Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 845 - 844 - Trial of Failure

Lind was getting a better feel for what was happening to him. He realized how shallow he took for granted his other gifts aside from Qi and his cultivation. His soul was capable of so much more but also his mind.

He had used his mind to advance and guide but as a weapon, it was rather rusty. He had run an empire with massive help from others but he, himself, had not really trained his mind to improve.

His lack of advancement as an Immortal might be deeper than expected.

The space shifted but unlike the other times, he actually opened eyes! He was also able to freely move the body and was in complete control.

He looked around and frowned. He was in a cell, a bad one. The mold covered stone was damp and the twisted pan passing for a plate had something in it but it was not food!

He also realized he had no access to his power at all! He could sense his Qi but it was entirely barred from him. He tried to weave but that too failed as pain lanced the body he was in.

"So, I am truly one with it this time." His voice was hoarse and caused a coughing fit that did not sound good at all!

Left with no choice, he tried to cultivate but then found the final issue. The body was crippled.

It had the faint aura of a Gold Tier but now all the meridians were shattered and the fractured gold in the dantian was dead.

In short, the man he was currently in was dying.

Simple movements were painful and slow. He had no idea of who he was supposed to be but then froze as he realized there was a faint trace of dragon blood in the body.

Who was this person?

The sound of footsteps reached him but the door swung open almost immediately which showed how pathetic his hearing was.

A fully armored man entered the room with a bucket. Lind had no chance to react before ice cold water splashed over his body. He then felt a powder tossed after it before a feeling of being scrubbed to within an inch of his life occurred.

He could do nothing. His body was too weak and the life force was leaking away. The long life of a cultivator was sustained by their Qi and foundation.

If that was taken away, it would start to catch up to them. The World Realm was not so bad and a few decades might remain but the human he was in would become frail inside of 5 years at most.

The damage to the body would also take ages to recover even if a paste or pill was given.

Thus, the cleaning was both degrading and extremely painful but made his body condition far worse!

He screamed but his raw throat could not even sustain that before his vocal cords snapped. Pain lanced even more but he had no more voice to use yet the eternity of agony continued.

Finally, the world slowly came back and he realized he had been changed into clean white linen with his hair combed back. It was basic cleanup at best but he was being made presentable for some reason.

The pain throbbed throughout his body but his opinion did not matter at all.

How long since he had felt so powerless? Had he ever truly been so rock bottom that nothing was left?

A flash after he broke his entire cultivation to use the mobile suit came back to him. He had chosen to destroy himself to stop the horror of the cannibalism going on inside that Inheritance.

He had been completely helpless but it was different. He had chosen to accept the consequences and thus while dying, he was at peace with it.

Even when Ethry tried to die for him, he still was the one that chose to reject that option knowing he would die. It was nothing like his current circumstances.

"Well, you look more alive than the last time I saw you Ryan. That dragon blood must really help you out as a pure human would already be unable to stand." A voice caused him to try and focus but even his damned neck barely worked as he turned to find a well dressed young man looking at him.

Lind narrowed his eyes as he instinctively hated that handsome faced man. His well combed blonde hair was swept back and cut short as his pale skin showed he hardly went outside.

A trace of his soul was able to confirm the man was a peak Diamond Tier. It was all he could sense in the crippled body as even the elements were beyond him.

The man's dark blue eyes were amused at his misery.

"Well, I was told your voice was destroyed in that simple bath the guards gave you. You have become truly pathetic! I wonder what your brother would say if he was still alive." The desire to kill roared suddenly in Lind's heart but no information came with it.

Instead of trying to force the body to move, Lind focused on the man in front of him.

"Huh? Nothing? Are you even in there, Ryan? Well, you must be wondering why you are still alive at all? I killed your brother, his family, and all the others you loved in this life, so why leave you alive, you ask?" The sneer on the man's face revealed perfect teeth.

Lind noticed no calluses on his hands and his movements reeked of arrogance but little skill. A pill created cultivator if he ever saw one. That made his mind turn over but nothing he came up with worked.

It all hinged on reflexes or speed his current body simply did not possess.

The man swept into the room as a woman with a dead look in her eyes stumbled in behind him. One glance got Lind's own anger to boil over. He knew that look far too well!

The woman had a well made manicure, her robe reminded him of cheongsam with a bright crimson base and gold tendrils entwined with black encircling her body. She was a slim but well endowed woman. Her hair was woven into a thick single braid with violet thread woven into it to make the black hair stand out even more.

Her dark eyes were dull, however and had no life until they looked up at him.

A flicker of love followed by grief. The spark of both spoke the story to LInd.

The man began to obnoxiously speak but it boiled down to an age old story. He favored the woman Ryan was already engaged to and did not take rejection well. It was obvious he was better than Ryan in all ways.

It never occurred to the prick that she loved Ryan. The couple was not unwise about things and showed how their engagement was approved by the local lord. It even had a full seal of the kingdom.

Such things were not a small matter and had stumped the man until he figured out the best result. Kill all that knew about it and bribe the lord. A brutal slaughter ensued without warning as women, children, and even animals were not spared.

Ryan's brother had awakened a part of their dragon blood but they were far outclassed by Sky Realm assassins and mercenaries. They stood no chance.

The gloating was enhanced with flowery statements of the man's undoubted ascendance to Immortality and it was obvious nothing should stand in the way of his desires.

Lind simply looked at the woman and saw the heavy makeup on her pale face and along her right arm that was exposed past the short sleeve.

He noticed how her gait was off as well and understood all too well why the raving lunatic kept Ryan alive. It was to see that all his heart was gone.

If Ryan had been there, it would have destroyed the last of his soul on the spot.

"Well, that was a thirsty bit of talking. I will admit, I despise how you 2 continue to ignore the future Immortal King of this land. It is also irritating that you can't speak. She has become boring too." Lind was often described as a patient man. He could anger and be a powerful warrior, but it was out of necessity. Not anger.

He had shown rage many times but was always trying to channel it into something useful. Pushing his body past its limits, fueling his harmony to push past its limits, or simply focusing his mind when weighed down by worry.

The current rage was all consuming. It was like his heart demons had never been resolved and the old unbridled hatred soared as he slowly turned his head to look at the handsome man.

He tried to stop it, but the flow of Qi actually returned to his broken body! He could be powerful once more if he just gave in but a tear falling down the cheek of the woman stopped him.

Lind knew the heart demon would possibly repair the damage to the body but he would not exist anymore. It would be a hollow beast that killed wantonly.

Still, he took the Qi and was able to use his soul alone to heal the vocal cords.

"Heaven and Earth, I ask nothing for myself, but please use my life to save her." The words were a rasp but Lind put all his unvented rage into them. The man arched an eyebrow at him before laughing.

"That is all you can scrounge out of that ruined throat of yours? You think the spirits will answer the prayer of a broken man like you? How many have begged for death to spare their loved ones and nothing happened? I can give some recent examples." The man sipped at a glass of wine before he froze.

The feeling of pressure was increasing as Lind looked back at the woman with a sad smile.

"Live." It was the last thing he spoke before lightning shattered the window, the frame, and stone wall all at once before it slammed into his body.

The prick was not wrong. Begging for mercy would not gain anything from Heaven and Earth. The idiot, however, had set up the perfect conditions Lind knew better than anyone.

Karma existed and that was what he offered up. He was crippled, but still a cultivator. Given the vast boasting from before, a humble man that had been so wronged would not be lost on Heaven and Earth.

Lind sacrificed it all and it worked!

Golden light was ripped from his body and infused into the woman. Her body was healed but it was all fading away. It was all he could do.

He had no strength, no skills, and no possibility of healing. He could only die but he could choose to die well.

As the darkness closed in, he heard the scream of that prick and a smile graced his face as death closed in.

[Surprising. That trial was meant to go longer but you grasped the key so fast. She was going to die in front of you but you changed her fate. Not bad.]

The voice boomed around him as the gray space returned but Lind was no longer enthused. He was getting irritated. What was the point of all these trials? Why those lives?

He had no chance to answer when it all shifted again. He only thought forlornly one last question.

When would it end?