Chosen: Beyond Fate

This was a gamble, one staked with everything Chen Xingzhou and Lei Yaoxing had.

The verdict would be delivered by the Chief beyond the clouds, who stood witness over the entire affair. The moment that single bullet completely shattered the balance, the game had already begun. There was no room for clever tricks, nor any possibility of disguise or playacting. He had to either die this absurd death, or claw his way out of hell alive and reach out to seize everything he desired!

This was the death sentence the Chief had long since passed upon Chen Xingzhou, for out of selfish ambition, he had sought to push Cliff City’s Wasteland Assembly into the eye of the storm. For that crime, he deserved death ten thousand times over.

And from the moment that bullet was fired, the Wasteland Assembly of Cliff City had only two possible outcomes. The first one was Lei Yaoxing suppressing everyone, ascending the throne through methods and strength surpassing even Lei Wuye’s, and becoming the true ruler of Cliff City. At that point, Chen Xingzhou would become completely worthless and nothing more than a clown.

The second outcome was Lei Yaoxing finding no path forward under the fury of the masses. Unable to settle matters decisively or control the situation, he would end up threatening everyone’s safety.

Once the tacit understanding and balance were broken, the Chen Xingzhou who had returned from death came to represent every other participant in settling the score. Now, at last, victory and defeat had been decided before the mourning hall.

Lei Yaoxing ultimately lacked the ability to control the Wasteland Assembly and reshape the wilderness. Or rather, under Chen Xingzhou’s interference and guidance, one wrong step led to another, until the situation spiraled beyond recovery and collapsed completely by his own hand.

Meanwhile, the previously overlooked Chen Xingzhou, upon opening his eyes once more, had managed within a single night to reunify what had been scattered loose sand through promises, intimidation, negotiation, and conspiracy.

The long night was over. After today, the underground scene of Cliff City would not remain as it once was. Lei Wuye was dead, and even the last traces of him would be completely erased from the Wasteland Assembly. The stagnant equilibrium and deadlocked confrontation of the past would never return.

No, perhaps the moment Lei Wuye had deliberately allowed the wilderness to stagnate and decay in order to preserve his own status and power, he had already invited White Deer’s disgust and contempt. Origin favored balance and stability, but all White Deer desired was the cycle of survival of the fittest, where the strong rose and the weak were devoured.

The stagnant waters of Cliff City had rotted for far too long. In merely half a month, under Chen Xingzhou’s push, the battles they should have fought over the years, the prey and conflict they should have offered up, had all already been repaid to White Deer in full, with more than enough to spare. This was a sacrifice willingly offered to the wilderness by everyone involved for profit, for ambition, for hatred, or for something else entirely.

And as the decrepit and incompetent fools fell, new seeds had already received White Deer’s blessing amid the spreading blood. Ambition and desire sprouted once more across the wilderness. The young beasts, ravenous and untamed, ran rampant in arrogant defiance, eager to challenge everything before them.

The transition between old and new had already been completed. From this moment onward, everything would be different.

“Give it up, Young Master Lei. Nobody’s going to follow you.” Chen Xingzhou sighed, gesturing toward the supporters behind him. “The elders won’t back you up. The bosses won’t stand with you. Nobody’s on your side. Even if I died, do you really think you could take the throne? Who would trust your promises or guarantees? The seat of the boss is already beyond your reach. Leave Cliff City before this afternoon. The Wasteland Assembly will still welcome you.”

Boom!

Without warning, lightning struck beneath the clear sky.

Mr. Lin, who had been outside the door moments ago, suddenly tore through the air and appeared in front of Chen Xingzhou. His palm, wreathed in flames and smoke, revealed a grotesque outline as it forcefully blocked the invisible blade slashing through the air.

The entire mourning hall shook fiercely. Flowers were swept up in the raging force before scattering down in ruin, leaving devastation everywhere.

“Just because you say I can’t do it, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Chen Xingzhou, who the hell do you think you are?” Lei Yaoxing’s eyes were bloodshot as he swept a contemptuous glance over his opponent and the crowd behind him. “You think a bunch of trash like this can beat me? You have no authority in this place. If the Chief wants my life, let him come tell me himself! If you want my life, come take it with your own hands!”

Following Lei Yaoxing’s words, many within the mourning hall abruptly rose to their feet. No longer bothering to hide it, they released surging spirit matter fluctuations, their malice twisting their faces as they stared at Chen Xingzhou and his people.

Situation? Strength? Public support? To beasts, those things were worthless, beneath contempt. Even cornered animals knew how to fight with their backs against the wall. As for who would become the boss, only a fight could decide that. The living would not necessarily win, but the dead certainly could not!

Chen Xingzhou sighed. “Very well. Since things have come to this, I have nothing more to say. I’ll leave it to you.”

He turned around to look at Ji Jue.

“Huh?”

Ji Jue froze in confusion, nearly dropping the sunflower seeds in his hand. Under everyone’s gaze, his mind buzzed. What the hell? What’s going on? What can I even do?! I’m just here for the drama. What does your White Deer internal struggle have to do with me?!

Immediately after, a soft voice spoke from behind him.

“Okay,” she said.

The moment Ji Jue turned around in shock, he almost thought An Ran had somehow arrived at the scene too. But it wasn’t An Ran. It was another figure he had only parted ways with last night—An Ning!

At some point, she had dragged over a stool and sat behind him, yet Ji Jue had never sensed a single trace of her presence or movement. In fact, during the long and tedious wait, she had even casually braided three tiny plaits into the back of his hair. Ji Jue had no idea...

Now, as the girl stepped toward the conflict before her, no one could ignore her existence any longer. The starlike brilliance that had once shone within her eyes was gone, leaving behind only a darkness as endless as the night itself. The gentle sweetness of her smile had vanished as well, replaced by cold, distant calm.

After waiting for so long, after so many unexpected interruptions, her work had finally begun.

Every vivid trace of individuality she had once possessed now disappeared from her body. Once An Ning had willingly erased all individuality from herself, the only thing walking toward the mourning hall was the executor of the Chief’s will, as though the Wasteland Assembly had taken human form.

The White Deer hunter stepped into the conflict. Then, before everyone present, she raised her right hand and revealed the thin glove she wore, crimson like fresh blood. The black White Deer emblem glimmered with light.

Her gaze swept across the enraged and fearful beasts as she coldly declared, “Today, I’ll convey the Chief’s judgment on his behalf. The struggle for Cliff City ends here. No further conflict will be tolerated. The incompetent will be cast out. Those who refuse shall die.”

After a brief pause, the White Deer hunter posed her final question. “Now then, the Wasteland Assembly asks you this: do you intend to rebel against the Chief?”

In the brief dead silence that followed, everyone except Chen Xingzhou and Lei Yaoxing took a synchronized step backward, their expressions shaken. Soon enough, the violent surges of spirit matter all dissipated. Some people even voluntarily set down their weapons and sidearms before retreating without looking back. Mr. Lin alone remained unmoving.

Among the silent supporters behind Lei Yaoxing, some visibly struggled before gritting their teeth, withdrawing their hands and hurriedly leaving. The rest also hesitated, slowly stepping back.

In the end, even his closest assistants and subordinates lowered their heads obediently beneath the White Deer hunter’s gaze. Yet when they saw Lei Yaoxing still standing there in grim defiance, they could not help but quietly urge him, “Mr. Lei, as long as the green hills remain, there’ll always be firewood to burn[1]...”

“Mr. Lei!”

Lei Yaoxing said nothing, nor did he react to those trying to pull him away. His face was ashen as he stared coldly at the figures retreating around him before finally turning his gaze toward An Ning. Murderous intent surged violently from him like a trapped beast inside a cage, bound by invisible chains it could not break free from.

Still, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly held on, refusing to bow his head.

“So it’s someone from the An family...” A cold sneer slipped through Lei Yaoxing’s clenched teeth. “Heh. It really has been a long time.”

An Ning merely tossed a box toward him. “Before I came, Grandpa said that for the sake of the little bit of friendship he once had with Lei Wuye, he wanted me to bring you something. He hopes you’ll take care of yourself.”

The box landed by Lei Yaoxing’s feet.

Without a word, he bent down to pick it up and opened it. Inside was neither fast-acting poison nor a letter. Resting within layers of soft luxurious cloth and padding was only a coarse porcelain rooster bowl[2], the sort seen everywhere. As though it had already been used for many years, the painted rooster upon it had faded dull with age, marked by countless scratches.

“White Deer follows the law of the wilderness. The strong devouring the weak is only natural. But the wilderness also has its own rules. Whoever tries to cut off the water source and endanger the wilderness becomes the enemy of every beast. In half a month, you failed to unite Cliff City and suppress dissent. If you still refuse to understand your place and continue struggling at death’s door, then you have become the source of disaster.”

An Ning continued, “The wilderness no longer has room for you. You’ll have to leave it behind and find your own way forward. That is the guarantee he offers you.”

A rice bowl was, naturally, meant to hold food. Even a bowl from the Wasteland Assembly was no different.

As long as a person still had their bowl, they would still have something to eat. And as long as that bowl remained, no one could take that meal away from them. As long as a person had food to eat, they could keep living.

That was the grace granted by the Wasteland Assembly: let him leave Cliff City and find his own path. If he still possessed ambition and resolve, then one day he could return and reclaim the seat of boss. His life and fate both rested in his own hands.

“Now, on behalf of the Wasteland Assembly, I’ll ask you one final time, Lei Yaoxing. Will you obey the Chief’s order?” An Ning asked.

Lei Yaoxing did not answer. He merely stared at the bowl in his hands. A mocking smile surfaced on his ashen face, though it was impossible to tell whether he mocked others or himself.

In the end, when he raised his head and looked around at the emptiness surrounding him, then at Chen Xingzhou within the crowd, the twitching expression on his face slowly calmed, until all that remained was exhaustion and numbness.

“Heh. A complete defeat.” He sighed and raised the bowl in his hand toward An Ning, the joints of his fingers turning white. “My thanks to Elder An for throwing me a lifeline.”

And just like that, he smiled with carefree calm.

“What a pity,” Lei Yaoxing said. “A life begged for on my knees? I don’t want it!”

Crash!

With a swing of his hand, the Wasteland Assembly’s final mercy flew from his grasp and shattered against the ground. The sharp crack rang out like thunder, causing everyone’s expressions to jolt.

Then came the sound of blood flowing and dripping onto the floor.

“Hurk... hurk...”

Lei Yaoxing’s eyes widened. Only when he raised a trembling hand toward his throat did he realize there was something cold lodged there, sharp enough to slice open his fingers.

The moment the coarse porcelain bowl struck the ground and shattered, one fragment had lightly bounced upward from the floor. As though by pure coincidence, it pierced his throat. Not even a Chosen One’s dynamic vision could perceive it, nor could the regenerative power of the Rebirth Realm resist it. There was no dodging it, no avoiding it, no guarding against it, as if it was fate itself made manifest.

A bowl was meant for eating. Once the rice bowl shattered, there would be no more food to eat. And so, the person would die.

This was the dead end Lei Yaoxing had chosen.

***

Meanwhile, far beyond Cliff City, deep within the wilderness mountains, startled birds flew from the forest. An old man sunning himself in a reclining chair seemed to sense something. His eyes lifted slightly. Soon enough, though, he lost interest and looked away.

What a pity.

He had learned Lei Wuye’s pride, which refused to let life and death be decided by others, but not the patience and endurance that had once allowed Lei Wuye to suffer humiliation in silence.

Given enough time, he might not have failed to soar into the Ninth Heaven. But alas, the Dragon Gate[3] was difficult to cross.

In the end, he had not been destined for greatness.

No. Perhaps he had chosen to give up himself, because within the clouds above the Ninth Heaven, that seat had long since already been occupied! It was able to change size at will, to ascend and conceal itself freely, so lofty that it drove him into complete despair.

Only... this great flood dragon[4] now rising with the tide and commanding wind and rain, once it revealed its true form, would it become a dragon, or merely a snake?

The old man gazed absentmindedly at the dark clouds slowly drifting in from afar. After a long while, he waved his hand, then closed his eyes once more for a brief rest.

The clouds dispersed, the mist vanished, and the sky stretched clear for tens of thousands of li.

1. “留得青山在” (literally “as the green hills remain, there’ll always be firewood to burn”) advises people that in times of adversity, they should focus on preserving what is most fundamental. As long as their lives, resources, or core strength remain intact, there will always be a chance to recover, rebuild, and make a fresh start. ☜

2. The rooster bowl first appeared during the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty, when it was regarded as a prized luxury item favored by nobles and aristocrats. During the Qing dynasty and later in the 1960s, it became a common household utensil among the lower and lower-middle classes.

It is very common in Asian households to this day, and I even have one in my home! It looks something like this. ☜

3. “The Ninth Heaven” symbolizes the highest realm, grand ambitions, or exceptional opportunities, while the “Dragon Gate” represents transformation, social advancement, and the decisive trial one must overcome to surmount obstacles and achieve a breakthrough. ☜

4. The great flood dragon is a serpent-like creature in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of crocodile.

I’ve attached an image for your reference. ☜