William Carter, who had already closed his eyes, seemed to hear a faint, ethereal voice from the void, carrying both exhaustion and joy, as if it had waited for thousands upon thousands of years for this moment of relief. In a low voice, it said, "...The Nine Tribulations have come to nothing, life and death are still faced calmly; even the blue sky can be mended, so why wait for the next life... Ah, at last, the wait is over..."

In that voice, those mere twenty words seemed to have experienced countless ages and vicissitudes, so distant and unattainable...

Then, a dazzling light shot out from his heart, soaring into the sky. In a flash, it scattered into countless blinding rainbows, illuminating the entire world! Everyone who saw it was left staring, as if blind!

But it was only a single flash, rising straight up into the heavens, and then instantly vanishing without a trace...

On Wind and Thunder Platform, the wind howled and sobbed, as if still repeating William Carter's words: If there is a next life... If there is a next life... to dance with you beneath the heavens...

Chapter Two: Starting Over, How Much Beauty Is Not Let Go?

"Grace Carter!" William Carter suddenly woke up. Before he even opened his eyes, he cried out in pain. He felt his heart convulsing, aching, but his voice was so weak it was almost a moan, barely audible even to himself...

As soon as he spoke, William Carter was stunned!

I... clearly saw Grace Carter coming to greet me, that familiar gentle smile, that tenderness etched into my very bones...

But... what is going on?

Before him were endless rocks and mountains, the setting sun at the horizon as red as blood, and all around, drifting purple bamboo swayed like rolling purple clouds at the edge of the sky, rippling in waves with the breeze...

At his feet, there was a pool of blood.

A sharp pain came from his head. He reached up to touch it, and his hand came away covered in blood.

These mountains, these rocks, this scene, this wound—how familiar it all was!

Where is this?

A voice, almost on the verge of tears, sounded in his ear: "Hey... don't scare me, I... I... I'm such a handsome and dashing guy, I really can't take a fright like this..."

William Carter felt a wave of confusion in his heart. Could it be that I'm really not dead yet? But who is this guy yelling in my ear? What a character—clearly scared out of his wits, yet still hasn't forgotten to praise himself...

Perhaps seeing that he wasn't responding, the person called out again: "Really... not breathing? Wuu..." This cry sounded just like a train whistle, and if someone heard it from afar, they'd surely think a hungry wolf had just howled, "Awoo..."

The sound was long and loud, lingering in the air. There was even a faint echo, but the echo really did turn into an "Awoo..."

What talent. William Carter thought to himself. He could tell that the voice was truly both frightened and sad—there was no faking that; but the sound itself... was really hard to compliment.

It was as if, when Heaven made this person, it mistakenly gave him a duck's voice, and not just any duck—a drake...

Then, perhaps realizing something was off, Heaven tried to make up for it by lending him half a wolf's voice as well...

This voice... it sounded familiar... Such a voice was truly one of a kind! William Carter shivered, and suddenly, memories from years ago flooded his mind...

"It was just a bit of staff practice, you can't be knocked out by a single hit from me, right?" The voice trembled, clearly terrified: "...They hit you with so many staffs and you were fine, so why is it that when I hit you once, you blame me... This... this is so damn unfair! Is it because you saw how handsome and dashing I am, got jealous, and decided to frame me?"

William Carter was speechless.

What kind of person is this? Still complaining, and that's fine—no one wants to be in this kind of situation, right? But even while complaining, he still doesn't forget to praise himself...

This level of narcissism is enough to shake heaven and make ghosts weep!

With a groan, William Carter finally managed to open his eyes. He really couldn't lie there any longer. Even though William Carter was a Poison Sword Martial Lord, he couldn't stand this kind of voice.

This hoarse drake's voice mixed with the howling of a starving wolf... not to mention people, even a tiger... would go mad after hearing it for too long...

"Awake, awake! Wahaha, I knew it, you were stunned by my handsomeness, not knocked out..." The voice continued to torment William Carter's ears: "I knew it, why else would you keep staring at my face while we were fighting... So that's why!"

William Carter frowned, his head still throbbing, and said softly, "Shut up!" He really couldn't take it anymore. If you say two more words, I'll stab myself in the heart twice more. I've already died once, and now I have to endure this terrifying voice—where's the justice in that? Can't even die in peace...

What kind of world is this...

Though his voice was low, it was full of authority. The chilling aura of a Poison Sword Martial Lord radiated from him. The chatterbox was so intimidated by the severity in those two words that he froze, unable to speak.

William Carter suddenly opened his eyes wide, but the sunlight was so dazzling that golden stars danced before his eyes. He had to close them again, then slowly open them once more...