All Things Are Contracts

On the outskirts of the Soul-Breaking Mountain Range, though not as dangerous as the depths, it wasn’t completely safe. A tiger with a single horn on its head had pinned down a deer, breaking its neck with one bite. It then raised its head, vigilantly looking around, and after finding no danger, began to feast.

As it was enjoying its meal, a man approached with a sword. The unicorn tiger, its mouth still covered in blood, stared intently at the man with unfriendly eyes.

“Go!” Zhanyue’s flying sword left his hand. In the air, it instantly split into three, like three streaks of light rushing forward. The unicorn tiger was extremely fast, leaping to dodge the first sword. Just as it was about to dodge the second sword in the same way, the sword it thought it had avoided suddenly pierced its face.

“The ‘Twelve Light-Splitting Swords’ has finally successfully combined with the ‘Phantom Form Sword Technique’. My flying sword will be impossible to defend against,” Zhanyue retrieved his sword. Even with his cultivation suppressed, he killed this fierce tiger effortlessly.

“Soul Control Realm, seventh stage! My journey to the Eastern Kingdom’s Academy Town is to see the world’s heroes and break through to the Profound Realm. I hope this trip goes smoothly,” Zhanyue said to himself. He had finally left the Soul-Breaking Mountain Range and was now flying on his sword.

Time flew by. He wasn’t in a hurry, stopping here and there along the way. Under the illumination Goddess’s training, all his techniques were honed to the extreme, even mastering the first level of the ‘Sun illumination Scripture’ Baizhi had given him.

According to the illumination Goddess, the ‘Sun illumination Scripture’ was an extraordinary technique for cultivating soul power, divided into eighteen levels. Having mastered the first level, Zhanyue’s soul power had greatly increased. Even his previously mediocre soul attack technique ‘Soul-Shaking Roar’ had qualitatively changed, not to mention his rapidly progressing pill refining skills.

Outside Sun City in the Eastern Kingdom, Zhanyue revisited familiar ground. Looking at the small mountain village at the foot of the mountain, he felt a sense of being in another world. When he was transported to this world, the first place he went was that abandoned mountain village, where he met Mi Hongchen, who brought him to Sun City.

“It’s late. I’ll make do for the night in this small mountain village. Come to think of it, that night I was also planning to spend the night here,” Zhanyue found a dilapidated house to stay in. Unlike his initial fear and unease, he now didn’t know what fear was.

“Why do you seem a bit distracted since seeing this small village?” In the dilapidated house, the illumination Goddess revealed herself, still stunningly beautiful.

“Coming back here reminds me of some things, making me feel a bit sentimental,” Zhanyue said. He wasn’t originally from this world, but he didn’t have any close relatives in his original world either, so he didn’t particularly miss it. But in his original world, there was no flying or earth traversal ability. Although scientific research was hard, the goals were clear, and life had a plan. Now he had extraordinary abilities, could fly on a sword above and traverse the earth below, but he suddenly realized he seemed to have no goal. Immortality or being unrivaled in the world? He didn’t seem to care about these things, at least not as much as the people of this world.

“Sister, do you believe in fate?” Zhanyue suddenly asked.

The illumination Goddess nodded, “Before, I definitely didn’t believe. But you resurrected me, and now I believe. Perhaps there’s something I need to do, which is why I didn’t die completely. Otherwise, how could I remain in the world in such a strange form?”

“If fate is arranged by others, would you feel sad?” Zhanyue asked again.

“Do you feel that your life has been arranged?” the illumination Goddess asked in return.

Zhanyue nodded, “Actually, I realized this issue very early on, but I’ve been holding back, afraid to think about it in detail. Since I came to this world, since I resurrected you, my luck has always been good. This is what others call the protection of the heavenly way. But I don’t know where it’s pushing me to go. As for rebelling against so-called fate, that’s even more nonsensical. At least fate can point me where to go. If I rebel against it, I might not even know why I exist or where I should go.”

“Your dao heart is finally facing a test. This is the calamity of emptiness. In history, many geniuses didn’t die at the hands of enemies, but ended their own lives. They, like you, fell into endless emptiness, believing everything was meaningless,” the illumination Goddess had experienced this, having thought about these questions when she was young.

“Sister, what’s your view?” Zhanyue asked.

“Look at the stars in the sky, and that blood moon that can’t be directly gazed at. The world we live in has too many secrets. In the face of these secrets, not just you, even I at the Marvelous Law Realm feel small and powerless. So I want to live on with expectation, perhaps one day all these secrets will surface. As for the meaning you speak of, time itself is the answer.”

“Time itself is the answer?” Zhanyue didn’t understand.

“Wait. When you understand, you’ll understand,” the illumination Goddess smiled, her beautiful face showing a hint of expectation. “Besides the secrets of this world, I’m also very curious about what achievements you can reach in the future, whether you can walk a path that predecessors couldn’t.”

Zhanyue smiled bitterly, “I’m not even in the Profound Realm. Surpassing all seniors and experts, such expectations… Sister, you really think highly of me.”

The illumination Goddess said, “Don’t belittle yourself. If it were just about realm and cultivation, I could help you break through quickly, but what would be the meaning in that? Even if you reached the strength of the Sword Lord and Thunder Lord, you’d just be a passerby in the river of time, a supporting character in this world. I hope you can become its protagonist, stepping over me, over everyone in this world, past, present, and future.”

Zhanyue’s mouth was slightly open, not knowing how to respond. He didn’t expect the illumination Goddess to have such high expectations for him.

“I’ve never thought that humanity’s enemies were just as simple as Nightmares. They’re strong but still within my understanding. What’s behind that blood moon might be enemies beyond both our comprehension. When I understood this point, I probably understood what my mission was. This world might really just be a chess game, and you and I are just pieces in it. But I can be sure of one thing: the chess player is also a piece in the game. He hopes even more than you and I that we can walk out of this game. That’s why I was reborn as your contract object.”

The illumination Goddess looked at Zhanyue with gentle eyes, then said, “True chess pieces don’t have self-awareness, so you and I are not just pieces, we’re also players.”

“Don’t think about things too far ahead. You just need to focus on the present, how to build a good foundation, how to break through to the Profound Realm. As for now, if the sky falls, the Thunder Lord and Sword Lord will hold it up. When they can’t hold it, I’ll naturally step in. And you, just experience life well. As for what you said before about marrying three or four wives and traveling the world, that’s not impossible. Come to think of it, Mi Hongchen is the Eastern Kingdom’s princess, MuMu Lixi is the Holy Maiden of the Rising Sun Kingdom and the adopted daughter of the Rising Sun Kingdom’s ruler, also a princess; and the Thousand Charms Empress adopted Baizhi as her daughter, making her a princess too. You sure know how to pick them,” the illumination Goddess teased.

“Is that so… I remember, Sister, you were once a princess of a fallen country too,” Zhanyue recalled the records about the illumination Goddess’s background in her legend.

The illumination Goddess gave Zhanyue an exasperated look. She had long gotten used to Zhanyue’s thick skin. Turning around, she disappeared. “After I send you to the Academy Town, I plan to leave for a while. Night Lord has some collusion with Nightmares, and Nightmares have learned to cooperate with humans. I have to pay attention to this.”

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