What do you truly want, old man?"
The old man showed a cold sneer as he held his cheek, puffing it out slightly. Then, out of nowhere, he burst into laughter, causing ripples to spread across the river.
Laughter filled the hall, but Mingyin was not only confused — he was shocked.
He held his forehead and looked at his surroundings.
What is the reason this idiot is laughing? he thought, not liking one bit of what was happening.
As he looked directly toward the man, he saw the old man wiping tears from his eyes.
Mingyin could read human emotions. He knew every detail. One billion regressions had shaped his mind far beyond Little Grade, Sage Artists, Peak Artists, and even Peak Apex ranks above the mortal realm. His knowledge surpassed mortal understanding itself.
His only weakness was strength.
And one day, that strength would come to him.
"Ahahahahaha!"
Mingyin wanted to speak, but when the man continued laughing, he nearly fell to the ground.
Mingyin steadied himself and quickly thought of a way to escape this place.
Whatever. I don't even know this man. I have other things to do. Renewal has awakened, and when he sees me, it will be my last.
And several groups want to use me as a Dragon Warrior… but that won't end well.
Mingyin sighed.
Even if countless calamities stood in his path, his future was the brightest of all.
He knew many Spirit Realms and could even snatch them away.
He was not greedy, but whenever something came before him, he always placed himself as the top priority.
He was not obsessed either, yet he understood many things others could not.
Mingyin was the first mortal to outsmart countless immortals. When he outsmarted the Supreme Elder of the Region Continent, it was not even his first time. In his past regressions, he had deceived countless immortal beings.
And this… was his final regression.
His future was not merely bright.
It was the brightest of all.
Once he awakened his Soul Realm, his cultivation journey would become smooth. He would not even need to worry. In less than two years, he would already become a Peak Artist Four.
And within another year, he would reach Peak Artist Apex Rank.
This was truly realistic for him.
But he still did not know where the Dao Sphere was.
And he was badly injured, so the only thing left to do… was run.
"Ahahaha… calm down. I'll stop laughing. You passed the test… oh? Where are you going?"
Mingyin showed a complicated expression.
"What test?"
"The test for breaking the illusion, surviving to this point, defeating Magman, and still being alive. I suppose that counts, right?"
Mingyin froze.
"What do you mean? When I entered this mountain, everything I went through was a test?"
The old man smiled.
"Yeah. Because when you took the artifact from the old man, you killed his vengeful other body. He saw you take the bait and—"
Mingyin's face dropped.
The whole room shuddered.
Suddenly, the old man flinched as the entire hall filled with killing intent.
Blood leaked from Mingyin's eyes.
He held his face and screamed loudly.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Mingyin breathed heavily as he stared forward, his eyes fixed on the old man's shocked face.
The old man wanted to speak, but the moment Mingyin took a single step forward, his expression instantly stiffened in terror.
The river, which had remained still this entire time, suddenly began moving violently.
On its surface appeared countless memories of Mingyin.
An old man stood atop a cliff, staring at a lonely grave.
A sad expression appeared on his face.
"Today, I was the fool… not the wise man. But a fool keeps everything to himself. He does not seek change… yet I will always be the one to change!"
He looked beside him.
A white plain stretched endlessly across the land.
The entire ground was covered in white ash.
Mingyin stood there, gazing upward, wanting to learn more about the universe.
Then suddenly, the entire sky turned dark.
Countless falling stars erupted from the heavens, crashing downward in fiery explosions.
The old man was shocked.
Hidden within this river… was an artifact.
Its name was:
Cocytus of No Emotion.
At the bottom of the river lay a vast seabed.
There stood a massive worm with a strangely cute face, two crimson eyes, and leaf-like ears covering part of its head.
It crawled from a crack in the seabed and stared forward with cold intent.
"I am bored of these stupid human memories. They hold them so precious. So many people fail to awaken the Sovereign Path and become the Dragon Warrior. Only fate decides that… huh?"
Suddenly, the scroll the old man held floated into the air and released a profound light.
The countless spheres floating around it descended rapidly toward Mingyin's chest.
Bang.
Bang.
Ding.
Ding.
Bam.
Bam.
Every sphere slammed directly into Mingyin.
His body shook violently from the impacts.
The worm's eyes widened in shock.
Then its face slowly twisted into disbelief.
In the history of the mortal world, there existed a realm known as the Sovereignty Path.
It originally came from a mysterious sea within the Nine Sacred Seas of Heaven.
The Father of the Mortal World stole it and placed it within the Abyss of Light — a titanic continent filled with countless realms that Mingyin himself had once visited.
The Sovereignty Path was a realm itself, one that contained the secrets of the future hero known as the Dragon Warrior — the one destined to fulfill fate's wish.
But it also allowed others to follow the Dragon Warrior's path.
Everyone failed.
No one had ever awakened that path.
Because it required the user to instantly form the Sovereignty Path itself… and that was nearly impossible.
First, one needed an extremely beautiful yet immature physique — not a bulky body, but one capable of withstanding heavenly thunder.
It was the Dragon Warrior Physique.
That body granted its wielder protection against soul tracking, fire, water, and countless other forces.
But no one had ever possessed such a body except the Dragon Warrior himself.
To awaken it, the wielder would be struck by spheres while their memories entered the river.
This river was filled with memories.
The Sovereignty Path needed to remove memories in order to judge whether the person was worthy of succeeding.
If the spirit did not take the memories, it meant the wielder had already absorbed the Thirteen Spirit Roots.
The Thirteen Spirit Roots were far from ordinary.
They were similar to Soul Force Energy, yet entirely different.
Within the wielder's Spirit Realm stood a massive World Tree, with ten fruits hanging from seven branches.
It stored immense spiritual energy.
If the wielder passed the test, they would instantly become a Sage Artist.
Even the fastest talents would be shocked by this.
A Starburst was considered the fastest way for someone to become a Peak Artist.
Yet this path allowed someone to become a Sage Artist immediately.
Within only two years, they could become a Peak Artist Apex Rank.
After that, their cultivation journey would rely no longer on talent… but on themselves.
Then the user would gain the ability to learn many different paths, because their Spirit Realm could absorb Artifact Realms and cultivate them directly.
Ordinary people were blocked by the Great Spirit Wall.
It was an invisible barrier preventing users from pouring Soul Force Energy into different Soul Core Formation Artifacts.
But the Sovereignty Path had no such restriction.
It was completely free.
Though surely… it carried terrible flaws of its own.
After awakening, if the wielder wished to become the Dragon Warrior, they needed to cultivate at least five paths.
First — Spirit Soul Core Formation.
Second — Weather Soul Core Formation.
Third — Water and Flame.
Fourth — Blade Soul Core Formation.
Fifth — Knowledge Realm.
Once all five were mastered, the user would begin understanding the Dao itself.
And the Dao… would finally acknowledge them as its master.
Their entire life would transform instantly.
The moment they encountered the Yin-Yang Sphere, they would be absorbed into it and awaken completely.
Then they would become a true Dao Lord and instantly ascend to Peak Artist Five.
Their chances of becoming Peak Artist Apex would become incredibly high.
And Mingyin… had already begun this path.
Yet his chances might have been the lowest in all humanity.
Just like everyone else, he was never destined to achieve the Dragon Warrior Physique.
It was too difficult.
Too painful.
Mingyin had never been chosen by fate.
In truth… he hated fate.
He would gladly tear it apart with his own hands.
Which meant his chance of dying was nearly one hundred percent.
But somehow, the worm did not take away Mingyin's memories to test him.
Instead, tears appeared on its face.
Dark, bloody tears.
How could a human survive so much suffering?
What drove him to persevere to such an extent… even without succeeding?
Even the old man became confused.
A tear escaped his own eye.
Mingyin's memories hunted him endlessly as he screamed:
"AHHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS THAT?!"
"This isn't perseverance! This guy is definitely one of the Nine Rulers!"
Mingyin's face turned pale with confusion.
As the floating orbs trembled violently around him, he was thrown off his feet.
Splash!
He fell into the water.
Bubbles escaped from his mouth as he looked upward, his eyes becoming tired and hollow.
His expression betrayed his despair.
"I want true peace… I want to make my family proud… I want to see the Nine Heavens!"
"Yet I could not even see through that old schemer…"
"What went wrong?"
"What went wrong?"
"Oh, fate… are you finally happy now…?"
As he sank deeper into the river, countless spheres descended toward him.
Ready to erase him completely.
The worm crawled backward in shock.
Would he survive?
Would Mingyin truly survive this?
As he began to sink and slowy close his eyes he saw a light a light that vanish his darkness
…
A life forged in mangled suffering as I wandered through each regression, marking every nightmare I once desired. The nightmare I once saw had vanished into the depths.
Wasn't there once a poem from the Mortal Ruler?
I saw fate, fought it, and conquered it.
This was not merely a sign of breaking a strand of fate.
Even if I fail against fate…
Fate has never placed fear within me.
I still possess the will of a burning flame.
The will to fight against fate itself.
Perhaps… I am no longer trapped in darkness anymore!
BAMMMMM!
This time, the river did not merely shake.
The entire mountain trembled violently.
As. Then a violent sound resounded