CHAPTER 410: TEN THOUSAND YEARS OF HATE

Xin Tong stepped forward and knelt beside Lu Yi. "Young Master, I’ve come to see you. I brought your favorite treats today."

Smiling brightly, she pulled out a small table from her storage ring and began setting out plate after plate of exquisite food.

"...Alright." A flicker of helplessness passed through Lu Yi’s eyes. He looked tired—like someone clinging to a thread—but still reached out toward the meal.

Although he was unable to get in touch with his so-called mother, he could at the very least taste what this world had to offer. If he really was going to die, he wanted to go out with as few regrets as possible. Maybe then this whole transmigration thing wouldn’t feel so pointless.

"Here, let me help you," Xin Tong said, picking up a pastry and moving to feed it to him. Her smile didn’t fade as she added, "Oh, and by the way—this is going to be my last visit."

Lu Yi froze mid-motion. "What? Why?"

Xin Tong’s smile twisted into something cold, and she burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Because Lu Tingyun is already dead!"

Her words hit like a thunderclap, slamming into Lu Yi’s mind and leaving it spinning.

Because of the memories he’d inherited, Lu Yi had instinctively pinned all his hopes of survival on his mother, Lu Tingyun.

But Xin Tong’s words crushed that last bit of hope.

And from the way she acted, it was obvious—she’d never truly served him out of loyalty.

She’d only taken care of him all these years because Lu Tingyun had forced her to.

Nearly ten thousand years of pretending. Nearly ten thousand years of watching over someone she resented. No wonder she looked so happy now—Lu Tingyun was dead, and she was finally free.

Only two people had ever known about Lu Yi’s existence: Lu Tingyun and Xin Tong.

His identity was too dangerous, too sensitive. Not even other Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouses like Lu Tingguang or Lu Tingze knew anything. Let alone anyone else.

Now that Lu Tingyun was gone, Xin Tong no longer had to look after Lu Yi—or worry about punishment from the Lu Clan.

And finally, she could say what she really felt.

Her eyes lit up with barely contained joy, her smile sharp. "It’s true! Lu Tingyun is dead! The woman who gave birth to you and kept you hidden all these years—she’s gone! I never thought this day would come, but here it is! I bet even she didn’t see it coming. Died just like that, with no time to make sure you’d be taken care of."

Xin Tong, you... Why? Why?!

Lu Yi felt something twist deep inside him, like someone had driven a blade into his chest and started turning it.

In his predecessor’s memories, Xin Tong had been there for nearly every moment. She was the one person he had relied on the most—the one he’d trusted completely.

So when those memories flared up, the pain became too much to hold in.

"Why?"

Xin Tong stared straight at him, her expression cold. "Do you even know what it’s been like for me? Ten thousand years, stuck serving a half-breed like you. I thought about ending it all so many times, but I couldn’t. And now, finally, I’m free."

Her eyes narrowed. "I made it."

Half-breed...

The words hit like a slap. Lu Yi’s whole body tensed, another sharp jolt tearing through his heart.

That wound had been there all along—buried deep in the soul of the one who came before him. And now it was wide open again, bleeding all over.

"Not just that!" Xin Tong pressed on, her face twisted with glee. "Lu Yi, you’re also my ticket to a better life."

"I’m going to reveal your existence to the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. With the Purple Crest Immortal Sect in chaos and the front lines on the verge of collapse, the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace is bound to take control of Prosperous Stone Immortal Star."

"And when that happens? I won’t just be a member of the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace—I’ll rise to the top."

She leaned in, eyes gleaming with greed. "And those cultivation resources Lu Tingyun left you? I’m taking every last one of them."

"Xin Tong, you vile woman!"

A surge of rage exploded in Lu Yi’s chest.

In that moment, he finally saw things for what they were. The person his predecessor had cared for most, the one he’d trusted above all others... had turned on him without hesitation.

"Vile?" Xin Tong sneered. "Try spending ten thousand years waiting on someone you hate. Serving them, pretending to care, playing the perfect maid."

Her smile cracked. Then came the laughter—loud, unhinged, and broken.

Just as fast, it died off, leaving her face cold and blank. Her expression shifted so wildly, it was like something inside her had snapped long ago.

Lu Yi couldn’t say a word. There was nothing he could use to defend his predecessor—not after everything. He just let out a long, weary breath, the air heavy in his chest.

"You disgusting half-breed," Xin Tong spat, reaching straight for his storage bracelet and yanking it off without hesitation.

She gripped it tightly, wasting no time in pouring her divine sense into it to see what was inside.

Normally, the bracelet would have been sealed by a divine sense lock that only Lu Yi could open. But in his current state, he couldn’t even summon a wisp of divine sense. The lock had weakened to the point of being useless.

And with Xin Tong sitting comfortably at the Late-stage Transcendence realm—far above him—she broke through the barrier with ease.

In the blink of an eye, a mountain of treasures unfolded before her eyes.

Inside the bracelet were bundles of rare spiritual herbs, bottles of valuable pills, a collection of immortal tools, and piles of spirit stones.

It was a treasure trove—more than enough to help an average Early-stage Transcendence cultivator break through all the way to the Nirvana Peering realm.

"What?! That old witch Lu Tingyun left you all this?" Xin Tong’s breath caught as she stared at the loot. "The so-called ’reward’ she gave me for ten thousand years of service isn’t even one percent of this! Unbelievable! Absolutely disgusting!"

Her excitement was almost frantic now, but so was the hatred twisting her face. The more she looked, the more furious she became—at Lu Tingyun, at Lu Yi, at everything.

Just then, Lu Yi felt something shift inside him. The pull from his predecessor’s memories started to fade, and his own mind began to clear.

Suddenly, a mechanical chime echoed in his head.

[Ding! Memory fusion with predecessor complete. System initializing... 0.1%... 0.2%...]

Wait, what? The system’s actually real? Lu Yi’s heart skipped a beat. So it really needed the full memory fusion to activate. I was starting to think I didn’t get one at all!

Hahaha! This is it! I’ve finally got my golden finger! I don’t even care what kind of system it is—as long as I’ve got one, I’m not stuck anymore. I’ve got a shot at turning this all around!

Then he blinked. Wait... 0.1%? 0.2%? Seriously? Why’s it crawling like this?

System, come on—what kind of snail-paced start-up is this?