[Ye Tian Household]
"I'm… reborn."
Taking a deep breath, and with his parents and sister looking at him in confusion, Ye Tian began to explain everything that had happened to him.
"Although it might be hard to believe," he started, "after the surgery, just as the doctors reported, I did die."
A hush fell over the room, but Ye Tian continued. "However, after death, I found myself in another world called the Tianxian Continent—a world where strength reigns supreme."
"A world where the strongest swim across the river of time for fun and play with the stars out of boredom."
"In that world, creating or destroying a world is as easy as a thought."
Saying this, Ye Tian paused slightly, taking the time to read their expressions.
Fortunately, even though they each felt a flurry of emotions, but none of them were fear or wariness like he had expected
His mother, Li Mei, had tears forming in her eyes, imagining all the dangers her only son must have faced in that other world, alone and without family.
His father, Ye Sheng, stood still, his expression unreadable.
Ye Ling, his sister, however, could barely contain her excitement; she seemed thrilled at the thought of her brother being a protagonist like in the web novels she loved.
Unable to hold back, Ye Ling suddenly blurted out, breaking the silence,
"Wait a minute, brother! If you were reborn in another world, how did you come back? Do you have a golden finger? Was it a system?"
"Or maybe you found an antique with the remnant soul of a master who was betrayed by his apprentice, and he took you as his disciple to get revenge?"
"Also, does that mean you're a qi cultivator? Or is it a martial artist type of world?"
She fired off questions in rapid succession, leaving Ye Tian with a slight headache.
"Would you calm down and let me finish explaining?" he scolded gently. "Mum and Dad are probably going to be confused by you if you keep talking like that."
Despite his words, Ye Tian felt a warmth in his heart. He was relieved by her enthusiasm, by the fact that nothing seemed to have changed, and that his family was still accepting of him. He continued.
"First off, in that world, although my crossing was unexpected, I awakened an innate ability—something I call 'Unlimited Enlightenment.'"
"By using the energy obtained from harvesting life, I could deduce any technique, even if I had no prior knowledge."
"Though knowing something beforehand would reduce the amount of life energy required."
As he said this, Ye Ling's eyes seemed to sparkle even more brightly.
Ye Tian, however, didn't tell them the whole truth— and that this was, "ability" was actually an item he had accidentally acquired.
After all, some secrets were best left unspoken. He shook his head slightly and went on.
"Using this ability, I rose to become one of the most powerful beings—the Heavenly Demon—in just ten thousand years."
"Unfortunately, after reaching that peak, I discovered that the Blue Star wasn't even in the same multiverse."
"Separated by an unknown distance of chaos, I had no choice but to launch a war and slaughter the world"
"Using the blood of the heavens and the earth, I created a technique that transcended the world, allowing me to return home—even at the cost of my own life."
As he spoke, memories of his time in the Tianxian Continent flooded back.
The faces of those he had killed, the lives he had taken… he seemed to see himself lost in a sea of blood, the souls of his victims cursing him, asking if it had all been worth it.
"Mum! Dad! Something strange is happening to Brother!" Ye Ling shouted, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Unbeknownst to him, the demonic bead in his sea of consciousness had begun to vibrate violently.
His hair grew to waist length, and his eyes turned a blood-red color. His body trembled, and his words became unintelligible.
Seeing this, without hesitation, Li Mei threw her arms around him, holding him tight.
"It's alright, son. I don't know what's going on, but I will always support you,"
she whispered. "Yes, you may have killed many, but it was all to see us again, and I'm glad."
"I'm glad that even after ten thousand years, you never forgot your family."
"and I'm sad that you had to endure all those years alone."
As she spoke, Ye Tian, still lost in his trance, began to tremble more violently.
Sensing this, Ye Sheng knew what he had to do and stepped forward laughing heartily.
"Haha! That's my son! One man against the world, just to return to his family! If I, Ye Sheng, can't be proud, then who in the world can?"
"This is the mentality that men in my Ye family must have!"
Encouraged by his father's words, Ye Ling joined in. "Brother, better snap out of it! If you behave like this now, how are you going to do your face-slapping and rise to success now that you've returned?"
"Even if it's cliché, who doesn't love a good 'immortal cultivator returns to the city' type story?"
Saying this, she joined her mother in hugging him tightly.
Time soon passed, and more and more the changes in Ye Tian began to slowly recede
Hearing their voices and feeling their warmth, Ye Tian slowly began to come back to his senses.
His hair receded, returning to its natural black, and the flames and souls in his vision began to fade away.
The illusions and the abnormality surrounding him dissipated.
"Yes… I am not wrong," he muttered. "And even if I am, so what? Isn't this sight exactly what I wanted to see?"
Seeing his family members hugging him with worry on their faces, Ye Tian smiled—a genuine smile that reached up to his eyes.
"For them… even if I have to slaughter the world over and over again, it's fine."
As he murmured these words, all the strange phenomena disappeared. The demonic bead in his sea of consciousness melted away, merging completely into his soul.
For the first time in ages, he felt an unprecedented clarity and lightness.
"Heart demon, clear," he whispered, his voice filled with new-found resolve.