Nine years of uninterrupted cultivation finally came to an end.
William slowly opened his eyes.
The barren mountain that had witnessed every breakthrough, every trial, and every moment of solitude welcomed him with complete silence.
Nothing had changed.
The rocks remained the same.
The wind still crossed the valley with the same calm rhythm.
Only William had changed.
He stood up slowly.
For the first time in years, he had no immediate objective awaiting him.
He had avenged his family.
He had surpassed countless realms.
He had inherited the Eternal Body.
He had reached a level that his former self could never have imagined.
Yet...
he found himself asking a question he had never seriously considered before.
"What now?"
The thought lingered in his mind for several minutes.
Strength for the sake of strength no longer satisfied him.
Revenge had disappeared from his path.
His hatred had already found its destination.
Without realizing it, his life had lost the purpose that had driven it for so many years.
He quietly left the mountain.
Perhaps...
helping someone else would allow him to find another reason to continue moving forward.
His first destination was Victoria.
After years of cultivation, she had finally broken into the Second Realm.
Like William before her, her body had entered a deep state of dormancy while her soul crossed into the Spirit World to undergo its own trial.
William found her inside a carefully protected cultivation chamber.
Her breathing was calm.
Her body remained perfectly still.
Only the faint fluctuations of her soul indicated that she was still alive.
He silently inspected the defensive formations surrounding her.
To ordinary cultivators, they would have appeared flawless.
To William...
they were filled with weaknesses.
Without changing their structure, he quietly reinforced every connection.
Every formation.
Every protective array.
Every spiritual barrier.
He even strengthened the relationship between Victoria's dormant body and her wandering soul, making their connection almost impossible to sever.
When he finished, he sat beside her for several hours.
Watching over her.
Without speaking.
Without disturbing her cultivation.
Eventually, he stood.
"You've become strong..."
he whispered.
"...so don't stop here."
Then he disappeared.
His next destination lay far beyond ordinary cultivation sects.
The headquarters of the Great Righteous Sect.
The strongest force representing the so-called righteous path.
Deep within its sacred halls lived the First Voice.
The individual who had once spread his influence across countless civilizations.
Including Earth.
When William appeared before the enormous gates, every elder sensed his arrival.
Before anyone could react...
he was already standing inside the central hall.
The First Voice slowly opened his eyes.
"So..."
"The Eternal Body's successor has come."
William looked directly at him.
"I did not come for introductions."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"I came to give you a choice."
The pressure filling the hall became suffocating.
Every elder present instinctively stepped backward.
William continued.
"The original inhabitants of Earth."
"You will remove every chain your organization has placed upon them."
"No manipulation."
"No hidden influence."
"No spiritual slavery."
The First Voice narrowed his eyes.
"And if I refuse?"
William's answer came without hesitation.
"Then your existence ends today."
Silence engulfed the hall.
The First Voice studied William for a long time.
He could sense it.
The young man standing before him possessed strength that exceeded every prediction ever made about him.
After several moments, he slowly nodded.
"The Earth will be released."
William turned around immediately.
He had obtained the only answer he wanted.
His third destination was far less peaceful.
The Heavenly Devil.
Supreme leader of the demonic sects.
Unlike the First Voice...
there was no discussion.
No negotiation.
No warning.
The moment William entered the battlefield where the Heavenly Devil cultivated, the sky split apart.
The Heavenly Devil burst into laughter.
"So the famous genius finally comes."
"I've heard much about you."
William looked across the battlefield.
Countless corpses surrounded the region.
Entire valleys had become graveyards.
Many had died merely because they had become obstacles during the Heavenly Devil's cultivation.
William slowly closed his eyes.
When they reopened...
they carried no emotion whatsoever.
"I know enough."
The battle lasted only a few breaths.
The Heavenly Devil unleashed techniques capable of shaking continents.
Darkness consumed the heavens.
Countless demonic arts erupted simultaneously.
Yet none of them reached William.
Every attack lost the connection required to exist before touching him.
Every movement became meaningless.
Finally...
William extended one hand.
The connections binding the Heavenly Devil's existence together quietly separated.
Without explosions.
Without spectacle.
His body dissolved into countless particles before disappearing entirely.
The leader of the demonic path...
ceased to exist.
William did not remain long enough to watch the terrified sects scatter.
He simply left.
His final destination surprised him.
The Master of the Neutral Path.
Upon arriving, William discovered something no historical record had ever mentioned.
The Neutral Lord was not alone.
Standing beside him were two individuals whose appearance was almost identical.
Triplets.
Three brothers.
Three independent cultivators.
Yet one existence.
Together, they had developed a unique fusion technique capable of combining all three into a single entity.
An existence rivaling the greatest powers on Earth.
The three brothers observed William carefully.
"You came to fight?"
William shook his head.
"I came to assign you a task."
The eldest frowned.
"And if we refuse?"
William calmly released a fragment of his aura.
Reality itself bent.
The surrounding mountains sank.
The atmosphere froze.
The three brothers immediately understood.
Resistance was meaningless.
William spoke.
"The righteous hypocrites."
"The surviving demonic sects."
"Erase them."
"Not because they oppose one another."
"But because both exploit the weak while pretending otherwise."
The youngest brother finally nodded.
"We understand."
"No innocents?"
William answered immediately.
"Only those who willingly participate."
The three exchanged glances.
Then accepted.
Without another word, William disappeared once more.
Several weeks later...
letters began arriving from every direction.
Ancient academies.
Universal institutions.
Hidden schools.
Supreme cultivation universities.
Each invitation carried the same purpose.
An invitation to join.
To teach.
To study.
Or simply to become one of them.
To every great academy...
William had become the most extraordinary cultivator of his generation.
Andrew himself personally delivered the final invitation.
"You could change countless lives."
William looked at the stack of invitations.
Then toward the distant horizon.
For several moments...
he remained silent.
Finally, he smiled faintly.
Not with happiness.
But with quiet acceptance.
"I've spent years fighting."
"Years running."
"Years trying to survive."
He slowly folded the invitations.
"I think..."
"...before choosing where my future begins..."
"I should first learn how to live."
For the first time in many years...
William made no decision.
Instead...
he chose to wander.
To clear his mind.
To discover what remained of the world after all the battles had finally ended.
And perhaps...
to discover who William truly was when he was no longer chasing revenge.