The rain fell even harder.
Large raindrops smashed onto the bluestones of Black Stone City, splashing into tiny water flowers, then quickly converging into streams, washing away the dirt on the streets.
The night market crowd was scattered by the sudden downpour, with curses, children's cries, and the clatter of overturned tables and chairs mixing into a chaotic din.
Jiang Chen stood in the center of this chaos, like a silent reef.
The heat from his body was rapidly being carried away by the rain, but his gaze was more fervent than ever before.
Within his Eye of Insight, countless pale and dim threads of Mortal destiny darted around like startled schools of fish.
He forcefully filtered out this useless information, like a scavenger frantically rummaging through a garbage heap, searching for that tiny bit of unique 'light'.
None... Still none... These were all ordinary people; the strongest destiny they carried was merely 'finding a coin tomorrow,' which, for Jiang Chen, wasn't even enough to fill a tooth gap.
Behind him, Zhao Wuliang's aura grew closer.
It was an aura mixed with the scent of sandalwood and rust, cold and ruthless, like a guillotine about to fall.
Jiang Chen could even 'see' an invisible force, centered around Zhao Wuliang, combing through the chaotic threads of destiny around him, making them 'orderly' and filling them with 'malice' towards him.
A stone slab beneath his feet suddenly loosened, almost causing him to fall.
A tile from the eaves above quietly slipped, grazing his scalp before smashing to pieces on the ground.
The entire world was rejecting him.
He couldn't wait any longer!
Jiang Chen's teeth ground together.
He frantically poured Formless Life Essence into his eyes, causing a needle-like stinging pain in his eyeballs, and two streams of bloody tears slid down from the corners of his eyes, quickly diluted by the rainwater.
At this moment, his vision became clearer than ever before!
It pierced through the rain curtain, through the crowd, through the trivial destinies of those Mortals!
Then, he saw it.
Right at the entrance of the most dilapidated 'Drunken Immortal Restaurant' on the street corner, there was a light.
It wasn't the brilliant golden light that represented 'kingly Dao' and 'orthodoxy' like Lin Feng's.
Instead, it was a... fierce, arrogant, crimson light, carrying a strong scent of blood and a sense of grief and indignation!
That red light was like a peerless fierce sword plunged into a quagmire; though covered in dust and rust-stained, its Sword Intent, sharp enough to pierce the sky, could not be concealed!
Jiang Chen's gaze locked onto it.
A young man was being roughly pushed out of the restaurant by two brawny waiters.
"Get out! How dare you come to our Drunken Immortal Restaurant to run up a tab without money! What a damn Genius of the Ye Family, your Ye Family is long finished!"
"Still want to drink 'Rain-Listening Brew'? Bah! You're only fit to drink the rainwater on the ground!"
The young man wore a washed-out green robe, covered in wine stains and mud, his hair disheveled and covering most of his face.
He stumbled from the push and fell heavily into the muddy water, and the long object wrapped in tattered cloth he held in his arms also fell beside him.
It was a sword, a sword with a broken half.
The young man seemed not to hear the waiters' insults; he just lay on the ground in a daze, letting the rain drench him, his eyes empty as he stared at the puddles on the ground.
Passersby around pointed and whispered, with sneers of pity or disdain.
"Isn't that the Ye Family's boy, Ye Liuyun?"
"Shh... keep your voice down, his Family offended the City Lord's Mansion and has long since fallen into decline."
"What a pity, I heard he used to be a Sword Dao Genius, unseen in Black Stone City for a hundred years, comprehending the embryonic form of Sword Intent at sixteen."
"Genius? Now he's just a good-for-nothing, a drunkard!"
Ye Liuyun... Jiang Chen silently repeated the name.
In his Eye of Insight, this young man named Ye Liuyun was the source of that crimson light!
A thick, blood-like thread of destiny extended from him, pointing straight to the sky.
The System's cold message appeared in his mind at the opportune moment.
"Detected 'Destiny Trajectory' holder."
"Target: Child of Destiny · Ye Liuyun (Suppression Period)."
"Core Destiny Anchor Point: 'Rainy Night Sword Enlightenment' — Due to the destruction of his Family and the fall of a Genius, he became disheartened. On a rainy night, observing the shattering raindrops and hearing the mockery of the world, he broke through his 'heart demon' in despair, comprehended Rain of Sorrow Sword Intent, awakened the 'Broken Sword Spirit' left by his father, and from then on, soared to success."
Indeed!
Another Child of Destiny!
Another 'protagonist' with a pre-arranged script!
Jiang Chen's heart pounded wildly; it wasn't fear, but extreme excitement, an instinctive urge like a hungry wolf seeing a fat sheep.
What was Zhao Wuliang? What if he was a Heavenly Dao Corrector?
As long as he devoured this 'Ye Liuyun' before him, he would have the capital to break the situation!
By this time, Zhao Wuliang had already passed through the crowd and was less than five zhang away from Jiang Chen.
He stopped, not making a move immediately.
He was like an experienced executioner who always enjoyed admiring the despair of the condemned before carrying out the sentence.
"Very interesting eyes," Zhao Wuliang spoke, his voice unusually clear in the rain, "No fear, no despair, only... greed? I've never seen such an 'anomaly' as you before."
The Heavenly Secret Disc in his hand glowed brightly, and an invisible Qi mechanism had already locked onto Jiang Chen.
"You destroyed Lin Feng, a 'Dao Child' personally appointed by the Heavenly Dao. Do you know that his existence concerns the Luck of Qingyun Sect for the next three hundred years, and even a crucial battle for the Human Race against the Demon Race in the future?"
Zhao Wuliang's tone was as if stating an indisputable truth.
"You disrupted all of this. Therefore, you must be 'formatted'."
Jiang Chen ignored his lecturing.
His entire focus was on Ye Liuyun not far away.
The young man lying in the muddy water, his eyes were slowly changing.
Emptiness and confusion were fading, replaced by a trace of realization, a trace of sorrow.
He slowly extended his hand, catching a raindrop.
The raindrop burst in his palm.
He stared, mesmerized.
Now!
He was about to usher in the turning point of his life!
Jiang Chen's lips twisted into a ferocious smile.
"Format me?" he said to Zhao Wuliang, his voice not loud, but full of provocation, "Old man, watch closely, what true... 'subversion' looks like!"
Before his words finished, he moved!
He didn't rush towards Zhao Wuliang, but instead charged fiercely towards Ye Liuyun, who was about to 'comprehend the Dao'!
Zhao Wuliang's expression changed; he hadn't expected Jiang Chen, on the verge of death, to still dare to cause trouble!
He instinctively moved to block him.
An 'accident' happened again.
On the second floor of an adjacent pavilion, a window was 'just right' blown open by the strong wind, and a flowerpot fell from the windowsill, landing squarely on top of Zhao Wuliang's head!
This was one of the 'threads of destiny' Zhao Wuliang himself had laid out, originally intended as a contingency for Jiang Chen.
But at this moment, due to Jiang Chen's sudden change of direction, this 'inevitable' coincidence, by some twist of fate, smashed towards him!
Zhao Wuliang frowned, forced to use a Divided Soul and strike out with a palm, shattering the flowerpot in mid-air.
It was this momentary delay!
Jiang Chen had already rushed in front of Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun had just raised his head from his contemplation of the rainwater, looking blankly at this 'madman' covered in blood and mud who had rushed in front of him.
His Rain of Sorrow Sword Intent was only one step away, only lacking that final bit of emotional brewing.
However, he couldn't wait for that moment.
Jiang Chen didn't even glance at him, but kicked the hilt of the broken sword beside him with a fierce foot!
"Clang!"
The broken sword was kicked into the air, tracing an arc.
Ye Liuyun's enlightenment came to an abrupt halt.
He was like someone about to finish a beautiful dream, suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water, all inspiration, all sorrow, all Sword Intent, vanished into thin air at this moment!
"My... sword..." he murmured distractedly.
At the same time, the sound he most longed to hear echoed in Jiang Chen's mind.
"Detected host's strong will... Interfering with 'Destiny Trajectory'...
"Target locked: Child of Destiny · Ye Liuyun."
"Attempting to usurp his Destiny Anchor Point: 'Rainy Night Sword Enlightenment'...".
Buzz — !
A power even more immense and pure than the last time in the Myriad Bat Cave was forcibly stripped from the distraught Ye Liuyun!
That crimson thread of destiny trembled violently, wailed, and then... shattered with a crash!
The violent backlash of destiny, like an invisible storm, instantly swept through Ye Liuyun's entire body!
"Pfft — !"
He hadn't even understood what had happened before he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, the last glimmer of light in his eyes completely dimming.
His Dao foundation, his already shattered Sword Heart, was completely crushed by the backlash at this moment!
And the most essential power that overflowed from that backlash transformed into a crimson torrent, surging madly into Jiang Chen's body along an invisible pathway!
"Destiny power backlash... Target's Luck is dissipating..."
"Stripping target's core Luck... Stripping successful!"
"Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the talent: Sword Dao Enlightenment (Incomplete)!"