With the Blade

The person standing before him undeniably looked like Emperor Tian.

Although the figure wore a conical hat, attempting to conceal his identity, Shan Bing still sensed who it was— even without any tangible evidence, he could confirm this familiar feeling; he wasn’t wrong.

It was definitely Emperor Tian, undoubtedly Emperor Tian, he’s back! That monstrous being akin to a god has returned!

"You..."

In an instant, Shan Bing’s back was drenched in cold sweat.

The once immense horror surged behind him again, helplessness and confusion tightened around his throat, his heart began to wildly thump, his face turned pale in an instant, sweat dripped from his forehead, each drop hitting the depths of his soul, reviving memories he should have forgotten.

After all, it hadn’t been long ago, how could he truly forget.

"I..."

Instinctively, his knees buckled, and Shan Bing almost collapsed to the ground.

There was no way he could win; he was facing a godlike monstrosity, in front of such a majestic being, he was as insignificant as an ant, as tiny as a flea.

The opponent need not lift a finger against him, just a glance would lead to his immediate death, with no chance of reincarnation.

He absolutely couldn’t confront such a horror; he surely couldn’t win against such a terrifying monster. All he could do was submit, kneel on the ground. There were no other choices. He could only...

"Is there really no other choice?"

A certain thought flashed across his mind.

This thought was bold and reckless, even beyond what a human should possess— anyone sensible would choose the path of survival, not defiantly seek demise on a dead-end. Yet at this moment, Shan Bing realized that this thought was so familiar.

Yes, so familiar, as he had been repeating such actions continuously during this time.

That was, try again.

If once doesn’t work, then twice; if twice fails, then thrice. This was the principle he understood while learning how to make steamed lion’s head dish, and when he applied the same mindset to other matters, tasks he thought were impossible suddenly became achievable.

Indeed, at the start, he might endure some failures, but even failure could offer him a dose of experience and lessons. Try once more, try anew, and he would always grasp the key to the task, eventually achieving success.

Throughout this process, with his full dedication, stacking up small successes gradually made him increasingly stronger.

True strength wasn’t the result of grand successes, but rather the colossal miracles accumulated from countless minor achievements.

And now, a new challenge lay before Shan Bing.

"Challenge?"

Realizing this, Shan Bing wondered whether he had gone insane, considering this a challenge. He would regard facing a godlike monster as a challenge— just like learning the steamed lion’s head dish, just like learning other cuisines, this was a challenge, an attempt.

"Try again, try again."

A certain voice shouted within Shan Bing’s heart, urging him to take action.

This was the power of habit, perhaps the fruit of cultivation; indeed, the new mindset brought him strength, but also something else— like now, aware that this was a pathway, his hand subconsciously reached for the sword hilt behind the shield.

Yet, at the moment before drawing the sword, Shan Bing forcibly controlled himself.

The immense horror he had witnessed in the past once more clutched his heart, and rationality regained dominance. Upon grasping the sword hilt, he suddenly realized clearly that unlike his usual attempts, this was entirely different.

Whether making steamed lion’s head or chicken soup, even with the most challenging Wen Si tofu, after failure, he always had another chance. These tasks might require time, but bore no other costs, at least, the failure wouldn’t lead to his death at the stove.

But this time was completely different.

If he failed, he would truly die.

This was a life-and-death duel, not simply cooking; one single failure would mean the end, losing his life— with life lost, naturally everything ceased to exist. Was such a high cost truly worth taking the risk?

"It’s just like... gambling."

At that moment, Shan Bing unexpectedly recalled those gambling rascals.

He had always looked down on those gamblers; a War Soldier like him only knew how to hack and slash, unable to understand those gamblers who risked everything for cards with slim chances— it seemed to him these gamblers were out of their minds. What made them think betting everything would necessarily yield a great return?

Moreover, facts proved the majority were failures, like a monster he recently dealt with, a mad gambler turned into one. Even transformed into a monster, the gambler still shook his three dice-like heads, hoping for a big win, showing just how maddening gambling can be.