LONG TIAN: THE DRAGON'S SECOND CHANCE

Ch 5

"So this is what death feels like?"

Long Tian could feel his vision gradually turning dark. Being able to see the most beautiful woman in the martial world at the end of his life was not something he regretted either.

"Am I really without regrets?"

Long Tian felt like laughing. Who was he trying to fool? There were so many regrets that could no longer be repaired, and regretting them now was completely useless.

"Everything is already too late. Unless I can turn back time. Ah, what kind of foolish thought am I having now?"

The pain in his body also began to disappear, a sign that he was about to enter the afterlife.

"Master, Father, Mother, I am coming to see you."

"Oh, is that the gate to heaven?"

He saw a point of light.

The light moved closer and struck him.

Before he had time to think about anything, the light entered his body.

His body shone brightly before everything became dark again.

But this time, his entire body was filled with pain.

Although it was not as intense as before.

"Ow... what happened?"

His entire body was filled with intense pain, as if every bone had been crushed and then forcibly pieced back together. His breathing rose and fell rapidly, while the last memories that remained in his mind were a sea of blood, a sky torn apart, and the long battle that had claimed millions of lives.

He still clearly remembered the enemy's sword piercing through his chest, followed by an explosion of energy that destroyed his body until nothing remained.

That should have been the end of everything.

Yet if he was truly dead, why was this pain still so real?

The boy slowly opened his eyes.

His vision remained blurry for several moments before finally becoming clear.

Above him stretched a night sky filled with countless shining stars. Moonlight illuminated the grassland where his body was lying, while the gentle night breeze brushed across his face.

"Am I not dead yet? This place isn't the battlefield. Then where am I now? Could this be the afterlife? But why does everything feel so real? Even the pain in my body has not diminished in the slightest. Aren't dead people supposed to be unable to feel pain like this?"

His muttering voice was filled with confusion.

He tried to sit up, but his body felt extremely weak.

That was when footsteps came from beside him.

"Thank goodness you are awake. I was beginning to think the injury on your head was too severe and that you would never wake up again."

The boy immediately turned his head.

Not far from him stood a young man dressed in simple black clothing. Part of the man's face was covered by a dark iron mask, leaving only his eyes visible.

His gaze was calm, yet it carried a high level of vigilance, as if he had grown accustomed to living amid danger.

The moment the boy saw that figure, his heart began pounding violently.

"Master... Master Xuan Mo... why are you still wearing that mask? Aren't we already in the afterlife? Can Master's handsome face still cause trouble even after death? I don't think there is anything left for Master to hide."

The words came out before he had time to think.

The masked man initially seemed to smile faintly beneath his mask.

However, the moment he heard that form of address, his smile disappeared.

His gaze became sharp.

"Brat... how do you know my surname? I have never met you before. Who exactly are you? And why are you calling me your master?"

The questions caused the boy to freeze.

"What?"

His brows furrowed deeply.

Something felt terribly wrong.

Master Xuan Mo did not recognize him?

He quickly lowered his head and examined his own body.

His eyes immediately widened.

His hands had become smaller.

His legs had become shorter.

The body that had once been tall and covered in scars from countless battles had now transformed into the body of a young boy.

"What is this?!"

He jumped to his feet and stared at his palms with a pale expression.

His breathing became rapid.

"No... this is impossible... This can't be happening! I clearly died! My body was destroyed by their attacks. How could I come back to life? And why has my body become so small?!"

He grabbed his head tightly.

Memory after memory surged through his mind like a flood.

The grassland.

The night sky.

The masked young man.

All of this was the moment when he had first met Xuan Mo.

The day when his life had changed forever.

"I have returned to the past?"

His eyes trembled violently.

"No, this is impossible! How could someone return decades into the past? This is clearly impossible! Even the Great Emperors who mastered the Laws of Space and Time had never been able to accomplish something like this!"

An immense pain suddenly attacked his head.

"Arrrgh!"

He screamed hysterically as he fell to his knees.

Both hands grabbed his own hair tightly.

The veins on his neck bulged as his breathing became chaotic.

Fragments of memories from two different lives seemed to collide inside his mind, making his head feel as though it were about to explode.

"Why? Why is all of this happening?! There is no sane person who could explain a situation like this! Am I dreaming? Or is this some kind of punishment from the heavens?"

Seeing the boy screaming endlessly, Xuan Mo, who had initially maintained a cautious attitude, slowly sighed.

The sharpness in his eyes gradually changed into pity.

He approached silently before crouching in front of the boy.

Gently, he pulled the small body into his arms.

"Listen to me carefully. I do not know who you are, nor do I understand what you are going through. However, there is one thing I understand. No storm lasts forever. No matter how dark the sky becomes, it will eventually clear after the rain stops.

"So stop forcing yourself to carry everything alone. Calm your breathing first. Whatever problem you are facing, there will always be a way out as long as you are still alive."

Hearing the voice he had known so well from his previous life, tears finally flowed uncontrollably from the eyes of the boy named Long Tian.

That embrace, that voice, and those words of advice were exactly the same as they had been decades ago.