"Um, Ya." Bai Zhou swallowed.
"What?"
"Maybe—I mean, maybe—"
Bai Zhou used the most relaxed and composed voice he could manage to drop a bombshell.
"I might possess the Knowledge Inheritance of the 'Adventurer' sequence."
"?"
"Impossible!"
Ya immediately dismissed Bai Zhou's delusional ramblings.
But when she saw the clear look in Bai Zhou's eyes, Ya suddenly remembered the half Forbidden Ancient Script from earlier, and her expression became uncertain.
"Is it... the Knowledge Mist?"
Bai Zhou nodded.
The air suddenly fell into an unusual silence.
The firelight on the ground flickered unsteadily, illuminating the Maiden's... somewhat stiff face.
"I never had a chance to tell you about this."
Bai Zhou's voice tightened slightly.
"While exploring the Knowledge Mist, besides that half Forbidden Ancient Script, I actually also captured a Golden Firefly Light."
"Inside it was a Knowledge Inheritance called Sacred Oath Slash."
"I couldn't understand the script it was recorded in, but I recognized that at the beginning—"
Bai Zhou pointed at the crossed sword-and-blade symbol on the table.
"There was also a symbol like this."
"Boom—"
The fire blazed brightly.
The twelve curtains rippled like waves.
Just like the turmoil in Ya's heart.
The hem of her black windbreaker fluttered gently as Ya stood silently in place.
She studied Bai Zhou with a complicated gaze for a long while before finally letting out a soft breath and shaking her head as if relieved.
"Fine..."
"Can you write it out for me?"
"It really is the 'Adventurer' Path..."
The firelight flickered.
Ya sighed softly. A wisp of flame rose from her palm and set the paper recording the knowledge ablaze.
The ashes scattered through the air, and she turned to look at Bai Zhou.
After half an hour of research, Ya successfully confirmed it.
"Congratulations—"
"You might really become a Destined One!"
Everything was just as Bai Zhou had thought.
Sacred Oath Slash was indeed a secret technique of the Adventurer Path.
Moreover, it was an entry-level secret technique of the Path, similar to Moon Ember!
"Those origins are truly impressive."
With a soft "tap," the flame skimming across the ground reached Bai Zhou's side.
Her eyes were exceptionally bright, flashing with a powerful thirst for knowledge.
"I used a Ritual to decipher the encrypted text and discovered that Sacred Oath Slash is only a fragment. Its source can actually be traced back to a Forbidden Canon of 'Scroll' rank."
"Unfortunately, it's far too badly damaged, and much of the information is missing."
"All I know is that it seems to have come from some ancient religious order. That information is practically meaningless."
As she spoke, Ya sighed regretfully.
It seemed that even to her, a Forbidden Canon of 'Scroll' rank held considerable appeal.
But Bai Zhou pricked up his ears.
—A Scroll?
What did a Forbidden Canon of "Scroll" rank mean?
Was the Dead Sea Scrolls a "Scroll"?
Before Bai Zhou could think any further, Ya's voice came again.
"Even Sacred Oath Slash itself is severely incomplete. It only has the lower half, without the upper half."
"In other words, it only has the part for cultivating the 'mind' and lacks the chapters on forging the 'body.'"
"This...?"
The hope that had suddenly appeared in his eyes dimmed.
Suppressing the disappointment bursting from his chest, Bai Zhou sighed softly.
"Does that mean it can't be used?"
Unfortunately, travelers crossing the desert usually didn't die from their initial thirst.
They died on the journey after seeing an oasis.
"I never said that."
—Yet at that very moment, Ya carried the enormous "oasis" down from the heavens, with sweet springs flowing everywhere across it.
"For someone else, this might be troublesome."
"But not for me."
Her voice remained cold, and her expression was still impassive.
Yet to Bai Zhou, it sounded like heavenly music.
"The Adventurer Path is indeed completely different from the Hunter Path. There are many approaches and directions I've never considered... However, the entry stages ultimately lead to the same destination."
"With the mind-cultivation stage of Sacred Oath Slash, I'm eighty percent confident I can work backward and restore its body-forging section."
"Even..."
Ya glanced at the Bench Leg in Bai Zhou's hand.
"Your painstaking training these past few days won't have been for nothing."
"Really?" Bai Zhou raised the Bench Leg in his hand and examined it, as if it looked much more pleasing now.
After swinging it tens of thousands of times, he still hadn't produced Moon Ember. Instead, he was about to swing himself into smoke.
Ya nodded.
"Moon Ember originated from a lost ancient Fiery School. Rumor has it that this school had countless connections with the Mitra School, which excelled at Body Forging a thousand years ago."
"I plan to extract the essence of Moon Ember's body-forging method and incorporate it into Sacred Oath Slash."
"I only need one night to derive an improved secret technique centered on Sacred Oath Slash while possessing the strengths of both."
"—Let's call it Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash!"
Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash!
The road turned bright after a dark willow grove.
The joy of recovering what he had lost surged into Bai Zhou's heart.
Bai Zhou widened his eyes and nearly waved the Bench Leg in his hand to cheer Ya on.
But at that moment,
Ya asked another question.
"But are you certain you really want to follow the Adventurer Path?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Bai Zhou's answer contained little hesitation.
If one could become a Destined One, who would be content with mediocrity and remain an ordinary supernatural?
"But Sacred Oath Slash only supports body forging and mind cultivation, allowing you to become a Level 2 Adventurer."
"—After that, you'll only be able to go to the Reflection Ruins Realm and try your luck."
Ya issued a solemn warning.
"Even if supernatural beings of the Adventurer Path naturally absorb knowledge related to the Adventurer Path, this road is still destined to be filled with mud and danger!"
"By comparison—"
"The Hunter Path might not necessarily suit your Destiny, but I can prepare everything you'll need afterward."
Ya's voice stopped there.
The firelight elongated the shadows of the two facing one another, and Ya's question struck straight at the soul.
"—Are you certain you want to give all that up, put in ten times the effort, and choose the Adventurer Path?"
"I suggest you think it over carefully."
Bai Zhou nodded.
It was time to make a choice again.
Most of the time, people couldn't clearly know what they wanted.
Because a person could only live once. They couldn't compare it with a previous life, nor could they make corrections in the next.
Everything had to be experienced immediately, only once, without preparation.
But this time—
"But if I choose the Hunter Path, which doesn't suit my Destiny, how far can I go in the future?"
Bai Zhou didn't answer at once. Instead, he asked several questions in return.
"Can I reach the same height as you?"
"Can I solve... the problem within you?"
Ya froze.
She had never expected Bai Zhou to answer this way.
Even less had she expected his answer to concern her.
But there were things Bai Zhou had already sensed without Ya needing to say anything.
There had to be a reason for Ya's current condition.
It was merely that Bai Zhou did not yet have the qualifications to touch upon it.
Faced with this question, Ya's answer was...
Silence.
But silence was also an answer.
"I understand." Bai Zhou nodded.
Then he made his decision.
Since he had already set foot on this road filled with the unknown, he might as well make the future even more unpredictable.
Since he had resolved to climb upward, there was no reason not to set his sights on the summit.
The firelight stretched Bai Zhou's shadow.
He gave his answer seriously.
"I've had enough of days where I could see the end at a glance. I spent enough of them in Evening City."
Now, he wanted to live differently.
"Ya, would you like to try believing in me once?"
Bai Zhou said,
"Believe that I can go farther on the Adventurer Path."
"—Far enough that, one day in the future, I'll be able to help you."
"Maybe the next time I go to the Reflection Ruins Realm..."
Bai Zhou said half-jokingly, "I'll come back with another huge haul of new Knowledge Inheritances?"
Ya shot Bai Zhou a sidelong glance. "How could something like that happen?"
"Do you think the Reflection Ruins Realm is some little shop your family runs?"
Bai Zhou smiled without saying anything.
—People couldn't know in advance what they truly wanted, but this time was different.
Bai Zhou had cheated.
The Battlefield Ruins indicated by the Golden Pass were filled with signs related to the Adventurer Path.
His future wasn't elsewhere.
It was right beneath his feet.
"Knowing that the road ahead is uncertain, yet refusing to stop."
"Clearly possessing nothing, yet refusing to leave himself a way back."
Ya remained silent for several seconds before suddenly speaking coldly.
"That truly isn't a wise choice."
"However, someone like you..."
Standing in the shadows, Ya quietly looked at Bai Zhou, her gaze occasionally growing hazy.
"Perhaps you're more suited to the true meaning of the Adventurer."
The Adventurer had been lost in modern times. That was not without reason.
The development of the age meant that people no longer explored the Wilderness for survival, nor did they need to endure countless trials in their pursuit of knowledge.
—Modern civilization had no "distant places."
Thus, the spirit of adventure—the quality once regarded as one of the brightest stars of human civilization—was gradually worn away by the cradle of modern civilization.
--But Bai Zhou was different.
He had grown up in the backward Evening City, reading stories of adventure.
Compared with Bai Zhou, every modern person on Blue Star was rich in information and material wealth.
But in terms of spirit, those spiritual settlers were the most impoverished of all.
Unlike them, Bai Zhou's mind had remained untainted, and his perspective was completely different from that of ordinary people on Blue Star.
From the moment he stepped out of Evening City, he had embarked on a journey of adventure.
Whether extraordinary or ordinary...
Everything unknown on Blue Star was, to Bai Zhou, a dense forest waiting for an Adventurer to explore.
Who could be more suited to becoming an Adventurer than him?
--A one-of-a-kind "Adventurer" who was constantly adventuring through the modern urban jungle.
This inexplicably made her think of someone else.
Someone imagined into existence by a work of literature.
--Don Quixote.
That old man who charged valiantly at windmills, and Bai Zhou, who had thought everything looked like a monster when he first arrived on Blue Star...
They were surprisingly similar.
Foolish idealists, naive romantics, stubborn people out of step with their times, heretical rebels who defied convention.
But they were also fools who were best at creating "miracles."
"--Perhaps the Adventurer should be your Destiny Path."
In the end, Ya gave her summary.
It was not [Chen]'s Destiny Path.
It was Bai Zhou's.
"...However,"
But then, Ya abruptly changed direction,
"no Adventurer in any legend ever walked alone."
"Do you understand that, Bai Zhou?"
"...What?"
"What I mean is..."
Ya looked into Bai Zhou's eyes and said softly:
"Remember, you are not alone."
"I will help you."
"..."
Bai Zhou's eyes widened.
His heart trembled, and he felt a subtle, strange sensation.
But before he could figure out what that feeling was, Ya's next words reached him--
"Of course, just as you said earlier."
Ya still wore an expressionless face.
Deep in the hazy shadows beyond the firelight, she turned her face away and said coldly,
"I am helping you only for the sake of my future self."
There was no doubt that the path Bai Zhou had chosen was extremely difficult.
But with such a senior expert as her around, it would at least be much easier to walk.
Then she waved her hand, signaling Bai Zhou to raise the Bench Leg again.
"Enough pretty words. It is time to take action."
"--Keep swinging the blade for now. I will improve the Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash later."
Ya paced through the shadows, speaking unhurriedly:
"You must be prepared to train hard."
The moment Bai Zhou heard that, his whole body shuddered.
His muscles seemed to ache faintly.
Even his buttocks instinctively felt a chill, as if he could almost sense a Crystal Ball as cold as ice.
The Long Night stretched on.
The torture had only just begun.
In the blink of an eye, he swung the Bench Leg another ten thousand times, and two cycles of the sun and moon passed.
Ya had replaced her Coffee Beans with a fresh bag, and Bai Zhou had also learned the true Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash.
"Clang--"
The square Bench Leg swept through the air, followed by a streak of burning fire.
A deep mark appeared on the surface of the iron table before him.
It had cut three inches into the iron, reaching halfway through the tabletop.
The person holding the Bench Leg was Bai Zhou, his eyes wide.
"This is... something I did?"
It turned out Ya really had not lied to him.
Even a Bench Leg without any edge could cut iron!
--Although he still had not fully succeeded, he had finally glimpsed the first signs of it.
"Not bad."
Ya walked over to Bai Zhou's side and glanced at the tabletop.
"You are not far from formally entering the discipline. Perhaps a week, perhaps tomorrow. All you need is a suitable opportunity."
Just as Ya had said, Bai Zhou's previous basic training with the Bench Leg had not been in vain.
With his solid fundamentals and superb Destiny talent, he had even needed only two days to practice the Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash to this level.
--This also proved that Ya's deductions had been highly successful.
This brand-new secret technique, combining the strengths of both the "Hunter" and "Adventurer" Paths, was truly usable!
"I taught you these techniques so that, before the chaos arrives, you will have the ability to protect yourself against the Blood Worship Cult."
At this moment, Ya seriously brought up an issue,
"But if people discover that you have inexplicably become an extraordinary being, what the Special Management Department will do to you... I probably do not need to say much."
Bai Zhou's heart tightened.
An Evening City native who could not explain the source of his abilities?
No matter how one looked at it, he seemed like an infiltrator sent by the Blood Worship Cult...
"If the Blood Worship Cult really attacks, then before they arrive, you had better already be a Level P3 Specialist of the Special Management Department and have applied for a Magic Potion."
Ya slightly raised her head and set a new goal for Bai Zhou:
"That way, you will have a reason to appear in public as an extraordinary being, avoiding a great deal of unnecessary trouble."
"..."
Bai Zhou's expression turned strange.
What Ya said made perfect sense.
It seemed he now had another reason to become a Level P3 Specialist.
But--
Was he not a Level P3 Specialist because he did not want to advance?
He wanted to improve far too much.
Uncomfortable under Bai Zhou's "resentful" gaze, Ya waved her hand,
"Of course, I know this is difficult."
"But as I said before--"
"I will help you."
Bai Zhou's eyes immediately lit up, but he then hesitated:
"How are you going to help?"
Was the mysterious Ya finally going to take action?
His imagination began running wild again...
Perhaps Ya would tell him to brew a cup of Coffee and wait, then shoulder her long blade and go hunting. Before long, she would return in triumph with the head of the Great Elder of the Blood Worship Cult.
She would toss down the head and take the military credit.
By then, the Coffee would probably still be warm.
--Would that mean he could become the leader of this base the very next day?
What Level P3 Specialist?
Call him Major Bai!
"I will seek 'luck' to help you."
Ya mercilessly shattered Bai Zhou's fantasy.
"Luck?"
"I intend to use a Ritual to strengthen your Career Luck over the next few days."
Ya explained, "In addition, I will make some appropriate adjustments in secret and see whether any suitable opportunities arise."
It sounded quite good. So there really was such a miraculous Ritual.
But Bai Zhou quickly grew wary:
"...Then what is the price?"
"The Law of Conservation of Luck."
Ya replied:
"As the price, your Romantic Luck will be terrible for the next week."
"Then there is no price." Bai Zhou immediately relaxed.
Bai Zhou did not know whether the mysterious Fortune-Turning Ritual had succeeded.
But he did hear good news the next day.
That day, he had just encountered Section Chief Liu at the base when he heard Section Chief Liu say:
"Tomorrow is the department's annual team-building holiday. Remember to come."
Bai Zhou casually agreed.
"No problem. Where are we going?"
"Outside."
Section Chief Liu patted Bai Zhou on the shoulder. "The urban district of Tinghai City. I am taking you out."
"--Of course, you have only recently come out of Evening City, so you will need to take some safety precautions before you can move around."
Outside...?
Certain that he had not misheard, Bai Zhou stopped where he stood, his eyes slowly widening.
Light descended from above, its faint radiance outlining the youth's figure.
At that moment, he had thought he would first think of the Dead Sea Scrolls left behind in Tinghai City,
or perhaps the promotion opportunity Ya had entrusted to him.
But in truth, he did not think of anything at all.
His mind was nearly blank. His heart raced, and the flowing air entering his nostrils carried a sweetness he had never noticed before.
Only a tingling sensation remained, strange yet familiar, surging into his heart without reason, almost like instinct.
The Evening City where he had grown up had been called a Graveyard where the living dared not tread. Everyone told him that Blue Star was his true home.
But he had never actually seen what this "home" looked like.
The tension and fatigue he had accumulated over his days at the base inexplicably eased.
He suddenly had the urge to breathe in a few breaths of the outside air...
He wanted to take a proper look at the Blue Star that others described as different from Evening City,
the world that should have raised him--
What did it really look like?
Before you continue