Chapter 60
The End of Training
After Hayden escaped from the ruined city, burdened with defeat and the loss of the strength that had once been his pride, he wandered aimlessly through forests and mountains until he finally reached the dark cave he had so often retreated to, far from the noise of the world. There, he sat alone—his body and soul exhausted—and began to heal himself slowly.
The process was a long and painful struggle. He had lost not only his power but also his purpose, as if life itself had stripped away everything that once made him stand tall. As his hand bandaged his wounds, his heart screamed in silence, burning with rage and hatred like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Days and nights passed. His body gradually recovered, but his spirit remained tainted—consumed by the thirst for blood and the hunger to kill. It was as if defeat had shattered the last fragile thread connecting him to his humanity. He came to despise all humans without exception, seeing in their faces the reason for his pain and regret. Slowly, he turned into a savage beast.
He no longer attacked for food or in self-defense. He killed simply to silence the raging fire within him. He struck small villages, slaughtering whoever crossed his path—without hesitation, without mercy, without reason. The blood of innocents became a poisonous balm for his wounded soul.
This continued until the day he met a mysterious man—someone who defeated him for the second time in his life.
Hayden never learned who that stranger was. All he saw was a figure cloaked in pure black, its face completely hidden. Yet what unsettled Hayden most wasn't the man's appearance—it was the strange feeling that radiated from him: a dark, deep sensation, a fusion of comfort and terror.
Struggling to rise after his defeat, Hayden looked up and saw a faint smile form on the stranger's lips. It was a gentle smile, yet beneath its calmness lurked something terrifying—like a demon perfectly disguised as an angel.
That smile threw Hayden into turmoil. How could the words "gentle demon" even exist together? The thought itself seemed absurd, and yet the feeling he sensed left him no other description.
The stranger took a step closer and spoke in a calm, deep voice:
"Return to your senses, my friend… Don't let the path of vengeance devour you as it once devoured me… or my brothers."
Hayden didn't fully understand his words, but their weight pierced deeply into his heart. The last thing his eyes caught was the man's wooden pendant—small but beautifully carved, bearing strange markings—before the man vanished as if he had evaporated from existence.
That encounter changed Hayden's life. After that defeat, something inside him awakened. He realized that revenge was nothing but a dark path that ended only in pain and death. He abandoned his blind lust for blood and came to understand that even at his peak, he had failed to kill the King—so how could he, now weakened and broken in the Heavenly Realm, hope to succeed?
---
In the present, Hayden sat across from Sai Mo, his face heavy with sorrow and regret, his eyes drowning in the sea of his memories. Sai Mo didn't know what to say or even what Hayden was thinking, so he simply sat in silence beside him, patiently waiting for him to return to the present.
Moments of heavy silence passed before Sai Mo heard a faint sound. He looked up to see Hayden slowly rising from his bed.
With a firm but weary voice, Hayden said:
"Let's go, boy."
Sai Mo didn't hesitate. He grabbed his staff and followed, even though he still had no idea why.
At the entrance of the cave, Hayden stopped and turned to him. His eyes carried a mixture of sternness and resolve.
"I don't know what happened to you," he said quietly, "but let me ask you one question. If you had power right now, tell me—would you seek revenge only on those who destroyed your life… or would you kill everyone?"
Sai Mo fell silent for a long time. He lifted his gaze toward the sky as if searching for an answer among the clouds. He remembered his father, his brother, his village consumed by flames. Then he remembered Hayden's face—the face of a man who had drowned in the swamp of vengeance and found nothing but pain and emptiness.
Finally, a sad smile crossed his lips, though his eyes burned with determination.
"I would kill only those responsible for my family's death. I'm not like them… I'm not a mindless killer."
A gentle smile appeared on Hayden's face, quickly followed by a serious look as he stood tall before Sai Mo and said:
"Very well, boy. I've decided… I'll train you."
Joy flooded Sai Mo's heart. He had finally found a true teacher—someone to guide him and grant him the strength he needed. From that moment onward, a long and grueling training began—one that would change his life forever.
---
Six years passed since that day.
Deep within the same dark cave, Sai Mo now sat as a young man in his twenties. His body had become strong and solid as steel, and his eyes reflected an inner power incomparable to the boy he once was. Across from him sat Hayden, older and weaker than before, yet his presence still commanded respect.
Sai Mo meditated in silence, sinking deep into the flow of his inner energy. Then suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and an immense aura burst forth from him—a mixture of the Heavenly Realm's Upper Division and the first stage of the Yin-Yang Realm—swirling around him like the waves of a raging sea. He was on the verge of breaking through the Yin-Yang Realm.
Hayden smiled softly and said in a calm voice:
"Well done, boy… I've passed down everything I know to you. What remains now depends on you. And remember your promise… don't become a mindless killer."
Sai Mo bowed deeply, a sincere smile of gratitude lighting his face.
"Thank you, Master. Because of you, I've grown stronger… and because of you, I didn't drown in vengeance. I'll never forget this debt as long as I live."
Hayden stepped forward, placed his hand gently on Sai Mo's head, and looked at him with warmth—like a father watching his son grow into a man. They had both changed because of each other, becoming stronger, steadier, and more at peace within.
After a brief silence, Hayden lifted his hand and said softly, his voice tinged with sadness:
"Go, boy."
Sai Mo bowed once more in respect, then turned and left. Hayden remained in the dark cave, alone again. His smile faded, replaced by a sorrowful expression, his eyes filled with the bitterness of the past. He whispered weakly:
"Stay strong… and never let anything break you, my son."
---
Sai Mo set out toward the city of Fire Phoenix. He no longer needed his staff. Years earlier, when he and Hayden had traveled to the Sky Blue City, they had designed a magical wooden prosthetic leg—attached directly to his limb, almost indistinguishable from a real one. Though it didn't function exactly like a human leg, it was harder and stronger than most, capable of withstanding heavy blows thanks to the magical energy reinforcing it.
Now, he moved with ease and grace, as if nothing had ever been taken from him.
He walked for days along the roads until, after two days or so, the horizon revealed the outline of Fire Phoenix City.
And there—
a new chapter of his story was about to begin.
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