Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

The stars filled the sky and its light emitted and shined on earth. They contained enormous amount of energy and countless thin and mysterious waves around them.

Is this the so called destiny?

Chen Chang Sheng’s soul flew to a higher place and travel past countless stars. Comparing to the vast space around him and the enormous energy held in the stars, his soul was so fragile and tiny. It was like a feather in a tornado and a rain drop in a desert. It seemed like it would be torn apart in the next moment and vaporized in the next second. But interestingly, none of the stars nor its energy harmed his soul in anyway.

There appeared to be a red star directly left of him. The surface of the star was burning violently and breathed fire around it. He didn’t know how far that star was, but he knew it was extremely distant. However, that star appeared to be so close to his soul, which meant that this star was gigantic and could fill up his entire sensory space.

The burning red star was breathing an unlimited amount of energy in space and gave off a terrifying feeling. It seemed that if anyone got close to it, they would be burned into the purest energy. But it also attracts them and made them want to be melted and merge with it.

Chen Chang Shang was a little insecure but it was not due to fear. He knew that nothing in the sea of star would harm human’s soul. This kind of insecurity was generated from the star’s characteristic and contradiction between their presence. In other words, he didn’t like it.

Therefore his soul continued to travel to farther locations. After surpassing a misty object, a blue star appeared in front of him. That star seemed to be lonely and extremely cold. Its surface was covered with frost and gave him a sense of rejection. His soul floated around there for a moment and traveled further.

There obviously was a limit for xiuxingist’s soul to travel outside of their body. As they proceed to stronger stages, this limit grows. But only after they light up their destined star would the limit be removed. This is one of the unsolved mystery of xiuxing.

Chen Chang Sheng’s soul continued to float upward and saw different stars and views. He traveled past a few quiet stars. Whenever his soul tried to approach them, it would be pushed out by an unseen force. He realized that those were the destined stars of others.

As he went further into the depths of the universe, the number of stars increased. Gradually there appeared many weird and strange stars. Some stars floats in the space and continuous shooting out starlight. Some seemed to grow arms out of them. Others looked like a child’s toy. Some stars had bright wings like a magical bird and some gave off a presence of a beast.

For an entire night, Chen Chang Sheng’s soul floated in the sea of star. This situation was common in the human world, especially in the capital where countless powerful xiuxingists reside. Every night many people tried to light up their destined star, therefore no one noticed Chen Chang Sheng’s soul.

Suddenly for a moment, his soul saw an extremely bright ray. It was different from the light emitted by the stars. It was more intense and thicker. He wanted to go and take a clearer look at it, but he faintly remembered something. He knew it was time to go back.

(Editor Bing: How much of a cliffhanger can you be dam it Chen Chang Sheng… and Dam it Mao Ni)

He opened his eyes and woke up. He realized that he was still sitting in the library of the Classical Teaching. Although it took him a while for his soul to travel to the depths of the sea of stars, it only took a moment for it to come back. He looked outside and noticed that the sky has brightened up. It was already morning.

……………………………………..

In the past fourteen years, Chen Chang Sheng’s daily schedule was disrupted for the first time. During the day he slept a little, when night came he went to the library and continued his trip to the sea of stars. On the second journey, he had more experience and was also more familiar with the sea of stars in the night sky. He did not take a close look at the beginning sections of the sea of stars, but flew directly into the deeper regions. He wanted to see where he could travel to.

When the dawn was about to come, the suddenly brightened light woke him up again.

On the third night, he repeated this process. The fourth day, the fifth day, and every night he would use his spirit to travel farther and see more stars, but he still did not have the thought to stop going farther.

The path of xiu xing was long and far. He thought he should always try his best to travel farther.

On the sixth day, his spirit traveled to a place where he never reached. What he didn’t know was, extremely few people’s spirits could travel this far. One part might due to the strength of spirit. Another part was because the sea of stars he previously passed was seductive enough to capture the xiu xingists. Most people couldn’t suppress their desire and lit up the destined star and begin purification right away. Looking from this angle, his resistance to seduction was indeed strong.

—-That’s only because he understood more clearly than anyone else what was truely seductive while living on this world.

But he quickly realized that rarely any spirit came here because his spirit traveled for a long time here. It was unlike the past five nights where most of the stars were lit up by others already.

Everywhere he looked the things he saw were new. The space was new, the stars were new. They were all waiting for him to choose any star.

Chen Chang Sheng’s spirit still didn’t stop. Because he felt that he could still go farther and see more, he continued on.

On the seventh night, his spirit finally encountered an interference or met a wall. That’s a shapeless, invisible, or even nonexistent wall. He knew the wall was there, but he felt hesitant for the first time.

What’s beyond the shapeless wall?

He didn’t know about this shapeless wall. Was it the crystal wall that separates the space? Of course he also didn’t know, only the strongest creature such as Golden Dragon could pass through easily but he could guess that this shapeless wall should be hard to pass.

Yet he still wanted to try.

If this was an unbreakable wall, he already came to the edge. He would be satisfied only after bumping his head with it.

He wanted to try so he tried. He didn’t have any hope, but….surprisingly, his spirit easily passed through.

Over there was still a sea of stars.

However, in comparison to the sea of stars he traveled before, his spirit actually felt more familiar with the sea here. It was as if he came back to his homeland.

His spirit continued flying up. As he did he became more and more light. Even in the empty stage, he knew that the connection between his spirit and his body was getting weaker and weaker. Maybe in any moment now it would break.

Then the light became darker, the number of stars gradually decreased.

Chen Chang Sheng could feel that this was the farthest he could travel.

Father ahead there faintly lied another sea of stars, like lights of ten thousand families.

He looked there and felt a little unfortunate but he knew it was time for him to make a choice.

His spirit spread out to the surrounding, attempting to find the star belonged to him.

Choosing the destined star to every xiu xingist was a hard question because there were too many to choose from. There was no rule. You could choose because you liked the color or you could just close eyes and randomly pick one.

Chen Chang Sheng did not encounter such problem. Because when he wanted to choose, the star appeared in front of him. In one glance he began to love this star, so he decided to make him his destined star.

It was a red small star, in comparison to the one he saw in the beginning. It was obviously much smaller. On its surface there weren’t any terrifying burning fire. All the lights and energy seemed to be hidden in the deepest part of the star.

That red star was very round. Its surface was very smooth. It looked like a little apple.

It was very cute, very pretty, and made people want to be close to it. It also made people want to take a bite out of it.

As Chen Chang Sheng thought so, his spirit flew there.

———————————————-

The night breezes blew softly and the frogs had already stopped making noise. Nothing but silent surrounded the library of the Classical Teaching.

Chen Chang Sheng sat on the clean ground and closed his eyes. Calmness was the only expression on his face.

Suddenly, he opened his mouth and closed it like he took a bite out of something.

Faintly it could be heard, the sound of him swallowing from his throat.

Suddenly he started sweating and moisturized the floor beneath him.

At the end of the distant star sky, a red star lit up.

He opened his eyes and looked into the depths of the sky.

He couldn’t see that star, but he could feel it.

Because, that was his star.

———————————————–

Just like the great Demon Scholar Tong Gu Si said, no one could see that string.

Therefore when Chen Chang Sheng successfully light up his destined star, there were no odd phenomenon that occurred in the Classical Teaching. There was no holy light that appeared in the night sky of the capital. This continent was just like usual, quiet and peaceful.

Plus his star was so far away from the surface of the earth. Although it showed a moment of brightness, it still couldn’t be seen. Yes, that star was too far. So far that the priests of the Star Observation Platform didn’t even notice it.

But it was seen by someone.

Because the Divine Queen was viewing the stars.

It was entirely out of chance.

If the weather was nice, the Divine Queen herself would view the stars on her balcony.

There was a little rain today, therefore she came out a little late.

Somehow she saw the entire duration of that star been light up.

But even she couldn’t have known who light up that star.

Is that person in the capital or in the south?

Or in the Xue Lao City?

The Divine Queen looked deeply into the night sky and raised her dark eyebrows. Her voice contained no emotion.

“Interesting.”