Chapter 876 - 484: The Ones Who Came After Us (Part 2)

Seeing Xue Dili’s expression, the Great Sage was a bit puzzled and asked back, "Did you not see the ’Sage’s Book’ I left behind?"

"No, I really didn’t see it." Xue Dili tried to remain stubborn.

"It’s right at the depth of the knowledge module I set up. Once you reach Tier Five, it will be completely unlocked for you, and I have written all my purposes on it. You didn’t see it?" The old man suddenly felt somewhat at a loss for words.

Xue Dili: "..."

Emm...

After reaching Tier Five, he was entangled with the Mimic Venerable King, followed by the outbreak of the God of Order incident. During this time, he really hadn’t checked the system.

Alright, since Tier Four, he actually seldom went through the knowledge module prepared by the old man for him...

After all, faced with enemies, mere growth in knowledge and magic was too slow. The environment forced Xue Dili to use more straightforward and powerful forces, even that of the Void.

So, Xue Dili seldom opened that knowledge module!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The old man seemed to lose his composure for the first time, hitting Xue Dili’s head hard three times with his magic staff, causing Xue Dili to hold his head and say, "Ouch, why did you do that?"

"Uneducated!" The old man seemed speechless for the first time, "I remember in my calculations about you, you should have been a studious person."

Xue Dili: "..."

The studious Xue Dili of the past is already dead; the one alive is just the Beast of the End that has left his brain behind while playing wheelchair.

After getting the wheelchair, who would painstakingly chew on a magic book, spending a lot of time for meager combat power returns... Xue Dili thought quietly in his heart.

"Alas, perhaps this is the drawback of the Great Prophecy Art, only able to calculate future based on existing data, unable to truly predict future." The Great Sage sighed.

Actually, the principle of the Great Prophecy Art is simple: as if knowing Neon attacked Pearl Harbor, knowing America’s fervor for war is infinitely high, and knowing America’s full industrialization can achieve launching a Lexington-class carrier every three days.

At this moment, it can be calculated that Neon is bound to lose in the future, regardless of how much advantage Neon gains in the naval battle early on, it is certain to fail.

This is the fundamental principle of the Great Prophecy Art, calculating the future based on existing information and selecting the most likely future to appear.

Though the Great Prophecy Art is absolutely not this simple, its underlying logic is so, only the variables and calculations are a bit complex.

The old man walked out of the academy, seeing the distance, where some bright mind had designed the entire replica like a children’s paradise.

The Great Sage continued, "Upon seeing such a future, I attempted to devise a plan. My talent was insufficient to deal with such a future, so ultimately, I could only think of imitating that minor act of God. If, in the true future, everything becomes irreversible, might it be possible, like the birth of the Venerable King in the past, for a slight possibility to stop this future to emerge?"

"Perhaps, I succeeded, maybe even better than I imagined, more reliable."

"He might surpass me, stepping over my corpse, accomplishing feats I could never achieve in my lifetime. Thank you, I am proud of you." The old man said, smiling.

Perhaps, he was truly smiling for the first time, an unparalleled pride seemingly evident.

The two continued forward, the old man said, "Actually, I have calculated the future of many people through the Great Prophecy Art."

"The vast majority of my students, if they lose magic and power, they are nothing... Without magic and power, they are worthless, which is the portrayal of most people."

"But you are different, do you want to know the future of your lifetime as an ordinary person if you hadn’t touched magic?" The old man asked with a smile.

"Detail it." Xue Dili succinctly replied.

"You would become a post-disaster doctor, then achieve dual doctorate degrees at Boston University, eventually participating in international medical institutions, becoming a rescue doctor appearing at the first scene during wars and natural disasters... Finally, losing your life in a hospital bombed to ruins on that war-torn and invaded land."

"That was your future as a normal person, if you never encountered any magic."

Xue Dili was silent.

If, as a normal person in the past, he succeeded in getting the qualification to study at Boston University, and during his studies encountered international doctor organizations, he might really join them.

"So, you are different; you are stronger than anyone not just in power, but in heart, even if you don’t have any power, you could risk your life to save others, and not just on an impulse, but persistently advancing even after facing a reality scarred with trauma and pain, continuously strengthening internally."

"Maybe, that’s why the world chose you, even without me, under the cultivation of your world, you would still succeed in killing Zeus, solving the disaster in your world."

"Moreover, even after gaining incomparable power, capability far beyond others, you still adhere to order, respect everyone, never use power to profit yourself, never use power to demand higher benefits and treatment, not even use power to elevate your status and privilege, as always."

"This is your true strength, possibly the reason why you fit the path of the Venerable King immensely."

The next moment, a book appeared before Xue Dili.

The ’Sage’s Book’, a book Xue Dili hadn’t had the chance to see.

The book opened, Xue Dili was instantly stunned.

"Seventh Expedition Team... Log records..."

Not just the log of the Seventh Expedition Team, but also messages left by Yi Shan and other expedition teams here...

This was a last inch of Venerable King secret the old man eventually discovered.

Through this secret, he wished, even after his departure, to leave some leverage behind in the cosmos, and he was not the only one to walk this path, other old students possibly also embarked upon it.

But none went further, only leaving a last leverage after death inadvertently.

Looking at the information on it, Xue Dili understood everything.

It might be coincidence, or perhaps destiny, when the old man was polluted by the Void, shortly before death, he found wreckage of the Seventh Expedition Team.

There, he decrypted the log record left by the Seventh Expedition Team, simultaneously deciphered a message by Yi Shan and others who came here, messages from expedition members.

"If you see this, it means you are on the right path, keep moving forward, we are not alone in this battle."

"I arrived here, but cannot leave, tell Al in the canteen that saying her nutritional paste tasted like engine oil was untrue... Actually, it’s worse than engine oil. But... kinda want to taste it again."

"Perhaps this is my last will, mortals, need not grieve my death, I have seen stars extinguish, witnessed hundreds of civilizations’ cycles and prosperity. If, in a billion years, new stars emerge where I fell, that will be my waking moment. Do not disturb."

"To those who come later, I’ve hid a dried ’Night Dew Flower’ between logs, in our hometown, it represents pressing forward, never looking back. Move forward."

...

An array of messages displayed before Xue Dili.

They either encouraged, joked, or wrote down final words for themselves.

Most messages were never read or heard by any organism, some drifted with ship wrecks, some became faint info ripples in subspace’s backdrop radiation, some, after several billion years, were salvaged by someone seeking truth.

And, how many teams never arrived here?

They were "failures," they weren’t the teams to ultimately reach Altar Star, and all died within that Great Void, crucially, they possibly played no role in that cosmic void-level disaster.

Yet, seeing these decrypted messages, for some reason, Xue Dili felt his eyes itch.

"Subspace wind is quite strong." Xue Dili rubbed his eyes, saying.

"Indeed." The Great Sage agreed.

"Old man, help me one last time..." Xue Dili said, perhaps understanding the last thing to do, "Take me to the ruins you discovered here, starting from here, I’ll walk once more to the end of subspace."

"At the very least, we cannot let these voices fade into subspace."