Destiny Talent's Second Ascension!

The gray, murky sea of fog churned, divided apart by a magnificent and sacred Golden Path.

Wisps of fog drifted toward both sides of the road, only to be warded off by the flowing golden light, unable to encroach even an inch.

On this Golden Path, utterly out of place amid the Gray Fog, Bai Zhou crouched by the roadside with his head tilted, carefully examining the Seven-Colored Fire Seed from every angle.

This mysterious Fire Seed slowly burned with brilliant, crystalline seven-colored flames, as though condensed from the essence of Rainbow Light after rain. Strange Ancient Characters, mysterious and ancient, could vaguely be seen flowing through it.

Most astonishingly, its flames trembled continuously as they rose and fell, rhythmic like a heartbeat.

Bai Zhou suddenly shuddered.

He suddenly felt that

this knowledge seemed alive!

...He even had the illusion that this Fire Seed should not be lying so casually by the roadside.

Instead, it should be enshrined within ancient, lost ruins, quietly burning in a revered Divine Hall, overlooking the surviving descendants offering sacrifices from atop a sacred High Platform surrounded by treasures.

"Thump, thump..."

The Fire Seed pulsed like a living heart. Bai Zhou circled it for a long while, yet still could not make sense of it.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and simply tried reaching toward it.

With a whoosh, the Fire Seed transformed into a dazzling divine rainbow and darted aside with lightning speed, evading Bai Zhou's grasp.

"?"

Bai Zhou's eyes widened.

"Has knowledge become a spirit?"

Then he tried to catch it several more times.

As expected,

every attempt ended in failure.

After missing once again,

Bai Zhou gritted his teeth as he stared at the seven-colored Fire Seed right before him.

The Fire Seed lay lazily by the roadside, but whenever Bai Zhou drew even slightly closer, it would flee like a startled rabbit. It was exceptionally quick-witted.

But Bai Zhou refused to believe that.

If he had not seen it, then fine. But since it was right within reach, there was no way he could enter a mountain of treasures and leave empty-handed.

"How about... trying spirituality?"

He suddenly recalled that it had been spirituality that allowed the Golden Pass to open this road, leading him to discover this Fire Seed.

Without further hesitation, Bai Zhou began trying to stir the spirituality within his body.

...Before long, a trace of spirituality appeared at his fingertips.

This semi-transparent spirituality had no physical form. It seemed to be the purest essence of Bai Zhou's body and spirit condensed together, immaculate white and free of all stain.

It was light, yet not light. At times it fluttered freely, at times it shifted between illusion and reality, and at times it resembled the first dawn, brimming with vigorous life. It was exceedingly miraculous.

In Bai Zhou's understanding, aside from Destiny, spirituality was probably the greatest trait distinguishing extraordinary beings from ordinary people.

It was a mysterious quality with endless uses, though Bai Zhou had yet to develop it at all.

...Then Bai Zhou held up the spirituality and slowly crouched down, bringing his fingertips toward the Fire Seed.

This time, the seven-colored Fire Seed truly hesitated. It moved slightly closer to Bai Zhou's fingertips.

But when Bai Zhou tried to move closer still, the seven-colored Fire Seed immediately fled aside again as though startled.

"It works!"

Bai Zhou was overjoyed.

Heh, just a rabbit.

He had just learned an article within the Gray Fog and could already recite it backward. It was perfect for this situation.

How much cunning can beasts truly possess?

They merely add to one's amusement.

Then, without another word, Bai Zhou generously drew more spirituality from within himself.

One point, two points, three points...

When seven points of pure white spirituality appeared in Bai Zhou's palm, he suddenly felt dizzy.

A powerful sensation of weightlessness surged over him. Bai Zhou's face turned pale as if drained of blood, while an emptiness-like weakness rose from deep within his body.

He immediately understood that this was likely his limit. He could not draw out any more spirituality for the time being...

At that moment, the seven points of spirituality gathered in Bai Zhou's palm. Clusters of faint light interwove, unexpectedly forming a blazing Ring of pure white light that shone brilliantly, wondrous beyond measure.

Shaking his head clear, Bai Zhou held up the seven points of flawless white spirituality and slowly approached the seven-colored Fire Seed.

"..."

Sure enough, this time was completely different from before.

Sensing Bai Zhou's approach, the seven-colored Fire Seed trembled twice.

Yet it did not flee. It struggled in place for a long while before finally being unable to resist the temptation and pouncing straight toward the spirituality in Bai Zhou's palm.

The instant the surging flames wrapped around the spirituality, they dissolved and devoured it without leaving even a scrap behind.

The Next Second, the seven-colored Fire Seed turned to flee.

But it was already too late.

It wanted to run after taking what it wanted?

With a swish, Bai Zhou, his gaze blazing, seized it in one grab—

Refining it instantly!

"Buzz—"

The seven-colored Fire Seed, which melted away the instant it touched his palm, transformed into seven-colored radiance that bloomed across Bai Zhou's body.

Everything before Bai Zhou vanished. The sea of Gray Fog, the Golden Path... all that remained before him was a seven-colored Fire Seed.

In a daze, Bai Zhou's mind was exceptionally tranquil, still as an ancient well. A seven-colored Fire Seed fell into the center of his inner lake, like a seed planted in soil.

His spirit seemed to merge with that seed... The seven-colored seed broke through the soil, then sprouted.

At the tip of the sprout rested a massive ball of light, gleaming like a seven-colored meteor.

Only upon looking carefully did Bai Zhou discover that this dazzling seven-colored meteor was actually half of an incomplete Ancient Character...

He had never heard of this Ancient Character before. It seemed to have come from some heavenly tome. An exceptionally mysterious power vaguely lay hidden within its strokes, each one carrying an ancient aura and tremendous weight as it gleamed brilliantly.

Bai Zhou could not calm his heart. It was difficult to imagine that merely "half a character" could display properties far surpassing the Golden Knowledge from before, even possessing a quality that made it seem alive and impossible to grasp.

Its value was likely beyond estimation!

One could imagine that if this character were complete, it might not be something the current Bai Zhou could touch at all.

It might even bring him unforeseeable danger instead.

Half an Ancient Character imprinted itself into Bai Zhou's mind.

Yet the seven-colored radiance upon it was greedily swallowed up by Destiny in one gulp.

"Rumble, rumble—"

Seven-colored Rainbow Light descended toward the point where sea and sky met. The pitch-black, silent Sea of Ignorance began boiling again.

Bai Zhou's Destiny, that small white sun, seemed to be lifted upward by some force from below, rising more than two feet in a single instant!

Bai Zhou stared at the Bai Yang above the sea, and as if struck by inspiration, learned the distance between it and the Sea of Ignorance.

Five feet four inches!

Compared to its previous distance of three feet three inches, it had nearly doubled!

And this was not even the end.

Wisps of Rainbow Light overflowed from the surface of the Sea of Ignorance, eventually converging into a Rainbow River that appeared between the Bai Yang and the Black Sea.

The rainbow hung like a waterfall, connecting heaven and earth as it continuously supported the small white sun, making it rise by an infinitesimal arc...

Slowly ascending without end!

It was like the sun rising at dawn, with no end in sight.

Black Sea, Bai Yang, Rainbow River.

The spectacle of Sun Rise over the sea made one's heart surge with emotion.

"The sun is rising..."

Bai Zhou's heart pounded wildly.

Of course, it was from excitement.

A rare piece of Golden Knowledge had allowed him to successfully awaken Destiny and even touch the threshold of the Genius Ya had spoken of.

He had already been more than satisfied.

But now, merely half an Ancient Character had increased his talent by nearly another full fold?

It had even caused Destiny to undergo a second awakening in such a short time after its initial awakening?

Even now, that small sun was still rising, rising...

Though it was slow, it was like the old fool moving mountains—little by little, it would accumulate.

...But!

Why?

Bai Zhou did not understand.

This question was actually very necessary.

Because Ya had made it very clear—

The infusion and cleansing of Destiny by knowledge, even knowledge's determining effect on talent, only took effect before Destiny awakened.

In other words, at the moment Destiny awakened,

an extraordinary being's talent had already taken shape!

At the very least, after Bai Zhou's Destiny awakened, the Gray Fog could no longer flow into his body, much less be infused into his Destiny.

He imagined that it would be the same even if he encountered Golden Firefly Light again.

Normally, if not for this Golden Path and the seven-colored Fire Seed,

he should have already recited the departure incantation Ya had taught him, ended the Ritual, and left this mist that was no longer useful to him.

Just as Ya had said, this Gray Fog was fate's gift to those awakening for the first time.

But awakened extraordinary beings had no share in it.

Those who failed to seize the opportunity were destined to remain mediocre for life, because from then on, "knowledge" would be nothing more than "knowledge." No matter how much they learned, it could not change Destiny's talent.

So...

Was it simply because this half of a seven-colored Ancient Character was special?

A piece of knowledge... capable of changing an extraordinary being's talent after the fact?

At that thought, Bai Zhou could not calm down.

Because an even deeper doubt lingered in his heart.

Destiny was still slowly rising. If he understood correctly, it was because Destiny could not digest all that Rainbow Light at once, which was why it was absorbing it continuously like this.

Only once it had fully digested it would the height of his Destiny truly settle.

But... half of it had already done this much.

What if the Ancient Character were complete?

"..."

Just as he was thinking this, a needle-like pain struck from the Ancient Character in his mind.

The pain came without warning, arriving quickly and vanishing just as fast. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace, making it seem almost like an illusion.

What was that?

This half of an Ancient Character...

Bai Zhou opened his eyes in alarm and uncertainty.

But at that moment, he suddenly discovered that beneath his feet was no longer the Golden Path.

The golden light behind him slowly faded. At some unknown point, he had arrived at the end of the road.

Or rather, while he had been immersed in "digesting" the seven-colored Fire Seed, the end of the road had come to him on its own.

"This is...?"

Bai Zhou's slightly bewildered gaze swept across his surroundings.

Before him stretched a boundless Crimson Wasteland. Broken swords and ruined blades were embedded throughout the ground like rows of gravestones, while tattered battle flags swayed at the distant horizon.

The familiar Blood Moon hung in the sky once more.

The crimson heavens hung inverted overhead. The dense ruins of a broken city were suspended upside down from the vault of the sky, scarlet flames flickering everywhere as massive shattered gears slowly turned above, seemingly real and unreal.

"?"

Where had that Golden Path sent me?

The rolling Gray Fog seemed to remain before his eyes, yet Bai Zhou knew he was no longer in the Crevice World within the mirror.

The inverted sky, the rotating gears, the suspended remains of Sky City, and the ancient corpses and broken weapons covering the ground...

This place seemed to be the ruins of some ancient battlefield.

It came from one, or perhaps more than one, ancient and powerful lost civilization.

If Bai Zhou had guessed correctly,

the end of that Golden Path seemed to have directly carved through the Crevice World and sent him to the other side of the Crevice World...

The Reflection Ruins Realm?!

Eden, Nibelungen, Peach Blossom Spring—the places Ya had spoken of.

The reverse side of Blue Star, where all endings converged.

A hidden land filled with dangers and opportunities, worthy of a lifetime of exploration by extraordinary beings.

And Bai Zhou's hometown.

"I... came back?"

Bai Zhou's expression stiffened.

At that moment, the Blood Moon hanging high in the sky cast down its eerie crimson moonlight,

illuminating the face of a wanderer returning home.

Warm.

But Bai Zhou was not touched in the slightest. His eyelids were twitching wildly.

For the moment, he put aside the question of exactly how many moons the Reflection Ruins Realm had...

This "Reflection Ruins Realm" was completely different from the Evening City he remembered—a place of simple folkways, harmony, and stability!

It was ruined, bizarre, creepy, and downright fantastical!

...But that fit the definitions of "reflection" and "ruins" even better.

No wonder Ya had said the Reflection Ruins Realm was fraught with danger.

Without skilled techniques, a petty tomb robber who rashly entered the "Great Tomb" could only be crushed into paste by a passing trap boulder.

Cold sweat seeped down Bai Zhou's back.

He immediately pulled out the Golden Pass and channeled into it the spirituality within him, once again full and surging after absorbing the seven-colored Fire Seed.

Just as Bai Zhou had expected.

It was useless.

"...So this is the price?"

Bai Zhou remembered how every "second cup half price" promotion at Uncle Xiang's Convenience Store came with an extra charge for the straw.

Every gift bestowed by fate had long since been secretly marked with a price.

Likewise, was this the price he had to pay for stepping onto the Golden Avenue and obtaining the seven-colored Fire Seed?

Bai Zhou nervously surveyed his surroundings, rapidly taking in the nearby area.

Clearly, this boundless crimson wilderness was the remnant of an ancient battlefield. Aside from the broken walls and ruins, the most numerous things were shattered blades, broken swords standing upright in the earth, and decayed armor.

In the distance lay rotten tents and fragments of chariots everywhere, along with the chaotic traces of an army once stationed there.

And amid those fragments was a winding trail, clearly flattened by countless footsteps and horse hooves.

...Strangely, the end of that twisting path led directly toward a cliff face in the far distance.

But Bai Zhou was certain that the owners of those footprints had not collectively jumped off the cliff to kill themselves.

—Because directly above the cliff, a corner of the ruins of that giant city hanging upside down in the sky stood quietly there.

It was a scene difficult to describe in words.

They were ancient ruins, yet they floated in the heavens; remnants of civilization, yet inverted against the vault of the sky.

The city hung suspended above this wilderness battlefield, like enormous Dark Clouds weighing heavily upon the sky, its shattered foundation forcibly stuck to that vast canopy.

Beneath the turning giant gears, shattered towers flickered with flames that had burned unextinguished for countless years. Their broken spires hung grimly toward the earth like silent stalactites.

It was hard to imagine what kind of glorious civilization had once stood here, how prosperous its technology and culture had become, and what sort of war had ultimately shattered it.

"..."

After staring up at the boundless Inverted Giant City for a long while, Bai Zhou lowered his gaze to the nearby area.

...Compared to the distant Inverted City, there was a dried-up riverbed just over ten meters away from him.

The conspicuous Corpse Pit there drew Bai Zhou's attention more for the moment.

Because dozens of ancient corpses lay densely packed within it.

Calling them ancient corpses might not even have been accurate. Aside from a few shriveled, mummy-like dried corpses, the rest were simply heaps of half-shattered skeletal remains.

By now, these ancient undead had turned into brown fossils, though certain parts of their limbs displayed an unusual, semi-transparent jade-like texture.

They lay atop the dry, cracked riverbed, the pitch-black hollows of their skulls' eye sockets seeming to gaze unwillingly at the inverted sky.

And beside them was a dazzling, gorgeous red flower in full bloom, swaying in the wind.

—A big red flower?

Where had a big red flower come from?

Bai Zhou froze for a moment.

The last time he had seen a little red flower was in kindergarten back in Evening City. As such a well-behaved student, of course he had received one every year.

But this was different...

The red flower was blooming splendidly. Illuminated by the Scarlet Moon, its color grew even more vivid.

It stood utterly out of place amid this lost ancient battlefield, jarringly incongruous.

...Then Bai Zhou leaned closer and looked carefully.

The Next Second, his heart—which had been pounding violently ever since he arrived—suddenly skipped half a beat—

What red flower was there?!

It was clearly strings of scarlet last words, wriggling like little red worms, densely piled together into a "flower."

And their contents were shockingly identical—

[Let Me Rest!]

[Let Me Rest!]

[Let Me Rest!]

[...]

—The vivid red flower swayed in the wind.

Its petals overlapped.

A horrifying sight!