I Fell into the Trap I Dug for My Nemesis

When a person is about to die, their last words are supposed to be

Kind? Not a chance!

Xie Liang had been petty all his life, and even on his deathbed, he couldn't resist playing one last trick on his nemeses.

Xie Liang was a rogue cultivator with three lifelong enemies: first, the leader of the righteous path, who had used him; second, his close friend, who had betrayed him; and third, the Demon Lord, who had once stolen his most precious treasure.

You read that right. I'm just a lowly rogue cultivator, yet both the righteous and demonic paths are full of my enemies.

After his attempt to force his way through tribulation failed, Xie Liang was on the verge of having his soul scattered when his nemeses came to watch him die a miserable death. Clad in bloodstained white and standing proudly in the wind, he forced out one last calm smile.

"Come to watch me die? Sorry to disappoint you. Bet you didn't expect me to have a special reincarnation technique!"

*

As he lay dying, Xie Liang put on a mysterious act and pretended he wasn't quite dead, hoping his nemeses would spend the rest of their lives on edge, never knowing when his revenge might come.

It was a good plan, but something went slightly wrong in the execution.

He actually didn't die!

That was a little awkward.

When he woke, several hundred years had passed. Before Xie Liang could even celebrate being alive, he discovered that his nemeses really didn't trust him. They had spent centuries searching the world for him. With all his cultivation gone, Xie Liang had no choice but to hide and run, treading carefully at every turn.

Come on, you are all important, influential people. How are you even more petty than I used to be? Can't you let an old enemy who died centuries ago go?

Xie Liang was filled with regret. Why had he laid that trap when his tribulation attempt failed?

Who could have guessed that he would be the only one caught in it?

It wasn't until he reclaimed his old treasure and unexpectedly embarked on the Ruthless Path that Xie Liang realized the people he considered his nemeses had never stopped thinking about him, not because they wanted to eliminate a future threat, but because... they liked him?!

Faced with the obstacles to his Ruthless Path, Xie Liang could only stare at the sky in speechless disbelief. How was this any different from being enemies?

Theme: No victory comes without hardship.