"Ding!"
"Notification: Instance 'The Birth of the Spark' has concluded. Rewards are being settled, please wait..."
The screen gradually darkened.
The tide of time surged forward, and he, like a drop of water, drifted along with it.
Where he couldn't see, gray ashes also drifted with the breeze, floating past the place of inheritance, past the forest of gravestones, reaching the entire薪火 (Xin Huo) village.
After several major battles, it was already in ruins, but amidst the desolation, new sprouts emerged, and the flames never died out, much like the radiant, fiery sunrise.
Under the morning sun, the remaining dozen or so 薪火 (Xin Huo) warriors, supporting each other, arrived before the forest of gravestones on the back mountain.
The young man stood on the stone steps, raised his only remaining right hand, and placed it over his heart, "Xin Huo passes on... humanity endures forever!"
Forever!
He choked, tears streaming down his face.
The mysterious tide had vanished, and the small village in the deep mountains returned to peace.
Many years later,
A one-armed youth stood under the blazing sun, his right fist clenched over his heart.
Before him lay the village, rebuilt and resembling its former self, yet quiet and serene.
The youth gazed forward, as if seeing figures darting past, running with burdens, wielding blades, sparring back and forth. He too propped up a blade, stumbled forward, chasing the figures in his eyes.
Many years later,
A one-armed elder, his face deeply wrinkled, leaned on a wooden staff and walked through the village, reaching the place of inheritance.
Using himself as fuel, transforming into a torch.
Under the night sky,
The aged figure dissolved into light, and within the light was the radiant smile of the young man.
His form gradually faded, and the light on the stone tablet of inheritance grew brighter, reflecting the vast expanse of stars.
…
"Ding!"
"Notification: In instance 'The Birth of the Spark,' you cultivated four non-human level awakened individuals. You and the sparks successfully ambushed all wicked beings and monstrous races... Based on the instance's progression and overall evaluation, the following rewards have been obtained:"
"Obtained: Destiny Points x3000"
"Obtained: Soul of the Black Blade (Purple) x3"
"Obtained: Blood-Colored · Faceless Statue (Purple)"
"Obtained: Character Descent Card · Wang Hei · Ultimate Sublimation (Gold)"
—
"Character Descent Card · Wang Hei (Gold)"
"Description: This descent card is a one-time use item. It can traverse time and space to awaken the pioneer of Xin Huo, the burning torch, the guiding lamp, Wang Hei, and have him descend into the present world! Character Descent · Wang Hei is solidified at the peak moment of the instance mission. The descended character can be maintained for a maximum of one hour."
"Remark: Xin Huo passes on, humanity endures forever. Death is not the end; spirit and legacy shall be eternally passed down."
A golden item!
A descent card!
It depicted an unyielding figure clad in black armor, wielding a battle blade, with crimson blade energy cleaving the heavens.
Without a doubt, this was an incredibly powerful descent card!
If it were just his normal state, the summoned Wang Hei would only be a four-awakening non-human level. However, at the last moment, facing a wisp of divine consciousness from the Blood Emperor, Wang Hei had surged with mystery, ignited his will and the fire of his soul, and achieved ultimate sublimation!
He had broken through to the Commander level!
He had broken through to the Throne level!
At his absolute peak, when his blade energy shattered the blood-colored giant eye, he had almost ascended to half-mythological. The descended Wang Hei from the ultimate sublimation descent card was this 'normal' state.
A half-mythological Xin Huo warrior!
From a tiny spark, he had grown to become a pioneer of Xin Huo who used himself as a torch to dispel the darkness of the entire sky.
This card was the ace of aces.
But in Fang You's memory, he was still that honest, taciturn young man.
The other two rewards:
The Blood-Colored · Faceless Statue was similar in effect to the previous statue, gathering mystery and ritual. He speculated that the statues were anchor points for the attention of high-level beings, containing some of their core traits, making them extremely dangerous items.
However, "faceless" also meant that this connection had been severed.
It was now safe, and its utility had consequently decreased.
Overall, it was a good sinister artifact, and more was always better.
And then there were the three Souls of the Black Blade.
"Perhaps, this is the meaning of inheritance."
"Whether it is him or not, it no longer matters as much. As long as the spirit and will are the same, that is enough."
Three weighty treasures, and three thousand Destiny Points.
The Destiny Points alone surpassed his previous highest accumulation. This descent was very generous, but…
Fang You fell silent.
In his silence, the tide of time had gradually subsided, and sunlight streamed down. He was still at Training Base No. 1, with a black cat, entirely devoid of any other color, perched on his shoulder.
He gently placed Hei Tong down.
"Meow?"
"You're dismissed."
"Meow meow meow?"
The black cat's eyes widened. It pointed towards the Cat God's Attic in the distance, then back here.
Did you drag this kitty all the way here just to ditch me?
Hmph!
Watching her "scummy master" walk away, she tilted her head, as if something wasn't quite right.
…
The training base was bustling, filled with shouts of training and clashes of sparring, exuding youth and vitality.
It was the same when they were in the village.
He felt a pang of melancholy and walked aimlessly, pausing occasionally to gaze into the distance. A gentle breeze brushed his cheek, and different figures reflected in his eyes.
"Let's go. Accompany me to Baichuan Prefecture."
He turned his head and looked at the figure and the cat hiding behind a wall, peeking at him.
It was An Jianyou, holding Hei Tong.
Hei Tong immediately jumped down and, with an air of haughtiness, trotted away, leaving only An Jianyou with her wide, bewildered eyes.
After a moment,
An Jianyou drove, and Fang You sat in the passenger seat. The Land Rover sped down the nearly deserted highway, heading towards Baichuan Prefecture, which bordered Shuize Prefecture.
The destination wasn't far.
It would take about three to four hours by car, but driving fast, they reached it in two. As a female driver and a triple awakened individual, with powerful mental strength, An Jianyou drove quite quickly.
And steadily.
If she wasn't steady, it wouldn't matter; they wouldn't die even if they crashed.
He didn't want a driver; he simply didn't want to go alone. Resting his chin on his hand, he gazed at the receding scenery outside the window. The place he could faintly sense was growing closer.
…
"Let's get off here."
"Oh, okay."
An Jianyou was not one to pry. She believed that whatever her mentor decided to do must have its reasons.
However, today, her mentor seemed to have something on his mind.
She thought, then picked up the hastily prepared food from the trunk before they left.
"I'll take it."
He took it from her hand and placed it into the now empty space of the Sky Net Hand.
Then, he turned onto a mountain path and walked into the forest.
He could roughly determine that the instance's time period was about a thousand years ago, during a chaotic dynasty. The geographical location could also be roughly identified through the investigations of Wei Jingwu and others.
Of course,
After a thousand years, everything would have changed beyond recognition.
Yet, he still had a vague sense, perhaps from… the architectural place of inheritance and…
The mountain path was not difficult to traverse.
Even An Jianyou, with her physique several times that of an ordinary person and her cultivation of swordplay, had basic sword techniques paired with footwork, which was enough to navigate the complex terrain of the mountains and forests.
This girl also practiced Shadow Steps.
She had learned it through a skill seed, and it had already reached introductory level. This skill was a lower-tier version of Void Steps, allowing her to move with a blur of shadows and incredible speed, though she couldn't tread on air.
Fang You moved with ease.
He navigated the mountain as if walking on flat ground. Even steep cliffs tens of meters high, he traversed with a single step. His invisible hand grabbed An Jianyou, and he shot up like a cannonball, his travel speed being significantly faster than driving.
Along the way, An Jianyou's screams of "Ahhh!" echoed.
Soon, they arrived deep in the mountain forest.
An Jianyou braced herself on her knees, her eyes teary, "Mentor, slo-slow down."
Fang You glanced back, "You'll have to learn to fly yourself eventually. You'll have to get used to it sooner or later."
Even so, flying and flying were different!
An Jianyou whimpered, then habitually released her super bodyguard, the 'Ghastly Grinning Puppet,' while simultaneously opening her Insightful Eyes to scan their surroundings.
This was necessary vigilance.
Even when with her mentor, she had to be vigilant… otherwise, her mentor would lecture her.
"But there are so few wicked beings here!"
She exclaimed in surprise.
This was clearly a remote mountainous area, where wicked beings should be extremely abundant. Yet, in her line of sight, there were only a very sparse few, and they seemed to decrease the further they went.
Strange.
"We're almost there."
She heard her mentor say.
She saw her mentor walking faster and faster, and she quickly followed.
The trees cast dappled shadows, and the ancient trees in the forest were exceptionally robust. Her mentor skirted around these ancient trees with entangled roots resembling earth dragons, pushing aside the dense branches.
A village hidden deep within the mountains suddenly appeared.
An Jianyou's eyes widened.
"This village…"
The entire village was almost integrated with the forest. Old houses were covered in mountain vines, and dense trees grew amidst the crumbling ruins.
A heavy, ancient aura washed over them. Even though many stone houses in the village had been swallowed by the passage of time, their former grandeur could still be discerned.
There were towering city walls, watchtowers standing tall, and a stone staircase winding upwards, leading to some unknown place on the mountain.
Upon closer inspection, one could still see incredibly smooth ravines in the distance, as if carved by a blade's edge.
The distant mountain peaks too!
An Jianyou's eyes widened, and she suddenly quickened her pace, running to the side of the village entrance, where a stone monument stood.
The stone monument, covered by vegetation.
She used her knife to gently scrape away the grass and trees, revealing a pattern carved onto the half-human-tall stone monument.
A pattern she was extremely familiar with.
Her mouth fell open.