Chapter 645
Advancement: Sin Scholar (Requesting monthly passes!)
“So, this symbolizes the sand running out and the yin-yang reversing?”
The old man in the yellow robe spoke more than usual. He said in an orderly manner, “I’ll take the item first, but I will hand it over to the Great Philosopher. With this, the Great Philosopher will be restored to completeness.
“Thus, the Great Philosopher will owe a heavy debt of gratitude—I happened to hear that Hengwo desires a portion of the Great Philosopher’s spring of wisdom, a request that should be easily fulfilled. And the Emperor’s Flowing Nectar that Hengwo can provide happens to be useful to my apostle as well. In this way, both the Great Philosopher and Hengwo will owe Eivass a favor.
“At the same time, I will pay additional price for Hengwo…”
As he spoke, the Hourglass, now in a cheerful state, looked at Eivass. “I know your predicament, Eivass. You might need this in the future.”
The old man’s retracted sleeves opened for the first time, revealing something that was neither black nor white, looking like a void torn from the world. It resembled a blurry chaos, yet also like scissors that could cut apart all things.
[The Rift of Two Poles].
Even though it was Eivass’s first time seeing it, he immediately understood its essence.
“This is a secret treasure capable of separating all things into two aspects. Good will and evil, life and death, success and failure, past and future…
“This yin-yang cutting is different from Aishi Ping’s method of severing the tail. It is a safer method… capable of temporarily separating two paths when your own path is in conflict. When the paths return to the state of Tai Chi, you can also reunite them at any time.”
The Hourglass explained to Eivass, “This power is dangerous. I cannot give it to you directly, and without the power of the Origin River, you cannot control it. But I can lend it to you for one use.
“—In other words, in the future, if you are about to lose control, you can summon me through a ritual. I will temporarily split you into two individuals, thus temporarily isolating the conflict. At the same time, these two ‘yous’ can communicate with each other at all times, as if you have learned a powerful clone technique.
“However, this split cannot last too long, a maximum of five months. The two of you must reunite. Otherwise, just like Supreme Heaven and the Great Philosopher, you may never be able to reunite.”‘
“There’s such a good thing?”
Eivass’s eyes lit up.
Wasn’t this like creating alternate accounts?
Not only could it prevent loss of control, but he could finally team up with himself—
But Eivass suddenly reacted and asked with some worry, “But won’t the two ‘me’ fight each other?”
“Heh,” the Hourglass, in its cheerful state, was clearly much gentler and more talkative, even in a mood to joke. “Two tigers cannot share one mountain, unless one is male and the other female—this is not my doing. As Aishi Ping’s surplus, too much yin energy has accumulated within you… It is because of them that your personality has become gentle and delicate. Because you are the ‘weakness’ he abandoned, you can have a mirror self with an opposite gender.
“But don’t worry, kid. After these five months of separation and adjustment, it will be very difficult for you to lose control again. Your current loss of control is actually because you easily confuse these two different paths. It’s like fishing or driving… You think one side is about to lose control, so you exert all your strength to shift to the other side, only to end up on the wrong side.
“In the language of Taichu, you now need to temper your heart in the mortal world—your power has increased too quickly, and your state of mind cannot keep up with controlling it. The power of the Path is precisely the power of the state of mind. When you fully understand the essence of devotion and transcendence, you will gain insight into the state of becoming one again…”
“—Alright, old man.”
The Hourglass was too talkative in this state, so much so that the Lord of Scales and Feathers took the initiative to interrupt. “We’ll talk about what happens next later—if you’re not in a hurry, I’ll end the ritual first.”
With that, the Lord of Scales and Feathers handed the red sphere in his hand to the Hourglass, then reached out and placed his hand on Eivass’s shoulder, taking him into a gray, misty void.
Instantly, the surroundings became quiet, and the Lord of Scales and Feathers spoke softly, “By the way, Eivass. Think of a codename.”
“…A codename?”
“Like ‘Fox,’ for example. Think of another one.”
“Why?”
Eivass was somewhat surprised. “Isn’t ‘Fox’ fine?”
“Not that it wouldn’t be.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers said meaningfully, “But I’m about to notify all the warrior compatible persons in the world in my dream… Are you sure you want me to tell them that ‘Fox’ helped them find this profession?”
…What does that mean? World broadcast?
“You’re going to notify the whole world?”
“What else?”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers retorted, “If not for this, how would the extraordinary individuals qualified to be warriors know that the Warrior profession has reappeared? You are a great contributor, Eivass. I will not be greedy for credit—this is your merit.”
“In other words, people all over the world will know this name from now on…”
“Yes, this will be a very important promotion. You can even use your real name, and you will become famous worldwide. So, what name do you intend to use?”
” ‘Please support Isabel, support Avalon’s new Queen, thank you meow’?”
“…Huh?”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers almost lost his composure for a moment.
“Seriously?” he looked at Eivass with surprise. “It seems my previous judgment was wrong. Heavenly Envoy still left you some sense of humor…”
“Of course it’s a joke!”
Eivass retorted. “How could it be real… Let me think…”
Should he use his real name?
Or should he use “Alistair”?
He pondered for a long time, and a sentence suddenly popped into his mind.
All humans are stars—
That was the secret incantation Eivass used to unseal the Book of Law. Eivass now knew that this incantation was personally set by Heavenly Envoy, possibly the last words left by the “previous Eivass” when he was still complete.
It must have a special meaning, but Eivass had not yet been able to uncover it.
“…Let’s call it ‘Star’.”
Eivass shook his head, a little emotional. “There’s no need to use my name.”
“I’ll tell you beforehand, there are many people with the codename Star,” the Lord of Scales and Feathers reminded him.
“That’s perfect. Just as Supreme Heaven was finally defeated by everyone together… the Warrior profession was not reclaimed from Him by me, an ‘individual.’
“Supreme Heaven was defeated by the wrath of all living beings, and now the Warrior profession is reborn due to everyone’s shared aspirations.”
Warrior.
That was the most common, the most popular extraordinary profession.
It was the simplest, most accessible profession for ordinary people to step onto the extraordinary path.
If the times were about to change…
—It would be the era of countless stars.
“Not bad… ‘Star’.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers chuckled, patted Eivass’s shoulder one last time, and walked into the gray mist.
In a daze, Eivass saw scene after scene—
Helchin delivering a speech under the scorching sun, with followers looking up with stars in their eyes;
In the next scene, Arthur, covered in blood, emerged from the eye of the Giant Yaspavaton;
Origen, transformed into lightning, charged towards Utgarðar-Loki, who was several times larger than him;
Merlin, with a bloodied face, looked resolutely at the giant sword flying in the sky;
The Knights of the Round Table gathered, letting out deafening roars;
Eivass severed the Sacred Statue of Supreme Heaven, the giant sphere falling upon him, reaping what he sowed;
Finally, the scene froze in the blood-red sky.
Above the sky, a finger was slowly descending.
The next moment, the finger crushed the entire space, and the camera shattered.
Before Eivass, there was only a solitary black door.
The door was not carved with traditional imagery like skulls or demons…
It had only six wings.
Red, blue, yellow, green, white, black.
“This is…”
Eivass’s mind stirred, and he stepped forward.
As the door creaked open, a path of light generated from under the door, extending towards Eivass.
As elegant yet melancholic violin music played, the world around him was stacked piece by piece, transforming into a magnificent golden-red palace.
As Eivass walked forward, screens of light descended before his eyes.
These were the settlement points for Eivass’s current advancement:
[Necessary Missions Completed (Points: 200)]
[Giant Slayer: Killed a Giant of a higher tier than yourself (Points: 100)]
[Giant Butcher: Killed all Giants at the ‘Chest,’ ‘Loin,’ and ‘Ribs’ gathering points (Points: 500)]
[Great Enemy of Giants: Went to the Shrine and killed three Giant Priests of ‘Cervical Vertebra’ tier or higher (Points: 500)]
[Giants Must Die: Killed a total of one hundred Giants (Points: 500)]
[Skinless and Heartless: Went to the Royal Court and killed a Skinless One (Points: 1000)]
[Wildfire Rekindled: Went to the Shrine and killed a ‘Skull’ tier Giant Priest (Points: 1000)]
[Hatred of the Royal Court: Went to the Royal Court and killed or severely wounded the Giant King (Points: 2000)]
[Blasphemer: Went to the Royal Court and dismantled the Sacred Statue of Supreme Heaven worshipped by the Royal Court (Points: 2000)]
[All missions completed, totaling 7800 points, ranked first]
[—Perfect Promotion!]
All missions completed…
Eivass took a deep breath, but felt no pride.
Because he knew… it was because the Lord of Scales and Feathers had given him missions tailored to his abilities.
“We meet again.”
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded. “What a coincidence.”
The tall, thin man, dressed in a low-key yet luxurious, black, form-fitting suit, reappeared before Eivass.
Where his head should have been, there were no facial features or hair, only a shimmering, iridescent, silver-black sphere.
He was sitting on a chair, with his legs crossed, in the opulent palace. His hands, clad in black gloves, were clasped in front of his chest.
“…Boss.”
Eivass murmured softly.
“Shh.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers raised a finger to his lips. “Don’t call me Boss here—this is strictly business. We have to follow the procedure.”
Saying that, he extended his hand towards Eivass.
Eivass subconsciously reached out his hand, intending to grasp the hand extended by the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
But at that moment, the world beneath Eivass’s feet suddenly collapsed.
At the last moment, he grasped the hand extended by the Lord of Scales and Feathers—but only managed to pull down his black glove along with a piece of mud. He then fell backward, plummeting from a great height into the abyss.
The sudden sensation of being submerged in water made Eivass feel suffocated, and he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
But at this moment, three purple lights appeared before his eyes, but he couldn’t see any content.
“Could it be…”
Eivass felt a moment of hesitation.
The next instant, three ringing sounds sounded in succession—
[Grace of the Pillar God—]
[Lord of Scales and Feathers has promoted a trait for you!]
[Creator of Warriors (Gold): All ‘Warriors’ under your control gain +1 to their judgment when attacking enemies (Divinity)]
[Grace of the Pillar God—]
[Silver Crown Dragon has promoted a trait for you!]
[Crown of Command (Gold): You can arbitrarily transform your summoned creatures into extraordinary mounts, weapons, or armor. The duration of the transformation is equal to the duration of the summoned creature, and its tier, attributes, and path correspond to the summoned creature’s values.]
[Grace of the Pillar God—]
[Hourglass has promoted a trait for you!]
[Yin-Yang Harmony (Gold): When your Path is in a balanced state, all your Mana Pools become colorless Mana Pools. Colorless Mana Pools are the sum of all your colored Mana with paired and opposite attributes. When your Mana Pool is a colorless Mana Pool, any mana-consuming action you take can achieve different enhancement effects by consuming an additional 1/2/3/4/5 times.]
(End of this chapter)
