I Am Your Natural Enemy

In the midst of retrospect, Wen Yan brought the Taoist along, watching their past together.

The Taoist’s expression was blank; Wen Yan was sighing.

The Taoist really did choose the wrong Mountain Sect—such talent, such deep accumulation; when the Taoist was reading, before Wen Yan could even grasp a single sentence, the Taoist had already turned to the next page.

No wonder, in just a few months, he could nearly start from scratch, learn new things, and reach a level absolutely sufficient for Impart Teaching.

As he watched, the scenes faded away, and only then did Wen Yan feel that the Yang Energy in his body had grown weak.

This ability actually consumed Yang Energy—it was directly tied to his strength.

He had just been maintaining a state of Yang Energy Blessing, yet could only retrospect for such a short while, and merely back to the moment when the Taoist first saw the Statue Ghost.

Wen Yan looked at the dazed Taoist and sighed.

”I just want to ask one thing.

In the end, are you trying to take revenge on me for the Statue Ghost?

Or is this revenge for the person you keep yearning for?”

The Taoist’s body trembled; in those numb, empty eyes, a flicker of complexity appeared.

The way Wen Yan asked was a trap—it naturally separated the two.

”I actually don’t want to go around in circles with you, but when I do something, I prefer to do it thoroughly, and resolve it thoroughly.

The original you should have seen it clearly enough—it was obviously a trap set by the Statue Ghost.

Even at my level, I could tell that much.

It’s just that you had a flaw in your heart, some deep obsession; you couldn’t harden yourself and couldn’t break free of your own obsession, that’s all.

You know it’s fake, don’t you?

I know what you’re thinking: you wanted to use the Statue Ghost, with your guidance, to have her reborn in that Statue Ghost body, right?

I’ve seen someone come back from the dead with my own eyes—do you know the cost?

A Professional who defied the heavens, after advancing, burned through an estimated twenty years of lifespan.

And that was only to resurrect someone for a few seconds, just those few seconds.

And to say a single sentence.

You should know very clearly, no matter how similar the way that Statue Ghost speaks, no matter what it knows.

It is still not the one you wish for.

Would the one you’ve been yearning for really doom so many people, just to help herself advance?

Was she the kind of person who’d stop at nothing, cruel and ruthless to achieve her ends, without a shred of humanity?”

”Shut up!” The Taoist, who had been numb and blank, had no reaction to the previous words, but when Wen Yan said the last two sentences, he couldn’t bear it any longer.

”Oh? So you still do care. Then let’s go back to the original question—do you think I killed a Statue Ghost, or did I kill the one you care about?”

When it came time to be killed, the Taoist hardly reacted; even when his talismans were destroyed in death, he was only a little shocked. But now, a look of utter, desperate pain appeared on his face—a profound despair.

Wen Yan was just too cruel—his words struck so deep the Taoist couldn’t respond at all.

He dared not answer; in the face of this single question, he felt life was worse than death.

Pei Tugou had destroyed the foundation of power for what he wished to do; Wen Yan was now about to shatter his belief for doing those things.

But as Wen Yan saw the Taoist’s shifting expression and noticed the wavering heart begin to firm up again, that his gaze was regaining its determination, Wen Yan immediately activated the Scorching Sun Jade again, Blessing himself with Yang Energy.

While Blessing himself, Wen Yan thought of the new Special Effect gained when Scorching Sun progressed to 60%.

Explosive Great Sun: The Great Sun stands not only for vitality, but also for destruction. You can consume massive Yang Energy to instantly release its power all at once. The effect depends on the release method.

Originally, he thought this was an ability for unleashing some ultimate move in battle, inspired by witnessing a mushroom bomb explosion, and gained as a Special Effect when he advanced Scorching Sun’s progress.

He had been wondering whether to try it the next time he fought someone.

Or when month’s end came, to seek out Zhang Xuewen—anyway, on that day, even if he used an ultimate move in this way, he probably couldn’t kill that God of War Yuedi.

That would be the best way to test things out.

But remembering Pei Tugou’s earlier hint, he had deduced an insight.

He might have misunderstood the description a bit—or he’d seen it too narrowly.

For example, as the last sentence says: ”The effect depends on the release method.” Wen Yan thought that must mean any means that mainly consumes Yang Energy could invoke ”Explosive Great Sun.”

He actively triggered Explosive Great Sun, and instantly all his Yang Energy was drained away. He then kept activating Scorching Sun Jade, continuing to Bless himself.

After more than a dozen rounds, the Yang Energy accumulated in Explosive Great Sun finally reached its limit.

In Wen Yan’s palm, it was as if a visible sun had appeared.

The Taoist felt that terrifying sun in Wen Yan’s hand, and suddenly understood how the Statue Ghost died. With such overwhelming Yang Energy, if it erupted at once, even a living person couldn’t withstand it, let alone a Statue Ghost who at heart was still a Ghost.

As he closed his eyes to await death, Wen Yan reached out his right hand and pressed it to the Taoist’s shoulder.

Since Retrospect was tied to his own current ability and consumed his Yang Energy, then in theory, he could use Retrospect to release all the massive Yang Energy stockpiled in Explosive Great Sun.

If he couldn’t, then let the system prompt update that rule.

The instant Retrospect activated, Wen Yan felt his vision brighten, just as when he stared directly at the mushroom bomb’s explosion: the whole world seemed to be nothing but light.