Lin Ming could only hear the sounds of countless panes of glass shattering at once. In front of him, the restaurant along with the customers had all completely vanished!
However, Lin Ming did not return to the life and death smelting trial. Instead, he had arrived within a bloody battlefield. Loud war drums sounded in the distance, and glorious flags fluttered in the air!
“This is…”
Lin Ming saw armored cavalry soldiers in front of him. He felt a chill and his heart went cold. He suddenly realized something.
Lin Ming’s soul force was like a tide as it spread out in all directions. In a moment, it had locked onto the form of a youth. Lin Ming furrowed his eyebrows; this was really true!
Lin Ming moved. In a mere moment, he had appeared inside a barracks. Inside, there was a 15 or 16 year old youth wearing a simple suit of armor. He held a plain iron spear in his hands, and his expression was filled with intense fear and fretfulness.
Seeing this youth, Lin Ming gave a complex look before closing his eyes.
It was himself, it was really himself!
Why was this?
At 12 years of age, he had gotten into a dispute with his parents. Finally, he had been allowed to practice martial arts. At this time, Lin Ming said that if he couldn’t achieve the First Stage of Body Transformation before he was 15 years old, then he would join the army, establish himself there and perform countless services, and return home a hero with riches and honor!
In light of this, it seemed that this was when he would have joined the army!
This was another Lin Ming within another world!
……
In the barracks, the youth was sitting on a bench. He took out a thin piece of oilcloth and began to silently wipe down his spear. Compared to his size, the spear was much longer than it should be.
“Hey, newbie, is this your first time on the battlefield?” A veteran over thirty years old with a simple face said, as he walked over carrying a bowl of rice.
The youth sheepishly nodded and said, “Ah, yes, I am a new recruit.”
“Haha, new recruits on the battlefield are always so tense and anxious. It’s alright. Since we’re in the same barracks, we will be sent to the same place. Just follow behind me; I will protect you!”
“Good… great…” The youth had a somewhat juvenile and innocent expression. He nervously squeezed out a grateful smile.
When war broke out, tens of thousands of soldiers rushed forwards, their vast and dominating auras even washing away the clouds.
Smoke rose from all directions, fierce combat resounded in every corner, and a spear broke off a halberd.
The youth returned in the triumphant army. However, that simple-faced veteran hadn’t come back…
When soldiers died together, they were also buried together. Without a grave, that youth didn’t even know the veteran’s name…
With each passing day, that youth’s expression became less and less tender, and increasingly filled with a fierce and firm determination.
Slowly, from a recruit he became a corporal. From a corporal he became a captain. And from a captain he became a battalion leader…
His spear skills became more and more refined, his strength increasingly grew, and his military knowledge and appearance became more and more mature.
Gradually, this youth also became a veteran. He would look at every new recruit, and say to them, “It’s all right. When we charge forward, follow behind me; I will protect you!”
That once naïve and innocent boy had harbored a dream to join the army. With each excursion into foreign lands, he saw more and more people become nothing but bleached bones. After having survived through life and death, he had been hardened; he was just like the veteran.
Like this, the days endlessly continued. Each soldier had a dream of being a general. But, they were more likely to follow the steps of their predecessors, dreaming of those that had passed away…
……
Lin Ming silently watched the world change before his eyes. He finally began to understand. This life was not an illusion, nor was it real.
To the people of this world, he was an illusion. And to him, the world was an illusion.
Life was like a dream. Dream was like life. True or false, real or fake, originally there was never anyone who could tell which was which.
Perhaps the seventh level was not a test. Rather, it was an opportunity, a chance, a feeling, and a profoundly deep understanding into the heart of martial arts.
Realizing this, Lin Ming no longer decided to destroy the world. Instead, he would only follow in its footsteps and look on.
He was merely a passerby. He would observe the changes of time, take a step back, and see the endlessly vast dream that was painted.
………………….
Outside the life and deaths melting trial, in a place of darkness, Yan Mo was calmly looking into the endless void, a giant eye that was without an expression.
“He became aware…”