In the depths of the fog was the continent where Dust Burners lived. On it was a tower several thousands of feet tall, and hovering over it was a ball of flames resembling an eye. In that eye was Su Ming, and he was sitting cross-legged in there without moving.
There was an endless sea of fire around him, making it seem as if he was in another world.
Beyond the eye of the flame where he sat was Dust Burners" Progenitor, who was sitting cross-legged.
It was the ninth day since Su Ming was brought back to Dust Burners" continent from the battlefield of fog.
"How very impervious to reason. You are just like your father in the past. I"ve told you plenty of times that when your father and your uncle had a falling out and left in the past, I was outside and could not rush back. As for you… I told your father"s fortune years ago, and in that prediction, I saw that he would never have children in his life.
"That is why I never had anyone venture out to search for you.
"But I"ll admit that there are times when predictions do not end up true. This was caused by your father meeting someone who changed his fate when he was outside, that is why your existence was not part of my predictions, and it is also why your power reached this state within just thousands of years and even awakened to blue flames," the boy said with a frown while staring at Su Ming sitting in the flames.
He had detained him for nine days. Since the first day, the man did not acknowledge Dust Burners and did not want to become a part of their people. On the ninth day, it was still the same. In fact, he no longer spoke and was fighting back with silence.
This vexed Dust Burners" Progenitor. If it had been any other member of his race, he would have killed them with a smack and not have bothered wasting his breath on them. Even if they were members of his race, he would not have paid any attention to them if they only had normal potential. Since they did not want to become Dust Burners, then they might as well get lost and live on their own in the world outside.
Yet he was incredibly happy with this Mo before his eyes. He was already this powerful at such a young age and had awakened to the blue flames. Even Ze Rong and his brother could not do this at his age. In fact, in Progenitor"s eyes, if he educated this child well, there was a high possibility that a second Master of Fate, Lives, and Death would appear in the tribe.
At that time, if he didn"t begin failing in health, they could bring about a time of glory for Dust Burners and fight against Reng Wu Race.
"Son, I can understand your resentment and will make up for the lack of concern from your people in the past. But you"ve already returned to the tribe, and I"ve already made an announcement that you are the young tribe leader!
"While you"re here, no one will be able to harm you. Even your uncle, who is the current tribe leader, won"t be able to do it!
"As soon as you form your own Solar Kalpa instead of reaching that Realm with your offensive power, I will immediately invalidate the current tribe leader and make you the new tribe leader. By doing so… you can also make your father rest in peace...
"Besides, I can guide you in your training. I already look forward to you becoming a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death and making Dust Burners return to their former glory." The Progenitor who looked like a child continued advising Su Ming earnestly and patiently with good intentions.
Su Ming sat in the flames with obstinacy on his face, but Xuan Shang and his group were in a state of excitement and were itching to make Su Ming immediately agree to it, but he was the leader and had even helped them obtain success that they would not have been able to obtain with their own plan. Because of that, they did not dare to advise him though and only watched helplessly as he sat without saying a single word.
After several days of silence, Su Ming opened his eyes and asked, "How can you make me a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death?"
Dust Burners" Progenitor immediately smiled. As long as Su Ming spoke, it was fine. The thing he worried about the most was him having made up his mind to not speak again. But since he spoke, everything could be settled through discussion.
"Even if you don"t become a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, when my health starts failing, I will turn all the epiphany I have gained into the tenth flame and fuse it into your body so that you can become an Almighty in Mastery Realm. However, that will cause your level of cultivation to come to a halt, and you will never be able to gain an epiphany of Fate Realm." Dust Burners" Progenitor looked at Su Ming and smiled with kindness.
When Su Ming saw that smile, he fell silent, feeling rather complicated inside. That smile was real, and everything the other had done during the past nine days were also true.
He truly treated him as Ze Rong"s child and a Dust Burner.
Su Ming had only seen this smile scant few times. The first to show it to him was his elder, next was his Master, and the third was Dust Burners" Progenitor.
"Mo, don"t worry. I promise, I will make up for all the grievances you suffered over these years." Dust Burners" Progenitor looked at Su Ming, and his smile filled with even more kindness.
The praise on his face grew stronger as days went by, and as he communicated with Su Ming, he truly grew fond of the child before his eyes.
He was smart, but also loyal. Stubborn, but also impulsive. Thousands of years of loneliness might have made him slightly extreme, but it also gave him a trough of experience that other people could not obtain.
Dust Burners" Progenitor could see all of this.
The youth must have gone through plenty of trials and tribulations as well as countless life-and-death situations to be able to reach this state, obtain such power, and find where Dust Burners were located.
Dust Burners" Progenitor saw all the scars and wounds on the body Su Ming controlled. Some of them had already healed, but some were still closing up. Progenitor could even tell which beast left behind which marks on his body.
"Fate Realm is after Mastery Realm… so Life Realm is after Fate Realm?"
Su Ming raised his head and looked at Dust Burners" Progenitor. He did not have an in-depth understanding of Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death. Even Ecang had only a vague notion of it in its memories. Since it did not train in the path of cultivation, it had no details.
"Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, Rise and Fall of Fate, Reincarnation of Life, Death of the Universe, these are the four Great Realms…" Dust Burners" Progenitors said with a smile and explained in detail for Su Ming. He was very eager to explain this to make Su Ming excited and become hung up about this so that he would stay among Dust Burners.
"The people in the four Great Realms can all be known as Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death, but in truth, that t.i.tle signifies four Realms, and Mastery Realm is the limit of physical power!
"The second is Fate Realm. With the limit of power, you will control the fate of the things around you, and from it, you will come to understand your own fate. Once your fate fuses with the fate around you, you will gain completion and be able to control the rise and fall of fate.
"The third is Reincarnation of Life. This is a Realm where it can be said that you have obtained eternal life, but there are simply far too few who have reached this state. I am not too certain on the details on how to get to that Realm either.
"The fourth is Death of the Universe. This is the final Realm for Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death." Progenitor"s voice was ancient at this moment and gave off a feeling of time. It reverberated in the area, and there was a hint of yearning on his face.
"However, a stage of decline will exist for all within each realm. This is a disaster, but once we get through it, we will have a chance to reach a new Realm. Yet it is just a chance. If we don"t manage to get through it… our forms and spirits will be destroyed." When he said these words, he sighed.
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then a hint of resolve appeared on his face when he looked at Dust Burners" Progenitor. "What comes after the Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death? Is there anything else after that?"
"There is!" Progenitor nodded.
"After the Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death is the Sublime Realm! This is a Realm that I do not know the details of as well. Rumors have it that those in the Sublime Realm are known as Sublime Paragons and can replace an entire galaxy… However, these were Sublime Paragons of the ancient era. They have all perished in the Rho Leonis Disaster.
"As of now, there are four Great True Worlds beyond Divine Essence Star Ocean. There are Sublime Paragons in them… but there should not be anyone who has become a true Sublime Paragon. They are only Inferior Sublime Paragons," Dust Burners" Progenitor said calmly, but the impact brought to Su Ming by these words was incredibly great. It also caused Xuan Shang, Nian Yin, Hua Yu, Yun You, and Xu Hui"s hearts to tremble as well while they were in the body Su Ming controlled.
They realized that when they were with Su Ming, they seemed to be able to learn some things that they would have otherwise remained oblivious to their entire lives, such as the three Great Ancient Kingdoms, the Resentful Weis, and the three hundred and sixty-one Expanse Cosmoses.
And just moments ago, they learned of the categorizations of Masters of Fate, Lives, and Realms, as well as rumors about Sublime Paragons.
"What is after that?!" The resolution on Su Ming"s face grew greater.
"After that… is Avacaniya!" Dust Burners" Progenitor looked at Su Ming and shook his head. "Avacaniya is a Realm, and just like the meaning of the word avacaniya itself, unless you have reached this Realm, you are not allowed to speak of it, or else you will bring great disaster on yourself. That is… a Realm that has surpa.s.sed the imagination of all the living!"
Su Ming fell silent. This was the first time he had heard of such a circ.u.mstantial Realm. At that moment, he might have seemed calm, but a huge storm had already stirred in his heart. All the Realms were like ravines that were placed in front of him, but they stimulated the resolve in his heart. He longed for the day that he would cross these ravines and reach a Realm about which all the living could not speak of, or rather… did not speak of!
"Perhaps this is the true meaning of Avacaniya!" A glint appeared in Su Ming"s eyes.
"There are plenty of lives in the universe, and a long period of time has already pa.s.sed. Countless races have risen and fallen. Some of them remain to this date, albeit as remnants. Some have been destroyed, their bloodlines having disappeared. Some have become greater…
"The way to make a race strong is to have powerful warriors, to find people who can take over the tasks of these powerful warriors, and whether there is anyone who can become a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!
"Mo, you are a Dust Burner!" Dust Burners" Progenitor said sincerely and earnestly.
"... I am not." Su Ming felt slightly complicated in his heart as he looked at Dust Burners" Progenitor in front of him.
"You…" Progenitor who had the appearance of a child stared at Su Ming, and after a long while, he sighed. "Since you are not willing to become a Dust Burner, then why did you come here? I do not believe in the things you said about wanting to take the things your father left behind. Tell me, what is your goal?" Dust Burners" Progenitor asked while shaking his head.
Su Ming remained silent for a moment before his gaze landed on Progenitor.
"I want to go to the Fifth True World." When Su Ming said these words, the boy"s eyes suddenly focused.
Dust Burners" Progenitor cast a few scrutinizing glances at Su Ming before he asked calmly, "What is the reason?"
Su Ming met Progenitor"s gaze and answered softly, "To return a debt of grat.i.tude,"
Dust Burners" Progenitor fell silent. He did not ask for details, but instead stood up. Once he cast a profound look at Su Ming, he no longer spoke, but swung his arm and walked away. He then disappeared into s.p.a.ce.
He left behind Su Ming who closed his eyes in the flames on the thousand feet tall tower.