Deviant: No Longer Human

In the end, the man couldn't bring himself to break that final barrier.

He hesitated, feeling that she was still too young, despite the fact that girls in this world often married at sixteen.

From her eyes, she was ready, mature enough in body and mind.

But he couldn't commit what he saw as a sin, and so they parted once again, leaving both their hearts in pain.

Years passed, and one day, a demon appeared—a force so powerful that it took everything from him.

His first love, the master, the sect—everything was destroyed before his eyes.

He was crushed to the ground, powerless to stop the destruction.

In the end, he died filled with regret, haunted by the choices he had made and the paths he hadn't taken.

"Huh? The story ended?" Yue's voice was filled with disbelief. "Everything was fine until he couldn't bring himself to commit that sin. Why did it end so abruptly?" She was clearly unsettled by the unexpected conclusion, the story's sudden turn leaving her dissatisfied.

Wang Xiao shook his head, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Why do you think the man died without achieving what he wanted in life? He was clever, politically blessed, yet he still failed."

Yue blinked, trying to grasp the deeper meaning behind the story. "He was foolish," she finally said, her tone carrying a hint of frustration. "He should have listened to his first love and followed the culture of that world. If he had, he might not have died with regrets. Even then, if the demon was so powerful, he would have been killed in the end regardless."

She was excited about the story, but the ending didn't sit well with her. It felt wrong, as if something crucial had been left unresolved.

Wang Xiao's smile deepened, seeing her reaction.

The man's downfall wasn't just his failure to follow the customs of the world he found himself in.

It was his inability to accept the reality of the world around him.

He was too caught up in his own beliefs, in what he thought was right or wrong, to fully embrace the life he was living.

He was clever, yes, but wisdom isn't just about strategy or politics—it's about understanding the world you live in and adapting to it.

The world was one of strength, where only the powerful ruled!

"Don't you have another story?" Yue asked, her eyes still gleaming with the curiosity and excitement from the last tale.

Wang Xiao nodded, "Alright, then. Let me tell you another one. This time, it's about a man named Shen, who was on a journey to immortality...."

As Wang Xiao began, Yue settled in, her full attention on him, eager to immerse herself in the new story.

"In this world," Wang Xiao continued, "the rules were the same—people could cultivate to the top, becoming powerful enough to transcend the limits of mortal life."

"But Shen was born with a terrible disadvantage. His talent for cultivation was abysmally low. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cultivate at all. But Shen was not a man to let his hopes die easily."

Despite his lack of talent, Shen built one of the largest business empires in the country.

He became the richest man, using his wealth to buy rare pills and elixirs that could push him further along the path of cultivation.

Yet, despite all his efforts, his progress was slow and limited.

During this time, Shen met his first love, a beautiful woman named Bai.

They married and built a life together.

But one day, a powerful evil cultivator, seeking the souls of girls born on a specific day to concoct a technique for predicting fate, came to their door.

Unfortunately, Bai was born on that very day.

Without mercy, the cultivator killed Bai before Shen's eyes and took her soul away, leaving him devastated and burning with a desire for revenge.

Furious and determined, Shen swore he would find a way to avenge his beloved.

He poured all his efforts into expanding his empire, hoping to amass enough power and resources to challenge the cultivators who had wronged him.

But no matter how vast his empire grew, he remained just a mortal, powerless against beings who could tear mountains apart with a single slash.

On his journey toward revenge, Shen met another woman, his second wife, Ning.

Ning was a powerful cultivator at the fourth stage, while Shen, through his perseverance and the use of countless pills, had managed to reach the second stage of cultivation.

But Ning was different—she was born talented, and her progress in cultivation was as natural as breathing.

Despite their differences, they grew close, and Shen found himself falling in love once again.

Ning promised to return to him, to stand by his side in his quest for vengeance.

Years passed, and Shen's life began to slip away.

He was already eighty-two by this day, and his time running out.

If he didn't act soon, he would die without ever seeing his wife again, or without avenging Bai's death.

Desperate, Shen sold everything he had, his entire fortune, to obtain one last pill.

This time, he reached the third stage of cultivation and was filled with renewed hope and joy.

He remembered a favor he had done long ago—a time when he had helped a powerful cultivator who was injured.

In return, that cultivator had given him an identity token, a promise that if Shen ever reached the third stage of cultivation, he could use the token to join a high-grade immortal sect.

With newfound determination, Shen clutched the token tightly, his heart filled with the hope that he could finally take the next step in his journey.

Not only would he be able to reunite with Ning, but he might also find the strength he needed to avenge Bai.

The knowledge of cultivation was sparse in the mortal world.

But the immortal sects were different—a world apart.

For Shen, finding even a single cultivation technique among mortals had been a near-impossible task.

But once he joined the sect, he was granted access to a vast library filled with thousands of techniques, each one more profound than the last.

With access to these ancient teachings, Shen managed to fix his constitution, transforming his once-weak body into one capable of cultivating at an astonishing pace.

People within the sect were astonished, unable to believe that the man they had initially accepted only because of his identity token—a token once belonging to a revered elder—was now outpacing even the most talented disciples.

The sect master himself was pleased.

Not only did Shen possess a kind heart, but he also had a shrewd mind, one that could navigate the treacherous waters of sect politics and external threats with ease.

The sect master's daughter, however, was a different story.