A graceful red silhouette seemed to flash through his mind, growing ever clearer. Slowly, red sleeves lifted lightly, and in the midst of the void, it was as if ethereal music began to play. That enchanting figure started to dance gently in a realm of mist and illusion...

William Carter's gaze suddenly became distant, wistful, and sorrowful...

Blood was flowing. William Carter could clearly sense his life slipping away rapidly. He had pursued martial arts all his life—falling into emotion, breaking free from emotion, transcending emotion to reach heartlessness, and finally extinguishing emotion. At the brink of death, he had thought his only regret would be never reaching the supreme realm he had sought all his life. Yet, to his surprise, at this very moment, a figure he thought he had long forgotten emerged in his mind.

That figure in flowing red, so stunningly beautiful—every glance back, every turn of her body—was the epitome of grace and charm, singing and dancing lightly in his heart. Each time she looked back at him, her eyes were filled with deep affection as vast as the sea...

Grace Morgan, the woman through whom William Carter entered, broke, and transcended emotion!

"So, I never truly broke free from emotion after all..." William Carter let out a self-mocking smile at the corner of his lips, murmuring to himself.

A trace of regret quietly spread through his heart, like smoke, sweeping through his soul in an instant.

At this moment, his heart could no longer be controlled, nor did he wish to control it...

Grace Carter! As I journey to the underworld this time, is there a chance I might meet you again?

Grace Carter, do you know how much I regretted leaving you back then, just to cultivate the Three Tribulations Emotionless Slash...

William Carter's heart was filled with sorrow and bitterness...

"Everyone, attack together! Just chop him up! As for the Nine Tribulations Sword, we can discuss it at length later!" someone shouted loudly. "Otherwise, if he recovers a bit, it'll be much more trouble for us!"

All around, the crowd roared in agreement. Instantly, blades and swords were raised, closing in on William Carter.

William Carter still sat there in a daze, motionless, his gaze fixed on a certain spot ahead, as if carrying the ancient, eternal desolation. Blood-stained hair floated across his forehead...

The figure in his mind danced more and more fiercely, becoming a mass of red shadows—elusive and ever-changing, yet painting the sky crimson. At the same time, a graceful yet mournful song drifted out from within the red shadow...

"Never dance lightly in this life, for every dance brings a lifetime of sorrow; this life, I dance for you, even if it means a lifetime of suffering!"

This was a short poem composed by Grace Morgan on the night they pledged their love. He still remembered, at that time, Grace Morgan's eyes were brimming with tears, her gaze sorrowful and full of longing. She... had long known he was using her love to cultivate, yet she still threw herself into his arms like a moth to a flame, letting herself be consumed!

That gentle and intelligent woman... William Carter thought wistfully, his heart aching unbearably. Only at the end of life did he realize the value of true love... but now, there was no turning back...

He still remembered, the last time Grace Morgan was rejected by him, her heart broken and her soul shattered, she wandered in a daze and was ambushed on her way home. That peerless beauty, in the end, perished.

When he heard the news, he rushed over immediately, but was still a step too late. Though he later slaughtered everyone in the clan that had harmed Grace Morgan, exterminating them to the last, his beloved could never return to life!

That matchless beauty, in her dying moments, lay softly in his arms and said to him, "William Carter, if there is a next life... if I can meet you again, I hope you can truly... look at me, just once. I am more beautiful than the sword!"

"William Carter, to die in your arms, I am content..." These were Grace Morgan's final words...

Grace Carter, you were not content, you had regrets. Otherwise, why would there be tears at the corners of your eyes? On the face of the lifeless beauty, two clear tears suddenly fell... upon the smile she forced for his sake in her final moments, it was so heartbreakingly beautiful...

Those two tears shattered his heart in that instant! From then on, his heart was sealed in dust!

Light as a dream, the dream drifts on,

Dancing enchantingly over seas of blood and mountains of bones;

With sword in hand, travel a thousand miles—ask me not,

Life and death together, soaring to the heavens!

This was a poem composed by the greatest scholar of the age, Eleanor Carter, moved by Grace Morgan's deep love for William Carter.

And now, Grace Carter, you have reached the heavens, while I remain in the mortal world... but soon, I will be able to follow you in life and death... for all eternity!

William Carter sat in a trance, a rare gentle and sorrowful smile appearing at the corner of his usually cold and hard lips. His blood-stained long hair fluttered in the wind...

Grace Carter, wait for me!

Grace Carter, do you know, if there is a next life, I would rather not cultivate swordsmanship, would rather not seek the pinnacle, would rather not seek revenge, just to be with you! In this world, what could compare to your satisfied smile? Nothing!

The graceful song and dance in his mind gradually faded away, and Grace Morgan's voice seemed to grow ever more distant: "This life, I dance for you... in every life, I dance for you... my heart remains unchanged through a thousand trials... a thousand deaths are not bitter... not bitter..."

With a swish, a golden blade slashed through the air toward him. William Carter, lost in thought, casually parried with his sword, his mind still listening for Grace Morgan's voice in the void... This life is over, Grace Carter, let me listen to your voice a little longer before I die...

Not bitter... Grace Carter, you suffered, yet did not feel bitter. But now... I am in such pain! I regret it so much!

More and more blades and swords struck his body, blood splattering everywhere, pain gathering from every part of him, finally breaking the song and dance in his mind!