Chapter 97: The High-End Immortal Gate Game is Still Chasing Me!

‘Destiny.’

This was a presence Wang Ping had encountered in the Immortal Gate. It had cast quite a shadow over him back then, and he never expected to hear the term again in Great Shun.

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately looked at Chenlong and lowered his voice.

"May I ask, Milord, what exactly is destiny?"

Chenlong thought for a moment before explaining, "The First Seat once said that heaven and earth possess their operational fortune, while all living beings have their fate. The union of these two is destiny."

"As the name implies, 'fortune' refers to the operation of all things in heaven and earth. If a person's fortune is high, the events they encounter will favor them. They will steadily rise in official rank, and they will be universally loved in romance... This continues until their status and position finally match their innate 'fate', at which point it stops."

Chenlong pointed at himself.

"Take me, for example," he said.

"The First Seat once read my fate. I am a natural-born 'unrivaled genius,' and my fate is tough enough. Because of that, everything went smoothly for me before I entered the Tribute Hall."

"Aside from the First Seat's martial arts, I can basically comprehend any other martial art just by looking at it. Within a few days of practice, I can easily master its essence."

"The same goes for anything I do. There hasn't been an enemy I couldn't defeat. Even if I occasionally ran into a senior martial artist trying to bully the weak, I could always escape, grow stronger, and fight my way back. It wasn't until I joined the Tribute Hall that I started encountering difficulties. After reaching the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank, I could even use my Divine Intent to sense my own limits."

"The limits of destiny."

Chenlong's expression grew slightly dark. "My destiny only allows me to reach this current step. There are no more possibilities for me."

"This is already the best outcome."

"By joining the Tribute Hall as the First Seat's direct disciple, I shared a portion of the First Seat's fortune, which allowed me to go farther than I ever imagined."

"But fate never changes."

"A slight increase in fortune is merely icing on the cake. Once you reach the limits of your fate, having more fortune is completely meaningless."

"In fact, when you reach that point, you have to be careful. If you have too much fortune and it exceeds the limits of your fate, that is a classic case of 'abundant fortune but thin fate.' That excessively heavy fortune will crush your fate, causing you to suffer all kinds of tribulations and making you far more prone to a violent death than an ordinary person."

Wang Ping grew increasingly horrified as he listened.

Without a doubt, the destiny of Great Shun and the destiny of the Immortal Gate were the exact same concept. Combined with what the Soul-Falling Studio Master had said, this was the work of immortals!

They decreed the operations of heaven and earth and manipulated the life and death of all living souls.

Wang Ping simply could not imagine what kind of mighty power that was. He had originally thought the Qi Refining practitioners of the Immortal Gate were absurd enough, but now it seemed they were merely the tip of the iceberg!

How the hell was anyone supposed to play against that?

Wang Ping frowned deeply at the thought and asked, "Milord, do you mean that fortune can still be changed, but fate is predestined, and no matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to change it even a little?"

"...It is not absolute."

Chenlong shook his head. "At least as far as I know, the First Seat has definitely shattered the shackles of destiny, and the four great grandmasters should have broken them as well."

Wang Ping immediately froze at those words.

"Shattered... destiny?"

The First Seat of the Tribute Hall.

This was not the first time Wang Ping had heard this title from Chenlong. Without a doubt, this was a figure whose abilities had utterly convinced Chenlong to the point of near-worship.

As for the four great grandmasters, Wang Ping was even more familiar with them: Chan Master Longshu of Shenlong Temple, Daoist Tianxin of the Qingtian Cult, the Tomb Guardian of the Corpse Liberation Ground, and the King of Linjiang of Guanchao City. There was not a single martial artist alive who had never heard the names of these four Great Grandmaster Rank experts of the current era.

However, this was only within Great Shun.

No matter how impressive a martial artist's reputation was, they would be nothing more than small fry if placed in the Immortal Gate... Yet, mere Mortals like these could actually shatter the shackles of destiny?

"What, you don't believe it?"

Chenlong saw through Wang Ping's thoughts at a glance and chuckled. "Actually, although this thing called destiny is very annoying, you cannot just look at its bad side."

"...There is a good side?"

"Of course there is."

Chenlong nodded, his tone turning profound. "Because while you are shackled by destiny, it also means you are protected by destiny."

"As long as you don't shatter those shackles and don't try to surpass your own fate, you will absolutely never be affected by any mighty power outside of destiny... Otherwise, why do you think the existences in the heavens cannot come down? It is because they are too strong. They are so strong that their very presence would shatter destiny."

In an instant, Wang Ping experienced sudden supreme enlightenment.

‘The Qi Refining practitioners of the Immortal Gate have difficulty entering the mortal realm... because of destiny?’

Thinking up to this point, Wang Ping suddenly found the matter slightly ironic. The greatest jailer of the masses was actually their greatest protector.

After all, if not for destiny, that Qi Refining practitioner from the Immortal Gate probably would not have stopped at just taking a glance after the incident in Longxing County concluded.

At the same time, Wang Ping thought of another matter.

‘Cultivation in the Tribulation Transcending Stage involves the first layer Human Tribulation, the second layer Heavenly Tribulation, and the third layer Fate Tribulation... Is this Fate Tribulation also related to destiny?’

Shattering destiny.

‘Is it possible that transcending the Fate Tribulation is also a way for cultivators to shatter the shackles of destiny? The Tribulation Transcending Third Layer... Have martial artists in Great Shun also achieved this?’

Wang Ping suddenly grew excited.

He had always harbored a doubt: where exactly was the limit of the Great Shun Martial Dao, and what level of Immortal Gate cultivator could the strongest martial artists compare to?

Now, it seemed there was an answer.

‘Perhaps... it is the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer!’

‘Looking at it from this angle, if I first shatter destiny through the Great Shun Martial Dao and then cultivate immortality, would the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer naturally fall into place?’

It should be possible!

Wang Ping's eyes brightened at the thought.

‘In that case, rather than calling destiny a shackle, it would be better to call it a trial. Only those who pass the trial can grow stronger.’

Looking at it this way, destiny really did have a good side.

"You understand now, right?"

Seeing that Wang Ping seemed to have realized something, Chenlong smiled. "There is one more benefit. When you go to the Capital and meet the First Seat, she will read your fate once for you."

"At that time, you will understand where your limits lie. In the future, when you conduct yourself in the world and encounter danger, you can cross-reference it with your fate. You will basically be able to judge what you can and cannot do, thereby turning peril into safety. There aren't many people in the world with such an ability."

"My fate..."

Hearing this, Wang Ping pondered for a moment before smiling bitterly in his mind. ‘If nothing unexpected happens, my fate should be the lowest of the low.’

Because in his first life, he was a black-headed commoner.

Without a doubt, it was the 'fate of a black-headed commoner.'

‘Speaking of which, the fortune used to exchange for identities in the Taiping Sutra... Could that be this very same fortune? If so, then everything makes perfect sense...’

Just think about it. When he was a black-headed commoner, he lived honestly for over twenty years without illness or disaster. Yet, within two days of becoming a hall master of the White Lotus Sect, he died a sudden, violent death... Not to mention his later stints as a bailiff and a Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard. The higher his fortune and the better his identity, the faster he died.

This was actually quite absurd.

Even though they all experienced the Longxing County incident, there weren't actually many bailiffs in the County Yamen who died. Why did they get to live so safely and steadily?

‘Because... I was the only one stirring up trouble?’

Wang Ping mentally reviewed everything and gradually came to a realization:

‘Every time I stir up trouble, I obtain more fortune. And the more fortune I have, the easier it is for my fate of a black-headed commoner to be crushed by it.’

Reflected in reality, this translated to the speed at which he suffered sudden death.

Then it wasn't strange at all!

Because of his "abundant fortune but thin fate," he was more easily dragged into trouble, and more prone to dying suddenly from accidents... Wasn't that exactly what had just happened to him!

Wang Ping raised his head and looked at Chenlong.

"Milord, was what just happened to me... also the work of destiny?"

He had been inexplicably dragged into Chen Luoyan's troubles. His thoughts and consciousness had clearly been influenced by an external force, making him act vastly different from his usual self.

"That wasn't it," Chenlong said, waving his hand. "True destiny isn't nearly that rigid, nor would it forcefully twist a person's will. That just now was the method of an extraordinary person."

"Furthermore, it wasn't your destiny that was affected, but simply your fortune. Through some method, someone meticulously designed this grand play. Because you had a connection with Chen Luoyan, you were dragged into it. Fortunately, your 'role in the play' had already ended, which is why you were able to regain your senses."

"The person who orchestrated this can already be considered quite capable," Chenlong said coldly. "For most people—such as that evil cultivator you slew—losing their 'role' means their time is up, and they die in the middle of the play."

"If that were not the case, Book Mountain would not dominate Shuzhong entirely on its own."

"Book Mountain's ultimate sect treasure, that Heavenly Book, has an illustrious reputation in the world of extraordinary persons. Whatever is written in it will absolutely come to pass."

"Of course, the side effects aren't small. At least as far as I know, all the past owners of the Heavenly Book eventually died under inexplicable circumstances, and they died right after using it. That's why this treasure has always been kept on Book Mountain. It is feared by countless extraordinary persons, yet very few actually dare to use it."

At this point, Chenlong also felt a bit confused.

"I just don't know why it was used this time. There is definitely something bizarre behind this matter. It's best to report back to the First Seat first before deciding how to respond."

"Mhm..."

Hearing this, Wang Ping fell into deep thought. Combined with Chenlong's words, his first thought was of the Soul-Falling Studio Master of the Immortal Gate and the mysterious magic artifact he had once used.

The Fate-Peering Bone-Slicing Mirror.

The effects and side effects of that magic artifact were practically identical to those of the Heavenly Book that Chenlong had just described. Moreover, Great Shun was already under the jurisdiction of the Immortal Gate.

It was hard not to read too much into it.

Could it be...?

At that thought, Wang Ping suddenly looked at Madam Su in his arms. Sweeping over her with his spiritual sense, he quickly found the secret manual Chen Luoyan had given her.

This method of forging a spiritual root, as Chen Luoyan had called it, was titled:

‘The Six Desire Heavens Sovereign Attainment Method!?’

That familiar name completely confirmed Wang Ping's guess. ‘The founding ancestor behind Book Mountain must be connected to Daoist Nun You's lineage!’

For a moment, Wang Ping felt a bit numb.

Why is it you again?

This was a high-end game involving an Immortal Gate True Transmission. The slightest misstep, and even the Taiping Sutra wouldn't be able to save him. He truly didn't want to play this game anymore, yet he never expected to run into it again.

‘Ultimately, my identity this time is the Shuzhong Great Hero. Based on my past experience of repeatedly rolling identities in Longxing County, could it be that all of Shuzhong is about to face a disaster this time? Is that why the Taiping Sutra dragged me in, gave me this identity, and forced me to continue playing this high-end Immortal Gate game?’

‘You've got to be kidding me!’

Goddammit, I've only been showing off in low-end games for a few days, and I haven't even officially started stomping noobs yet. Now I'm being dragged into a high-end game again? Is there any justice in this world?

After a moment of silence, Wang Ping raised his head.

"Milord, I plan to go find Chen Luoyan."

In a flash, his train of thought had already shifted into high-end Immortal Gate game mode, and he rallied all of his focus. "I'm afraid this person is the true main character of this grand play."

"Even if she isn't, she is still a crucial supporting character."

"Otherwise, for Book Mountain to use the Heavenly Book at such an enormous cost—it couldn't possibly be just to make me fight an extraordinary person and kill him."

"Therefore, as long as I follow Chen Luoyan, I will definitely be able to find Book Mountain's true target. Even if I can't find it, I should be able to uncover important clues."

The first law of the high-end Immortal Gate game:

"He who strikes first gains the upper hand; he who strikes late suffers disaster!"