Chapter 632 - 51: Unified Tracks, Common Script

Chapter 632: Chapter 51: Unified Tracks, Common Script

"Sir," she said softly, "I come from a small village in the heartlands. When I was a child, my village had no school. I had to walk several miles to the next village for classes every day, and my feet would crack from the cold in winter. Later, you implemented basic education, and our village got a school and reading primers. I was the first girl from my village to be accepted into the Spire."

She paused, took a deep breath, and her voice, though choked with a hint of a sob, struggled to remain steady:

"My mother told me I absolutely had to thank you properly. She said that without you, I would have spent my life getting married, having children, and revolving around the kitchen stove, never knowing what the outside world was like."

Murphy looked at her and gave a slight nod.

"Your mother is right. But you must also remember, it wasn’t just me who brought you to where you are today. It was also yourself, and your mother."

The girl nodded vigorously, tears finally slipping down her cheeks.

She clutched the certificate, bowed deeply, and turned to walk off the stage.

One after another, the students came forward.

A young man from the mining district choked back sobs as he explained that ever since Murphy promoted new mining tools and safety regulations, his father no longer had to descend into the mines with his heart in his throat, terrified that one day he wouldn’t make it back up.

A boy from a farming family on the plains excitedly described how new cultivation methods and improved farming tools had filled their family’s granary, and they no longer had to go hungry.

A girl from a remote mountainous region tearfully gave thanks for the spread of basic education, which gave her and her sisters their first chance to learn how to read and write.

There were also young people from the city slums who, weeping with gratitude, mentioned how the Enlightenment Potion gave those of them who originally had no connection to the Extraordinary a chance to set foot on this life-altering Path.

Each story was different, but every pair of eyes shone with the same light—gratitude, reverence, and infinite hope for the future.

Murphy took it all in, accepting their words one by one.

He listened to their stories, watched their tears and smiles, and an indescribably complex emotion welled up inside him.

He thought back to when he had first arrived in this world.

’Back then, I was just the lowly son of a farmer, on the verge of starvation.’

’Back then, my greatest wish was simply to practice Cultivation, tend to my own small plot of land, endure, lay low, and just survive until the day I became an Immortal.’

’I never thought about changing the world.’

’Because it was too dangerous, too uncontrollable. It was too likely to cut short my path to eternal life.’

’But fate...’

’No!’

’I never believed in fate. Fate is just an illusory chain, something that could never bind me.’

’The one who truly set me on this Path was myself.’

’It was my ego, my will, my choice.’

’It was a conviction born from witnessing the world’s countless tragedies, from seeing it take the wrong turn when it should have been heading down a better Path.’

’A sliver of self.’

’A sliver of my "Dao."’

’Even if it came at a terrible price.’

’Even if I was nearly lost completely in the torrent of Elementalization.’

’I have no regrets.’

"Daddy~"

A familiar voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

Murphy snapped back to his senses, realizing he had been lost in thought.

The presentation of degrees had moved on to the next person—and standing before him now was none other than Mo Ling.

She had grown into a young woman. At eighteen, she was slender and tall, with a stunningly beautiful face.

Her jet-black eyes were identical to his, but right now they were narrowed slightly with a hint of dissatisfaction, and her rosy lips were pushed out in a pout.

With her hands behind her back, she tilted her head slightly and deliberately dragged out her words in a cajoling tone:

"Daaad—what are you thinking about? It’s my turn~"

Looking at his daughter’s expression, Murphy was momentarily at a loss for words.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he had just zoned out and hadn’t meant to—

"Pfft!"

Mo Ling suddenly burst out laughing. Her smile was as brilliant as the spring sun, instantly dispelling his slight embarrassment.

She brought her hands out from behind her back, walked up to him, and tilted her face up to look at him, her dark eyes filled with a mischievous glint.

"Dad, you’re the hero of the entire Continent, the Savior, you know! Try to focus a little, would you? Even the weakest of those Priest graduates just now was more focused than you, and they’re your students! As the most powerful person on the Continent, how can you just randomly zone out?"

As she spoke, she deliberately imitated her father from a moment ago... no, she imitated him zoning out, staring into the void with her mouth slightly agape, putting on a dazed expression.

The impersonation was spot-on, yet comical.

Seeing his daughter’s mischievous antics, Murphy couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth lift into a smile.

He cleared his throat, trying to maintain his fatherly dignity, but he couldn’t hide his amusement.

"You little rascal."

He took the degree certificate from the master of ceremonies and personally handed it to his daughter.

Mo Ling accepted the certificate but didn’t leave right away.

Clutching the parchment scroll, she suddenly dropped her playful expression and looked at her father seriously.

"Dad," her voice softened, "thank you."

Murphy looked at her.

Mo Ling’s eyes reddened slightly, but she still had a smile on her face.

"Thank you for letting me be your daughter."

"Thank you for showing me how much a person can sacrifice for their beliefs."

"Thank you for teaching me that true strength isn’t about how much power you have, but about what you can do for the world with that power."

She took a deep breath, lifted her face, her smile as radiant as before:

"I’ll remember your words and become someone useful to the Continent—useful to this land, to this nation, to the world, and to civilization."

Murphy watched his daughter quietly, seeing the light sparkling in her eyes and the earnest expression on her face.

He suddenly remembered the little girl from many years ago, waiting eagerly for hot pot outside the stone house on the mountain peak, the tip of her nose red from the cold.

He remembered the way she cried as she looked at the sky on the Day the Sun Fell.

He remembered the moment she threw herself into his arms after he woke up, sobbing, "Daddy promised he would always be with me!"

Time flew by. She was all grown up.

Murphy reached out and gently ruffled his daughter’s hair—just as he had often done when she was little.

"Go on," he said softly. "Go do what you want to do."

Mo Ling nodded vigorously, clutched her certificate, and turned to leave the stage.

After taking a few steps, she turned back and gave him a wink.

"Dad, don’t zone out again, okay? There are still a lot of students waiting!"

With that, she skipped lightly down the stage and disappeared into the crowd.