After hearing her ancestor's explanation, Zhuang Xuanji looked thoughtful.
Seeing this, the Dao Academy ancestor gently pressed on. "Xuanji, I know what troubles you, and I know you're unwilling to accept this. But the matter of the immortal seedlings has already been settled by Sea Pavilion. They are powerful—the Dominion Realm Gate that rules our corner of the world—and a True Immortal stands behind them. Forget you alone. Even if every cultivator in the upper and lower realms of Azure Waves threw their lives into resisting them, it would be futile."
"I know you're shrewd enough to understand that. You wouldn't truly try to meet Sea Pavilion head-on. That's why I think this journey may be your chance to break out of this predicament and wrest life from death."
Zhuang Xuanji's eyes brightened slightly. "You mean that if I distinguish myself on this journey and stand out among the three immortal seedlings, I might earn Sea Pavilion's recognition and escape the fate of becoming immortal material?"
"That's right."
The Dao Academy ancestor nodded. "Even among immortal seedlings, there are higher and lower grades."
"Inferior seedlings are useless and discarded. Middling seedlings can serve as material and become nourishment for the Upper Cultivators. But a superior seedling may have a chance at Artifact Forging."
"You would become a weapon well suited to the hands of Sea Pavilion's Upper Cultivators. You would be subject to another's will, but your life on the Dao Path would be preserved."
"Xuanji, remember this: no matter what, you must find a way to stay alive. Once you die and your Dao Path ends, you'll truly have nothing left. Only by living—living—can anything be turned around. Only then will there still be hope."
As he reached this point, his words took on a weightier, more solemn tone.