The altered future

I'm not in the future?!

Upon hearing the Gu God's telepathic message, Xu Qi'an could not hide his astonishment, thinking to himself, "You've never even heard of Great Feng Dynasty? You, a super-grade, are simply ignorant!"

"The Heavenly Gu can only see a glimpse of the future; perhaps you simply haven't seen me."

Xu Qi'an responded with his divine sense.

That's what he said, but based on the words revealed by the Gu God, he analyzed three possibilities:

1. Xu Yinluo had already perished before the great calamity, therefore he was not in the future that the Gu God saw.

Second: Someone concealed his existence.

Just as Xu Pingfeng used the magic Law Artifact of the first supervisor to conceal his plans, in the future seen by the current supervisor, he won the battle of Qingzhou, instead of being sealed away.

Regarding this matter, there is one point of doubt raised by Xu Qi'an that has not been verified:

If the Supervisor couldn't predict the outcome of the Qingzhou battle, could he predict the more distant future? If so, then the Supervisor could easily deduce, by considering the absence of himself in the future, the time when he would meet his demise in Qingzhou.

His guess was that the Supervisor saw an alternate future, in which Xu Pingfeng's rebellion was quelled in Qingzhou. However, the Law Artifact left behind by the first Supervisor altered that future.

Of course, this topic is too philosophical for the crude Xu Yinluo to fully comprehend.

Third: When the Gu God glimpsed the future, he had not yet traveled here.

The Gu God did not answer Xu Qi'an's question. After a while, his majestic and grand voice continued:

"The future has changed once again."

"Again? "Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, then asked:

"The future you glimpse has been changed many times already?"

Therefore, the future is not static, or rather, what we call peeking into the future is only seeing one possible direction of it. Xu Qi'an suddenly understood. He had once heard a saying that the future is like a towering tree with many branches. (Note 1)

There are countless possibilities.

The future that the Supervisor saw when he was in Qingzhou was one branch, but after the first Supervisor's magical Law Artifact appeared, the future took a different turn?

"Since the founding of the Great Feng Dynasty, the future has changed twice; including your existence, it has changed three times."

The Gu God's voice was majestic and grand, answering the question frankly, seemingly without any intention of hiding anything.

"What did you see the first two times?" Xu Qi'an took the opportunity to fleece them.

"Emperor Wuzong rebelled, and the current Supervising Official appeared." The Gu God paused for a few seconds, as if recalling something, and said:

"In the original future, the first Supervisor would have lived to this day, and then took Xu Pingfeng as his disciple. In order to become a Celestial Master, Xu Pingfeng joined forces with Buddhist School to kill the first Supervisor and take his place."

Xu Qi'an's mind was filled with the word "Holy shit!"

After a long while, he finally managed to gather his chaotic thoughts and began to digest the information revealed by the Gu God.

"In other words, in the original future, the Wuzong rebellion did not exist, and the first supervisor did not perish. Xu Pingfeng should have been the first disciple, but only recently did he join forces with the Buddhist School to betray his master."

"The fate of the first supervisor, who died from his apprentice's betrayal, remains unchanged, but the timeline has shifted, moving forward five hundred years. Furthermore, in that future, Xu Qi'an truly died in the tax evasion case. Why did this change occur?"

Two words flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind:

Supervise!

"God of Gu, in the future you foresee, shouldn't the Supervisory Authority also cease to exist?" Xu Qi'an transmitted his thoughts.

"He is just like you," the Gu God replied succinctly.

Like me, they must be people who changed the future, just like me. They can't all be time travelers like me, can they? Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, somewhat uncertainly.

"I shouldn't exist in the future because I'm not from this world. My time travel changed the future. So where did this Supervisor, who shouldn't exist either, come from?" Xu Qi'an pondered.

If there's a chance later, should we exchange a secret code? Hmm, the periodic table is good, but I can't remember what comes after sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, and phosphorus. Let's try another one. I remember the last part: odd changes, even remains the same. Amidst Xu Qi'an's flurry of thoughts, the majestic yet emotionless voice of the Gu God rang out again:

"Where did you get that strong aura of luck?"

"This represents half of the national destiny of the Central Plains dynasty; strictly speaking, it's not considered ordinary fortune."

Xu Qi'an told the Gu God about the origins, causes, and consequences of his nation's destiny.

This is to maintain the current peaceful exchanges.

"So it was you!"

The voice of the Gu God fluctuated slightly.

Xu Qi'an quickly pressed, "What do you mean?"

The God of Gu did not answer.

Seeing this, Xu Qi'an had no choice but to continue asking:

"What caused the second change in the future?"

This time, the Gu God did not remain silent and answered him directly, "A first-rank martial artist from the Central Plains named Wei Yuan will play a crucial role in the great calamity."

This is yet another bombshell. Xu Qi'an rubbed his temples, calmly analyzing the complex inside story behind this information.

"In the future that the Gu God saw, the top-ranking martial artist in the Central Plains was Wei Yuan, not me. In other words, I replaced Duke Wei? The first change in the future was due to the appearance of the Supervisor. So what is the reason for this change in the future? After dying in Jingshan City, Duke Wei is now just a mortal. Who knows when he will recover his cultivation?"

"No, the turning point wasn't the Battle of Jingshan City, because by then I already bore the weight of the nation's destiny and all sorts of karmic consequences. Even if Duke Wei hadn't died, I would still have reached my current level. Duke Wei's death only accelerated my growth."

"Then let's keep pushing forward."

Xu Qi'an's pupils contracted slightly; he had found the answer—after the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Wei Yuan had abandoned his cultivation and remained in the imperial court!

"And that year, I was born."

"From that time on, I replaced Wei Yuan. My growth and rise were all driven by the Supervisor behind the scenes. In other words, it was the Supervisor who made me replace Wei Yuan. No, to be precise, the Supervisor once chose Wei Yuan, but later, because Wei Yuan destroyed his cultivation, he had no choice but to give up this pawn and choose me instead."

"Both changes to the future were due to the supervisor."

Based on this speculation, Xu Qi'an finally understood the truly terrifying aspect of the Fate Masters: they could influence the future's trajectory according to their own plans, choosing a "branch" that aligned with their desires.

"With us sealed by the Confucian Sage, even a first-rank martial artist can grow up smoothly," the Gu God's voice rang out again.

"What's the meaning?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi'an frowned.

The voice of the Gu God was loud and clear, entering his mind:

"Since the end of the Age of Gods and Devils, countless years have passed, and the Nine Provinces have produced quite a few First-Rank Martial Artists. So why are there no First-Rank Martial Artists in the Nine Provinces today? Have you ever wondered why?"

"I know the martial arts system holds many secrets."

Xu Qi'an did not give a direct answer.

Emperors like Wuzong and Gaozu, who were first-rank military officers, had limited lifespans. However, there were always some who achieved the first-rank status through their own talent and hard work. Logically speaking, they should have been able to live from ancient times to the present.

However, apart from Shen Shu, there are no other first-rank martial artists in the Nine Provinces Continent.

Even Shenshu's situation is quite special; he is suspected to be another body of the Buddha and cannot be taken lightly, making him an exception.

The Gu God said:

"Because the Super-Ranks don't want to see the Martial God appear, among the various systems of the world, the Confucian School system is currently recognized as the strongest, because the Super-Ranks of the Confucian School can suppress beings of the same level. The sculpture next to you is the best proof of that."

"But even the Confucian sages couldn't kill us."

"Actually, martial arts is the strongest system. You've only just entered the first rank, so you don't understand the true power of a first-rank martial artist. Once you reach the Great Perfection of the first rank, you'll naturally understand."

"I actually know," Xu Qi'an replied telepathically.

"A first-grade master at the Great Perfection level, even a superior-grade one can't kill him? This is an ability that other first-grade systems don't possess."

The God of Gu paused for a moment, then responded as if changing the subject:

"Based on my speculation, the Martial God is the only being capable of killing other supreme-grade beings. The Buddha, the Confucian Sage, the Witch God, and the Daoist Venerable all believe this."

Xu Qi'an suddenly realized:

"So, the reason why first-rank martial artists have disappeared is because you nipped the threat in the bud?"

The mighty voice of the Gu God echoed:

"It wasn't me, it was them. After the end of the ancient era, I slumbered here, mending the spiritual essence."

"Why did you raise my sister to be a vessel?" Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

The God of Gu responded to this by saying:

"Not a container!"

"Not a container?" Xu Qi'an pressed.

"What's the meaning."

The Gu God ignored him, saying what He wanted to say and remaining silent about what He didn't want to say.

This is top-notch sophistication.

The Gu God's cultivation of the Seven Deadly Gu within Lingyin's body has a hidden meaning, and it's none of my business... Tsk, this is a bit awkward. Seeing this, Xu Qi'an stopped pressing the matter and focused on gathering information before asking the next question:

What caused the Gods and Devils to fight each other in ancient times?

The Gu God remained silent for a long time, then his voice became majestic and grand, as if proclaiming a divine decree:

"It was driven by instinct; it was out of necessity; it was to grasp the first hope born after the creation of the world."

"Explain?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The Gu God ignored him.

"The White Emperor who came to Southern Frontier to find you a while ago is actually 'Wilderness,' and is an ancient Gods and Devils, an existence of the same rank as you."

Xu Qi'an took the opportunity to betray "Huang", even though he believed that the Gu God should know about it.

"His spiritual essence was torn apart by the phoenix," the Gu God replied simply.

Xu Qi'an nodded. Sure enough, for Chaopin, there were no secrets in this world.

"According to the logic of ancient Gods and Devils killing each other, are you in a competitive relationship with Buddha and others?" he asked.

This is quite important.

"After we break free of the seal, we will first divide up the Central Plains and consolidate our fortunes, and only then will we begin to compete. In the face of absolute strength, schemes are meaningless."

The Gu God's voice was loud and cold, exposing Xu Qi'an's ulterior motives.

This is telling me not to try to use my wits to influence Chaopin or guide the situation. If I really intend to do so, I will be met with Chaopin's big stick. Xu Qi'an silently exhaled.

At this level, only force matters; words and intelligence are useless.

"Aren't you afraid I'll threaten you with repairing the Confucian Sage's seal?" Xu Qi'an probed.

"Can!"

The God of Gu replied.

Actually, I don't have the right to threaten anyone. If I seal even one of the Super Grade ones, I'll most likely be crippled, Non-Self can seal all of them at once. Xu Qi'an probed:

Why are you telling me this?

Gu God Dao:

"This is meaningless."

Xu Qi'an attempted an analysis. The Gu God meant that this information was public knowledge among those of superior grade, and therefore of no value. He didn't care if others knew it.

This information might be important to Xu Qi'an, but it is worthless to the Gu God.

The gap between circles, Xu Qi'an concluded:

"Are you planning to leave on your own, or should I suppress you and then find a terrestrial deity to eliminate you?"

The Gu God remained silent. The next moment, his powerful will receded like a tide, breaking free from the Seven Deadly Gu.

He is gone.

Dealing with Superb Items is so enjoyable and classy. This trip to Southern Frontier was a huge success. Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, trying to find some humor in his situation. He examined himself and finally had the opportunity to process the changes brought about by the Seven Absolute Gu's advancement to the Extraordinary Realm.

PS: Note 1: The future scenarios are hypothetical and should not be taken too seriously. Just consider them as the setting of this book (from the survival instinct of an author who is afraid of being criticized).

This chapter fills in some gaps from previous chapters. The supervisor once intended to support Wei Yuan; I reckon very few people still remember this detail. I'll correct the typos tomorrow.