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Writer: StarReader
Proofreader: Silavin
Needing a good minute to stop from voiding his stomach of blood, Lei Yuting was there to help Zhuo Fan to his shaky feet. He was whiter than paper.
“I thought he’d never leave, ugh.” Zhuo Fan grunted, only to cough again.
“But you were winning! You could’ve beaten him and finish this damn feud!” Murong Xue shouted. It was no exaggeration to say that she wanted that monster dead more than anyone, not just because she pursued the greater good for humanity due to her beliefs and path. It was also due to the horrible torture she had been through.
“Trying to push the path close together but not too close so they couldn’t be separated has it’s drawbacks, as you can probably see. That goes double for trying it while doing while fighting to the death. Many times, I had Heavenly Sovereign pinned with a strong attack… but, one path or another slipped out of the precarious balance and forced me to change my tactic. I had no choice but to weaken my attack at those times.” Zhuo Fan continued, no longer masking his crumbling, which was not weaker than Heavenly Soveriegn’s. Fighting any longer would surely expose his state. It would have given the enemy the perfect chance to kill him, and the rest of them soon after.
“But why would you take on such a risk? Defeating Heavenly Sovereign takes precedence over the paths.” Kunpeng’s demand earned a round of frowns and grave looks from the new Sovereigns, who had just formed their paths. They would very much like to keep it and continue their pursuit with it as their base.
Having learned from Murong Xue that the first path was just the beginning, they were going to continue pursing another, and another, until they themselves reached the Supreme Stage as well. They would do it at their own pace, and not forcing it like Heavenly Sovereign.
The dire circumstances made it highly likely that such a feat would be impossible, since Zhuo Fan was the only one who could fuse them and jump into the Supreme Stage if the situation demanded it. It was their only hope of defeating Heavenly Sovereign. Even so, to say that they were fine with sacrificing their path would be a lie. They would much rather avoid the worst case scenario if they could help it.
Then again, it was better to lose their paths than their lives. Murong Xue could attest to that. She didn’t give in back then because she knew the outcome wouldn’t have changed either way.
“Because, for one, I respect everyone’s wishes, and two, it’s not how I want to reach the Supreme Stage. I know that not taking shortcuts like Heavenly Sovereign did takes time. Even so, I’m still willing to go ahead with it. Furthermore, who is to say that taking the same route faster would yield victory? Maybe we would be equals and end up fighting for days, years, centuries! What then would become of the Sacred Domain? Turned to eternal darkness, with no one left to save? That would make it all pointless!” Zhuo Fan raised his voice in his speech, making him have a coughing fit.
“I refuse.” He continued. “This is the only way I see possible. The only way to truly overcome this enemy and rid us of future troubles.”
“Are you returning our paths then? To give us the chance to reach the Supreme Stage as well?” Jiu Long asked, eager to see where cultivation would take him.
“No, I still need them for insight into forming the remaining paths to advance. I believe we can all agree I can do it faster, especially since I was the one who helped you get your paths to begin with. Now, if you don’t mind, I better get started.” Zhuo Fan replied, ignoring everything else as he sat down then to mull over the different aspects of the different paths. He compared them to his own beliefs and concepts in regards to the world. This was what the Sovereigns needed to do, understand the world first through their subjective view then feeling it on themselves the way the world worked in ways words fail to describe.
“That’s just absurd! It’s ridiculous enough you could complete so many paths in just a little over half the year you were gone, then the two months before. Now, you are saying you’re going to accomplish it at an even faster pace? On what grounds?” Murong Xue wasn’t finished, and the others looked skeptical. They were worried if it was even possible. There was a reason no new Sovereign appeared after millions of years since the old ones disappeared. Now, Zhuo Fan was suggesting he could do it over tea? That was lunacy!
Murong Xue’s glare was sharp and deadly as she held the calm Zhuo Fan in her sights, wishing she could strangle him. But a minute passed and the guy didn’t so much as twitched.
She ended up grunting, and allowed him to do as he pleased. She soon went to the rest of the Sovereigns, at the side, who were discussing with Elder Song what he had been through during his event. She wanted to ask what exactly had been keeping him from joining the battle for so long?
A prismatic mote of light flew just then and entered Murong Xue. It flew in before she could ask anything. She shivered on the spot, relishing at having gotten her path back and how right it was to be with her.
She soon snapped out of the relief and asked Zhuo Fan, “I thought you needed our paths to complete your own. Why give mine back so soon? Don’t tell me you have already gotten the gist of it?”
She let out a cold smile, thinking she was right, but Zhuo Fan’s answer only crushed her spirit.
“I sure did. It was the easiest of them all since righteousness and demonic are just two sides of the same coin. Both paths seek to understand humanity’s demons. They only differ in what they do with that knowledge. Righteousness does it for the greater good, to relieve people of persecution, while the demonic path is guiding them towards the user’s own goals.” Zhuo Fan sagely said, leaving her gawking.
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