Writer: StarReader

Proofreader: Silavin

It was a daunting task to be sure, trying to complete ten paths in such a short time when even one would take ages, if not eons, on a normal basis. But, form the start, nothing about this was normal. Heavenly Sovereign’s thirst for a cleansed world, whatever that meant, was a project of gargantuan size and length bound to have unforeseen and disastrous consequences.

On the other hand, following the other Sovereigns’ wishes in opposing the annihilation of the human race as Zhuo Fan knew it was no picnic either. Fortune was with him, or misfortune. He went through highs and lows and everything in between with the culmination of losing Yuyu and Shuang’er. It brought about insight into the emotion path, however short-lived it was.

The Child Sovereign’s path came next, but even that he didn’t feel like it was much of a challenge, since he liked to toy with people and twist the facts to suit his needs. All he had to do this time around was just follow his whims, while leaving anything devious, convoluted, and downright murderous out of the picture. While letting go wasn’t easy by any means, having had his mind locked in his body, aware yet unable to act, helped reevaluate his situation more times than he could count.

Next up on the list, while he was after the ‘easy’ paths, would be the demonic path Nine Serenities completed, which was now with Heavenly Sovereign. He gave the Child Sovereign’s path over without a fuss knowing he could achieve it again, having done so already. Now he went with a path Heavenly Sovereign had because he knew the final showdown would be anything but sunshine, rainbows, and a friendly handshake.

Having spent most his life walking the demonic path, he understood more than anyone that everyone had their demons, whether one was aware of them or not. Perhaps this was the basis of the righteous faction’s slogan, purging evil and vanquishing demons. In times of old, the righteous cultivators had noble pursuits of conquering their own demons first and achieve their path, spreading kindness and offering help unsolicited. But as with anything given enough time, there would always be changes, in this case twisted to suit the individual’s needs, turning into the mainstream hypocritical catchphrase shouted by many misguided zealots.

Or maybe that was how it’s ever been. [In all my past lives, I’ve yet to meet a time when one had genuine thoughts of practicing what they preach instead of looking for excuses to better their station.]

Looking for a quiet and remote place he could focus on the arduous task at hand, countless thoughts ran through his mind. [Can I pull it off? Can I beat Heavenly Sovereign? Can I save the Luo Clan? Would I ever find true peace?…]

But he soon shook all the doubts and insecurities away since no amount of delaying would ever solve the problem. Contrary to popular belief, a problem wouldn’t go away given enough time, it was more prone to take you down with it instead.

As he sat down in a cave he found a few mountain ranges off from the Luo Clan, he focused on the bits and pieces of his past lives, courtesy of the True Self Art. It would seem there was nothing this art couldn’t do, so long as he stayed true to its practice. While his surface cultivation regressed, his other aspects had to gain from the truth he was exposed to, of the world and himself.

It proved to be a boon in forming the Child Sovereign’s path as well. No matter how one looked at it, one month was hardly enough to complete it, which was why he relied on his past lives’ memories of when he was a child, free and happy to do whatever he wanted with an innocent glee.

Now, he was taking advantage of it to complete the demonic path, an insurance against Heavenly Sovereign he was sure to help soon.

The demonic path was what Nine Serenities completed, it was all about reading the hearts of humanity and taking in the good and the bad, while also working on removing any qualms, resistance, and disgust one might have regarding any aspects of it. It was the awareness that humans were capable of anything. They could be saints, but also monsters in disguise. The biggest help was the trials and thought processes he went through throughout his past lives, giving him a subjective and objective view of how things were. It helped him see aspects he missed, ignored, or was blinded to. Even his want to beat Heavenly Sovereign came into question, all had to be answered and understood on the base level to complete this path.

The process was anything but easy, taking days and nights stuck on simple concepts like why he wanted the Luo Clan and everyone he knew to survive. The answer might come easy, but knowing wasn’t enough, he had to also believe it was the real reason, not just another excuse to hide some aspect of himself that he was compensating for.

And this was supposed to be one of the easy paths, but it went to show that nothing was easy in life, not even being evil. It might look good on paper or when someone else did it, but it was a completely different thing following it yourself. Even if two people walked the demonic path, the answers they would reach at the end of it might be completely opposite. This was what made one’s path as unique as it could get, despite sharing similarities with another.

As he toiled in his own mind with all the knowledge he had about the subject, it all came to a head two months later.

The result did not trigger a prismatic event as the other two did.

“So he hasn’t finished fusing he demonic path yet, good.” Zhuo Fan grinned.