Choosing an Inheritance Path

Night fell, and in the neon-lit district stood a building whose facade shimmered with a holographic starry sky.

Near the coastline, tourists on the beach could look up and see projections of stars surging like tides. The building's screens shifted through futuristic lights, creating a strikingly imaginative sight.

—Deep Sky Technology.

Of course, in the supernatural world, people rarely believed it was merely a technology company.

Behind it stood the Ether Association, the world's largest Ascender organization.

The elevator shot straight to the top floor, and Lu Zicheng and Chen Qing stepped out.

Dozens of cameras in the corridor turned toward them in unison, like countless eyes watching their every move.

At the same time, a remarkably human male voice sounded.

"Grade A Investigator, Lu Zicheng."

"Grade B Investigator, Chen Qing."

"Welcome back to the Feng City branch. I have prepared iced lattes and herbal tea according to your respective preferences."

Lu Zicheng nodded slightly and entered the hall with his young, beautiful female assistant.

Researchers in white lab coats moved through the room with files tucked under their arms. Upon seeing the two of them, they bowed slightly in greeting.

Lu Zicheng was long accustomed to this. The Ether Association had thirteen branches throughout the country, with tens of thousands of investigators spread across the nation to handle all kinds of emergencies.

The higher-ups were always selling everyone a dream: work for humanity's advancement and preserve world peace.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Since they had transcended ordinary people, they had to shoulder their mission.

"You are all heroes in human history!"

In reality, though, most Ascenders realized after joining the Ether Association for a while that they had merely changed workplaces. Not only were their lives constantly at risk, but their 996 schedule had become 007.

A cute little robot glided over, carrying an iced latte and herbal tea.

Lu Zicheng took the latte, handed the herbal tea to his female assistant, and headed straight toward the end of the conference hall.

In that brief moment, he pulled out another cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it.

"Young Master, isn't it inappropriate to smoke when you're meeting Minister Lu?"

Chen Qing asked in a lowered voice.

Lu Zicheng said disdainfully, "You think I'm afraid of her?"

Before the enormous floor-to-ceiling window stood a solid wood desk piled with miscellaneous documents. A holographic projector in front of it displayed a map framework of the entire Feng City coastline, sleek and cutting-edge.

"Minister, this is the list of newcomers from the past two months."

A young female secretary reported respectfully.

Smack!

The list was slammed onto the desk.

"This year's newcomers are like this? I'm very dissatisfied!"

Someone stood on the chair behind the desk, hands on her hips and fury written all over her face.

She was a girl who looked no older than twelve, dressed in an exquisite black Lolita dress. Black knee-high socks wrapped around her slender calves, and she wore glossy black round-toed shoes. She looked petite and adorable.

Her face was delicate and cute, with neat twin ponytails that made her resemble an exquisite doll.

Yet unexpectedly, her voice was that of a mature, commanding woman.

The female secretary trembled. "Minister Lu, the quality of this batch of newcomers is very good."

Minister Lu looked down at her and shot her a sidelong glance. "They're all too ugly."

The secretary said, "..."

Lu Zicheng walked over with an iced latte in one hand and a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers, only to overhear that exchange.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly as he greeted her. "Sis, I'm back."

Minister Lu turned to look at him, then suddenly glared.

The cigarette between Lu Zicheng's fingers instantly burned away, turning into ash.

"How many bear hearts and leopard guts did you eat to dare make your mother breathe your secondhand smoke?"

Minister Lu snapped, "If you dare smoke in front of me again, I'll kick you off the seventieth floor!"

Lu Zicheng's expression stiffened. He had not expected that after only such a short time apart, this woman seemed to have become stronger again.

"Yes, Your Ladyship."

If it had been anyone else, he would have exploded already.

But the woman in front of him was simply too formidable. As one of the country's thirteen branch ministers, and a combat specialist with strategic-level strength, ordinary people would not even last a few moves against her.

A wise man knew when to yield. He would settle the score with her another day.

The green-feathered Parrot rolled its eyes atop his shoulder. "Old woman pretending to be young. I'll deal with you sooner or later!"

Lu Zicheng said, "..."

For a moment, the vast conference room fell deathly silent.

The green-feathered Parrot suddenly flapped its wings and flew away.

Chen Qing reacted quickly and hurried after it, her high heels clicking against the floor.

Behind the desk, Minister Lu raised her clear black-and-white eyes, her gaze as terrifying as that of a vengeful ghost.

"That damned Parrot is utterly rebellious!"

Lu Zicheng immediately said, "Please wait, Your Ladyship. I'll catch it right away, pluck it, and stew it into soup."

Yet Minister Lu's light, casual words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"Come back."

Lu Zicheng's body went rigid.

"Although that Parrot is a supernatural creature, it cannot read minds. For it to say something like that, someone must have repeated it in front of it over and over until it remembered and learned the phrase."

Minister Lu's voice was icy. "So who taught it?"

"Yeah, who taught it? It must have been Chen Qing. Anyway, it wasn't me."

Lu Zicheng hurriedly changed the subject with a smile. "Sis, did you see the WeChat message I sent you?"

Minister Lu crossed her arms and looked at him coldly, crooking a finger.

Lu Zicheng stiffened all over as his lighter, cigarette pack, and even his wallet floated out of his pockets.

Snap.

With a snap of her fingers, they all turned to ash.

Lu Zicheng's heart bled. His premium cigarettes!

"I'll have Taixu freeze your bank cards and mobile payments later. Don't even think about smoking for the next month."

Minister Lu said flatly, "I saw the WeChat message. Old Gu's son awakened, right? Heh. Old Gu spent so many years desperately protecting him and keeping him away from the supernatural world, yet he awakened anyway."

Lu Zicheng asked curiously, "Sis, wasn't a special security team assigned to protect him? Did you pull them out and replace them with an expert?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

Lu Zijin rolled her eyes and said lazily, "Although I'm about to be promoted and most of my authority has already been handed over, I still need to finish what I'm supposed to do. Even if you hadn't gone out of your way to meddle today, Old Gu's son would have been perfectly safe. Do you really think those Fallen could turn the world upside down in my jurisdiction?"

Lu Zicheng sat across from her and asked, "That was an expert, wasn't it? Not weaker than me."

Lu Zijin remained unmoved. "What, did you find them?"

"No. Chen Qing didn't find them either."

Lu Zicheng asked curiously, "Then who was it?"

"I said, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

Lu Zijin said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it."

Lu Zicheng fell silent for a moment, then said word by word, "I want Professor Gu's son to join the Ether Association."

"No problem."

Minister Lu tilted her head. "An independent Ascender is entirely eligible."

"No, that's not what I mean."

Lu Zicheng shook his head. "I want to personally guide him, and I want him to join the thirty-seventh batch—the current batch."

"Why?"

"Because this is the final batch of the Kirin Immortal Palace Project. Only then can he receive the Ether Association's benefits and enter the Ancient God Realm to pioneer it. Whenever the Ancient God Realm opens, Ascenders from all over the world compete for opportunities to advance. There are only so many slots. If he doesn't get one, he can only become a freelance Ascender."

"Mm, that makes sense. Freelance Ascenders have no guides and no high-level Ascenders backing them up. Their useless freelance teammates do little besides drag them down."

As an executive of the Ether Association, Minister Lu naturally knew just how miserable freelance Ascenders could be.

In the supernatural world, strength naturally reigned supreme.

"Pull some strings and get him onto the thirty-seventh batch list."

Lu Zicheng said seriously, "If you handle it, then Little Gu, as an independent Ascender, should not be affected by Professor Gu's Blood Moon Massacre. If we wait until Yan Wu of the Yan Family takes office, it'll become troublesome."

Lu Zijin narrowed her beautiful eyes. "My opinion is that he shouldn't rush into the thirty-seventh batch. After all, he awakened too late. He won't be able to keep up no matter which organization he enters. The Gu Family no longer has any foundation, and he has no outside support. Our actions are constrained by Order. We must handle matters impartially and cannot show him favoritism."

She paused. "The Lu Family's resources will be of no use to him until he advances to the Hyperdimensional level. So I think you should bring him to the Lu Family and slowly train him from scratch. That would still be better than getting him killed."

Lu Zicheng fell silent.

"You need to understand that once he joins the Kirin Immortal Palace Project, he'll be trading his life for resources."

Lu Zijin enunciated each word.

"But if he misses the Kirin Immortal Palace, that child may truly never get another chance. He'll certainly die before he reaches forty."

Lu Zicheng said hesitantly, "Professor Gu was such an incredible person. How could he not leave something useful behind for his son? What if he awakened? Wouldn't that just leave him at everyone else's mercy?"

"How do you know he didn't?"

Lu Zijin rolled her eyes. "Gu Ci'an was a crafty old bastard. He'd bury treasures in seventy-four different cellars inside one secret base. For all we know, his son might walk somewhere one day and trigger one of his father's treasure chest traps."

Lu Zicheng asked, "What do we do now?"

"This is simple. Tell him what's at stake."

Lu Zijin said calmly, "Let him choose his own path."

·

·

At nine-thirty that night, Gu Jianlin was clearing the dishes from the dining table at home.

There were seven or eight plates. Forget even a grain of rice—there was not a drop of oil left on them.

Ever since returning from the Kirin Immortal Palace, something strange had been happening to his body. He was constantly tormented by weakness and hunger.

The weakness was manageable. As long as he rested well, it was not too uncomfortable.

That hunger was the truly lethal part. It tormented him every moment, yet there was no way to resolve it.

No matter how much he binge-ate, the Black Kirin in his mind remained ravenously hungry.

It had to be said that Su Youzhu was truly a thoughtful, good girl. When she saw his appetite increase dramatically, she deliberately cooked several extra dishes. Then she watched him finish every last bite, leaving her completely stunned.

After that, she looked at him as though he had just been released from prison and asked whether he wanted more food.

Gu Jianlin thought that since the hunger could not be resolved anyway, he might as well stop troubling her.

His mother and Uncle Su would not be back until tomorrow night.

Warm lights lit the house. There were only the two siblings at home.

At that moment, Su Youzhu was in her room fiddling with cosmetics while calling her older sister.

"Youzhu, Dad and Mom haven't been home lately. How does it feel to spend time alone with him?"

Her sister's amused, mature voice carried an intentional teasing lilt.

Su Youzhu's calm voice came through the crack in the door. "It's all right. He's polite, clean, and helps me with my homework. He's just a little too distant. Recently, he's even been taking odd jobs to help cover the household expenses."

"Oh, that's not what I mean. Of course I know he's obedient, polite, and handsome. I mean, how do you feel when you're with him? You're the same age, after all. Does it feel different?"

Her sister's voice came through the phone again.

This time, Su Youzhu thought for a full three seconds. "Um... having a child late in life?"

Pfft.

Gu Jianlin nearly lost it. He had never expected such an answer.

What the hell was having a child late in life supposed to mean?

He did not want to keep listening. After washing the dishes, he prepared to return to his room.

Yet whispers continued drifting from the bedroom next door.

"What do you mean, having a child late in life? How old are you?"

"Anyway, it feels like I became a mother early."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Mm. Spending time with him lately has made me understand the greatness of every mother."

Gu Jianlin silently closed his door, shutting the sisters' voices outside, then rubbed his face.

He shook his head with a bitter smile and glanced at the time.

It was almost ten.

Feng City's temperature changed drastically. It was only early April, yet there was already a hint of summer in the air.

The sea breeze poured in through the window, carrying a faintly damp salty scent.

Gu Jianlin stood by the window, silently gazing at the shimmering sea in the distance. Then he suddenly froze.

For some unknown reason, a scarlet glow had appeared upon the pitch-black seawater.

It was thick and viscous, like blood.

He abruptly looked up and saw that the moon in the sky had become an enormous blood moon!

The pitch-black night was illuminated by the blood moon. Its former depth had been replaced by boundless light, while countless black spheres floated above the heavens. They were so massive that they resembled planets with their backs to the light.

Rings of light emitting eerie radiance circled those planets.

Faintly, broken buildings shedding dust could be seen floating between the planets.

As though they were being destroyed, as though they were collapsing.

As though... they were breaking apart!

And above the black sea, closest to the vault of heaven, loomed a gigantic shadow.

No, it was not a shadow.

It was an inverted island floating in the sky.

Beneath the red moon, amid the black night, it stood incomparably majestic and vast, shrouded in clouds and mist.

As though it should never have existed in this world.

Anyone who saw this scene would feel as insignificant as an ant!

Gu Jianlin had only taken one look when a tremendous roar erupted in his mind.

Because the island seemed strangely familiar to him!

The island resembled a sleeping Qilin!

Kirin Immortal Palace!

For a moment, something inside Gu Jianlin seemed to awaken and carry him into another world.

Spirituality.

Perhaps that was spirituality!

Who knew how long had passed? It felt as though a century had gone by, yet also as if only an instant had passed.

When Gu Jianlin came to again, his expression instantly turned wary.

This time, he stood in endless darkness, before him blood-red moonlight and towering, majestic statues.

Whispers seemed to echo in his ears, like the drumbeats of a storm or the confessions of wandering ghosts.

As though they were tempting him to make some kind of choice.

Those ancient statues all took different forms, as imposing as gods, mysterious and majestic.

Some were burly warriors clad in pitch-black armor.

The most ferocious close-combat inheritance path.

Others were archers mounted on horseback, enormous bows strapped to their backs.

There were also Taoists holding horsetail whisks and standing atop yin-yang taiji diagrams.

The last stood proudly upon an altar, like a priest singing a silent hymn.

Besides those four largest statues, there were countless shattered statues below.

Some were Magicians, some were Witches, and there were Paladins as well, among others.

"Ancient Martial Arts, Overlord, Celestial Master, and the last one is..."

Gu Jianlin stared at the four statues. Faint murmurs echoed in his ears, yet he somehow understood their corresponding names on his own.

The four inheritance paths originated from the East.

As for the shattered statues below, they were all inheritance paths from the West.

"Ancient Martial Arts should be the strongest close-combat inheritance path, while Overlord is for archery, probably a long-range damage-dealing inheritance path. Celestial Master is easy enough to understand—it obviously uses all sorts of flashy spells. So what is this last one?"

Gu Jianlin wandered through the darkness, brushing past those majestic and imposing statues, feeling an unprecedented sense of awe.

The next moment, the Black Kirin in his mind suddenly stirred.

"Roar!"

The Black Kirin let out a faint growl and turned toward the last of the four enormous statues.

It was the mysterious black figure standing proudly atop the altar, silently singing a hymn.

Divine Priest!