Btth: Xiao yan with killing system

Xiao Yan lay on the cold stone floor, his body aching and his mind clouded with confusion. His battle with Tian Hao had come to an abrupt halt, and the consequences of his relentless pursuit of power were now fully realized. His energy had been drained, his body near the breaking point, and the thoughts that had once been clear and resolute were now muddled and uncertain.

The system's silence was deafening. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, there was no voice in his mind urging him forward, no constant pressure to level up, to grow stronger, to consume more lives. The emptiness left in the wake of that absence was almost worse than the exhaustion that weighed on him physically.

Tian Hao's words echoed in his mind. "Power isn't everything. And sometimes, the cost of it is more than one can bear."

Xiao Yan shut his eyes tightly, as though he could force away the heavy realization that had settled deep within him. For so long, he had believed that the only way to survive in this world was to become powerful—beyond measure, beyond reproach. But now, as the darkness in his heart began to lift, he saw how blind he had been. In his quest for strength, he had lost sight of everything else—his friends, his purpose, and, most of all, himself.

Su Mei's face flashed before his eyes, her worried expression haunting him. He remembered the concern in her voice when she had tried to warn him, to pull him back from the precipice he had been standing on for so long. And yet, in his arrogance, he had dismissed her, believing that his path was the only one worth walking.

But now, the weight of that decision crushed him. Had he become the very monster he had once fought against? Had he forsaken the things that truly mattered in pursuit of an endless thirst for power?

"Xiao Yan."

The voice broke through his thoughts, and he looked up to see Tian Hao standing over him, his expression no longer one of indifference, but of something resembling understanding. "I don't expect you to understand right now," Tian Hao said, his tone calm but firm. "But if you want to survive, if you want to break free from the cycle you've trapped yourself in, you need to choose. Power is not a path to salvation. It's a chain that will bind you forever."

Xiao Yan's heart thudded in his chest. He wanted to argue, to fight back, but the words caught in his throat. There was a deep truth in Tian Hao's words, something Xiao Yan had been unwilling to acknowledge until now. Power had become his obsession, and with that obsession came a steady erosion of everything he had once stood for.

"I've spent so long chasing something I thought would make me strong," Xiao Yan whispered, his voice hoarse. "But now... I don't know who I am anymore."

Tian Hao's gaze softened. "You're still you, Xiao Yan. But the you that once cared about something beyond power—the one who fought for a purpose, for others. That part of you is still there. But you have to find it again."

Xiao Yan closed his eyes, feeling the weight of Tian Hao's words settle in his chest. He had lost his way, but it wasn't too late to change. The journey ahead would be long and difficult, but if he could remember who he was—if he could find a way to balance the power he had gained with the heart he had lost—maybe, just maybe, he could make things right.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Xiao Yan felt a spark of hope. He wasn't sure how to begin, or even if he was strong enough to change, but he knew that he couldn't continue down the path of destruction he had been on. The hunger for power was still there, but now it felt like something he could control, something he could master without losing himself in the process.

"Thank you," Xiao Yan said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tian Hao nodded, turning away. "I've given you a chance. What you do with it is up to you. But remember, you don't have to do this alone. There are others who care about you. Don't let your quest for strength blind you to what's truly important."

Xiao Yan sat up slowly, his body protesting with every movement, but his mind clearer than it had been in a long time. He was no longer consumed by the need to level up, to become stronger at any cost. He had learned the hard way that true strength came not from how much power one could accumulate, but from understanding one's limits and choosing to grow with others, not at their expense.

For the first time in years, Xiao Yan stood up without the weight of the system's influence dragging him down. He was free to choose. And though the future was uncertain, he knew that he would face it with a new sense of purpose.

Su Mei's face appeared in his mind once more, and this time, instead of the sadness he had seen before, he saw hope—a hope that, perhaps, he could find a way back to the person he had once been.

And with that hope, Xiao Yan took his first step toward redemption.

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