In the living room, seeing Lu An’s questioning gaze, Fu Yu took a light breath and spoke softly.
“When you were unconscious this afternoon, I looked around the academy and found that this so-called academy actually has many places to earn money,” Fu Yu said, her voice light, cold, and pleasant to the ear. “For example, the Weapon Shop, the Hunter Alliance, and the Elixir Refining Pavilion. If you join them, you can earn quite a lot.”
“Weapon Shop? Hunter Alliance? Elixir Refining Pavilion?” Lu An was a bit confused and asked, “What are they?”
“The Weapon Shop is a place for crafting weapons. The weapons used by Celestial Masters are different from ordinary ones. Most Celestial Masters’ weapons are not swords, spears, or staffs, but various Treasure Artifacts that can enhance their strength. Crafting Treasure Artifacts is not simple; it requires not only effort but also great talent.”
“The Hunter Alliance is an organization specifically for hunting Strange Beasts. While some Strange Beasts can be used by humans, most do not submit to them. Hunting Strange Beasts and taking their rebirth crystal cores—these rebirth crystal cores can be used to make Medicinal Pills or be inlaid into Treasure Artifacts. Naturally, the rebirth crystal cores of higher Rank Strange Beasts are more valuable.”
“The Elixir Refining Pavilion, naturally, is a place for Alchemy. Refining Medicinal Pills primarily uses Strange Beast rebirth crystal cores, supplemented by various precious medicinal ingredients. Like crafting Treasure Artifacts, Alchemy also requires a certain talent, so…”
Fu Yu looked at Lu An with her beautiful eyes like water and said calmly, “If you don’t have any talent at all, I suggest you go to the Hunter Alliance.”
“Hunting Strange Beasts, huh…” Lu An lowered his head, lost in thought. He quickly recalled the Snow Wolf that had chased his parents that day, couldn’t help but take a deep breath, and nodded, saying, “Alright, then I’ll join the Hunter Alliance!”
Fu Yu nodded lightly and said, “Anyone can be a Hunter Alliance member, so there are many teams. But because it involves hunting Strange Beasts, it’s much more dangerous compared to the other two organizations. And you aren’t even considered a Low Rank Sky Realm yet, so it’s better to honestly study in the academy for half a year first.”
“But…” Lu An slightly frowned. He knew hunting would be dangerous, but he still said, “I’ll be careful.”
Fu Yu’s willow brows slightly furrowed. She knew Lu An was penniless and had no choice but to go. If Lu An had asked her, she could have given him some, but he didn’t ask at all, so she wouldn’t offer it proactively.
Suddenly, Fu Yu’s expression changed slightly, as if she had thought of something. She leaned forward and asked Lu An, “Today, your performance in the Body Tempering grounds was excellent.”
Lu An was startled, not expecting Fu Yu to suddenly bring this up. He scratched his head and said with a smile, “It was alright.”
“My elder told me that willpower has its limits, but if a person’s performance exceeds those limits, it means he possesses an absolute goal and is willing to give everything for it,” Fu Yu said, her gaze clear and sober. “So, what is your goal? I’m very curious.”
Lu An was startled again. He looked at Fu Yu, who had a questioning look, and gradually calmed down.
My goal…?
Lu An lowered his head slightly, his hair obscuring his eyes, making it impossible to see his gaze. He didn’t know what his stubbornness today was truly for, nor could he understand it. It was a feeling, a feeling of unwillingness to yield.
Unwilling to be a slave, unwilling to have his fate and dignity trampled upon by others.
“To change my fate,” Lu An looked up, meeting Fu Yu’s eyes, and said, “To allow myself to live peacefully.”
“…”
Fu Yu looked at Lu An’s calm yet resolute gaze, and for some unknown reason, a ripple gradually formed in her heart. Just as it fluctuated, she suddenly stood up, startling Lu An.
“Go to sleep,” Fu Yu got up, didn’t even glance at Lu An, and turned to walk towards her own room.
Bang.
Watching Fu Yu close the door, the dormitory fell silent again. Lu An looked at the door, a bit bewildered, not understanding how this girl could suddenly change her mood. After tidying up the table, he could only return to his own room.
Lying on the bed with his hands under his head as a pillow, Lu An stared at the ceiling, his mind wandering.
Thinking about the past two days since he arrived in Starfire City, everything he had experienced was unimaginable before. A slave’s fate was to be driven by others, to have their life dictated. But that wasn’t living; this was.
Although he had been unconscious all afternoon, Lu An’s body and consciousness were still weak, and he soon fell asleep on the bed.
Sleep was an endless abyss.
The abyss was boundless, and Lu An felt himself sinking deeper and deeper. This feeling was so comfortable, so comfortable that it made one willingly sink into it.
Bang.
Suddenly, Lu An, who had been falling infinitely, landed on the ground, but he felt no pain at all. Instead, it was like waves crashing against his body, extremely comfortable.
Lu An opened his eyes and looked at the world around him. This world was pitch black, with faint red glowing patterns swirling in the air, like countless threads, just like real flames, making one afraid to touch them.
What is this place?
Lu An looked around, a bit confused, and frantically ran on the ground. With every step he took, the black beneath his feet would ripple with red light.
Lu An looked down curiously and saw that after a ripple spread out, an image actually appeared beneath his feet!
It was the scene by the river where his parents were killed. When Lu An saw this, his eyes instantly turned red!
However, in just an instant, the scene beneath his feet changed, becoming a scene of his family of three playing together when Lu An was six years old. Seeing this, Lu An couldn’t help but kneel down and gently caress his parents’ faces.
However, in another instant, the image completely disappeared.
Lu An was startled. He quickly ran his hand across the black ground, causing ripples to appear, but no matter what he did, no image appeared.
“These are all your memories.”
Suddenly, a voice sounded, startling Lu An, who was kneeling on the ground. He then jumped up and looked around. However, after looking around, he couldn’t see a single person!
“Who’s speaking?!” Lu An shouted loudly, “Don’t play tricks, come out quickly!”
Before he finished speaking, the black ground about three zhang in front of Lu An suddenly rippled. Then, the black rose from the ground, spinning rapidly upwards, finally gathering into the shape of a person, though it remained a mass of Black Mist.
When this person opened his eyes, what Lu An saw was emptiness, desolation, and vicissitude.
“Who are you?” Lu An swallowed, a bit nervously, and asked, “Where is this?”
“Who am I?” The person’s voice was very ancient, as if it contained millions of years of insight, making it extremely oppressive to listen to. He smiled and said, “Who I am is not important. This is your Sea of Consciousness.”
“My Sea of Consciousness?” Lu An was startled. He wasn’t stupid; he knew the Sea of Consciousness was his mind. He couldn’t help but frown and ask loudly, “Then how are you here?”
“How am I here?” The person looked up and laughed loudly, saying, “To be precise, I’ve been in your Sea of Consciousness since the day you were born.”
Lu An was startled, then re-examined the person in front of him. He couldn’t help but frown and say, “Then you know everything that has happened to me?”
“Not naturally, you misunderstood,” the person smiled again and said, “After I entered your Sea of Consciousness, I wasn’t always awake, but asleep. I’ve been waiting, waiting for you to awaken me yourself.”
“Awaken you?” Lu An frowned tightly and asked, “I didn’t do anything.”
“You did,” the person shook his head and said, “First, your furious killing, then the Eight Ancient Clans formation, and today’s drawing of the heart fire—you successfully awakened me. I knew this moment would take a long time to wait for, but I didn’t expect it to take twelve years.”
Lu An wasn’t stupid; on the contrary, a slave needed to be smart to survive. He vigilantly looked at the person in front of him and asked, “You’ve been in my Sea of Consciousness for twelve years. What exactly do you want to do? I’m just a slave; there’s nothing about me worth taking.”
“No, you have, you just don’t know it yet,” the person slowly shook his head, looking at Lu An with ancient eyes, and said, “But I won’t tell you now. Knowing it now would do you no good.”
Lu An’s brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this. He sneered and asked, “What, are you saying you’ve been in my Sea of Consciousness for so long just to give me benefits?”
“Exactly,” the person heard Lu An’s words, raised his head slightly, and said, “I can help you completely change your fate!”