Chapter 38: Child of Destiny
Reality.
“How could there be a dual phenomenon?”
At the very moment An Jing wielded his sword in the mental world of the ceremony, slicing apart his Inner Heart Demon, the Medicine Manor Lord gazed at the Heaven-Ordained Fate phenomenon manifesting above An Jing’s head with a look of mingled surprise and doubt.
Among the Seven Fates—Evil (恶), Eerie (异), Mixed (杂), Fundamental (本), Strange (奇), Divine (神), and Celestial (天)—the Evil and Eerie Fates typically harmed the awakened individual or, at least, distorted their nature and destiny. Examples included “Heavenly Calamity Lone Star” and “Ten Evils Ruin All.” Such Heaven-Ordained Fates were not necessarily weak in power, but they served no meaningful purpose: one would doom the bearer to solitude; the other would twist them into a wretched demon.
Mixed Fates, on the other hand, encompassed myriad things under heaven. For instance, “Close-to-Flame Fate” or “Divine Blacksmith Fate” meant one had an affinity for fire and excelled at its use, or possessed an innate talent for forging, and so on. Another example was “Giant Spirit Fate,” which granted its bearer a towering physique and great natural strength. Of course, some of these Heaven-Ordained Fates were downright bizarre.
Such Fates made a person different, but not so much that they transcended mortal bounds; they mingled with the mundane. One could even say that anyone dedicated to a particular craft or calling might faintly awaken such a Fate at some stage in life. Hence they were called “Mixed Fates.”
When these Fates were activated, they typically produced a halo phenomenon—a wheel of light in a distinctive hue manifesting behind the awakened person’s head.
Fundamental Fates were even more potent, for they drew on personal essence, unmatched and unique. Thus they were called “Fundamental (本).” Those who bore them could awaken a 【Divine Ability】, which enabled them to develop various special arts and skills. Fully activating it caused a corresponding totem particular to each Fundamental Fate to appear behind the bearer’s head.
As for Strange Fates, their “strangeness” lay in the meaning of “great” and “ultimate.” Celestial Fate was granted by the will of Heaven, Divine Fate could not exist unless one was the reincarnation of an immortal or deity—thus Strange Fate remained the rarest and mightiest Fate in the mortal realm. When activated, it not only revealed a totem but also manifested various phenomena, just like Bai Qinghan’s “Clear Frost Moonlight” and An Jing’s “Scarlet Death Blade Formation.”
Bai Qinghan’s phenomenon was easy to interpret—a most orthodox Dark Yin manifestation. But An Jing’s phenomenon was far too complex, defying simple definition.
So far, it had shown signs of Red Star Guarding the Heart and a blood-fiend aspect like a river of carnage, yet also an aspect of “Taibai Devouring Mao*,” able to link with Geng Metal Baleful Qi in sword intent.
A blood sword becoming a formation, crimson fire congealing into metal, a furnace rekindling, iron embers scattering… Red Star on the outside, Taibai within.
Just as one person could not possess two separate Fates, how could one person harbor two stars?
Unless…he was Divine.
Unless this was a 【Divine Fate】!
Unless An Jing truly was a celestial star descending into mortal form, an immortal deity reborn!
Or perhaps An Jing carried on his person a 【Supreme Treasure】 that suppressed fate and bore its own Heaven-Ordained Fate!
“We’ve really hit the jackpot… He might be the very Child of Destiny the Frost Calamity was designed to create, a remnant from that ancient battle between the Divine Court and the Heavenly Demons… I… hahaha!”
Regardless of which possibility, all caused the Medicine Manor Lord’s hands to start trembling with an uncontrollable greed and longing. He fixated on the crimson starlight behind An Jing, letting out a slightly manic laugh. All of a sudden, he caught himself, reining in that laugh and speaking with an almost unnervingly cool tone:
“Li Xiang, prepare the 【God-Binding Rope】. Zhao Xinruo, hurry back to the manor and use the 【Secret Talisman】 to inform the Northern Patron Envoy at once—there’s an unexpected harvest far beyond our imagination!”
Like a machine, the Medicine Manor Lord continued issuing commands, having already activated the Imperial Heaven Arts to transform himself into a being of calm rationality, forcing down every shred of greed and lust. His voice remained dispassionate:
“No… report directly to the main stronghold!”
“We of the Northwestern branch of Hanging Fate Manor cannot bear the weight of such karma!”
Yet as the Medicine Manor Lord’s cold gaze shifted downward, he suddenly met a pair of eyes.
A pair of eyes that had already opened, eyes as calm as ice, their chill brimming with indifference, staring right back at him.
In that instant—a collision of cool indifference—he found his composure failing. Momentarily stunned, he dropped out of his Imperial Heaven Arts state. “Impossible?!”
“An Jing… y-you’re awake?!”
“I’ve been awake this entire time.”
An Jing’s soft reply accompanied his rising to his feet, sword clutched firmly in his hand.
Behind him, the other young men and women on the surrounding altars were also awakening one after another, eyes snapping open.
“How could this be?!”
Seeing those countless pairs of eyes shifting toward him, the Medicine Manor Lord could not help gaping in shock. He struggled to speak. The ritual was not finished; the cycle of godly and demonic power had not completed. By all rights, every one of these children should still have been trapped in mental conflict with their Inner Heart Demons—how could they be awake?!
Even if someone did awaken early, at most it would be geniuses like An Jing and Bai Qinghan who had that ability!
It went further than that, for something in Hanging Fate Valley seemed to have stirred up the Heavenly Demon’s gigantic hand. It abruptly gave up on the “sacrifices” in the formation and tried to retreat to the depths of the valley—but it was caught by the array. One after another, illusory chains coiled around it; even with black demon fog roiling everywhere, obscuring the boundary between light and dark, it still could not free itself.
For a split second, the entire white sand ceremonial site fell quiet. Those demonic sect instructors who had been spilling fresh blood to sustain the array stared blankly at the sight before them, half convinced they must be dreaming.
The Imperial Heaven Star Fiend Grand Rite still ran. Yet the Heavenly Demon’s hand had been wounded and seemed to be withdrawing into the valley, and the youths—who should still have been locked in their dream battle against demonic thoughts—were all fully conscious, standing tall with weapons in hand. Their eyes were complex but filled with hostility as they looked upon the instructors.
And at the forefront was the leader of these “trial sacrifices,” the newly awakened Heaven-Ordained Fate bearer, An Jing…
He stood faintly at the center of the formation, manipulating the power of the ritual array—turning it against them!
How could such a thing happen?!
“An Jing, what’s gotten into you?”
Shouting across the distance at An Jing, the Medicine Manor Lord’s thoughts whirled the instant he saw the look in An Jing’s eyes. In that moment, he realized exactly where An Jing now stood.
Even as he swiftly formed a spell-sign with his fingers, he tried to sound calm: “You’re under the Heavenly Demon’s influence—clear your head…”
“Pay homage to Imperial Heaven, O revered gods, manifest Heavenly Fate, subdue all souls!”
Halfway through his words, the old man abruptly roared. The jade dagger slashed open his wrist, and the spattering blood condensed in midair under his spell sign into a dark talisman. Layer upon layer of ripples spread outward toward the formation as he decisively tried to seize control and cow An Jing’s spirit.
But when the command was unleashed, the ripples vanished like stones dropped into the sea. The Medicine Manor Lord’s heart sank at once.
——Trouble! The ritual is completely out of control!
Right at that moment, An Jing did not hesitate. He bit open the tip of his left thumb, forced out a burst of energy to scatter fresh blood, and likewise formed a command seal. “Pay homage to Imperial Heaven, O revered gods, manifest Heavenly Fate, compel ghosts and spirits to do my bidding!”
In an instant, streams of icy starlight turned into chains that shot toward the giant demonic hand. It had been trying to withdraw but was now run through by those chains, dragged back, and then shattered by a piercing sword-like glow—leaving only a mass of black mist.
That black mist churned and swirled, swiftly taking the shape of a massive, towering demon-god phantom with two heads and six arms, rising up out of emptiness.
Though only an apparition, it was anything but illusory. Three stories tall, the demon-god stepped onto the ground.
Stone cracked and gravel parted. It lifted its head, all six of its crimson eyes—two pairs of normal eyes plus a pair of “heavenly eyes”—burning with blood-hued brilliance. Then it fixed its icy gaze on the speechless demonic sect instructors.
(End of Chapter)
*“Taibai Devouring Mao” is a reference to Venus eclipsing/‘devouring’ the star cluster 昴 (Mǎo).
