Samuel was silent for a moment, as if sensing the changes in Luo Ling’s heart.
“So, why have you come to me now?”
Luo Ling took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly with suppressed emotion.
He spoke clearly, word by word:
“I want power.”
“I want to become a ‘Hero’.”
“I want revenge.”
“I want… to change this world.”
His voice was not loud, yet it carried a force that shook the soul.
Every word seemed to crawl out from the depths of hell, filled with endless coldness and determination.
Samuel gazed at him quietly, those deep eyes seemingly able to see into every corner of his soul.
After a long while, Samuel finally nodded slowly.
“I feel it.”
Samuel said,
“The light in your heart has extinguished, replaced by… hatred and resolve. This power is strong, but also dangerous. It can make you powerful, but it may also… consume you.”
“I don’t care.”
Luo Ling answered without hesitation.
“As long as I can avenge, as long as I have the power to protect what I wish to protect, so what if I’m consumed?”
He paused, then added, “Or rather, being consumed might also be a kind of release.”
“Very good.”
Samuel seemed satisfied with his answer.
“It seems you are ready. The Luo Ling who longed for an ordinary life has truly died.”
“Yes, he is dead.”
Luo Ling’s eyes did not waver in the slightest.
“Dead before the Grave of Eve.”
“Then, from today on, you shall walk this world under the name of the ‘Hundredth Hero’.”
Samuel slowly extended his hand, palm up.
A gentle and warm light appeared in his palm, gradually condensing into a small badge exuding an ancient aura.
The badge was shaped like a combination of a sword and a star, filled with a sense of sanctity and majesty.
“This is the token of the ‘Heart of the Hero’, and also the key to power.”
Samuel handed the badge to Luo Ling.
“Wear it, and you will officially receive the inheritance of the ‘Hero’. You will learn Swordsmanship, learn magic, and step onto a path filled with thorns and blood.
You may encounter enemies a hundred or a thousand times stronger than the man in black who killed your beloved. You may wander between life and death countless times. You may even… be betrayed by all, becoming the enemy of the entire world.”
“Are you ready?”
Luo Ling looked at the badge emitting a gentle light, its glow forming a stark contrast with his cold heart at this moment.
But he knew that behind this light was his only path to power.
Without any hesitation, he reached out his trembling hand and took the badge.
The badge was warm to the touch, and a strange energy seemed to flow from his palm slowly into his body.
“I’m ready.”
He clenched the badge tightly in his palm, as if holding the entire world.
The Luo Ling of the past had completely died.
The Hero Luo Ling was born here.
The moment he grasped the ‘Heart of the Hero’ badge, Luo Ling felt a warm current spread rapidly through his body from his arm, as if parched land had been nourished.
But the warmth did not last long.
Soon, Samuel’s voice sounded again, pulling him back to reality.
“The ‘Heart of the Hero’ is merely a guide. It can lead out the power hidden within you, but cannot directly grant you great strength. Power must be learned, trained, and seized by yourself.”
Samuel’s figure appeared somewhat blurred in the mist.
“Come with me.”
After speaking, Samuel turned and walked toward the depths of the Valley.
Luo Ling followed without hesitation.
He knew that the true trial was just beginning.
The depths of the Valley were even more tranquil than the outside, and the mist was thicker.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and earth, yet there was also a faint sense of killing intent.
Samuel led Luo Ling through a dense forest, arriving at a clearing that suddenly opened up.
At the center of the clearing stood a massive Black Stone, its surface smooth as a mirror, weathered by countless years.
Scattered around the clearing were several stone devices, resembling a kind of crude Training Ground.
“This is the place of the Hero’s first inheritance.”
Samuel stopped, turning to look at Luo Ling.
“Before you formally learn Swordsmanship and magic, there is one thing you must understand.”
Luo Ling watched Samuel quietly, waiting for his next words.