Chapter 54
The Truth of the Forest of Dreams
Twenty-six days had passed in peace when a deafening noise shook the village to its very core. The chief sprang from his seat and rushed out of his house to see what was happening.
All around him, the villagers were running toward the school, their faces tense, their voices colliding in confusion. A faint smile tugged at the chief's lips, but when he called out loudly for his son, no one answered. His worry deepened, and he quickened his pace, breaking into a run as a heavy intuition whispered that he already knew what had occurred—yet he had to see it with his own eyes.
When he arrived, the crowd parted instinctively to clear his path, standing respectfully aside. The chief stepped into the courtyard, and his eyes fell on a breathtaking sight: a nineteen-year-old youth, his body lean yet powerfully built, stood in the center of the square. Behind him radiated an aura of tremendous force, belonging to the Heavenly Realm – High Division. Yet within it flickered the brilliance of another aura—the Yin-Yang Realm.
It was a clear sign. The boy was a single step away from ascending.
That youth was none other than Sai Moi, the nephew of Chief Sai Mai.
The moment Sai Moi saw his uncle enter, he bowed deeply in respect, while pride blossomed on the chief's face.
The chief's voice was deep, heavy with pride as he declared:
"You've done it, boy."
Sai Moi lifted his head slightly, his eyes glowing with determination.
"Yes, Uncle… I am but one step away from the Yin-Yang Realm, and it is all thanks to you all—for the resources you provided me. I advanced faster than I could have ever imagined."
Then he dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.
"Thank you… all of you."
Joy swept through the crowd, smiles breaking across their faces, for his success was the village's triumph as well.
The chief smiled warmly.
"Rise, my son. You are the pride of us all. You must win the upcoming tournament and aid your village as it has aided you."
Sai Moi's eyes burned with resolve.
"Yes, Chief… I will win."
Moments later, calm returned to the school, the people dispersing. In a small room, the chief sat with the elder beside him, while Sai Moi sat across from them as they spoke of the tournament and of power.
The elder said, his voice calm and wise:
"Chief, I sent Sai Mo to retrieve the Flower of Light. With its help, Sai Moi will rise to the Yin-Yang Realm with ease."
Gratitude filled the chief's expression.
"Well done, elder. Yes… with the Flower of Light, his breakthrough will be smooth. But the only problem is that the flower grows only in Fire Phoenix City. Its people hoard it greedily, never selling without a heavy price. Tell me… did you give Sai Mo enough money to cover it?"
The elder nodded firmly.
"Yes, Chief, I did."
The chief smiled, but before he could continue, a villager burst through the door, breathless and pale.
"Chief! Forgive my intrusion, but… a man from Fire Phoenix City is here, with many soldiers, standing at the gates of our village! Please, come quickly!"
The chief and the elder exchanged a grave look, then rose at once, leaving Sai Moi behind in meditation.
At that very moment, Sai Moi was immersed in training, refining his rarest attribute—the Dream Realm.
A gift unlike any other, the Dream Realm allowed him to drag his target into a dreamscape they could not escape without his leave. Within, he could shape joy or despair, even torment them with their own most painful memories. Only those an entire realm stronger could ever break free. For the weaker, there was no escape unless he willed it.
And most dangerous of all… time within dreams flowed differently. A few minutes outside might stretch into days—or even weeks—within.
Meanwhile, at the gate of the Red Light Village stood a towering figure, an elderly man clad in crimson robes, a golden phoenix embroidered on his chest as though it soared into the heavens. This was General Lu Sui, one of the commanders of Fire Phoenix City. Behind him stood a legion of one thousand soldiers.
Chief Sai Mai advanced with calm, steady steps, bowing respectfully.
"What brings General Lu Sui of Fire Phoenix City to our humble village?"
Lu Sui dismounted, standing tall with arrogance.
"I come on behalf of Lord Lu Sa, the lord of Fire Phoenix City… my brother. He has sent you a message."
He tossed a scroll with disdain. It nearly fell to the dirt, but the elder caught it and handed it to the chief.
When the chief unrolled it and read, the scroll slipped from his hands, fury etching across his face.
"Never! You want me to cripple Sai Moi and myself? For what reason?"
Lu Sui sighed, his anger simmering.
"The reason is written. Your son, Sai Mo, stole the Flower of Light. When we captured and questioned him, he confessed it was on your orders."
Rage flared in the chief's eyes.
"My son would never stoop to such disgrace! This is a false charge. You fear Sai Moi's power and his Dream Realm. You fear his victory in the tournament, so you spread lies to break him! Tell me—where is my son now?"
His aura erupted, shaking the ground, making the soldiers tremble. Yet Lu Sui remained unmoved. For he had already reached the Yin-Yang Realm – High Division, far above the chief's strength.
He raised his spear with chilling calm, pointing it at the chief's face.
"Very well. Then hear this."
His voice thundered:
"Soldiers… ATTACK!"
The army surged forward like a flood. The war cries echoed, drowning the village in chaos.
Thus began the battle between the warriors of Fire Phoenix City and the Red Light Village.
Though the villagers fought with desperate courage, the outcome was doomed from the start:
First, every one of the thousand soldiers was a hardened fighter, trained to kill without hesitation.
Second, the assault came without warning, leaving the village no time to prepare.
Third, the village numbered only nine hundred souls, half of them women, children, and the elderly.
The fiercest clash raged between General Lu Sui and Chief Sai Mai. Though the general was stronger, the chief never yielded, raining blow after lethal blow. More than a hundred times sword and spear collided, sparks shrieking above the cries of the wounded and the wails of children.
Three hours the battle dragged on. Chief Sai Mai staggered, his right arm severed, clutching his sword with his left, his body drenched in blood, his belly torn open. Yet he would not fall.
General Lu Sui too was bloodied, one eye lost, his body riddled with wounds, swaying from blood loss.
The chief gathered the last of his strength into his blade, whispering to himself:
"This is my final strike… I either pierce his heart—or I die."
But before he could strike, a soldier's cry pierced the air:
"Stop, old man! Or I'll kill him, as we've killed your whole village!"
The chief's eyes widened. He turned to see a soldier gripping Sai Moi, the boy's arms hacked away, his body on the brink of death. Then he looked upon his village—and his heart broke.
The once-peaceful village was now ruin.
The men, the women, the children—all slaughtered without mercy.
The women's screams still echoed, the children's cries for help cut short. Not a soul remained alive.
Of Fire Phoenix's thousand soldiers, only 423 still stood, but the cost was an atrocity—an entire village erased.
General Lu Sui laughed in arrogance, his voice like poison. Rage and sorrow surged in the chief's heart. With his last strength, he cut down the soldier holding Sai Moi, seized his nephew, and fled into the forest.
"After them!" Lu Sui bellowed. "Don't let them escape! Kill them at all costs!"
But the chief ran until his strength gave out, collapsing against a great ancient tree—the very one he had always sat beneath to train, to infuse his energy into the forest.
He sat slumped against it, holding Sai Moi in his arms. His body was broken, no spiritual power left—only a dying man. Gently, he stroked his nephew's head as the boy stirred.
Sai Moi opened his eyes slowly and saw his uncle smiling faintly at the sky. His voice was frail:
"Uncle… are you alright?"
No answer came.
He shook him weakly. Nothing.
Struggling to his feet, Sai Moi looked upon the man who had given him everything.
The man who had poured all the village's resources into him, denying himself and his son to nurture his nephew.
The man who had fought one far stronger than himself, just to shield him.
The man who had never known arrogance, who lived bravely and died a hero.
Now he rested beneath the tree, eyes open, a gentle smile frozen on his lips. At last… he was at peace.
Sai Moi collapsed against his uncle's chest, sobbing. His scream tore the heavens, shaking the very forest with his grief.
The soldiers in the distance froze as the roar thundered through the woods, shaking the ground beneath their feet. Terror flared in their hearts, many stumbling back, longing to flee this hell.
But Lu Sui's voice cut through, sharp as a blade, dragging them forward against their will. Laughing cruelly, he marched at their head toward the sound, driving them like sheep to slaughter.
At that moment, Sai Moi felt an overwhelming power surge from the forest itself, as if its ancient trees and fallen leaves were pouring their sorrow into him. It was not just strength—it was agony. The anguish of the woods that had lost its guardian. The land, the sky, the air itself wept.
The soldiers came closer, Lu Sui at their lead, his voice booming in laughter. He raised his spear slowly, his eyes blazing with the thrill of slaughter.
"Now die, cursed brat!"
But what he faced was no longer human.
Sai Moi turned. His eyes had become pits of endless black, darker than a moonless night. A thick, suffocating aura erupted from him, a tide of darkness. No longer did he appear a broken youth, armless and dying. What the soldiers saw was a monster—a predator, wrath incarnate, his abyssal eyes deeper than the void.
He glared at them with feral rage, then lifted his head and roared, thunder shaking the world:
"SUPREME DREAM REALM!"
A cataclysmic force burst from his body, engulfing the entire forest, swallowing even the Red Light Village. In moments, the soldiers, the arrogant general—all were devoured within the abyss. Their screams echoed… and then faded.
But the cost was dire.
Sai Moi's body could not contain such overwhelming power. The energy he drew from the forest far exceeded human limits. Yet he did not relent. He detonated his own body, merging it with that raging force, unleashing an explosion that consumed all.
That cursed day, nearly two thousand lives were lost.
The Red Light Village was obliterated, erased from existence as ink from a page.
Chief Sai Mai, the brave, fell.
Sai Moi, the prodigy, perished, sacrificing himself.
General Lu Sui, the arrogant, was destroyed.
All of them vanished within the dome of the "Dream Realm."
Where once a thriving forest and a peaceful village stood, only a wasteland remained—dark, barren, festering, reeking of endless torment.
From that day forth, it bore but a single name—
The Forest of Dreams.
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