Part 39: Hope triumphs again

Ren Zu stared at the skeleton head. “Next, I will eat the most important part of the Predicament's body.” Strong Gu laughed. “This is a stupid move! Oh, human, your choice is extremely foolish.” The Predicament shook its body as it shrank. At the same time, countless Tribulations flew out of its neck and attacked Ren Zu. The Tribulations were like fire, burning Ren Zu's bones. They were like hammers, charging at Ren Zu as his bones cracked. The Tribulations were like wind and rain, sweeping at Ren Zu's lone body. The Tribulations were like flashing lightning, striking Ren Zu continuously. Fear Gu shouted, “Oh heaven, this is too scary. That human will die for sure at this rate.” Courage Gu encouraged, “Oh human, don't be afraid.” Self Gu and Attitude Gu shouted together, “I am very strong, I am very strong. All Tribulations are mere drizzles, they are insignificant breezes.” Weak Gu, Betrayal Gu, and Fear Gu flew together, wanting to escape with Ren Zu.

“Oh human, quickly run. Don't believe in Self Gu's words; it has already been deceived.” Ren Zu was trapped in the Tribulations; he could not escape. When Tribulations loom over you, it is not a simple matter of running away. “This is too scary; let's go. Forget about the human.” Weak Gu, Betrayal Gu, and Fear Gu flew away together. “You traitors!” Self Gu was furious; it grabbed onto these three Gu and bit them all. The three Gu were injured, but they were not stopped by Self Gu. They quickly escaped from Ren Zu. Self Gu wanted to chase them, but Rules and Regulation Gu urged, “Don't chase them. Escaping when Tribulations strike due to fear and weakness, betraying oneself and courage in the process will only lead to death. Isn't it good that they are gone? Weak Gu and Betrayal Gu are unable to help us, as for Fear Gu... if the Tribulations did not appear, fear would have been pointless. But since the Tribulations are here now, fear will only lead to greater pain in the human.” “You are absolutely right.” Self Gu stopped. Hope Gu flickered with light as it supported Ren Zu. “Oh human, as long as you still have hope in your heart during the Tribulations, there will still be hope in this situation.” Strong Gu could not stop laughing. “Oh human, you are truly pitiful. You easily believe in the words of hope. Don't you know? Having only hope during the Tribulations will only cause them to continue longer. Hope is the thing that lengthens the person's pain. When you stop bearing any hope, you will feel relaxed in the Tribulations.” Ren Zu did not speak; he endured the attacks of the Tribulations with great difficulty. No matter how bent his body became, he did not fall. Strong Gu soon found the reason — on Ren Zu's feet, there was a pair of independent wings. Even though the wings were small, they flapped stubbornly, helping Ren Zu to stand up despite everything. Strong Gu continued to demoralize Ren Zu. “Oh human, I am starting to admire you. It is a pity that you are going to fall soon. Look at your bones; they are covered in cracks now due to the Tribulations.” Ren Zu was silent. Originally, Ren Zu's bones were shiny and intact; there were no cracks at all. Now, his skeleton was covered in cracks; it seemed like it would shatter at any moment. All the other Gu worms were silent; only Hope Gu gave out light. “Oh human,

don't give up! Tribulations are not scary. The scariest thing is a person who has lost hope.” The light of Hope Gu penetrated the cracks of Ren Zu's bones, into his bone marrow. In the life of everyone in this world, cracks would always form at some point, but those were the times where the light of hope would shine in. Ren Zu's bones absorbed the light of hope; they started to engulf the surrounding Tribulations. Each crack was like a huge mouth; the larger the crack, the larger the mouth, and the more Tribulations it could devour. “How could this happen?”, Strong Gu was extremely shocked. The more Tribulations that Ren Zu's skeleton devoured, the stronger and firmer his bones became. Tribulations could destroy people, but they could also toughen oneself. As the Tribulations continued, Ren Zu's bones started to shine in a golden light. The Tribulations became wilder as Ren Zu's bones burned in flames, becoming dazzlingly golden. Ren Zu started to straighten his back; he raised his head and puffed his chest. After enduring countless tortures, his skeleton shined like a golden pillar; he stood directly inside the Tribulations. This was the Myriad Tribulation Golden Skeleton. And on Ren Zu's skeleton head, a crown grew out naturally; it was the heaven connecting bone crown. All of the tribulations and disasters that people suffer would become their crowns of achievement in the future. Even though the Tribulations had not ended, Ren Zu could already speak at this time. “I know, Fate has arrangements. Tribulations are the arrangements it makes for people. But I can persevere; any Tribulations that seem unendurable are all, in fact, endurable to me.” Strong Gu was shocked and bewildered. Self Gu realized at this time. “I understand. Oh human, you are someone who walked out of Ordinary Abyss; that is why you can endure these Tribulations that are impossible to endure.” Strong Gu saw that the Tribulations could not take down Ren Zu; it forced itself to stay calm. “Oh human, don't forget, as long as you have Hope Gu, these Tribulations will not stop. Are you going to delay our bet from earlier? I don't care! I will treat it as if you passed the Tribulations. Now, it is our turn to eat you.” “Which part of me do you want to eat?”, Ren Zu sighed. Strong Gu laughed loudly, pointing at Ren Zu's chest. “Next, I will eat your hearts.”

Ren Zu shook slightly; Strong Gu's choice was too fatal. How could a human live without his heart? “Quickly take out all of your hearts; let us eat them!” Strong Gu shouted in excitement. Ren Zu sighed as he hesitated, before taking out the Heart of Sympathy. Strong Gu directly placed the Heart of Sympathy into the Predicament's neck as the heart fell into its stomach. The Predicament's stomach expanded slightly. When faced with predicaments, people often lose their hearts of sympathy first. Ren Zu took out his heart of nobleness next; the Predicament ate it as its stomach expanded some more, it seemed to have problems digesting it. Ren Zu took out his original heart. “Oh Hope Gu, leave now. I do not want to implicate you.” Hope Gu resided in Ren Zu's original heart; it did not fly out. Instead, it said, “I am not leaving; this is my home. Oh human, just toss me in along with it. I do not blame you.” Ren Zu had no choice; as Strong Gu rushed him, he gave his original heart to the Predicament as food. After the Predicament ate it, its belly expanded again. Predicaments often caused people to lose hope as well. Without Hope Gu, all of the Tribulations around Ren Zu vanished. This caused the pressure on Ren Zu to fall, but he felt deep melancholy as well. “Quick, oh human, take out your final heart and let us eat it!” Strong Gu pointed at the Heart of Loneliness in Ren Zu's chest. Ren Zu hesitated as he felt troubled. The Heart of Loneliness did not only contain his Self Gu; it was also his final heart. Without this heart, Ren Zu might die. Strong Gu laughed and threatened. “Quick! If you do not take it out yourself, we will make our move and eat you entirely.” Self Gu had already been deceived; it called out in nonchalance. “Oh human, just give it to them. I do not care; you will not die either! We are the strongest.” “Give it to me!” Strong Gu grabbed the Heart of Loneliness in Ren Zu's hand and stuffed it into the Predicament's stomach through its exposed neck. “At this point, Ren Zu lost all his hearts.” He fell onto the ground, losing all signs of life; he could not stand up anymore. Ren Zu died. “Oh human, you died; we have regained freedom.” Rules and Regulation Gu flew away. “There is no helping it; the human met with the greatest predicament in his

life.” Courage Gu and Edge Gu flew away as well. Regarding Edge Gu, it was recorded in The Legends of Ren Zu. Ren Zu was walking in Ordinary Abyss where some places were swampy, it was easy to get stuck in the mud, and the stench was foul. Some places were full of thorns, sharp pointy tips were everywhere, Ren Zu suffered a lot of injuries. In some parts of the ground, there were also edge Gu. When Ren Zu stepped on the ground, his soles were injured by the sharp edges, his injuries became larger as blood flowed, when he walked, the pain could be felt striking deep within himself. Edge Gu is the origin of both blade path and sword path. Many wild edge Gu were produced in nature, Autumn Blade Plain in Northern Plains is one of the few edge Gu production areas in the five regions. On Ren Zu's corpse, only Self Gu remained; it flew around him. Attitude Gu wanted to leave too, but Self Gu grabbed onto it, forcing it to stay. Strong Gu laughed happily, “Hahaha, oh human, you were nothing impressive after all. Hmm? Predicament, what's wrong?” The Predicament that Strong Gu was attached to grabbed onto its bulging stomach as it rolled on the ground in pain. Loneliness was extremely hard to digest; the stronger the Predicament, the lonelier one would feel. “Boom.” Suddenly, the Predicament's belly burst open. Ren Zu's Heart of Loneliness, his skin and flesh fused to create a boy. “Who are you?” Strong Gu was flabbergasted. The boy said, “I am Ren Zu's son — Great Strength True Martial.” Before finishing his words, he jumped up and grabbed Strong Gu. Strong Gu tried to struggle while Self Gu used the opportunity to approach and take a bite of it. Strong Gu was injured; it got weakened. “Where are you trying to go?” Great Strength True Martial shouted; he grabbed Strong Gu and stuffed it into his chest. Strong Gu went into his chest and got imprisoned in his heart, unable to escape. “Don't waste your effort; this is my Heart of Ambition. You cannot escape.” Great Strength True Martial laughed. Next, he found Ren Zu's other hearts from the corpse of the Predicament and

placed them back into his chest. Ren Zu was revived once again.