Writer: StarReader

Proofreader: Silavin

“When is he getting back? It’s been a month now!” Dragon Ancestor tapped his foot harder and harder, cracking the polished marble of the meeting hall.

The other experts had shown great progress thanks to the recent prismatic event, with Danqing Shen exceeding everyone’s expectations. He could hold his own against a sacred beast now.

“Do you know of any time that Zhuo Fan was random in his actions?” He asked the others.

“Yes!” Everyone replied. “More times than we can count.”

Danqing Shen blinked and changed his question. “But do you know of any time that his randomness wasn’t part of a bigger plan?”

That had everyone silent, proving he was right.

“We just have to believe that he would come through like he had so many times before, despite his erratic behavior. In fact, being erratic shows that he’s back to his old self and with a plan in motion.” Danqing Shen added. “All any of us can do now is learn from it. It has helped me a lot, and it can do the same to all of you. Don’t we all wish to find our paths? To go beyond? We will find no better guidance than in Zhuo Fan!”

“Senior is right. Brother Zhuo has his own challenges that we can never understand, but we can support him when he needs us most. We must look beyond what is deemed as the norm and pierce through the underlying reason. That is how I believe it will help us grow, as it did with senior.” Luo Yunhai declared.

The door creaked open, and Zhuo Fan entered with the giggling girls, now much happier than ever before.

“Speak of the devil.” Dragon Ancestor grumbled. “Have you finally decided to give us the time of the day?”

“You don’t expect me to look for you at night, do you? I don’t swing that way.” Zhuo Fan grinned and earning a few chuckles as well as Dragon Ancestor flaring his nostrils.

“Now that we’ve lightened the mood, I’m coming from another meeting with Heavenly Sovereign, having given over Child Sovereign’s path.” Zhuo Fan said.

“Is that why you’ve been like a child for the past month? Couldn’t you have told us something?” Kunpeng asked.

“A person’s path isn’t just about principles. Mindset is key as well. One has to have a certain way of looking at things to walk his path, to say nothing of understanding another person’s. That is a toil in and of itself. I did not say anything before, because I wished for all of you to see something and learn from it, as Danqing Shen did.” Zhuo Fan nodded at the Sword King. “A straight answer will always fail to grasp the truth you reach yourself, with your own path.”

“Why then do you just go along with Heavenly Sovereign’s demands? You know as anyone here that he will just kill all of humanity after the sea of blackness crisis is over. He won’t change his mind, ever,” Sea Ao asked.

“I know, but it never hurts to try.” Zhuo Fan smiled. “As I’m now living up to the legacies the past Sovereigns entrusted me with, I have to be alone for a while. Entering a new mindset is taxing and potentially dangerous as it can make me forget who I am.”

“How will you know you’ll succeed? Just because you’ve done it once, doesn’t mean it will work all ten times! You could be stuck in one for all we know!” Dragon Ancestor complained.

“The only way to prove it is if the prismatic phenomenon will reappear, so long as said paths were absorbed by the sea of blackness, but we can all agree that none wants to see that happen. In case it does, Yunhai, be sure to get the people clear from the blackness’ immediate vicinity while also announcing our actions to counter this expansion.”

“I will, Brother Zhuo. Stay safe.” The Clan Head nodded.

“Can’t we come as well?” Chu Qingcheng asked shyly.

“No. The past month was alright because we had fun and learned to live a little, in tune with the path I was grasping.” Zhuo Fan shook his head. “Farewell, for now.”

Zhuo Fan closed the door to the main hall, leaving the Luo Clan leadership in an uncomfortable silence.

“I’m entering seclusion until the next prismatic event.” Danqing Shen walked out as well. “I suggest you do the same. Be prepared to make the most of it.”

The Luo Clan looked after the Sacred Domain in the meantime, posting guards at a very healthy distance from the edge of the sea of blackness, not wanting a repeat of the first expansion. Knowing that it would grow with absolute certainty, they got the people to move from its path, assuring them that it was just a precaution and that they were dealing with it.

In the case of Zhuo Fan, he didn’t rush to complete the Sovereign paths he inherited, while he didn’t tarry either.

The hardest thing a man could do was change, especially if that change was fundamental. He needed to clear his mind of the previous mindset before he could jump over to the next. There was the reason there hadn’t been a new Sovereigns in millions of years. Yet now, he was attempting to get all ten path to completion in less than a year. To say it was hard was an understatement.

If there was one thing that gave him assurance this was going to work, that was the True Self Art he got from his master back in the Scheming Demonic Sect. It had never failed him. The deeper he trained in it, the more he understood about himself and the world.