The Dead Cavern, a Level-S instance that appeared on the Blue Star right after the Awakening Day, is the oldest one in existence among all Level-S instances.
To this day, it remains unconquered!
Numerous mighty ones have perished within.
"Su Ming, stop trying to survive on borrowed time, hand over the sacred artifact quickly!"
"God Slayer, your luck has run out!"
"Su Ming! Surrender now. You're a hero of the human race, I'll grant you a swift end!"
"Tell us where you've hidden the artifact, we might spare your body intact!"
…
Su Ming, dressed in a torn black robe with disheveled hair, stood on the edge of the Dead Cavern.
Behind him was a pitch-black cliff, filled with drifting dark mist that seemed bottomless, as if it could bury the entirety of the human world!
If you listen closely, there are even sounds like ghastly wailings emanating from within.
Su Ming, covered in blood with wounds all over, looks like a dying beast, yet showcasing an extraordinary aura!
His eyes firmly fixed on the crowd!
For a moment, no one dared to take a step forward.
With just one step backward, he would find himself in the death pit, inside the most terrifying S-rank dungeon throughout history!
The divine artifact would be buried along with him!
And he... he himself will also vanish from this world!
It was this deterrence that had him and everyone else in a deadlock for quite a while.
"Su Ming, hand over the divine artifact! Considering our past brotherhood, I won't kill you!" Zhang Tang stepped forward.
He was one of the top ten powerhouses in Dragon Country today, and Su Ming's former friend!
"And... I will only cripple your cultivation!"
There was a chilling sneer on his face, eyes filled with mockery!
Su Ming's face was icy cold, his teeth gritted painfully, his heart filled with towering rage.
And hatred as well.
Ever since he was eighteen, he considered him as his own brother…
They fought side by side for many years!
In every battle, he always stepped forward to fight.
He shared half of all the resources they gained.
It may even be said that without Su Ming, there would be no Zhang Tang today!
However, today, Zhang Tang has plotted secretly and betrayed Su Ming!
All just to snatch the Supreme Divine Artifact in his possession, the Contrary Way Divine Ring.
This was the spoils of war that Su Ming risked his life exploring the Deadly Chamber alone for, even singlehandedly killing the strongest Divine Beast like no one before him!
Report has it that it can reverse the rules and even reconstruct the flesh!
Su Ming could never have imagined that just as he stepped out of the Deadly Chamber with the Divine Artifact in his possession, he would fall into Zhang Tang's ambush, gravely injured!
Zhang Tang led the strongest group of experts from the Zhang Family and simultaneously heavily wounded Su Ming.
Several powerful beings of heroic stature, all were on the list!
Even though he possesses the agility of the world's number one assassin, he was no longer able to escape.
Su Ming could feel that at this moment, his life force was rapidly draining away!
"Before I die, I only have one question."
With sharp eyes, Su Ming surveyed his surroundings with a trembling voice.
"Who leaked the information!?"
He clearly didn't disclose this matter to anyone, apart from his girlfriend.
How did Zhang Tang find out?
At this moment, a figure in white gracefully stepped out from the crowd.
"It's me."
She stood there in a long robe, her silhouette striking and nonchalantly stated,
Su Ming's eyes widened and he was overcome with a surge of shock and consternation.
"Ren Xiaoman?!" He almost gasped.
His one true love, his girlfriend of over ten years!
Over the years, Su Ming had always trusted her unconditionally, devoted to her like a loyal dog.
He had never been stingy, using all kind of treasures from heaven and earth, to mold her ordinary talents and she had gradually cultivated herself to the current level.
And yet, the one who had betrayed him, was her?!
There was a time prior when Su Ming considered this possibility but he kept rejecting it beforehand.
Among a myriad of possibilities, why must it be her?!
At this moment, he was so disillusioned and broken-hearted that he felt his heart would crumble into pieces.
Fuelled with extreme rage, his eyes seemed to be blazing with fire.
In the end, he threw his head back and laughed in despair.
"Hahaha!!!"
Looking back now, he thought his devotion and commitment all these years made him look laughable, much like a clown!
"Su Ming, you still have time to turn back now, hand over the Reversal God Ring," she said looking at Su Ming with detached eyes, as if reminiscing about old times.
However, only Su Ming could see the trace of disdain, mockery, and scorn hidden beneath her gaze.
And... her unrestrained joy, which she had been repressing for many years, was now not hidden!
"You... you've been betraying me all along?"
At this moment, Su Ming's heart was immeasurably clear, and he finally saw this woman for what she truly was.
At his words, Ren Xiaoman responded with a sneer.
"Heh, after all these years, you've finally figured it out!" she said, no longer bothering to play pretend.
She took seductive strides towards Zhang Tang, revealing a charming smile.
Zhang Tang responded with a ferocious grin, pulling her into his embrace.
"I'll tell you the truth, the only reason I agreed to be with you at first was because of Brother Zhang's orders!"
"And it was only because you awakened the Nine-Star Talent back then, a future full of potential that I'd accommodate you!"
Ren Xiaoman, nestled in Zhang Tang's arms, curled her lips into a faint smile.
Su Ming looked at the scene in front of him, his heart aching as if his liver and intestines were splitting apart.
The brother from the past, and the woman he loved most, had conspired together behind his back and betrayed him!
This was, for any man, a devastating blow that crushed one's dignity!
Seeing the two pairs of dirty hands in collusion, Su Ming was livid with anger. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.
In a slow, maddening pace, he spoke.
"Even if I, Su Ming, have to die today, you won't even dream of attaining this divine artifact!"
After uttering these words, he was about to step back into the cavern of death.
He would rather be buried with this supreme divine instrument than give these ungrateful people any advantage.
The cave of the dead was filled with a fog of death. Besides himself, the killer Su Ming, no one dared to step half a foot in!
At this moment, Zhang Tang merely gave a calm smile.
"Haha, we let you live until now, only to buy time and set up the restraining formation, " he laughed.
"My companions, it's time to act!"
As he gave the command.
Several of the highest-level mages simultaneously executed the large formation.
In just an instant, they sealed off Su Ming's movements, rendering him immobile!
He couldn't even manage to retreat back into the death cave!
Then, everyone else stirred up all kinds of abilities, launching an assault on Su Ming!
In a moment, the Heavens and Earth were lit up with rainbows of light.
Su Ming was unable to resist, despair gripping his heart.
Yet in that instant, a figure emerged from the crowd!
Resisting fate!
It was a bright-eyed girl.
She held a large sickle in her hand, dressed in robes whiter than snow.
"Su Ming, don’t give up!!”
She shouted, the sickle sweeping around to form a protective shield, cloaked in a grey, skull-like image, shielding Su Ming within.
But that protective shield couldn't hold up for a moment before the countless powerful assaults, and it crumbled.
She was resolute, without any hesitation.
She surprisingly took a step forward, spread her arms, and used her own flesh and blood to shield Su Ming!
The next moment, she was shattered by thousands of light beams.
Her blood bloomed in the air like flowers, drifting throughout the sky.
Scorching blood splashed on Su Ming's face.
His eyes went blank as he stared at the girl in front of him.
She... was Su Ming's former deskmate and a comrade for several years.
Her name was Ji Yao, who had confessed her true feelings to Su Ming many times during their schooling days.
However, Su Ming's affection was always solely for Ren Xiaoman, hence he had rejected her many times.
The gap between their statuses gradually widened, leading them to eventually part ways.
Who would have thought, that in the end, the one standing protectively in front of him, was her?
In the entire world, she was the only one left.
"Huh, what a waste, came here just to die!"
Zhang Tang sneered before swinging his weapon.
The sky shattered, the space itself collapsed.
As one of the strongest martial artists in the Dragon Nation, how could she possibly withstand such a blow?
But at that moment, Su Ming managed to draw upon every ounce of his energy and activated his divine technique - Hidden God Step, breaking free from the restrictive formation.
He took a step back, holding her in his arms and stepped into the death cave.
Even though he knew he was going to die, he did not let those bastards get ahold of the divine artifact!
The deathly fog rolled in from all directions, engulfing everything in its path.
In that moment, the world lost its colors, and the deathly fog swallowed up the two of them.
They were in a whole new world.
"Ji Yao, why did you come here?"
Su Ming looked at the girl in his arms, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
At death's doorstep, her eyes were filled with a contented smile.
"Su Ming... I've always..."
Before she could complete her sentence, the black fog engulfed her and her body vanished from the world.
Her last words left unfinished.
In that moment, a look of shock crossed Su Ming's face.
So, she was the only one who had loved him unconditionally from the beginning, who was willing to give her life for him without any regrets.
It took him a lifetime to realize who he should truly cherish.
In that instant, an overwhelming surge of regret, anger, and hatred filled his heart!
"Ren Xiaoman!!! Zhang Tang!!!"
These two names were forcefully spat out from his mouth.
"In my next life, I swear I'll rip you to shreds!"
He spat through gritted teeth.
Then, Su Ming's consciousness... gradually faded.
Diving completely into darkness.
His body was corroded by the death fog, slowly decomposing.
Managing to explore the Death Cave previously was a miraculous effort that required Su Ming to exhaust all his resources and methods.
Now he had reached the end of the line, unable to reproduce it.
The world's number one assassin, Slayer Su Ming.
Today, he met his end in the Death Cave.
Yet, no one noticed.
In that instant, a hint of azure light flickered in his palm.
That was an elusive phantom ring.
As Su Ming came back to consciousness with his senses blurred, he found himself surprisingly in the middle of a high school campus.
He had returned to...the awakening day at eighteen!
