turned it into a rage that pushed him forward, pushed him to become strong enough to kill Qing Lan Yong. The powder quickly blew into the sky and was dispersed by the wind, spreading to all the corners of the world.

Liang Chen closed his eyes as he stood on the empty plot of land, the memories he shared with his parents and sister flashing past his eyes. He would do as he always did, he would engrave the pain, the sorrow, and the helplessness into his heart and then he would drop it all into the fires of rage that smoldered within him, burying it all deep within for now. In time, it would all burn and become another part of the motivation that drove him forward, he would forever remember the past and have it push him forward, no matter how painful it was.

It was just like Yumao said, there were still people that needed to be killed, there were still people that he wanted to protect, and there were still countless people he wanted to prevent from turning out like him. He couldn't afford to stay down, he couldn't afford to demean himself. He could only afford to do what he always did, look ahead and move forward, no matter how painful it was at times, no matter how shattered he felt.

And if it ever became too much, then he could sit down and rest. He wasn't alone, there were others he could rely on, people whose shoulders he could rest his head on when he needed a break, there was someone he could openly and freely cry in front of. Liang Chen stretched out his left arm, the last few particles of dust and ash blowing through his fingers before he turned his gaze away.

"Thank you, Little Yuma. Come, let's go, the future awaits."