Low-key, balanced, high-profile... There are three paths here.
Ning Zhuo, at the moment of choice, found himself in a daze.
At this instant, he seemed to see a child on Fire Persimmon Mountain who started to disguise himself from a young age. Every time he looked up at the City Lord’s Mansion, it was like looking up at a towering mountain. He hid his intelligence, growing secretly in the shadows, clinging to Sun Lingtong. He twisted and turned throughout his growth, scheming with the adults, racking his brains, and made calculations that risked his life in the Lava Fairy Palace. That was his first full-on attack.
For over ten years, he had suppressed his resentment, held back the dark fire within him, as if the eruption of Fire Persimmon Mountain sent burning heat through his very chest. This was the rebellion of a small thief against his misfortunes!
In this moment, he seemed to see a young man in the Ten Thousand Medicine Valley, repeatedly engaging in martial combat, truly presenting himself before the public. The battles with fist and flesh made him profoundly feel "alive." He made new friends, drinking buddies, and female cultivators. In those gatherings of laughter and cheer, he saw life not like the suffocating repression of Fire Persimmon Mountain, but like a clear sky and refreshing breeze.
The young man first showed his talents, beginning to live in a different way. He admired Linghu Jiu, believing he was the true gentleman.
In this instant, he saw in the Thousand Peak Forest that grand and magnificent battle. He was a small part of the Iron Flowing and Leveling, as insignificant as sand, personally witnessing countless mountains crumble and collapse beneath the blades.
Each battle pushed Ning Zhuo into peril, like hammer and fiery fire, fiercely forging Ning Zhuo into a blade with sharp edges. From Liu Guanzhang, from Mu Lan, he grasped the grandeur and martial courage of those who lead armies. A man’s courage is born from within.
In this instant, he saw the White Paper Immortal City, the intertwined ghosts, the spreading Black Cloud Battlefield, and saw a youth with resolute features, who had just begun to shine, stepping forward, facing a Transforming Spirit Level formidable opponent, a dignified sovereign!
The youth never felt fear, only felt destiny called him, and with no hesitation, for his mother’s dying wish and for his own aspirations, bravely assumed his responsibilities. He could finally shout with certainty that he was no longer a thief. He responded to his mother’s expectations with the honor of a hero.
Now.
This moment.
He came to the Myriad Images Sect, his mother’s sect. Ning Zhuo had a natural fondness for this place. Here, he made friends of all kinds and here he also made enemies, each with their own charm and stratagems.
"I’m no longer that weak."
"In front of me, there are three choices. It’s no longer just to endure!"
"So, what should I choose?"
"Or to put it another way, how should I —— live?!"
The big-headed youth asked himself this in his heart.
Scene after scene of the past replayed in his mind, speeding up like a montage.
And these were no longer just fragments of memory; they were like sparks, continuously accumulating in Ning Zhuo’s eyes, then igniting the light in his gaze.
Ning Zhuo’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Like ignited stars!
His emotions stirred and gradually transformed into a vast and unstoppable torrent, like the Iron Flowing and Leveling of the Thousand Peak Forest, sweeping away all hesitation and fear!
The mountains that fell were shadows of the past.
The boy who had survived under the shadows for more than ten years had now undergone a transformation.
He stood tall and proud, facing the unknown, facing challenges. He longed to be like a star streaking across the sky, not hiding its brilliance, not fearing its decay, burning extravagantly, carving out a path uniquely his own!
Then shine.
Then be dazzling!
This is exactly ——
Hidden edge in dark alley, twenty years of cold, lava’s fiery waves turn dragon pool.
Thousand peaks forge my towering bones, Ten Thousand Medicine Valley cleanses the heart, washing away old scars.
White paper brandishing blade, tearing through ghostly veils, blue robes bathed in blood prove grand plans.
From now on, conceal not lofty aspirations, fly directly with the boat across the nine heavens!
With this resolve, atop the stone platform within the Evil Slaying Hall array, Ning Zhuo slowly raised his head.
The gaze of the crowd was immediately drawn to him.
They saw Ning Zhuo’s gaze seemingly penetrating the high walls of the Evil Slaying Hall, casting towards some distant and obscure place.
His expression was solemn, carrying a kind of determination within his calm.
He spoke, his voice not loud, but each word carried the weight of his soul, clearly chiseling into the hearts of everyone present: "What is there to regret about this body?"
Everyone’s mind shook in unison.
Ning Zhuo looked directly into the deep eyes of the Golden Core Elder, word by word: "If this broken body can still turn into a spark, delay that demon catastrophe for a moment, protect the life behind me... it is enough."
"A tarnished reputation? Compared with the countless paths of life behind me, compared with the peace of a single thought in my heart... merely rubble!"
"What is there to regret! What is there to fear!"
Hiss...
A chorus of gasps was heard.
The elderly cultivator couldn’t help but widen his eyes, the intense delight almost bursting from his head.
His eyes shone brightly, fixed on Ning Zhuo, shouting in his heart: "A seed of the Righteous Path, this is truly a seed of the Righteous Path!"
The detecting measures showed no reaction, indicating that Ning Zhuo’s words came from his heart.
This made the elder truly happy.
The other high-level cultivators also expressed heartfelt admiration.
"How many years has it been, how many years have passed, and finally, someone who has passed The Three Questions of the Heart appears."
"In fact, there were some in past sessions, but one as young and promising as the one before us, truly none!"
"So rare! It’s said that in the past, Hall Master Zhong Dao was also like this, swearing to uphold justice in the world at a young age!"
"Perhaps what I see today is a moment in history."
The elder took a deep breath, trying to steady his expression, and used Divine Sense Transmission to contact the others: "What do you all think? Does this child deserve to be the top?"