To forget was to completely wipe all memories of her existence, to wipe away that last shadow of her in his heart. Even if Li Muwan’s soul inside the heaven defying bead were to wake up one day, Wang Lin would have no emotion toward her at all. He would only smile and send her back to planet Suzaku.

Let all bygones be bygones...

At this moment, a gentle wind blew by, lifting Wang Lin’s hair into the air...

The Heaven Commander-in-Chief’s eyes shined brightly. He took a few steps forward to the edge of the stand and looked at Wang Lin. At this moment, it was as if he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was seeing through Wang Lin’s hesitation, and he muttered, “Will he press his hand down… Back then I chose to press it down… How will he choose… Ascendant… Ascendant… How could people who haven’t reached the Ascendant stage truly know what Ascendant represents…

“Ascendant is a lonely road… For those without any lingering feelings or attachments, then aside from having enough celestial spiritual energy and their domain fusing into their body, stepping into the Ascendant stage is extremely easy! Because it is so simple, they won’t have much growth in their future cultivation because their heart never experienced this kind of struggle!

“However, for some people, there are lingering feelings in their heart. For these kinds of people, their domain breakthrough is a test and at the same time torture…”

The only female commander-in-chief, Xian Lian, had a hint of mockery in her eyes. Right now she had already recovered from the sadness, and when she looked at Wang Lin’s back, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mockery in her eyes became even stronger.

She knew more about the trial a cultivator faced when trying to reach the Ascendant stage than others, because her master used to be a cultivator.

“To abandon all emotions and sentiments, can do you do it?”

Shi Xiao frowned as he looked at Wang Lin and snorted. “Deliberately trying to make it look mysterious!”

Chen Tao, who was next to him, frowned. For the first time, he thought that the demon general he found was pretty disgusting.

He pondered a bit before calmly saying, “You won’t be able to understand the struggle he is going through, just like how humans can’t understand the heart of a Celestial.”

Shi Xiao turned around to look at Chen Tao and then pondered silently.

The indifference in Mo Fei’s face became even stronger as he looked at Wang Lin and whispered, “You are as enviable as the him from back then… Interesting…”

The Da Lou Sword Sect cultivator behind him was the only one who heard Mo Fei. His heart trembled as he lowered his head and didn’t speak.

The Xuan Vice Commander-in-Chief let out a sigh. Although he wasn’t a cultivator, with his status, he knew a bit about cultivators attempting to reach the Ascendant stage. Although he didn’t know much, after seeing Wang Lin’s hand pause, he seemed to have gained some understanding.

At this moment, on a river far away, a boat was leisurely moving across the water. The young man who drank with Wang Lin all night was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sitting at the bow holding a cup in his hand. He drank it all in one gulp and then softly said, “Little guy, how will you choose…”

The woman who was playing the zither was still on the boat. However, right now she wasn’t playing the zither; she was just silently sitting there.

Wang Lin’s hand was still one inch above the demon drum, and he was staring at the demon drum.

“For my dao heart to be complete, I have to wipe all the sadness from my heart, but in doing so… Is it really worth it…” Li Muwan’s figure appeared before his eyes, and scenes of her flowed across his eyes.

“If the price for reaching the Ascendant stage really is to wipe away all the sadness in my heart, to erase Wan Er’s figure, am I still cultivating dao… Is this really my dao… Wan Er’s life and death and her eternal slumber, if I were to forget all of that, she will have become my cultivation furnace in a way…”

“Although as I man I can’t be a saint, I always have a clear conscience. The heavens are ruthless, and if I were to be ruthless as well, how is that defying the heavens? I would be going along with the heavens!

“Throwing away my feelings is the same as those cultivators that left the demon general competition. This is a form of escape, and it is not my dao!”

“My dao it to defy, to defy and walk against the heavens. That is my path! Ancient cultivators deceived the heavens to cultivate. I finally understand the meaning of the word ‘deceived.’ How is this deceiving the heavens? They were clearly running away. Although it is not going with the flow of the heavens, the destination is the same!”

Wang Lin’s eyes revealed clarity.

“I can throw away the sadness in my heart, but this lingering feeling is something not even the heavens can take away from me!” At this moment, Wang Lin suddenly looked up at the sky!

An extremely astonishing aura emitted from his body. Although this aura wasn’t strong, it was enough to make everyone, including the Heaven Commander-in-Chief, tremble!

This aura was like a sharp sword that shot out from Wang Lin and pierced into the sky. The sky was pierced, the clouds were pushed aside, and the world opened up before Wang Lin’s eyes!

“This… This is…” Even with the Heaven Commander-in-Chief’s mental fortitude, he couldn’t help but be moved. He looked at Wang Lin with eyes filled with shock!

“His choice is actually so similar to the Demon Emperor’s!” The Heaven Commander-in-Chief looked at Wang Lin meaningfully.

The golden-armored man’s expression became even more pale. At the moment Wang Lin’s hand stopped, he thought he might get lucky, but when that aura burst out of Wang Lin’s body, he felt a disaster arriving before him.

As he stared at Wang Lin’s back, the killing intent in his eyes increased like crazy.

“If I kill him before he can ring it for the 15th time, even if the Demon Emperor blames me for this, he won’t punish me too hard. After all, this only a cultivator, and not only am I someone who belongs to the Sky Demon Country, I have also achieved great merits for the country!”

The aura that came from Wang Lin’s body disappeared immediately after it appeared.

“Real cultivation is to defy the heavens. I don’t believe I can reach the Ascendant stage if I just wipe out the sadness in my heart but keep these lingering feelings. Ascendant isn’t ascending the heavens but ascending one’s self. The heavens can’t interfere with me, only my own heart can!

“If my heart gives in, then I lose the meaning of defying and will be following the will of the heavens. If my heart is firm, I want to see how the heavens are going to prevent me from reaching the Ascendant stage, prevent me from cultivating by defying the heavens!”

Wang Lin’s eyes glowed brightly. He took a deep breath and without any hesitation fused all of the sadness caused by Li Muwan’s departure with his right hand. At this moment, the sky changed colors and lightning filled the sky. The lightning bolts were like silver snakes coming out of the clouds.

The change in the sky above the imperial city alerted everyone in Sky Demon City. At this moment, everyone raised their heads and looked at the imperial city.

This was especially true for the people at the square. Their gazes were all gathered on Wang Lin’s not-so-tall figure!

Even the young man on the boat stood up and put down the wine cup. He stared at the imperial city with expectation in his eyes.

At this moment, on the top floor of the dark tower in the ancient battlefield where Hu Pao was training, which was tens of thousands of kilometers from Sky Demon City

A ghostly light lit up inside the helmet of the completely black armor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At the moment the ghostly light lit up, terrifying fluctuations appeared in the sky outside the tower.

The ghostly light flickered and a message echoed in the tower.

“Heaven defying cultivation… Very good…”

At the imperial square, all of Wang Lin’s sadness was gathered in his right hand. At this moment, his right hand was filled with endless sadness, and he suddenly pressed it down on the demon drum!

At this moment, the golden-armored man’s eyes revealed powerful killing intent. His body suddenly moved and all of his cultivation gathered on his legs. He moved at an unimaginable speed as he charged toward Wang Lin.

“Accept your death!” As the golden-armored man shouted, he appeared behind Wang Lin. At this moment, a bright glow appeared in his right hand as if he was holding the sun itself!

“I definitely can’t let him ring it for the 15th time! I don’t believe the Emperor will punish me if I kill him!” The killing intent in the golden-armored man’s eyes seemed to almost take solid form.

At the moment his right hand closed in, the ground immediately began to burn. Everything within 1,000 feet was like a fiery hell!

The Heaven Commander-in-Chief’s eyes became cold as he jumped off the stand and shouted, “Jin Wuxu! What are you doing!?”

At this moment, Wang Lin turned around to look at the golden-armored man. His sudden appearance was not outside Wang Lin’s expectations. Wang Lin had already noticed that this person would not admit defeat so easily. He had already surrounded his body with more than 3,000 life seals, and with the help of the 15th ring from the drum, he was confident he could block this attack!

The golden-armored man sneered. It was as if he was holding the sun in his right hand, and he was smashing it toward Wang Lin. His timing was very good; if Wang Lin were to dodge, then Wang Lin wouldn’t be able to ring the drum for the 15th time, and he would immediately chase after Wang Lin. If Wang Lin didn’t dodge, then he was confident he could kill this child the moment Wang Lin’s hand touches the drum!

The golden-armored man completely ignored the Heaven Commander-in-Chief and revealed a cruel smile. As the Heaven Commander-in-Chief closed in, the golden-armored man waved his left hand. He wouldn’t allow anyone to stop him from killing Wang Lin!

The Heaven Commander-in-Chief’s right hand formed a seal, creating a black light that collided with the golden-armored man’s left hand.

At this moment, the expression of the young man on the boat suddenly became gloomy. His eyes revealed anger and he shouted, “You dare! Jin Wuxu! You deserve to die!”

Just at this moment, the golden-armored man’s body suddenly trembled, and the killing intent in his eyes disappeared as if cold water had been poured over his head. Then the flames within 1,000 feet dimmed and a voice echoed in his head. His face was deathly pale as he said, “This voice…”

At the same time, in the black tower tens of thousands of kilometers from Sky Demon City. The ghostly light in the black armor suddenly flickered and a cold snort echoed via a divine sense message!

Just as the golden-armored man said those two words, a cold aura suddenly surrounded his body. The fiery hell 1,000 feet around him was instantly extinguished!

A cold snort came from the void and only entered the golden-armored man’s ears.

The golden-armored man’s body shook violently and his armor shattered into pieces. At this moment, he coughed out a large mouthful of blood and the sun in his hand was extinguished!