The Strongest Wizard Becomes a Countryside Guardsman After Taking an Arrow to the Knee - Chapter 357 – Cruz Goes to Elkay

【Pure Immortal Heroic Fantasy, infused with both immortal intent and gallant spirit, refining insights on human relationships, seeking immortality, more than thirty thousand reservations, averaging nine thousand】Forever reminiscing rivers and lakes under silvery hair, desiring to return to the cosmos in a simple boat.Peach and plum blossoms in the spring breeze, a cup of wine; rivers and lakes in the night rain, a lantern for ten years.Chen Dengming stepped into the chaotic world of rivers and lakes, only reaching the Innate Realm in his twilight, but Innate Martial Arts wasn't the ultimate destination of his heart's rivers and lakes, it was to cultivate for longevity that marked the beginning of his dreams.If practicing Kung Fu can prolong life, then cultivating the Dao can certainly point directly to immortality.Practicing martial arts, refining Gu, cultivating Dao, seeking longevity... This is a story about an ordinary traveler stepping into rivers and lakes, into the World of True Cultivation, seeking the path to immortality one step at a time.Read about cultivation in the twilight years, savor the vigorous life! Young reader, you truly understand cultivation!...This book was formerly titled “Late Bloomer: My Immortal Life”!(The author has previously completed a nearly five million word, eighty thousand high reservation three-star martial arts masterpiece, “Indestructible Mighty Fortress Leader,” rest assured and enjoy)

Usually when you possess a novel, you start in the city, but I fell into the forest.

As Mingguang Sect’s esteemed Immortal Master, Yi Ning had never experienced much heartbreak and suffering. He had always expected his life to be smooth-sailing, and was only waiting to ascend before marrying his disciple with whom he shared mutual affection.

However, he had never expected that on a rainy night, his disciple brought back a childhood friend.

They were close and intimate, to the point… of sharing a bed.

Standing before the bed where they were entwined, Yi Ning’s heart was as cold as sunken ice. He had wanted to end it all cleanly and straightforwardly, yet had never expected that his disciple not only wanted his childhood friend, but wanted his Shizun too.

His disciple shattered his spiritual core and laid down a hex, throwing him into the main hall to await nightfall to consummate their relationship.

Just as he had fallen into despair and wanted to end his life, he unexpectedly discovered a strange book. The book detailed his life, and the him it described, from beginning to end, was nothing more than a tool used to satisfy his disciple’s desire to conquer, lowly and wretched as a cultivation furnace.

Yi Ning’s head spun, and his heart gave birth to a strong hatred. He dragged his wrecked body to the back of the mountain and released the Demon Venerable Yan Xuan, who he had personally sealed nine years ago.

In return for undoing the seal, Yan Xuan would aid him in escaping.

After the man heard the reason why, he leaned against the wall and smiled with a hint of mockery. Yi Ning had thought he was going to ridicule him for having deserved it, being betrayed by an ingrate who bit the hand that fed him.

Yet, what he never expected was for Yan Xuan to reach out and tug him into his embrace, and the words that left his mouth were instead:

“You fool, I’ll help you take revenge.”

After this, he killed all those who wronged him, and cradled him close to his heart.

He wants to shatter your cultivation and mangle your limbs, to turn you into a bird in a cage, free for him to humiliate.

Yet, with this lowly and dirty heart of mine, I want to pull you from the swamp and cut down the heavens for you.

- Description from Novelupdates

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.