Awakening of the Ancient: Rise of the Fallen

"You can't help them. You need to think about saving yourself first. If you go to save others, you will lose your life as well,"  Valeria told Xu Ming, trying to convince him.

"I won't save them all, but I will save the ones that helped me. If father were here, he would've done the same thing," Xu Ming said, shaking his head.

"But your father is dead. He was killed by the ones that he trusted. You're doing the same thing, risking your life for the ones that are not even your blood," Valeria let out, firmly.

Xu Ming was shocked to hear her words. He somehow felt angry at her words because she involved his father.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was that if something happened to you, who will take care of your mother? Even if she is woken up, will she be able to live knowing that her husband and her son are dead? Don't think about yourself only. Think about your mother, as well. Think about your revenge. Think about the future. Don't put everything on the line to save some friends. Leave them behind! One's own life is what matters the most," Valeria let out, shaking her hand.

"If it was me in the prison, would you leave me behind?" Xu Ming asked Valeria.

"No, I would try my best to save you no matter what I have to do, but things are different between you and me. I am different. I can try and fail, but I won't get caught or die as a result. Also, I'm not impersonating anyone. I don't even exist for people of this world. You, on the other hand, will get caught and killed. Our situations aren't the same," Valeria said sternly. 

"Don't put your life on the line for some random people of the mortal world," she added.

"I would be dead if it weren't for this mortal world and the people," Xu Ming declared.

"I understand your emotion, but you need to think rationally. It is impossible to save them in this place. You can't do it," Valeria replied to him.

"What if I am able to save their lives without putting my life in danger?"  Xu Ming inquired.

"Then I won't oppose you. As long as it's not something that will put your life in danger, it will be fine, but nothing more than that. Your life is more important than the lives of these mortals," Valeria nodded her head as she answered his question.

"Alright."

Xu Ming knew that he couldn't think of a plan without knowing the full information about this thing and what the sect planned to do with them, but he couldn't be eager to know the information as well; otherwise, he would expose himself.

Xu Ming shook his head as he decided to collect more information on the next day.

He stayed in the room and started to utilize his time in Cultivation to make him stronger.

He cultivated the whole night, and he only stopped when he heard the knock on his door in the morning.

"Master, hurry. There is trouble. Open the door."

Xu Ming recognized the voice as it belonged to his servant.

Xu Ming stood up and activated the effects of his Mask of Mischief before he opened the door.

"What happened? Why did you interrupt my Cultivation?" Xu Ming asked the servant.

"Master, trouble is here. She has come! She is standing outside the door." the man said.

"Who is here? And why do you look so scared? Tell me who is here?" Xu Ming asked in confusion. "Are you talking about Yanli?"

" It's not her. It's a disaster! Your Fiance as here!" The servant answered.

"My Fiance?" Xu Ming exclaimed as his eyes opened wide.

"It must be the fiance of Li Mu, the guy you're pretending to be," Valeria said in his ears.

"Ah, right. My fiance is here. Do you know her name?" he asked the servant.

'Is this another question to check my memory?' the servant thought.

"Ah, yes. She is Madam Yu Yan," The servant replied.

"Right. You do remember. Now tell me, Why are we so afraid of her?" Xu Ming asked.

Before the servant could answer, the door was broken open.

"Li Mu! How long are you going to hide! Come out!"

A girl's voice came out.

Xu Ming stepped out of his room and walked into the hall.

He could see a girl standing there.

The girl looked like she was 18-19 years old. She was just as tall as Xu Ming.

She wore a beautiful red dress that had a white ribbon tied around her thin waist. She had long black hair that came down to her knees. Her beautiful brown eyes found Xu Ming and lit up.

"There you are! At Least you didn't try to hide like the other times. Maybe you will finally be a man and accept my challenge!" the girl let out as she glared at Xu Ming.

"Challenge?" Xu Ming looked at her in confusion. He didn't understand what she was talking about, but he still had to deal with the situation somehow.

From the way she talked about, it seemed like Li Mu didn't want to accept her challenge. He decided to maintain the same stance.

"Can we just drop that whole challenge thing? I don't want to do it," Xu Ming let out, shaking his head.

The girl was instantly furious. His face was turning red in anger.

She brought a sword out of her storage ring and instantly attacked Xu Ming.

Her initial plan was to scare Xu Ming into accepting her challenge by scaring him. She was about to stop before her sword did any actual damage, but she was stunned as she saw Xu Ming's reaction.

He was as fast as lightning as he dodged her sword before it even got near him.

"So you have some skills, but this wasn't a real attack. If you do not accept my challenge, I will just kill you directly," the girl let out as she pointed her sword towards Xu Ming.

Xu Ming shook her head.

"Are you really going to kill your fiance, Yu Yan?" Xu Ming asked her.

"Don't worry about that; I won't have a second thought about killing you if you don't accept my challenge today. I won't wait for your decision anymore! The choice is yours. Would you accept my challenge or keep your stance and die today!"  The girl let out, sternly.