Yu Shangrong

Far beyond the western edges of Red Squirrel City, deep within the rugged outskirts of the Glory Mountain Range, the forest stood still, silent, and undisturbed.

Massive trees loomed high, their thick canopies forming a natural roof that shut out most of the sunlight.

This remote isolated haven, was home to a few low-level demonic beasts, as these creatures dared not venture into the Glory Mountain Range, which already housed a Void Refining-level beasts.

Nonetheless, for most cultivators, this forest offered little challenge, making it a favored place for those seeking to sharpen their blades or collect beast cores.

Today...

The day was quiet. Leaves swayed gently in the breeze, and the beasts, sensing no threats, rested in their territories.

That peace, however, was shattered in an instant.

A shadow swept over the treetops, blotting out the sun for a brief moment. A majestic boat, vast and imposing, drifted through the sky along with a celestial beast.

From its deck, a black-clothed figure was tossed out without a hint of ceremony, spiraling helplessly through the air.

"Ahhh… You treacherous bitch!..Damn you, Zhao Yumu! You too, you icy witch!"

The figure plummeting through the sky was none other than Ye Chen.

-----(╯°□°)╯------

On weekdays, he brainwashes himself on being a gentleman, and cursing women wasn't something a gentleman should do.

But when these women said they couldn't take him to the city because the presence of the spiritual boat would wipe out the entire population because there was not formation covering it, he could accept that.

Fine. But why did they have to throw him off?

Sad for him, the boat didn't stay.

It came and went, quickly turning into a distant blue dot in the sky before vanishing completely.

"Witches! Witches!!..All..women are evil!, They said they weren't going to Red Squirrel City, so I asked to be dropped off!"

Ye Chen roared, his voice nearly drowned out by the rushing wind.

"Ahhhh...And this is what they meant by 'dropping me off'?!"

His curses continued unabated as he fell through the treetops, his momentum finally slowing when he crashed through the branches. Leaves and twigs snapped around him, his descent cushioned somewhat by the foliage until he hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud.

"Argh!" Ye Chen groaned, lying flat on his back.

The impact rattled his bones, but even with his cultivation crippled, his body still held some of the monstrous strength from his days as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He might not be able to channel qi anymore, but he wasn't as fragile as an ordinary mortal.

At least he had that going for him.

He stared up at the canopy, trying to catch his breath. His body ached, muscles throbbed, but nothing was broken.

"Damn those two," he said as he slowly sat up.

"I didn't ask for much. All I wanted was to get away from that damned city. And they think they're doing me a favor by tossing me into the wilderness?"

Ye Chen wasn't particularly angry. After decades of service in the communist army, he had learned to endure.

Forbearance!!--- X3

And besides those two women had no obligation to help him, and he understood that.

Soon, his gaze fell on the broken knife Xue Lian had given him, and he felt a wave of disdain wash over him.

"A mighty cultivator in the Void Refining realm, and this is what she gives me as compensation? Although I refused at first; shouldn't she have asked me twice?"

When they threw him off, Xue Lian, the guardian angel of Zhao Yumu, had channeled her qi and placed the broken artifact in his ring as a final act of kindness.

Soon, Ye Chen stood up, dusted off his clothes, supported his waist, and started walking aimlessly.

"Well, at least they didn't send me straight to the underworld. Besides, that guy Long Wei is a bit troublesome to deal with right now. Hope he's not chasing me."

After a while, he took in the scene around him—towering trees, thick underbrush, and the distant roars of low-level beasts. From time to time, the sounds made him uneasy.

Doubt crept into his mind.

After everything that had happened, he was uncertain and afraid.

Because...

He hadn't sensed any movement from the ring or the pendant.

Since that night, he'd already offered a considerable amount of blood to them, but even after the bloody ritual, the white-mustached grandpa or the enchanting sword fairy from the immortal world hadn't shown up.

"Sure enough, I'm not the protagonist of an epic," he said, stretching his sore limbs with a sigh.

"No grandpa, no miraculous breakthroughs, and definitely no hidden treasures waiting for me to stumble upon."

"Now that I'm sure no one's going to help me, I've got to change my strategy and hide underground for a while... maybe for life."

But the main problem now was, where the hell should he go?

Zhao Yumu had mentioned that Red Squirrel City was on the eastern side of the forest, but how was he supposed to know which way was east?

When he looked up at the sky, there were two blazing suns, opposite to each other, one on each end.

What kind of messed-up world made navigation so confusing?

Even with the original Ye Chen's memories, it was still tough for him to figure it out.

"Forget it! This damn name is cursed. Let me change it first."

He wasn't just saying this out of frustration. He truly believed the name "Ye Chen" was bad luck.

Besides, he wasn't really Ye Chen. Better to go by his brand new original name.

Thus...clutching the pendant hanging from his neck, he glanced at the character "Yu" etched on it and looked up at the sky.

"From this day onwards, I'll be... Yu Shangrong."

This way, he could also avoid any trouble tied to Ye Chen's reputation. If anyone came looking for him, it'd be much harder to track down Yu Shangrong.

Maybe, just maybe, this new identity could help him disappear for good.