With the Blade

"When you read this letter, you must have refused my invitation."

When Du Chengfeng opened the note, this was the first sentence that caught his eye.

Indeed, it was so typical of Wu Zhao to start with an air of knowing everything. It seemed that fighting across various worlds hadn’t taught this Yin person the most basic social niceties. Instead, it had only intensified his inherent nature.

But very soon, Du Chengfeng realized that, at least this time, Wu Zhao wasn’t speaking without grounds.

This Yin person really understood something.

"Perhaps you’ll interpret this as persuasion, but I’m actually not trying to persuade you of anything. I’m merely stating things you’re unaware of, or that have happened in the past... After all, we both love understanding history, and you should also know that we Yin people are born warriors. Our commitment to battle makes us stronger."

"In the past, we had always been on the path of seeking adversaries. Enemies were just stepping stones that made us stronger. That seemed unproblematic, at least outwardly."

"But a while ago, I started sensing something might be off."

"That is, where does this obsession with battle originate from?"

"In pursuit of battle, I traveled many places and faced many formidable opponents, but those as committed to battle as I am were still rare. Indeed, they fought, but for various reasons—some for so-called emotions, some for physiological pleasure, perhaps some to become stronger, but even they wanted to become stronger to achieve specific goals."

"Very few truly engage in battle for its own sake. Compared to most opponents, you could be considered purer."

"I’m sorry, all along, I thought you were the anomaly. But now, it seems that it’s me, or perhaps us Yin people, who are the true outliers."

"To fight for the sake of fighting, to grow stronger for the sake of growing stronger—having been born in such an environment, thinking about it now, this mindset seems... unusual?"

"Of course, I’m not writing this for you to mock me for some psychological disorder, but to seriously discuss an issue with you... After all, your words should grasp what I’m implying."

"Not all anomalies occur without cause, especially such an extraordinarily unusual difference. Something must have fundamentally changed."

"You might find this confusing, but if I provide examples, you might understand... You know about the Chu people, right? Inheriting warrior culture, they might have ended up like us, but because of their worship of the Phoenix and their pursuit of dominance, they ultimately embarked on a subtle path."

"Why do they seek dominance? Why do they worship the Phoenix? It clearly isn’t a natural occurrence. They’re influenced by something that’s changed their perspectives."

"Similarly, the so-called Yu people also underwent such transformations. At certain times and places, some special individuals encountered events that completely changed them, abandoning their ordinary selves and embracing this transformation into something else..."

"If you’re still confused about what I’m saying, just look in a mirror to see what an ordinary person looks like... three meals a day, the cycle of life, and living day by day until death—this is the lifestyle of a regular person, which is your lifestyle. Apologies for overlooking your disinterest in procreation, but that’s essentially the matter at hand."

"Of course, ordinary people also fight, but their fights are always for something—whether for family, friendship, love, being wronged, or oppressed, or for basic physiological needs... even if it’s hunting prey for food or the thrill of the kill."

"When I put it like that, perhaps you understand what anomaly I’m referring to?"

"We Yin people may have also experienced a similar influence, encouraging us to pursue a different dimension. Because of this pursuit, we’ve taken a different path, making us no longer ordinary."

"But what I really want to know is, who influenced us?"

"It must be the people before the Yin."

"Just as the later Chu people might have been influenced by us, we were likely influenced by others at some point in time, to such an extent that all Yin people deeply believe it."

"This is why I’m writing this letter to you. After all, you’re still in that world, meaning you’re closer to those past events than I am."

"Even I know to use tactical strategies to ensure survival... Well, I’m aware of the flaws in this approach, but consider those who influenced us, those possibly stronger than us Yin people—could they not foresee this?"

"Their path diverged significantly from the Yin’s. If they were truly like us, rooted in a warrior culture, they should also have waged wars amongst themselves. We should have absorbed these lessons, but clearly, those before the Yin didn’t walk this path, so we, the later Yin, did not gain this knowledge."

"They found a new direction, an unconfined direction."

"At this point, you must be curious why I didn’t add ’perhaps’ or label this as speculation."

"Because there’s nothing speculative about it; I’ve already fought an Ascender."

"By that time, you might also..."

At this point, the script on the note became illegible with noticeable corrections, indicating that the paper had been manipulated before.

In fact, given the following words, it didn’t seem like Wu Zhao wrote them himself.

"He lost. I gave him three moves."

"I didn’t expect us to just step out for a moment, and you’ve caused so much trouble in our home."

"But it doesn’t matter. As long as this note reaches your hands, we will know where you are."