My talent panel can be increased.

Chapter 247 Do you believe in light?
'A hero who shirks responsibility, even attempting to become an obstacle to saving the world, is indeed a catastrophe destined to destroy it.'
Sitting on the golden boat, Ye Mingqiu sighed. The Spirit Realm chose him as their target not only because he was strong enough, but also because he had the potential to replace or even surpass the hero.

① The power to restrain the Kuroshio
He possesses divine power, which can directly suppress the Black Tide creations and kill them completely. Moreover, divine power is the highest level of power to suppress the Black Tide, and it is likely stronger than the power possessed by the hero.

②The power of immunity
The Black Tide Disaster is accompanied by erosion. If you only have strong power, you will most likely be infected by the Black Tide in battle and become part of it. Therefore, it is very important to have strong resistance to abnormal statuses or similar abilities.

③ Strong hard power

Ultimately, annihilating the Black Tide requires strength, and Ye Mingqiu happens to possess that power; his raw strength is even greater than that of the heroes.

Therefore, in this world-ending catastrophe, he could completely replace the hero and suppress the calamity.

Thinking of this, an interesting plan suddenly popped into Ye Mingqiu's mind. He smiled and turned to Modess, asking, "Since you are a hero, you must have a hero's token, right? Let me see it."

"Oh."

Mordes handed the greatsword to Ye Mingqiu, continuing, "This is a weapon that belongs only to the brave; only a true hero can make it shine."

His voice choked with emotion because he saw the greatsword held by Ye Mingqiu, its blade now radiating a dazzling golden light—a golden light unique to the Holy Sword, a divine light that restrained the power of the Black Tide.

Not only was Modes stunned, but Adila on the other side was also stunned.

Only the brave can wield the Holy Sword.

This is a consensus in everyone's mind.

The Bloodthirsty Tyrant has been successfully used.

That means
Adila's throat bobbed. Combining the story of the Bloodthirsty Tyrant, the divine power he wielded, and the consequences of wielding the holy sword exclusive to heroes, he quickly imagined a story unique to the Bloodthirsty Tyrant.

True heroes are rejected by the world, while false heroes pick up false holy swords. They steal the glory that the true heroes have won, and brand them with the infamous name of a bloodthirsty tyrant, casting a curse of rage upon them.

Yes!

Adila believed that Ye Mingqiu's current state was the true normal state, and the tyrant form was just a curse maliciously imposed by the nobles.

The curse turned him into a tyrant, making him angry and bloodthirsty, but his nature was kind. In order to suppress his murderous intent, he eventually sealed himself away until the Black Tide descended and awakened him.

What a great hero!
What an arduous epic!
Tears welled up in my eyes! I was really moved to tears!

Thinking of this, a sad expression appeared on Adila's handsome face, and a few tears even slid down his cheeks. He said, "You must have encountered many hardships and difficulties along the way, right?"

"It's just a little bit of wind and frost."

Ye Mingqiu said casually.

He fiddled with the holy sword, checking its basic attributes, and discovered that the holy sword was not a bound exclusive equipment, but rather had ridiculously high equipment requirements, meaning only heroes could use it.

Equipping the Holy Sword requires high stats across the board, at least one passive ability that frequently removes negative status effects, sufficiently high resistance to abnormal statuses, and sufficiently powerful ability to counter the Black Tide.

Fortunately, Ye Mingqiu possessed both, so he could use the Hero's Holy Sword.

However, he wasn't very interested in the Holy Sword because its basic attributes were average. Compared to the top-tier overlord-level equipment, the Blood Spear, its attack power and sharpness were much worse. Moreover, it was a weapon specifically designed to counter the Black Tide, and its effectiveness against other powerful opponents was only average.

Too weak

Of course, this is in comparison to the Blood Spear and ordinary overlord-level equipment. The Holy Sword's base stats are still very high, but its special properties are trash. It can only be used against the Black Tide, and it's useless when not fighting the Black Tide.

"Give it back to you."

Ye Mingqiu threw the holy sword back.

Modes caught it instinctively, and at the same time, the way he looked at him began to change. His eyes were blank, as if he were looking at a fellow human or a senior.

His mind began to think, to make connections, and to come up with many true stories that he didn't know but that might be hidden in the dark side of history.

After a day of non-stop speed, Ye Mingqiu's golden boat finally arrived at the last human settlement on the outskirts of Frostwhisper Forest—a dilapidated town known as [Forest Edge Town].

Compared to the fortified cities in the heart of the North, this place is more like a forgotten corner, with low houses, muddy streets, and the air filled with the smell of burning firewood and snow, vaguely revealing a sense of loneliness and desolation.

Ye Mingqiu and his two companions found a hotel that looked fairly intact and checked in.

The shopkeeper behind the wooden counter had cloudy eyes and moved slowly, as if he had lost interest in everything. Just as the key was handed over, a shrill noise suddenly erupted outside the hotel: cries, curses, and the dull thud of whips striking flesh.

'This feeling is so familiar.'
Modes's back straightened instantly, and his usually calm eyes suddenly surged with a monstrous surge.

He felt as if he had returned to that cold afternoon, watching his grandfather, who had raised him, be beaten to death by a tax official dressed in a similar uniform because he was short three copper coins in taxes.

Three copper coins!

Only three copper coins!

Is this the value of life?

As a young boy, all he could do was clench his fists and watch his grandfather die.

At this moment, the familiar scene stimulated him, and Modess's fierce killing intent almost burst forth from his body.

Adila raised an eyebrow slightly, a knowing smile playing on his lips, like an audience member who had finally waited for the show to begin. He even leisurely adjusted the lute strap, preparing to enjoy the spectacle that might unfold next.

Fight!Fight!
I want to see rivers of blood!
Ye Mingqiu's expression remained unchanged, like a mountain covered in millennia-old ice and snow. He turned around and walked out of the hotel first, followed closely by Modes and Adila.

On the street, a crowd of people, both timid and curious, formed an empty semicircle.

In the center, several soldiers dressed as royal tax officials, but behaving like bandits, were hurling the most vulgar curses and wielding iron-clad wooden clubs, brutally beating a mother and child.

The mother was dressed in rags and was extremely thin. She used her own body to shield a boy who looked no more than ten years old.

Her silence and resilience seemed to enrage the soldiers, and their beatings became increasingly brutal. The clubs struck her back and head with a sickening thud, staining the snow crimson.

"Damn it! You lowly commoner!"

"You can't even pay your taxes properly, and you still dare to glare at me!"

"I'll beat you to death, you poor wretch! Let's see if you still dare to be so tough!"

Modes clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, his knuckles turning white from the force. A surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and he almost took a step forward to tear those hyena-like soldiers to shreds.

However, he ultimately remained rooted to the spot.

'What am I, who saved them, yet still wants the world to perish?'
'A selfish hypocrite?'
'Am I qualified to save these people?'
'Save them only to give them new despair?'
Modes sighed deeply, his arm falling limply as if it had lost its strength. He was filled with sorrow and dejection. He turned his head and looked at Ye Mingqiu in front of him.

Let's see what choices this "former hero" will make now.

Ye Mingqiu simply watched quietly.

He watched as the mother was beaten until blood flowed from her mouth and nose, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused; he watched the twisted pleasure the soldiers derived from the violence; he watched the numb or fearful eyes of the surrounding crowd.

She also watched the boy being protected beneath her, his initial fear and trembling turning into grief and tears, and finally, a faint but stubborn flame igniting in his tear-filled eyes—it was hatred, resentment, and the rage to burn away all the injustice before him.

He may never forget the faces he once sheltered by the emaciated body, his gaze passing through the dripping blood, the white hair from hard work, the patched-up hem of the tattered clothes, and finally reaching those faces.

Just like Mordes in the past.

After a long while, the soldiers got tired of fighting. They left laughing and joking, glancing at the dying mother as if she were trash, and then walked away.

They didn't actually care about the few copper coins of tax; they just enjoyed the power and violence.

The crowd dispersed quickly like a tide, as if afraid of getting into the slightest trouble.

In the middle of the empty street, only the dying mother and the boy beneath her, whimpering in despair but with flames burning in his eyes, remained. At that moment, Ye Mingqiu moved.

He slowly emerged from the shadows at the hotel entrance and came to the boy's side, his tall figure casting a shadow.

He crouched down, looking into the boy's eyes, which were washed with tears and anger, and asked softly:
"Do you believe in light?"

The boy suddenly raised his head, his face a mixture of blood, tears, and extreme sorrow and anxiety:
"What light? My mother is dying! Please save her, I beg you, I'll do anything to save her! Anything!"

He was incoherent, his voice choked with sobs, desperately grasping at the last straw.

"The only one who can save her is you."

Ye Mingqiu's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable power.

"I?"

The boy froze, his face filled with confusion and helplessness.

Ye Mingqiu moved closer to him, and at such close range, his deep eyes locked onto the boy: "I see it, there's fire burning in your eyes. You want to rebel against them, rebel against this world, right?"

“I don’t have any.”

The boy subconsciously denied it; it was the instinctive fear of the weak when facing an overwhelming force.

"No, you do!"

Ye Mingqiu's low shout was like a thunderclap. He suddenly reached out, grabbed the boy by the collar, and pulled him close to him, their foreheads almost touching. At such close range, his eyes seemed like two dark vortexes, trying to suck out the very depths of his soul.

"There is light and hope in this world!"

"As long as the belief and desire to resist are strong enough, the Lord who holds light and shadow will lower his gaze and grant you the power to save and resist."

"You want to save your mother?"

"Yes, ignite your beliefs, set your anger ablaze, turn your resentment and resistance into kindling, and let it burn fiercely in your heart!"

"Then, gain power, master power, and use your own power to save her!"

The boy was stunned by the unknown information, but reason told him that it was fake. If the Lord of Light and Shadow really existed, then this world should not be like this.

But
His heart, however, said: To hell with reason.

The boy bit his lip, choking back tears, and said, "But what if I can't do it?"

"Then watch her die."

"Watch it with your own eyes, and regret it in the future."

Ye Mingqiu's voice was as cold as iron, severing all hope.

These words were like the last straw, crushing all the hesitation and fear in the boy's heart. The faint flame in his eyes suddenly shone brightly and turned into a raging fire.

"I see!"

The boy let out a low growl, closed his eyes, and the scenes he had experienced with his mother, full of hope and light, played out like a kaleidoscope.

Now, someone wants to take away his insignificant little happiness, all for a few copper coins.

Is this the weight of life?
I won't accept it! I absolutely will not accept it!

After closing his eyes, all he could see was endless darkness, but he could vaguely see a being draped in gray gauze with a face that resembled the endless starry sky.

这 是
Lord of Light and Shadow?

Does the Lord of Light and Shadow truly exist?

Does hope truly exist?

Once confirmed, the boy's conviction surged exponentially, and his previously hidden hatred and desire to rebel suddenly ignited like wildfire.

At the same time, a sacred and warm golden light suddenly emerged from the boy's weak body.

He spread his hands out, looking at the light gathering in his palms.

The light was not dazzling, but it carried a healing power originating from the very source of life. It was the light of hope that he had gathered with all his might after receiving a glance from the Lord of Light and Shadow.

I did it!
"Mom, I'm here to save you!"
The boy held the ball of light and carefully covered his mother's battered body with it.

Warm light seeped in like flowing water, and the mother's weak breathing began to become stronger. Her wounds healed at a visible speed, and a trace of color returned to her pale face.

A cure! A truly effective cure!

I really did it!

The light in the boy's eyes shone even brighter, no longer just the flames of anger, but also a firm determination and hope to control power.

He succeeded.
Modes stared blankly at the scene, as if petrified.

He thought of his grandfather, lying in a pool of blood, never to open his eyes again. If... if only there had been such light back then.
No, this is not the light of a young boy, but the light bestowed upon him by a bloodthirsty tyrant, a light that has been granted.

Light does not exist.

Having already decided in his heart, Mordes turned to look at Ye Mingqiu beside him, his voice trembling slightly:

Does light truly exist in this world?

Ye Mingqiu turned his head, looked into the warrior's eyes filled with confusion and struggle, and repeated the question from before:
"Do you believe in light?"

"I"

Modes opened his mouth, but found that he could not answer immediately.

Before even asking the question, he already had his own answer in his heart. Based on his knowledge over the years, the Lord of Light and Shadow did not exist, and there was no light in this world. That was the theory.

The boy was merely deceived and blinded, mistakenly believing that he had gained the attention of the Lord of Light and Shadow. However, moved by the scene, he was unwilling to face the tragic reality.

He hoped that the boy had truly met the Lord of Light and Shadow and obtained his own unique light.

"If you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't."

Ye Mingqiu's voice was calm and profound. He continued, "The fuel for the light is your belief and desire to rebel, as well as your yearning for a better future. The true light will always be in your heart."

"."

Modes lowered his head, looking at his calloused hands, stained with countless drops of blood and dust, and fell into a long silence. Finally, he sighed and said, "Then let this light save the world."

"As it should be."

Ye Mingqiu nodded and said.

Adila stood to the side, the amused smile on her face gradually fading, her azure eyes gleaming with deep thought. She glanced at the mother and child who had been given a new lease on life, then at the silent hero and the unfathomable tyrant, seemingly plotting something.

On the street, the ice and snow seemed to melt slightly under the golden light. The boy helped his mother up, and his gaze towards Ye Mingqiu was filled with indescribable gratitude and a resolute determination as if he were reborn.

(End of this chapter)