Chapter 560 Come, Darkness

"Where is this?""Heaven?"Li An murmured to himself for a moment, then opened his eyes.The light was a little blinding.It was actually bright sunshine.He stood in the backyard, where birds sang and flowers bloomed.There was an ancient banyan tree here.Under the banyan tree.A middle-aged man was talking to a toddler who had just learned to walk.The middle-aged man was very excited, punching the roots of the old banyan tree, each punch precise and his posture upright.After finishing a set, he asked his son expectantly, "How was it? How was it?""Did you like it?"The son said with starry eyes, "I...I like it." The toddler imitated his father, but because he was too small, his punching movements were quite comical.His tiny fists were soft and light, and when he punched the roots of the banyan tree, he even scraped his own hand, making him whimper as if he was about to cry."Ouch!"The father chuckled. "That's good!""Force is relative. When your fist hits something, your hand will definitely hurt!"The child babbled, on the verge of tears, completely ignoring his father's lecture.Just then, the other person seemed to notice him."Hey, who are you?"The father pointed at the boy, looking surprised. "What are you doing in my backyard?"Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He stepped forward and grabbed the boy's hand. "You're a fist cultivator too!?""These calluses are thick! Wow, they seem even thicker than mine!""What's your name? This Tianshui City isn't that big. I think I've heard of you."After a few seconds of hesitation, the boy blurted out, "I... my name is Li An.""Li An!?" The man's face lit up with surprise. "The same name as my son!""It's lunchtime. Why don't you stay for lunch?"The boy felt a headache coming on. His father always seemed like this.Outgoing, hospitable, and always smiling.“These days, mastering martial arts is difficult.”Li An nodded slightly and said, “Then why do you still teach your son martial arts?”“Because he likes it.” The father raised an eyebrow and said, “In today’s society, we have plenty to eat and wear.”“We don’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter. We can do whatever we like. How wonderful!”“That’s true.” Li An had no rebuttal.At this moment.Grandpa came out, stepped forward, and touched the child’s hand. His brows furrowed slightly. “Are you bleeding?”The child nodded quickly, tears welling in his eyes.Grandpa said solemnly, “A real man bleeds, but doesn’t cry!”“Alright, let’s eat!”Then, Grandpa and Father looked at Li An.“Do you want to stay for dinner?”Li An quickly shook his head. “No, thank you.”“Is there something else?” The father asked in surprise. He genuinely wanted to keep Li An to discuss the true meaning of martial arts.After hesitating for a few seconds, Li An said, "Yes, yes, I have something to do."Grandpa asked, "What is it that you can't even eat?"Li An was momentarily stunned, many memories blurring in his mind.He muttered to himself, "I can't remember.""Then let's eat," Grandpa smiled. "Nothing is more important than eating."And so, Li An sat at the table, looking at the familiar dishes, and couldn't help but be the first to pick up some food.He knew it was impolite.But… he had always been the first to pick up food since he was a child.Grandpa and Father didn't say anything, and the three of them, along with the little boy, began to eat.The two men whispered among themselves."You look so alike," Grandpa couldn't help but say.Father nodded emphatically, then turned to look at Li An and sighed, "When will my child be as tall as you?""Fifteen years from now," Li An replied."Haha," Father laughed, then changed the subject, asking, "Why do you practice martial arts?""Because I like it," Li An answered."After so many years of practicing martial arts, it must be tiring, right?" the father asked."Not tiring. Doing what you love doesn't feel tiring," Li An said."That's true," the father nodded emphatically.A few minutes later.He asked again, "When do you think martial arts practitioners will be able to gain a foothold in the human realm?""Fifteen years later," Li An answered confidently."Oh?" the father raised an eyebrow.The grandfather, who was smoking nearby, suddenly lit his cigarette twice, looked up at Li An, and his eyes became very complicated."I heard that after cultivating the Law of Time to a very high level, one can travel through time and go back to the past."Upon hearing this, the father was stunned.He immediately realized.Li An said his son would be this tall in fifteen years.He also said that martial arts would have a place in the world in fifteen years.Every number was so certain.A glint of light flickered in his father's eyes as he looked at Li An's calloused fists, thicker than his own, and asked, "All these years, it must have been tough, right?"Li An smiled, "Not tough."But his smile was more like a grimace."What happened to you afterward?" his father asked, clenching his fist slightly."I encountered many enemies." Li An lowered his head."Did you lose?"Li An clenched his fist sharply: "I didn't lose!"He almost shouted, "I haven't lost yet!"Seeing Li An's distraught state, a pang of heartache appeared in his father's eyes. "Those enemies must have been very strong," he said.Li An remained silent.Beside him, Grandpa suddenly asked, "Did you use the Supreme Will?""The Supreme Will?" Li An was taken aback. "What is that?"Hearing this, Grandpa's heart skipped a beat. "Didn't I tell you?""What?""The power left behind by our ancestor, Li Huofei." Grandpa murmured, "It seems something terrible must have happened in the future.""You're being watched by many people.""I can't pass this power on to you, because it would bring you death.""But today you've come before me… I… come with Grandpa!"Li An nodded quickly, got up, and followed Grandpa.He was only six years old.Li Wuce came when he was eight.That meant Grandpa knew nothing yet.The two arrived at the ancestral shrine.Grandpa pushed aside the ancestor's portrait, revealing a rune hidden behind it.Then, he handed the rune to Li An."See if this can help you."Li An took it, nodded emphatically, and activated it without hesitation using his source energy.A few seconds later.His world spun around him. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a void.Before him stood a majestic man with his fists engulfed in flames, his appearance bearing a slight resemblance to Li An."Has this day finally come?""My descendant, what is your name?""Li An!" Li An replied."Good. Do you possess a power that can infinitely stack fist intent?""That's right." Li An nodded again."Will you become the vanguard in the mortal realm's conquest of the celestial realm?"Li An answered: "I am currently fighting against the Crown Prince of the Underworld Kingdom in the celestial realm!""Then that's it!" Li Huofei turned to look beside Li An. A tall man with jet-black eyes, graying white hair, and a broken horn stood silently.Li An followed his gaze and his heart skipped a beat.It was the man who had saved him from the Time Killer.The other man stood there silently.Li Huofei patted Li An on the shoulder and said, "You didn't enter an illusion; you traveled through time and space, returning to your childhood.""Everything you see is real!"Li An's heart skipped a beat. He turned around abruptly, only to find complete darkness."Can I go back again!?""I still have so much to say!"At this moment, Heldon gently raised his right hand, projecting the scene at the end of the timeline before Li An.Frost and Snow raised their ice sword high, slashing furiously at the Underworld Emperor.This scene made Li An's heart feel as if it were being gripped by a pair of giant hands.The tall, taciturn man finally spoke: "The past cannot be undone, but the future can be changed."Li An clenched his fist and said, "I understand."Li Huofei quickly added, "Then I won't waste any more words.""Do you know why you can't defeat your current enemy?"Li An nodded: "Their innate power is too advanced, exerting an extremely powerful suppressive force on me.""Sequence," Li Huofei quickly said, "My father participated in the coronation battle.""He knew the fundamental reason for the Celestial Realm's strength.""They are closest to the Celestials, so both their life class and power sequence are higher!""The mortal realm has made tremendous progress, with many extraordinary individuals capable of transcending life classes.""But we are too far from the Celestials; our power sequence is never high enough!""If even this can be changed, then our mortal realm's strong individuals, apart from their cultivation level, will be no different from the Celestial Realm in other hard standards." "There's a difference.""I dedicated my life to fulfilling my father's last wish. At the end of my life, I saw a possibility.""A method to enhance one's power sequence!""Flame!""A kind of war flame!""A war flame constructed from martial intent, relying on infinitely stacked power, can barely burn away high-sequence energy.""The burned energy will turn into fragile ashes.""Though ashes, they retain a faint power.""Break in these fragile ashes, and you can enhance your power sequence.""I call it—Hunting Gods!""The key point is the devouring.""Darkness has a devouring attribute.""Therefore, Li An, the so-called supreme intent is an ultimate darkness.""A darkness that my brother Li Wuce and I, working together, concocted." Upon hearing this, Li An's heart skipped a beat. He immediately thought of Liu Yongye's Soul-Devouring Darkness, an artificially created infinite level.Li Huofei looked at Li An, a playful glint in his eyes, and said, "Greatness, justice, power.""In the real world, no one can achieve all three simultaneously; one can only choose two.""I choose greatness and power. Justice cannot bring victory.""If the key to victory is darkness, then I choose to fall into darkness.""And you?""Swallow the darkness, forge power, create greatness.""Or uphold goodness and justice?"Upon hearing this, Li An suddenly turned to look at the tall, imposing man beside him who exuded a sense of security.Li Huofei laughed loudly, "Little friend, you might not know that the person next to you has killed billions of innocent people.""But it was to protect our homeland, to protect peace.""Neither he nor I ever claim to be righteous.""I believe you feel the same way, don't you?""Eternal Night.""Destroying everything.""Childhood youth, that path I walked back and forth countless times, the kind old people on the street, the children who were different every year but always the same, and most importantly, the food.""That aroma.""The taste of memories.""How much I love the world, I can't say.""But those precious things, those things that are precious to each individual, certainly exist, and that we all want to protect.""That precious path in everyone's heart, that precious food, all of it added together, all of us added together, that is this world.""We protect what we love in our hearts, and incidentally, we protect this world.""So?""Have you made your decision?" Li An turned to look at Heldon and said, "Let me see how far things have progressed." Heldon raised his hand.The frost and snow's strikes had been broken; lightning was about to descend upon her.Li An nodded beforehand, saying, "Come, darkness."