Forge a path to success

Chapter 117 Together

If we consider the turmoil so far as a "game," then in the eyes of the three heretics watching the game, the game has only just passed its first round.

Various forces have entered the scene, made contact with each other, experienced the first "incident," summarized their gains and losses, and made inferences based on existing intelligence. Once this process is completed, a "round" is finished. Apart from the pirate captain who ran into trouble yesterday, no force has been eliminated in Golden Leaf City yet. The objectives of all parties have just been revealed, and it is no exaggeration to say that it has just begun.

However, what makes a game a game is the presence of players outside the game itself. For those with ample information and immense power, a single thought from them can accelerate the game's progress, and eliminating someone is as easy as uttering a single sentence. Therefore, these powerful figures don't concern themselves with the movements of the smaller players; their attention is always focused on those outside the game, on the operators who stand alongside them.

"Vansara, what exactly do you want?"

Olek was looking at Vansalal, who had just returned from the mayor's residence. He picked at his ear, looking bored. "I wanted to see that scholar who caused the trouble, but it was as cliché as a spider's web. Bewildered, foolish, obsessed with poison, and in the end, unsurprisingly, he crumbled into dust. Utterly boring and hopeless."

“You know I don’t care about these trivial matters.” Olek frowned. “I’m talking about you, Nightmare King. Why have you condescended to come to this island?”

Vansalar rested his chin on the back of his hand, forcing a smile: "For our beloved little game, my friend~"

“We’ve played countless similar games over the past 1,500 years. I’ve known you since you were a rainbow demon, and I know how impatient you are better than your mentor does,” Oleksandr pointed out. “Basically, you’ll be the first to leave the game in the first event, at least after the characters have appeared and you’ve gone to visit them in a dream. By the second round, we’ve already started fighting off the board, and by the third round, the game often turns into the hellish celebration you love.”

The game never went to a fourth round—because no one could stand your antics; you made it so that every time I wanted to play, I had to entertain myself.

"Admit it, you're really enjoying it."

“For entertainment, that’s true,” Olek said, emphasizing his words. “But this is serious business. She is the last 'living' Discipline Knight, and fate will inevitably lead her back to the battlefield of her past. I will kill her, crush her flesh, obliterate her ghostly form, and send the fact that she once existed into the deep sea, a place unknown even to the eternal ages.”

"Only on this matter will the entire Sea of ​​Illusions cooperate. If I weren't worried about the disturbance caused by my main body's actions, I would have already reported this to the king of the sea!"

Vansalar, while manicuring his nails, said casually, "Do you want to talk to 'Colorless'? That's quite a courageous thing. Even I don't want to deal with that...that...'thing'."

“You’re wrong.” Olek said, his face ashen. “I will go to see the Abyss.”

That one sentence instantly lowered the temperature to freezing. It was a literal description; with just one word, their surroundings became a death trap for the living. Bernfar exuded a historical mist, rendering their conversation an unrecorded noise.

It silently rose and distanced itself from the two important figures. This was not something it could hear; even a priest was not worthy to listen to the ensuing negotiations.

Vansalar stared wide-eyed in amazement.

"You're serious."

“The Sea of ​​Illusions is serious,” Olek corrected. “It doesn’t want to see the Knights’ Sky again.”

“That’s great! A shining realization! Go for it!” Vansalal encouraged him. “That’s exactly why I called you here. In this complex current, you are the most suitable person to take action. No one will act because of you, after all, you are ‘misfortune’! The misfortune of equality for all beings! Even ultimate-level true machines will rust in harsh environments, won’t they? With you around, all deaths are justified!”

Olek shook his head repeatedly: "And what about you?"

"We at the Spiral Tower despise the madmen of Shura Island the most, and we've always been at odds with the Knights."

Oleksandr was fed up with the roundabout way of talking, so he cut to the chase.

"—But you like Discipline Knights the most, Vansalal."

Vansalar sat gracefully with his hands on his knees, like a gentleman. His face twitched slightly, revealing a row of neat teeth between his upturned lips. The teeth appeared one after another, like a white, curved city wall, straightened from the bottom all the way to the center of his forehead.

"Hehe, haha, hahahahahaha!"

The Nightmare King roared with laughter, his voice echoing the shrill screams that had haunted countless dust islands. He braced himself on the table, then leaned forward, his eyes flashing with countless bat-like shadows, like a demonic lair inhabited by evil spirits.

"Why bother testing me like this? I've been dead for over four hundred years. This pathetic shadow of mine can't even stop one of your tiny tentacles. What reason do you have to be afraid of me?" Vansalar sneered. "Don't worry! Go ahead and do it! Even if you kill everyone here, I won't do anything to you!"

Olek leaned back in his chair, expressionless, then suddenly laughed.

"You seem to think I have an eye condition and can't see your little secrets underground."

“Do you have eyes, old jellyfish? I thought you could see with your tentacles.” Vansalar stroked his chin arrogantly. “Anyway, that’s how it is. I just had a whim!”

“Then let’s make a deal. As long as we’re still within Golden Leaf City, I’ll be in charge of this game. Otherwise, I won’t interfere.”

“We don’t think we’ve ever done this before.” Vansalal sat back down on the stool, reverting to his amiable dark-skinned self. “Great! Very innovative, we’ll take your advice!”

“We’ve played this game a thousand times, and every time you’re the one who flips the table first.” Olek stood up. “This time, you have to keep your promise.”

“Should I sign a library contract?” Van Salal shouted.

The little boy paused, his voice even more chilling than when he spoke of the knight.

"I've changed my mind. Please don't step out of the coffee shop until the game is over."

Iron chains rose from the ground, crisscrossing the small café and sealing off all the doors and windows. The demon's chains were invisible to the people; this bondage only applied to the two who were both heretics.

The iron chains gleamed, reflecting the boy's merciless gaze. The colors within shifted and changed, revealing a handsome man's face. He was the first target of the unfortunate chain of events, the talisman master Wu He, whose every action yesterday had failed.

The colors within the chains shifted and murky, Wu He's face faded, revealing the anxious, vulnerable face of a middle-aged man. The chain of misfortune had begun anew, and today, the Iceman Sethlen was chosen by fate.

Vansalar chuckled, "I thought misfortune was equal for all beings."

“No way, you know the common sense of this world.” Olek smiled. “The misfortune of the strong is weakness, and the misfortune of the rich is poverty. But another group of people see it as life, and their misfortune can only be aggravated, mixed with separation and suffering.”

Misfortune is always more impartial to the weak.

The Demon of Doom left the small café, while Vansalal leaned back in his chair, still smiling happily. Bernfar returned to the table and sat down. He didn't know what the Nightmare King was thinking, nor what kind of agreement the Great Demon had reached with him, but seeing the chains, he understood that Olek also had his concerns.

The Nightmare King's authority is fear, an emotion unrelated to strength. Many times, you may have achieved great success, you may no longer be weak, yet you will still wake up from your nightmares time and time again. Because even if you return to the past, you still cannot be certain of overcoming its shadows.

A persistent nightmare is fear.

·

The fire turned everything crimson, burning so fiercely and violently that it seemed even the night sky would be burned hollowed out. The assassins' afterimages leaped in the flames, their hands still warm with their blood, their bodies still bearing the pain they had left behind.

He traversed the smoke and flames, past the lingering shadows of the dead, pressing on and onward. Suddenly, his vision opened up, the sky and earth cleared, rain washing over the scorched road. At the edge of his vision lay the overturned car, smoke, sparks, and diluted blood…

"..."

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling.

He hadn't thought about the past for a long time, and had always restrained himself from dwelling on it unnecessarily. But the past seemed unwilling to let him go, seeping into his dreams whenever it had the chance. He dreamed of the past for two consecutive days, as if some unseen force was telling him not to forget his powerlessness, not to run away from his fear.

He didn't delve into it; thinking too much was pointless. The guard flags were dutifully placed in the four corners of the room; the portable shrine that Youyou had personally crafted was still quite reliable. Vande stuffed his entire head into the cloth bag and nestled on the cushions, fast asleep.

This is a mini-species-exclusive sleeping bag he found at the market. It's supposed to block out light and noise, have a soft touch, and provide a baby-like sleep. However, it feels more like a lump of tofu skin sushi with squid tentacles growing out of it. The golden retriever who gave this review was lying on the other side of the bed, with most of the blanket kicked off, the straps of her tank top slipped down to her arms, and her rounded shoulders facing him. Her sleeping posture could be terrible.

She frowned, her lips pressed tightly together, as if she were fighting against some great villain in her dream. Chu Hengkong admired her for a while, then sat down beside her bed and used his tentacles to pull the shoulder strap back up.

"If you don't wake up soon, I'll see you naked."

"Fine, I'll look..." Ji Huaisu mumbled sleepily, "If you dare to look, you have to marry me..."

"Hey, can you please stop with workplace sexual harassment?"

"You still have the nerve to talk about the workplace... You should go be a partner with bullets..."

Miss Ji rolled over and buried her head in the pillow. Chu Hengkong scratched his head, realizing that his good partner was probably throwing a tantrum like a woman.

Although my good partner is a tall, beautiful girl, according to some people in my hometown, it's lucky if a beautiful girl is willing to talk to you, and it's a blessing if a beautiful girl throws a tantrum. But in reality, throwing a tantrum is always a troublesome thing, no matter how beautiful a woman is.

He tried to touch the girl's head, but Miss Ji shoved it away with her paw.

Women are indeed not all the same.

"I really don't think it's necessary." Chu Hengkong felt helpless. "Ascension is a matter of each stage having its own characteristics. No matter how powerful I am, I'm still just a Steel Bone cultivator. You'll definitely be stronger than I am now after you advance to level three."

"It's not a matter of strength," Ji Huaisu said sullenly.

"You've just stepped out of your house and you've already met someone from your hometown, so why are you afraid of not having a way out?"

“You don’t understand.” Ji Huaisu slapped his leg with her paw. “It’s not that I’m afraid of not having a way out, it’s that I feel like I’m not going to be promoted.”

Chu Hengkong almost burst out laughing: "How is that possible?"

This is a genuine case of needless worry. Ji Huaisu's Reverse Shadow technique already allows her to conjure ice and fire, and her Phase 2 particle form has already begun to possess the characteristics of Phase 3. Chu Hengkong felt it was only natural that she would immediately become a Phase 3 Legendary after her ascension; how could she possibly fail to advance?

"So you don't understand... When we ascend to the third level on the Supreme Path, we have to make choices. Pure Fire, Turbid Tears, and Unstable Dust..."

Ji Huaisu flailed and said dejectedly, "I feel like I can't do any part thoroughly."

Chapter 118 Emotional Elements

"Isn't it great to have three options? Each one is suitable for you," Chu Hengkong said with a smile.

"It's not about whether it suits you or not..." Ji Huaisu muttered, "It's about feelings... feelings..."

Chu Heng recalled his casual conversations with his partner about the similarities and differences between the three paths. The path of unification was the simplest, entirely dependent on oneself. With extraordinary skills, one could advance to the skillful hand; with a strong physique, one could advance to the unyielding bone. By training each part one by one, one would eventually achieve an indestructible golden body, becoming invincible under heaven.

The Path of Floating Light is heavily reliant on resources. Its initial foundation is extraordinary items, and every step thereafter revolves around upgrading that "foundation." By polishing stones into "staffs" and optimizing them into even more advanced "weapons," one can then develop even more bizarre and wonderful gadgets, much like an inventor from another world.

And the path to supreme power...

Few can clearly explain this path. Those who play with elements seem to disregard principles, focusing only on talent and "comprehension." It seems that if you comprehend, understand, and experience it, you're qualified for advancement, while those who can't comprehend it will be in vain no matter how hard they try. But Ji Huaisu has always been a recognized genius; this kind of problem shouldn't be happening to her.

“What you want to protect will give rise to light. What you want to destroy will give rise to shadow. Positive emotions rise and sublimate into pure fire, while negative emotions sink and condense into turbid tears…” Ji Huaisu sighed deeply, “So if I want to break through, I have to exhaust my emotions, either by exploding into a huge torch or by lying in a corner in a gloomy mess.”

Chu Hengkong imagined the torchbearer Ji Huaisu from Huilong City and the police force's overgrown child Ji Huaisu, and amused himself: "Why not go to Wudingchen?"

“The worst kind of dust is the rootless duckweed, drifting aimlessly without direction. Only those who are lost and confused about their future become dust blown by the wind.” Ji Huaisu crumpled up the quilt and hugged it to his chest like a pillow. “But if I keep wavering like this, I really will become dust…”

She looked somewhat dejected, completely unlike her usual self. Chu Hengkong noticed undried water stains by the bedside, indicating that she had secretly tried to make ice again. Premature exposure to the power of the turbid tears would surround her with negative emotions, which was why she was so gloomy and self-pitying.

He didn't quite understand why Ji Huaisu was in such a hurry. The clues about the knights were already in hand, and the promotion was no longer a distant hope. Logically, she should have been excited and unable to sleep all night. But the reality was quite the opposite. She grumbled and threw a tantrum, like an insecure senior college student trying every possible way to avoid an interview.

Thinking of this, Chu Hengkong suddenly understood: "...How long have you been stuck at point 2?"

Ji Huaisu remained silent. He suspended his tentacles around the girl's waist, making a silent threat.

"You're so annoying." She swatted the tentacle away with one claw. "Dad said that when he found me, I was already a particle 2... They were afraid I would go berserk, so they sealed me away for more than ten years until I grew up."

No wonder.

He recalled what Ji Qiufeng had said about those geniuses who stagnated for too long, those young people who lost their edge. A period of suppression can be a driving force for progress, and temporary confusion can ignite an indomitable spirit. But when stagnation extends from one year to ten, and from ten to twenty, the situation changes.

It was like a fairy tale he had read before, about a traffic jam that lasted for decades. At first, both the cars and the people complained, but over time people adapted to life in the cars. When one day the traffic jam miraculously eased and the cars started moving again, people became uneasy, and even the cars resisted moving forward.

When stagnation becomes the norm, moving forward turns into an unknown fear.

Suddenly, the tentacles descended, wrapping around the ticklish spots on both sides of her waist. Ji Huaisu jumped up with a start, her face flushed and her laughter trembling: "What are you doing! What are you doing! You're being a pervert!"

“This way suits you best.” Chu Hengkong withdrew his tentacles. “Why hesitate? If all else fails, just be Wudingchen and be a free girl.”

He tickled her as he spoke, making the blonde laugh incessantly. Ji Huaisu gritted his teeth: "I've changed my mind. I'm going to become the Pure Fire... The first thing I'll do after I ascend is burn away your despicable tentacles!"

She leaped up and pinned Chu Hengkong to the bed, attempting to repay him in kind. Vande, awakened by the commotion inside, groggily looked up to ask who was demolishing a house. Turning his head, he saw the blonde girl straddling someone, her clothes disheveled, and the man's tentacles wrapped around her waist.

Van de la slept soundly, closed his eyes, and shoved himself into his sleeping bag, thinking to himself, "My eyes are really cursed. I got up early this morning to watch Animal World, and they were showing a golden retriever hunting squid."

·

Half an hour later, in the western part of Jinye City.

A public water cart stopped at Xitai Station. Elderly men and women who got up early to buy groceries slowly got off the cart, and finally, a trio munched on sandwiches and mini candies.

Chu Hengkong swallowed his breakfast and a golden pill-like Fu Li Xin and Dan, preparing for today's action.

Walking along the main road from the station, you'll find a high-end residential area built against the mountainside. Further north lies Jinye City's only small mountain, where Mayor Jinye's residence is situated. After getting off the train, Ji Huaisu took out a small, light blue flag with a chubby little dragon on it, its claws outstretched. She closed her eyes and calculated for a while.

"Set up the formation closer to the foot of the mountain; the area here is not enough."

The small flag is a multi-functional relic personally crafted by Youyou; it can serve as a temporary defensive position or a "keep out" line. In yesterday's chaotic melee, Chu Heng could spend most of his time rescuing people, but if things got serious, they might not have the capacity to care for civilians. Preparing early is a way of fulfilling the responsibility of an ascendant.

“These are roughly the four directions. Once you get there, just charge and activate the Light Shield.” Vande pointed at the map. “But I think you guys are a bit too tense. Is visiting a mayor really necessary to act like it’s a war?”

Chu Hengkong handed it a newspaper: "As for Jin Ye, there's something wrong with him."

It was a handmade clipping, with brief deductions written in pencil around the printed article. Golden Leaf City's level of informatization was barely adequate; thanks to the local magical network, intelligence could be gathered even within the inn.

The newspaper described Jin Ye as a frivolous young man. Fan De read the reports in chronological order and found that Jin Ye's reputation had fluctuated wildly over the decades.

When Golden Leaf City was first established, Golden Leaf was a well-loved and respected mayor. He single-handedly oversaw the city's basic urban planning, including transportation, drainage, and the magic network, most of which are still in use today. However, just a few years later, the citizens began to complain because of his extreme and ambitious nature. He always forced the promulgation of poorly drafted bills and could not tolerate any dissenting opinions.

Perhaps the citizens' protests had an effect, because Jin Ye withdrew from politics in the following years and returned to his old profession of magical arts. When air routes were open, he enjoyed holding new product launches in the city, inviting knowledgeable visitors to comment on his work. From the most objective perspective, his new inventions were all too far-fetched, so naturally they did not receive much recognition.

So Kin-yeo argued with the visitors, and his presentations always ended in chaos. This life of a great inventor ended nineteen years ago when Kin-yeo spent a fortune building an underground factory, proclaiming that he would create a masterpiece that would amaze mediocre people. But three months after the factory started operation, it suffered a major loss due to a dust explosion, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many workers. The factory lost its manpower and had to shut down in disappointment.

Chu Heng placed the report about the accident in the center of the clippings. The headline featured a young man weeping bitterly, half of whose interview with the reporter described "blood everywhere." The young man looked somewhat familiar.

“This man looks like that Tearful One,” Van der said. “You suspect his powers are related to this incident?”

"What do top students think?"

"There don't seem to be any reports of the Iceman before. If it only came to light after twenty years, the progress of this pollution is a bit too slow," Vande muttered. "Not sure, let's wait and see."

Shortly after the factory accident, Huilong City was besieged by outsiders, severing the island's sea routes to the outside world, and Jinye's invention games fell into complete silence. After that, he became an eccentric old man, building a rather luxurious mansion in the mountains. For twenty years, he rarely appeared in public, only occasionally sending workers to transport specially made instruments into the mountains. Yet, he stubbornly remained in the position of mayor, controlling this small Dust Island with his skills, status, and subordinates.

"What a pathetic man!" Van der sighed. "He's spent his whole life struggling without ever knowing what he wants."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Ji Huaisu snatched the newspaper: "What do you mean?"

"If he wanted power, he would have been a dictator for decades; if he wanted a clean reputation, he could have retired gracefully after accomplishing his task, and people would still remember him fondly; if he wanted to pursue academics, he could have focused on his research, but instead he held grand press conferences and caused accidents due to his eagerness for quick success. He was dabbling in one thing and doing another, and in the end, he pleased no one and became a disgraced old man. What was the point?" Van der pointed and commented.

"It's only human nature," Chu Hengkong said.