Within the vast space right outside the Western Domain stood too cultivators.
One of them was in a very awful mood.
"So…what do we do now, master rain?" asked the retainer.
"How would I know… this absurd, dumb luck this one has, it's completely incomprehensible, I honestly believed that the barrier would stop him from leaving…" Master Rain said.
"Well, who would have guessed that a spatial rift would open up within the western domain, the traces are still here," the retainer said.
"No, Spatial Rifts should not be possible to naturally manifest here," Master Rain said.
"Someone opened a rift for him, and it transported him somewhere randomly into the vast expanse. He could be in the heart of a burning star, or in the darkest corners of space for all I know…" Master Rain said.
"Who do you think could do this? I mean, Shen Bao is technically just a random character," the retainer said.
"Random? I honestly believed that too. But I've seen what he could do. His way of seeing things… it's not simple. Something is up with him." Master Rain said.
"What are we gonna do now?" the retainer asked.
"We can't do anything, with him being teleported to god knows where we can't track him. But, I have a feeling that he'll cause some waves in the world of cultivation, and once that happens, I'll be able to locate him soon. Let's go back for now," Master Rain said.
****
I flew through space, this time consciously, and began to understand something.
Space is fucking huge.
Absurdly so that words can't express it. Mere glowing spots that are so common in space, stars, and planets, are so absurdly far away that getting to them would take an eternity.
It's no joke how absurdly far they are. This also made me remember something from when I was on earth, something I've read long ago.
Apparently, what we see in the skies, are not stars, no, it's the light from them, that traveled millions of lightyears to get to us. And in fact, the sky we look at every night is fake. This might sound absurd but think about it.
Light travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second, which is obviously very, very fast. And considering the distance between the stars and your home planet, it should take millions of years for that light to reach.
Then, what you're actually looking at, in a completely corrupted sense is actually the past… the past of a star, hundreds of millions of years ago. That very star, which you see at night, in fact, could have moved, or have already perished in actual time, but since the distance is so far, you're still looking at the very same star millions of years ago.
It's a twisted concept that can make a person's head spin, we're actually not looking at stars, but actually the location they were in millions of years ago.
And now that I'm in space, so far deep, and away from anything I've known or seen ago. I'm assaulted by a strange sense of loneliness and smallness.
I feel completely insignificant in the presence of ungodly great entities that float in space.
However, my own insignificance is relative to my actions. If I were to avoid dangers and avoid confrontations to reclaim what is rightfully mine or punish those who took what belonged to me, then this sense of insignificance will always prevail against me.
Yet, if I were to reclaim what is mine, with iron and fire, then I shall be known throughout the world.
It isn't easy to be recognized, but four rulers have made it so, four had managed to rule entire galaxies, and control them, owning all that moved within them. They became kings and usurped the world for themselves.
Why? How?
Easy.
Power.
Absolute, complete, and disgustingly absurd power. Power enough to be able to break down entire planets, move solar systems, and break through the void of space, ruling with absolute monarchy over all those who lived within their domain.
To eliminate one of them is nothing but an absurdly far away dream, however, it is still achievable with persistence, growth, and of course Power.
How can I get this power though?
Through tribulations. The world doesn't give power for free, and the world of cultivation is the same as a pyramid.
The base is large, fat, and full of weaklings, weaklings that are there to support the ones above them. The higher you go through a pyramid, the more the concentration lessens. The ones above each stage are far less but far more powerful.
I've read many stories like this, where the main characters want to get to the top, but their goals were too frivolous, they all wanted to get to the top to be the strongest. But seeking strength for strength itself is meaningless.
I on the other hand, though I'm not a fictional character where my fate is written and decided based on the whims and will of a lazy writer.
I have an actual life, an actual family, an actual goal. Simple, non-factitious, and very easy to explain.
Revenge.
The Fire King, a man, nothing less nothing more. A person, the same as me, decided that I, and my entire planet were to be destroyed, and for what reason? To embarrass the wind king.
The lives of billions of other people, men and women, all the same as that very same fire king, sacrificed in order to land a figurative slap for another ruler.
Why should a man deem another man's life below his?
Just because one is stronger than another, that doesn't mean that the other should serve and lay down their life.
The Fire King's Rule is too tyrannical, enslaving people and harnessing their souls for his own. It's nothing but tyranny, tyranny against the weak.
I know for a fact that I'm not strong enough right now to take him on, but that's only temporary. I'll seek strength even if I have to make a deal with the devil, and I'll make sure to have him pay for all of his offenses.
Not right now though, I'm not that crazy to believe that someone at his current stage is something I can take on head-on. I almost died fighting against a half ascendant. Not to mention someone that is far, far stronger than an ascendant.
I'll be obliterated in an instant without ever realizing what happened.
But I have a plan. A risky one, but worth risking because that's the only way to gain strength.
Right now, I'm lacking power. I'm too weak, but there is a place, where people from all over the Vast Expanse go to.
The Heavenly Academy.
But not everyone can be accepted in it, I'll need to either be someone crazy famous, have achieved something of great value, or be recommended by someone who had already graduated from the academy.
The only option for me is to achieve great merit for the academy, but right now, I have no idea what could that be, so I'll have to do some research first.
And right now, I'm close enough to what looks to be a habitable planet.
Looking in the distance, there was a massive ship in front of me. It was absurdly huge, big enough to be called a city, and it was moving slowly towards a blue planet.
I need to somehow mix in with them, and get the people of Lucid Spring into the planet.
It should be simple.
