Xu Qing’s eyes glittered, and his heart pounded. He was reeling mentally.

Although he couldn’t be totally sure of the level of this godly authority... the fact that it was a combination of three other types of godly authority was a clear indication of the personhood involved.

But is it fate or not?

He lifted his right hand, and the unfamiliar godly authority that resembled fate glittered brightly, then vanished from within him. When it reappeared, it was in the middle of his palm. And it took the shape... of a carving knife![1]

He could actually feel it, as if it were a corporeal object, yet at the same time, it seemed illusory. The moment it appeared, the air around it seemed to become sticky, as if it had been affected by the knife.

Xu Qing got the sensation that this knife could cut anything, whether that be the land, the sky, the grass, or the mountains.

One swipe of this knife could alter a trajectory. And the new trajectory would be completely outside of the scope of the original trajectory. It was a vague feeling, so vague, in fact, that Xu Qing couldn’t mentally grasp the totality of it. It was as if there were a veil covering the substructure of this godly authority, making it impossible for him to fully grasp it.

However, there was one thing he was certain of.

It seems highly likely that this is the godly authority of fate. However, it’s a bit different from fate as I currently understand it....

Xu Qing was reeling so much he simply couldn’t maintain a state of calm. That was because, when he thought back to everything he had experienced, and everything he understood, he realized that he had encountered a person who seemed to have abilities that were similar to a godly authority that affected fate.

And that person was the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan! Zi Qing could command fate!

Xu Qing took a deep breath as he thought back to what he had seen Zi Qing accomplish. Everything was there in his memories.

Zi Qing used the broken face of Eminent Desolation to effect a resurrection of himself. Does that mean his godly authority is somehow connected to the broken face? As for me... my fleshly body comes from the flesh and blood of Eminent Desolation. And now, due to a freak combination of factors, I’ve acquired something akin to authority over fate.

Is there some sort of karma at play here? What’s more, Zi Qing’s fate magic also relates to time. In that case... what does my godly authority do?

A moment later, he cleared his mind. He knew that he didn’t understand this new godly authority well enough. And if he wanted to understand it, he needed to learn more about it.

Instead of blindly groping on his own, it made more sense to ask for help. And since his Master wasn’t around, the best person to ask was the empress. The empress was a god, and an Altar God at that. Asking the empress about godly authority might even yield better results than asking for information from his Master.

With that thought in mind, Xu Qing looked up, then blurred into motion toward the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain. Along the way, he didn’t spend time thinking about the godly authority that seemed to relate to fate. Instead, he nourished his soul and observed his other godly authorities.

Sound. Taboo poison....

After some observation, he was certain that this godly authority of fate was definitely very strong. Next, he focused on his back tattoo of the candle, as well as the mask.

Thus, time passed. Two days.

Given how fast he was moving, he was now only about an hour away from the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain. By now, he had reached some conclusions about the candle.

The candle has thoroughly fused with my fleshly body. It’s as if it changed carriers. Before, the carrier was the snapshot jade slip. But now it’s my fleshly body. Maybe the way to shift carriers is to extinguish it. Even though it’s extinguished, I get the sensation that it could be lit again. However, I need to make some special preparations beforehand. And I need more time to ascertain the details.

What was more, his study up to this point seemed to indicate that the tattoo wasn’t going to harm him.

And then there’s the mask.

Xu Qing pulled the mask out and looked at it. It was looking back at him, seemingly still waiting for him to state his wish.

It’s made from an unknown substance. It does have intelligence of its own, but not much. If I don’t make a wish, it will just keep following me around. I still don’t know what price needs to be paid for the wish. But given how intent it is on following me around, that price must be significant.

In reality, the reason he started making a wish wasn’t because he actually had a wish he wanted granted. He had another purpose. From the very beginning, he’d had only one purpose in mind. And that was... to acquire a way to avoid karma. That white dust had been the focus from the beginning.

Xu Qing looked up, and authority glittered in his eyes as he looked at his own fate threads. The threads connected to things in all directions, and they were dazzling to say the least. There were also a few of them that were completely terrifying. However, as of now, Xu Qing realized that upon some of those fate threads, he could see... white dust. The white dust had appeared without fanfare, and was on the very edges of his fate threads.

Could it be that merely contacting the mask caused the white dust to appear in my fate?

After some thought, he looked away from the mask. That was when, prompted by a sudden impulse, he thought about his godly authority that was apparently related to fate.

If I could take that godly authority and put it into my fate threads, what would happen?

The moment the thought occurred to him, it rapidly became the only thing he could think about. And the desire to test it out caused his eyes to shine with determination.

I guess I’ll test it out!

Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his right hand, causing what seemed to be the godly authority of fate to fly out and form a carving knife in front of him. Then he sent it flying toward his fate threads. It entered the threads, and then Xu Qing carefully restrained the knife so that it didn’t cut anything. He just kept it there, motionless.

When the carving knife entered his fate, it hovered... until something unbelievable happened. A black stream of light emerged from the carving knife, covering Xu Qing’s fate threads. Next, the white dust vibrated, then floated up, separating from the fate threads until it hovered in the air, completely alone.

The sensation that filled Xu Qing next rocked him to the core. His expression flickered, something that rarely happened, and his jaw nearly dropped.

When the light from the carving knife covered his fate threads, the sensation he experienced was like bursting out of water and suddenly being able to breathe.

His soul felt unbounded and free. And his body felt far more unrestrained than before. In fact, he had the strong feeling and perception that, previously, he had been living in a state of asphyxiation. It was like he had been stuck in the mud, bound and restrained.

Without having experienced the current sensation, though, he would never have been able to realize that his past state had been one of asphyxiation and restraint. Clarity was only possible through comparison between the two! It seemed as if, only as of this moment was he able to control his own fate.

Xu Qing struggled to control his breathing. The comparison between these two states was completely unexpected. At the same time, a new type of perception filled him.

Is this the sensation of being able to control fate?

At the same instant in which Xu Qing gained control of his fate, far away in the Revered Ancient mainland, other entities sensed what was happening.

***

In Revered Ancient, there was a region full of dark mist, where the mutagen levels surpassed all other areas. Terrifying howls rang out everywhere, echoing back and forth so that there was never silence.

Within the boundless black haze, there was an imperial palace that was so massive it was like a city. A deathly silence filled the grand hall of the imperial palace.

An unusually handsome man sat on the imperial throne. His forehead was currently resting on his hand, and his eyes were closed. A moment later, his eyes opened, and he looked up into the sky. He frowned.

“You’re cutting ties?” he murmured. A moment later, his expression softened, and he smiled faintly. “How amusing, lil’ bro.”

***

Waves rolled across the surface of the depths of the outer sea. Black threads rose up, converging in midair to form Yu Liuchen, who hovered there cross-legged. Hē was currently absorbing what hē had acquired recently.

Normally speaking, hē shouldn’t have woken up before the absorption process was complete. But now, an indescribable feeling had filled hīm, something hē had never experienced before. Having been woken up, hē looked up into the sky.

A character from one of my stories just disappeared....

***

In the Devilbird holy land, at the summit of the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain, the empress in Lu Lingzi form opened hēr eyes. Shē looked down the mountain, hēr expression quizzical. About an hour later, a voice rang up from that area.

“Sir Blood Dust here, seeking an audience with the Imperial Sovereign!”

After some thought, shē reached down and made a grasping gesture. A moment later, Xu Qing appeared in front of hēr in the grand hall. He immediately bowed at the waist and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could, the empress’ voice echoed out. “My clone was present in that pocket realm but didn’t see any clues about what was going on. It was only when the godly authority was used that I sensed it.... Xu Qing, you have a new type of godly authority. Its name is... fate!”

Xu Qing looked up at the empress.

The empress had answered the very question he came to ask. Clearly, shē had a much deeper understanding of godly authority than he did.

Taking a deep breath, he respectfully said, “Your Majesty, could you explain a bit more?”

The empress looked down at him for a moment.

“Fate, predestination, luck. All refer to the trajectory of constants and variables among living things in the world. They are also paramount godly authorities in the cultivation system of gods.

“However, life and fortune are two completely different concepts.

“Life is a constant, and it relates to a specific trajectory. It fundamentally contains various paths.

“During the battle in which I reached godly ascension, you personally witnessed the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan control the fate of another. In the hands of Zi Qing, the fate of others takes the form of a book. By means of fate, hē can see the past, and can thus deduce the future. The future contains infinite possibilities, and yet fundamentally speaking, they

all

exist. What hē does is take one future, extract it, and use it to replace all the others. By doing so, hē can transform and influence the fate of another person.”

Up to this point, Xu Qing felt like he mostly understood what was being said, and it felt like everything was becoming clear. At the same time, he was reeling mentally. He could still picture the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan taking action, and remembered the power of his godly authority.

“Do you mean,” he murmured, “that the trajectories of the countless futures that Zi Qing can perceive are all real? They’re all constants? At the same time, they are all part of the ‘life’ that exists in the godly authority of fate?”

The empress nodded. “Meanwhile, fortune acts as the variable. It refers to the lineaments that exist outside the constants. Put more precisely, they are other paths that might be hewn out. They are paths that didn’t previously exist. But by the mixture of good luck and misfortune, they are created, and they surpass the range of what is set. That is what is meant by variables. Your godly authority relates to the fortune within fate. The variables!”

Xu Qing took a deep breath as his train of thought grew clearer. “Your Majesty, do you mean that my godly authority of fate uses good luck and misfortune to tamper with someone’s destiny? It creates a new fate that’s outside of the constants?”

The empress nodded. “Your understanding is correct. You and Zi Qing both have a godly authority of fate, and though they both have the same origin, they go in different directions. Yet both can be described in the same way.

“Anything and everything is possible. When talking about constants, there are infinite trajectories, any one of which could become manifest. When talking about variables, it’s only natural that it’s possible to create a new path to replace the original.”

Xu Qing closed his eyes to digest what the empress had just told him. After a while, he opened his eyes, and they shone with bright clarity.

“In other words, the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan has a godly authority of fate that resembles a book. The reason is that it deals with fate that has already been written. Zi Qing can flip through that book and find one page that hē finds suitable.

“In contrast, my godly authority of fate resembles a carving knife.... And īts function isn’t to flip through a book. Rather, īt functions to carve a new trajectory of fate to become a new page.”

1. The ‘carving knife’ here could also be rendered as ‘burin,’ ‘graver,’ or ‘engraving knife.’ If you do an image search, you will see that all these types of knives are basically the same thing. I would call it a hobby knife or craft knife. I watch a lot of YouTube hobby and crafting channels, and this is the type of knife you see people use when doing fine detail work to cut or carve small things. If you’re not familiar with this type of knife, here is a small image gallery. I don’t think the author envisions it as being a modern hobby knife, though. I think he just envisions a small knife with a delicate blade that could be used for carving things, thus, I’m going with ‘carving knife’ as the translation choice. Also, in a really weird coincidence, right before posting this chapter, a YouTuber I subscribe to released a video in which he used a hobby knife to carve a knife from wood. ☜