Chapter 230: Light and illusion
Translated by: La0o9
Edited by: La0o9
Proofreader: Arya & Kiwi
The woman turned her back at the fireplace, sitting down on the armchair.
A warm light emitted from behind her back, casting a shadow of her figure while hiding her facial features at the same time, no longer showing her frightening appearance.
She gestured Su Xue Er to sit down on the other chair.
Su Xue Er sat down and looked at the woman.
Not knowing why, Su Xue Er suddenly felt a bit relieved and warm inside herself.
“Do you want to see your future?” the woman asked.
“I don’t” Su Xue Er shook her head.
“Why is that? To be able to take a peek into destiny, isn’t that such a wonderful thing?”
“I came to break free from my fate, so I don’t want to know what it originally looked like”
The woman stopped for a bit, then asked: “Then, are you unsatisfied with your current life?”
“What part of it do you mean?”
“You’re a young lady, of course I’m talking about your life as an aristocrat ——–the b.a.l.l.s, horseback riding, the afternoon tea parties, the beautiful dresses”
“I’m a 4th stage Elementalist, aside from the dresses, all of them are nothing but pictures in a movie for me, they’re unreal and detestable” Su Xue Er answered.
“A Professionist… that means, you came here with a wish to gain more power?”
“Yes, I want to become more powerful” Su Xue Er said.
The woman suddenly couldn’t help herself and started laughing.
“A true heir! The first one in a few hundred years!”
She was very happy.
“Every heir that comes here hesitate between choosing power or authority”
“Those who are smart choose authority, because when they hold authority, no matter what they desire, they only need to say a word for someone else to do it for them”
“Very few would choose to inherit power”
“This road is much too tough, too dangerous. The risk of death is always at the corner, and if they die, it’ll be a useless death, they’ll gain nothing, and I have no way to protect them”
“Your choice is very brave, because of that, you may ask me anything in regards to power” the woman said.
“This is a privilege that none has ever gotten before, make sure to treasure it” she added.
Su Xue Er asked: “I heard this was the control unit of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, which means, we of the 9 Lords came from another planet?”
“That’s right”
“Why?”
“There are many s.p.a.ce monsters here, and it’s at a relatively distant corner, you could say it’s paradise”
“A paradise! Could it be we ran here to escape?” (1)
“What a smart child”
Su Xue Er asked further: “But there’s so many calamities happening in the world now, what do we do in the future?”
“Calamities? What do you mean?”
“The sea creatures, Man Killer Fiends, the Game of Eternal, the Murder Clown”
“You call those calamities? They’re nothing but a bit of thunder, empty barrels making loud noises”
The woman shook her head, laughing: “Treasure your current life, there’s very few living peaceful lives such as ours”
“You mean, there’s going to be even more calamities?”
“Child, power, this isn’t what you truly want to ask it is?” the woman stopped her from going further.
Su Xue Er became silent.
The woman watched her, seemingly able to see deep into her heart.
“I can feel that you’re nervous, but I really must tell you, treasure this chance well. Every Lord only has this one day to change their fate”
“After today, no matter how much you regret it, you will never be able to receive my help again”
Su Xue Er bit her lip, saying: “Then I’ll ask now, if it offends you, please forgive me”
“Go ahead”
“How… do I become a 5th stage Elementalist?”
“Why do you need power of the 5th stage?”
“To control my own destiny”
“Everyone that comes here only asks how to control the world, you are the only one that wants to control yourself”
“Can you tell me?”
“I’m not sure, come closer, I need to take a closer look at you”
Su Xue Er stood up and walked in front of the woman.
The woman reached out her boney hand wrapped in the thin layer of skin, gently lifting Su Xue Er’s hand.
“Mutated Elemental, Wind Element 4th stage… it’s already reached the limit, there’s no way to breakthrough anymore” the woman said.
“No”
Su Xue Er’s expression instantly paled, shaking her head in despair.
Her beautiful vision, broken.
In reality, she was already feeling the limit of her talent.
There’s very few that can become a 5th stage Elementalist.
The woman consoled her: “Fate isn’t set in stone, we always have one way or another to change the way it moves forward”
“Then please tell me the way”
“I need to look even closer at your status, kneel down, and lift your head”
Su Xue Er knelt down as told, allowing the woman to take a closer look at herself.
The woman turned around, taking the fireplace stoker to open up the flame a bit more.
The warm light became more intense.
The woman was still sitting in the shadow, the brighter light only emphasized the dark that she was surrounded with, as she reached out both her boney hands to lift Su Xue Er’s face and observed carefully.
Su Xue Er herself was facing the bright fire, her eyes reflecting the desires in her heart.
After a few, the woman spoke.
“Martial power does not favor you”
“G.o.d’s Chosen… is blocked out by your body, unable to find its way to your soul”
“Element, the power of Wind is already filling up your vessel, there’s no way for you to contain much more”
“What a st.u.r.dy fate you have…”
“Young lady, do you not want to change your mind, instead using authority or wealth to change your life?”
The woman sighed and continued: “You’re a very rare true heir of mine, so I really want to help you”
“I can tell you the f.u.xi Emperor’s weakness; or even the President’s little secret; I could even have that vixen who founded her religion owe you a favor; I could help you shake the foundations of the other Lords, to allow the Su family becomes more powerful”
“With how pleased you’ve made me, I could even have Impartial G.o.ddess increase your authority level exceptionally high, giving you the freedom to accomplish what you want”
“Impartial G.o.ddess…”
“That’s right, she’s also ours”
Su Xue Er thought for a bit, but still shook her head: “No, these are nothing but support, not my own strength, I can’t accomplish my wish with them”
“I just want power, power that I myself can control”
The woman answered: “That is difficult, you’ll have to give up many things, possibly even your life”
“I’m willing to pay the price” Su Xue Er said.
The woman just sat and looked at her for a while, then finally waved her hand.
A small wooden table appeared next to the two of them.
“According to the rules of the rite of inheritance” the woman said, “every heir gets one chance for me to use a Fate-type G.o.d’s Chosen Skill on them, but their desires are always too shallow, not enough for me to spend much effort to complete”
“But you, young lady, you’re very level-headed, you know what is truly the most important thing”
“So then you’ll help me?” Su Xue Er asked.
“I’ll warn you again, once you choose this path, there’s a chance you might really die” the woman answered.
“I’m willing to die if it’s on the way of chasing my wish” Su Xue Er said.
“Such bravery, or should I say recklessness? You really do make one interested in the outcome” the woman tapped the table and said: “Seems like I’ll have to be serious this time”
“Place your personal belongings here”
As she spoke, a black card silently appeared and hovered above her head in the air.
“How many of them?” Su Xue Er asked.
“All of them” the woman replied.
“…They won’t be damaged right?” Su Xue Er hesitated and asked.
“Of course not”
Su Xue Er was in a hurry, so she didn’t bring too many things with her.
She quickly placed her personal belongings on the table.
Note:
(1) paradise: The original phrase is “世外桃源”, which means “a wonderful place away from the world”, which typically doubles as “hiding place”