During the Promotion Ritual, Iver had already realized that although this old Ritualist looked calm and reliable, he was actually full of radicalism and madness to the core.
It was no wonder that he had been betrayed when he was young—for a native Parthian who had never come into contact with outsiders, being determined enough to do anything that could make him "betrayable" already proved his transcendent nature.
"I can understand you, old sir."
Zhu Tang nodded in agreement. "Everyone has to die sooner or later. I don't want to be like certain Paths that cling only to survival, living neither like humans nor ghosts... In my opinion, it would be better to die a glorious death.
"For an extraordinary being, there is nothing more humiliating than dying in bed. Extraordinary power makes us arrogant and conceited, thinking we can control our own fate and transcend the mundane... only to fall back into the mundane in the end and die of old age just like an ordinary old man. Is there anything more ironic than that?"
"That's true..."
Iver sighed. "A beauty grows old, a general grows frail; nothing in this mortal world is more unbearable. I can understand that."
"I want to go home because I still have family I can't let go of."
There was a hint of envy in Zhu Tang's voice. "If not for that, I'd truly want to step into this magnificent death with you. Being killed in a battle against the Descended Celestial Deity would be a beautiful thing indeed—it would be far more impressive than being beheaded by the emperor or dying in a sickbed or prison.
"Those famous generals who swept across battlefields would envy me too! If given the chance, they would probably want to launch a desperate charge against a