Shi Yi had never imagined that after awakening and falling unconscious again, he would open his eyes to find himself in the Upper Realm. Gazing at the immortal mountains and splendid pavilions wreathed in mist, feeling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dozens of times richer than in the lower realm, he instead felt waves of pain in his heart.
"All those opportunities in the Eight Regions of the lower realm..." Shi Yi's slender fingers clenched involuntarily, his knuckles turning pale. In particular, there was the Mountain Treasure-that held the complete inheritance of the Supreme Hall! It contained not only the Grass Character Sword Art, one of the three great sword arts, but also the Six Paths of Reincarnation Heavenly Art, said to be capable of reversing the six paths. These supreme inheritances, which even Immortal Kings would fight over until their heads cracked and bled, had slipped right past him.
"Forget it. Gaining them would have been my fortune; losing them was my fate." Shi Yi drew a deep breath, suppressing the resentment churning in his heart. He understood the cycles of cause and effect better than anyone. "Besides, if I really obtained that Desolate Heaven Emperor's opportunities, the karma I'd have to shoulder would probably be more than enough to make me suffer." Recalling the figure who ultimately stood alone in judgment over all eternity, a complicated look flickered in Shi Yi's eyes.
Although this body would eventually ascend to the position of Immortal Emperor along its original course, his soul's arrival from another world was like a stone thrown into the river of time. Who knew what ripples it would stir? Besides, in this life, he had no desire to repeat the same disastrous mistakes.
Shi Yi raised his head toward the firmament, the stars of the heavens reflected in his double pupils. Since he had arrived in the Upper Realm, countless opportunities awaited him here as well. The Primordial Ancient Mine, the Immortal Grave, the Heavenly Deity Academy... each was a land of fortune capable of forging supreme powerhouses.
"In this life, I'll carve out a path of my own," Shi Yi murmured, mysterious patterns of the Dao beginning to flow around him. Since he had missed the opportunities in the lower realm, he would fight his way into a new world in the Upper Realm. A bearer of double pupils should never live in another's shadow.
Shi Yi sat cross-legged atop the dome of an ancient palace, his robes lifting gently in the breeze, the patterns of this world's laws reflected in his double pupils. He lightly tapped the void with a fingertip, sensing the flow of this realm's Great Dao, his brows drawing together.
"Master spoke the truth. Though this place lies within the Upper Realm, it forms a realm of its own. Its laws are flawed, and its Great Dao is incomplete." He murmured in a low, cold voice, like a flowing icy spring. "The method of nirvana can perfect my Dao foundation, but forcing nirvana in this realm would only defeat its purpose. It would make my own Great Dao resonate with this flawed world, leaving hidden dangers instead."
He looked up toward the horizon. Laws flickered faintly across the firmament, but they resembled a shattered spiderweb, unable to connect into a coherent whole. Though this cultivation-abode world was vast and brimming with spiritual energy, it was ultimately a miniature world opened up by some peerless powerhouse. It could not compare with the true Upper Realm.
"It seems I can only set nirvana aside for now. Once I leave this realm, I'll find somewhere with a complete Great Dao to rebuild my foundation." Shi Yi's gaze was deep, runes flashing within his double pupils as though he were deducing his future path. "Still, while this place's laws aren't perfect, they have their own unique qualities. Perhaps... I can use them to temper myself and seek a breakthrough under their constraints."
He slowly rose and stood at the highest point of the palace roof, surveying the vast cultivation-abode world. Towering mountains rose in the distance, spiritual mist curling around them, yet they carried a faint air of unreality, as though everything were a manifestation of that powerhouse's will.
"A flawed Great Dao may be an opportunity in its own right." Shi Yi's lips curved slightly, a keen glint flashing in his eyes. "Since I can't undergo nirvana, I'll take another path first-feed battle with battle, and prove my Dao through slaughter!"
As his words fell, his figure flashed, turning into a streak of light that vanished into the distance. Only silence remained atop the palace, as though no one had ever stood there.
He stood quietly on a mountain summit, feeling the fierce wind and rolling clouds, his robes snapping around him. Chaos energy filled his double pupils, as though they were bringing forth all the heavens and myriad worlds.
He knew well that in this vast Upper Realm, prodigies gathered like clouds and powerful figures stood in great ranks. Talent alone was nowhere near enough if he wanted to truly rise.
"My double pupils... are indeed my greatest reliance," he murmured. As his eyes opened and closed, runes intertwined within them; a single ray from his gaze could pierce the void and intimidate his foes. The power of his double pupils encompassed almost everything-in attack, they could manifest divine light of destruction to pierce any enemy; in defense, they could construct a Chaos Barrier, impervious to all arts; in sealing, they could imprison heaven and earth and suppress powerful foes; in recovery, they could swiftly heal injuries; and in support, they could perceive the Great Dao and see straight to its essence.
"But my double pupils alone aren't enough." Shi Yi's gaze deepened as he began sorting through everything he had learned.
"The Heaven Mending Technique-" This art was mysterious and unfathomable. It could remedy his own shortcomings and even briefly reverse the course of a battle, recovering a losing position. If cultivated to full mastery, perhaps it could truly "mend heaven" and overturn heaven and earth.
"The Qilin Precious Technique, incomplete fragment-" Though incomplete, it still contained supreme might. Once unleashed, the qilin true form would manifest, trampling heaven and rending earth with unrivaled dominance. If he could find the complete inheritance, it would surely become one of his great killing moves.
"The Golden Crow Precious Technique-" Utterly yang and utterly unyielding, it could burn the heavens and boil the seas. Cultivated to its ultimate limit, it would allow him to become a blazing sun and strike down every foe.
"The Golden-Winged Great Peng Precious Technique-" Its speed was unmatched. A flap of its wings could carry him across ten thousand miles, while its attacks descended like the Heavenly Blade, their cutting edge without equal.
"The Bian Precious Technique-" It centered on slaughter, its savage might surging to the heavens. Once unleashed, it could cow all living beings and chill an enemy's courage.
"And then there's... the Supreme Bone." Shi Yi's eyes flickered slightly as a strand of mysterious runes appeared in his palm. This was the power derived from the Supreme Bone nurtured within his body. Though it was not as versatile as his double pupils, properly developed, it might become another trump card.
"I have plenty of means, but I need to integrate them and forge my own path." Shi Yi pondered. His double pupils were powerful, but not invincible. Against a truly peerless prodigy, like that one... these alone would probably not suffice.
"It seems I need to find new opportunities as soon as possible and make up for my shortcomings." His gaze was resolute as he looked into the distance.
The Upper Realm was vast, its prodigies vying for supremacy, and he, Shi Yi, would surely ascend to its highest peak!
Every generation of double-pupil bearers had been peerless prodigies who dominated their era. With invincible bearing, they swept through the eight wildernesses and the six directions, leaving indelible marks of glory in the river of time. It was precisely the mighty reputation these predecessors had earned with every punch and kick that forged the undying legend: "Double pupils have been invincible since ancient times."
The power of double pupils could indeed be called the pinnacle of this world. The mighty power of creation contained in those twin pupils was enough to discern the ultimate truths of heaven and earth and manifest endless divine abilities.
Yet this greatest strength often became their greatest shackle-compared with their unparalleled double pupils, their physical bodies remained a weakness difficult to remedy.
Of course, such bodies were already among the finest when measured against ordinary cultivators. But against ancient races specializing in physical cultivation, or mighty body refiners who had tempered their physiques to the utmost, they would pale in comparison.
Shi Yi stood quietly on the mountain summit, his robes snapping in the wind. He gently brushed his double pupils, and that earth-shaking battle from back then surfaced before his eyes once more.
That fellow Shi Hao had relied on a precious body that could be called perfect to withstand the peerless killing power of the double pupils head-on. In the end... At the thought, his fingers involuntarily clenched until his knuckles turned white.
"If one day I encounter someone who can counter my double pupils...
Shi Yi's gaze gradually chilled, the river of stars reversing within his double pupils. "Aside from these eyes, what else do I have?" Amid the howling mountain wind, he suddenly realized that he had relied far too heavily on the might of his double pupils all these years. Those pupils, said to see through all arts, now left him unable to see the path ahead of him.