Fate Begins

Elsewhere

Several people sat atop the back of a massive flying demonic beast.

"Lin Ye, was that big guy just now Qin Hao?"

The woman traveling with Lin Ye, whom they called Sister Long, spoke.

"Yes, he was Qin Hao. This man possessed extraordinary talent, and his physical body was exceptionally formidable!"

"Just now, he alone had fought and killed a Ghost Clan member barehanded. It was unbelievable."

Lin Ye gazed ahead and spoke unhurriedly.

"Yes, yes, yes. That kid was terrifying. That body of his, tsk tsk tsk, just looking at it told you he wasn't someone to mess with."

"Why did such a young kid have such a powerful body?"

"He was even stronger than those hulking idiots in the Heavenly Dragon Guard who specialized in body tempering."

Hearing this, the woman also revealed an approving expression.

"Indeed. That child's talent for the physical body was extremely high, far surpassing those few from the Heavenly Dragon Guard. Perhaps only that lord of the Heaven rank could compare with him."

"So that was why you thought so highly of him?"

She looked at Lin Ye as she spoke.

Lin Ye did not reply immediately.

"What do you think we cultivate immortality for?"

Suddenly, Qin Hao turned to ask her.

The woman was baffled by Lin Ye's sudden question. Were we even on the same wavelength?

Still, after thinking for a while, she answered.

"Isn't it for longevity?"

"Yes! We endured countless hardships precisely to win a sliver of opportunity for longevity!"

"But how difficult was it to obtain this so-called opportunity? Perhaps most people would never even see that tiny chance throughout their entire lives."

"Who in this world could escape death? No matter how peerlessly beautiful you were, no matter how unmatched beneath heaven, in the end you would still become rosy bones and a skeleton."

"No matter if you were a prodigy of an era, ruling over rivers and mountains stretching ten thousand miles, in the end you would still turn into a mound of yellow earth."

The others looked at Lin Ye in shock.

"Hey, hey, hey, Boss, don't scare me."

Ji Ni looked at his captain. This was completely unlike him, and those words gave his little heart quite a shock.

"Now, I have finally seen it! Seen my opportunity for longevity!"

Upon hearing Lin Ye's final words, everyone stared at him with astonished eyes. Even Li Zhi, who had always been cold and detached, was no exception.

"Lin Ye, could it be that what you meant was—"

Li Zhi blurted out along with the woman. "Qin Hao!"

Seeing everyone's reactions, Lin Ye slowly nodded.

"That's right! It's him. I saw the opportunity for longevity upon him!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Boss! Do you want to eat his flesh and become immortal?"

Ji Ni stared at Lin Ye with a face full of shock.

Upon hearing that, everyone's faces instantly darkened.

The woman slapped Ji Ni on the back of his head. "You idiot!"

"Ow! Sis, what was that for?!"

"Qin Hao meant that the opportunity lay in Qin Hao himself! You idiot, what garbage do you think about every day?"

The woman held her forehead helplessly.

"Oh, so that was it. You should've said so earlier! You had me nervous for a moment."

Ji Ni patted his chest.

"Lin Ye, do you really think so highly of Qin Hao that he made you sense that illusory immortal affinity?"

"You should know that there haven't been any legends of immortals in this world for a very long time!"

Lin Ye pondered for a moment, then spoke with unwavering eyes.

"No! I can't be mistaken! I felt it. Though this may sound somewhat illusory, I can feel it!"

"The guidance coming from the depths of my soul!"

Seeing the determination in Lin Ye's eyes, Li Zhi and the others no longer doubted him.

The woman looked at Lin Ye and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

"Qin Hao is a body-tempering martial artist. The further he progresses, the more resources he will need."

"And Qin Hao does not have a powerful Lineage to rely on, nor enough resources to support his cultivation!"

"So after I return to the Lin Family, I will persuade the people of the Lineage to support Qin Hao with all their strength!"

"Help him become an immortal!"

"I want to plant the cause now and trade it for the fruit in the future! To obtain that immortal affinity!"

Lin Ye slowly laid out his thoughts.

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.

The woman still asked uncertainly.

"For that sliver of uncertain immortal affinity from Qin Hao, was it worth staking everything you had?"

"You should know that pushing a body-tempering martial artist into immortality would consume resources that even your Lin Family could not afford."

"Unless!"

She stared at Lin Ye in shock.

Lin Ye merely gazed into the distance and nodded.

"Have you gone mad? You should know that if you do this, once you fail, or Qin Hao fails to bring you that so-called immortal affinity—"

"Do you know what your Lin Family will have to face?"

The woman still tried her utmost to persuade him.

"Yeah, Captain, this, this, this is far too huge!"

Ji Ni also spoke with a serious expression at this point. He understood the gravity of the matter.

Li Zhi said nothing. He merely watched Lin Ye silently from the side. He understood Lin Ye—once he made a decision, he would never change it again.

"I have already made my decision."

"Even if the Lineage gave me its full support, I would have absolutely no chance of standing out amid this great tide!"

"Then I might as well take a gamble!"

At this point, Lin Ye raised his head and let out a long sigh. "I don't know what's wrong with me either. Why do I trust so deeply a kid I've known for less than a day?"

After speaking, Lin Ye said nothing more. He merely stared resolutely into the distance.

Hearing Lin Ye's answer, the woman said nothing further. She only lowered her head, pondering something.

Ji Ni and the others also made no further sound.

"Ah! Since that's the case, I'll give it a try as well. I'll gamble on this immortal affinity alongside you."

As though she had made her final decision, the woman spoke slowly.

"Sister Long, you don't need to do this."

Lin Ye looked at the woman before him and slowly shook his head.

"Hmph! Trying to shake me off?"

"Besides, our Long and Lin families have always been on good terms. I have to report your decision to my clan, don't I?"

"And I believe in your judgment!"

"However, even if the clan agrees, they can still watch and wait for a while. After all, Qin Hao is still far too insignificant right now."

"Don't worry. I believe in myself. Before long, Qin Hao will step onto a bigger stage. We only need to wait and see."

"Mm!"

After that, they spoke no more, and the demonic beast flew swiftly onward.

Elsewhere

Zhong Li Dao and the others had completed their mission and were preparing to return and report back.

"Qin Hao, we're preparing to return to the Imperial Capital. Do you want to come with us?"

Zhong Li Dao looked at Qin Hao as he spoke.

"Forget it, Captain. I still haven't settled matters at home, so I probably can't go right now."

"Once I've settled things at home, I'll go to the Imperial Capital to find you."

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Li Dao felt that was reasonable. Qin Hao had only just joined them and had not even informed his family yet.

"Alright, then we'll return first to report back. I've already given you the token. When the time comes, you can go straight to headquarters to register."

"We'll wait for you in the Imperial Capital."

Bai Ling and the others hurriedly bade Qin Hao farewell.

A huge flying shadow appeared above Qin Hao and the others.

A giant eagle with a wingspan of more than ten meters appeared before Qin Hao.

The demonic beast slowly descended!

"Whoa! What is this?"

Qin Hao looked at the demonic beast before him and spoke in surprise.

"Hehe, you don't know this, do you? This is the Heavenly Dragon Guard's exclusive mount!"

"It's called a Red Feathered Eagle! A third tier demonic beast assigned by headquarters for us to travel with!"

Bai Ling introduced it from the side.

"Hahaha, alright, get on. We'll give you a ride."

Zhong Li Dao laughed at Qin Hao's astonished appearance.

"Alright!"

As he spoke, Qin Hao grabbed Bai Ling and tossed her onto the demonic beast's back in one motion.

Qin Hao immediately jumped up after her.

"Qin Hao, you bastard! Why did you throw me?!"

Bai Ling was dissatisfied with Qin Hao's act of tossing her and glared at him angrily.

"Haha, I saw that you were short, so I thought you couldn't reach it. I just instinctively..."

"Sorry, Sister Bai Ling, hahaha."

Qin Hao also realized that this was not Earth. Bai Ling was a cultivator too.

She could jump more than ten meters in a single leap.

"Hahaha, alright, alright, stop fooling around."

As he spoke, Zhong Li Dao patted the Red Feathered Eagle beneath him.

Having received the command, the Red Feathered Eagle let out a cry, spread its wings spanning more than ten meters, and shot into the sky.

Sitting on its back, Qin Hao found it incredibly thrilling.

He had never ridden an eagle before. It was his first time, so he was a little excited.

"Hehe, you silly kid. How was it? Thrilling, right?"

Seeing Qin Hao looking like he had never seen the world, Bai Ling teased him.

Qin Hao could not be bothered with this little brat. Though he was a little brat now, in his previous life, he had been several years older than Bai Ling.

He would not stoop to argue with a child like her.

"Hey, hey, hey, Captain, why didn't you bring this out earlier for traveling?"

Qin Hao remembered that he seemed to have run here earlier, and he looked at Zhong Li Dao resentfully.

"This? Because I only just remembered too, hehe."

Zhong Li Dao replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"..."

Hearing that, Qin Hao was rendered speechless.