Monarch of Time

Soon, the opulent hall of the Shun estate was filled to the brim with trays of delicious food, their fragrant scent permeating the hall, causing Shun Long to let out an inaudible sigh.

Although he knew that the scene in front of him was only a figment of illusions, most likely created by the sixth trial, he couldn't deny how real it actually felt.

And yet, a moment later, Shun Long surprisingly shook his head and stood up, pulling his father and mother in a tight embrace before he said quietly

''Father, mother, I'll come visit you soon.''

Shun Fang's and Shun An's expressions both crumbled, and a moment later, it was actually Shun An who stepped forward and whispered in his ears

''Son, you haven't been back for so long and you don't even want to stay with your parents for a while longer? Even if you know this isn't real, shouldn't you value this moment a little more? Do we really mean nothing to you?'' Her voice wasn't loud, but her words were like daggers stabbing into Shun Long's heart and causing him to stiffen momentarily.

Indeed, the thing that Shun Long regretted the most in his heart, was not going back to the Desolate East to visit his parents during the last few years. He had been so constrained by constantly having to complete mandatory missions for the Holy sect, that he couldn't really take a trip that would last for more than a year, unless he was ready to leave the Holy sect for good!

Without establishing a foothold in the central continent first, such a decision was no different from suicide -not even a life-and-death gamble. After all, was the central continent a place that a mere Nascent-soul stage cultivator could freely traverse on their own? Even with Little Black by his side, Shun Long was well aware of the hidden perils the depths of the continent contained.

Closing his eyes, he didn't throw another glance at the visage of his parents, and with a heavy heart, he turned around and walked out of the main hall. fгeewebnovёl.com

In the next moment, the large bronze doors of the hall began to turn blurry as if they were suddenly tethering between the verge of reality and illusions, and soon, the entire Shun estate had vanished from existence, leaving Shun Long standing alone in a vast expanse of emptiness.

The opulent hall behind him, along with Shun Fang and Shun An had suddenly disappeared -the rushing maidservants and their hurried footsteps fading into nothingness. The fragrant scent of food and their clanking of trays evaporating into thin air, and even the guards practicing their swordsmanship just a few meters away in the distance petering out as well.

Darkness had fully permeated his surroundings only a few moments later, completely cutting off his six senses and plunging Shun Long into the depths of a bottomless abyss.

And yet, even that endless darkness was only short-lived.

Soon, Shun Long could hear once more as Shun An's resentful voice entered his ears

''Son... how could you leave us again? You left us once for that 'Floating Cloud Sect' but at least back then you would still visit us every so often. Then, you abandoned us again to go traverse that 'Night Star continent', and your father and I both became crippled. Tell me, do you feel no remorse? Sure, it wasn't your fault, but could you not have prevented it if you were here? ...And even after becoming crippled, you left us again for that Holy sect, abandoning your wounded parents once more. What kind of filial son would do that? Do you even consider us your parents anymore? No, do you even think of us anymore?''

Closing his eyes, Shun Long didn't say anything and allowed Shun An's voice to stab at his heart again and again, her words cutting into it like a poisonous dagger.

Although Shun Long knew that this wasn't really his mother and that Shun An would never say anything like that to her own son, blaming him for what had happened to her and Shun Fang, he still didn't rebut any of her claims and just accepted everything in his heart.

Because, all those emotions were not feelings that the real Shun An felt, but were things that Shun Long had buried deep in his heart and blamed himself for, even if he didn't want to admit them in the end.

He still felt guilty that he couldn't visit his parents as often as he used to back in the 'Floating Cloud sect', and he also felt guilty that he wasn't there to protect them when that war broke out in the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom'!

Granted, if Shun Long hadn't left the imperial capital to become a cultivator and had simply remained as a mortal, he would have been powerless in the aftermath of the kingdom's war and wouldn't even have been able to save his parents as quickly as he did. Most likely by that point, all 3 of them would have perished at their captors' hands... if an even worse fate didn't await for them.

And yet, deep in his heart, Shun Long still felt guilt for leaving them behind once more after they had been crippled. Of course, he hadn't truly left them alone and unprotected this time around. Liu Mei's mother was now with them, and as a powerful rank 7 Heaven-grade cultivator, she would be able to protect them from any dangers they face in the 'Roaring Waves Kingdom'. Besides, traveling to the central continent was the only way for Shun Long to find enough medicinal herbs that would allow him to restore his parents' broken dantians.

Unfortunately, recognizing that something wasn't real was one thing, but not feeling any guilt about it was a different matter altogether. Clearly, Shun An's words were the things that Shun Long had been suppressing deep in his heart this entire time, things that even he may not have been aware of -the manifestation of his self-blame.

This was the true terror of the sixth trial: the most insidious one among all the trials of the 'Heavenly Tower'. Surpassing this meant overcoming all of your emotional burdens and surpassing your own mind... but failing, was a fate worse than death!

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Author's note: Apologies for the long wait and thank you! My fever has finally gone down after two full days (and almost an entire pack of painkillers) so I can finally write again. We are having a mini-mass release tomorrow (and hopefully the day after) to make up for the lost chapters of the last few days.