Stone Village, Center
"Old Clan Leader, how did you come by this rune bone? The contents inscribed on it seem extraordinary," Shi Yi said, sensing the Original True Solution was no ordinary thing, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
It wasn't his fault.
Though Shi Yi was a transmigrator, reborn in the womb and awakening his past-life memories at six, his knowledge of Perfect World was limited. In his previous life, on a blue planet ravaged by global nuclear war, radiation had obliterated civilization. The entertainment industry was in ruins, and survival was a daily struggle—mutations, death, chaos. Shi Yi had watched the Perfect World anime, but only remembered the broad strokes of the plot and main characters. The finer details? He was practically clueless.
Take this rune bone inscribed with the Original True Solution. He knew nothing about it, nor could he gauge whether it rivaled the cultivation methods passed down in the Martial King Manor.
"Of course it's extraordinary! It fell from the heavens—a divine gift!" Shi Yunfeng's voice trembled with excitement as he recounted the bone's origin, his eyes occasionally darting to the massive, charred willow behind Shi Yi.
"So, it's tied to her?" Shi Yi smacked his lips.
Even with his patchy knowledge of Perfect World, he knew Liu Shen was a supreme powerhouse, a thigh worth clinging to. Unfortunately, he'd offended her right from the start.
"I remember it clearly. It was forty years ago, on a stormy night…" Shi Yunfeng nodded, his memory of Liu Shen's arrival in Stone Village still vivid.
That night, decades ago, was cataclysmic—lightning flashed, thunder roared, torrential rain poured, and howling winds tore through the land. Mountains crumbled under bolts of lightning, floods surged like seas, and beast tides rampaged, a scene so terrifying it left people trembling.
Looking up, they saw a willow tree of unimaginable size, bathed in a sea of thunder. Its colossal trunk was entwined with lightning bolts as thick as mountains, and billions of willow branches transformed into blazing divine chains. These chains pierced the heavens, slaying the master hidden beyond the sky.
But the willow paid a heavy price. A mighty force snapped its trunk in half, and the thunder sea charred its body black. Shrinking rapidly, it plummeted from unknown heights, landing precisely in Stone Village. Alongside it fell a faint glow, enveloping this lustrous rune bone, which descended with the willow.
"It fell from the sky with her?" Shi Yi scratched his head, turning to glance at the massive willow, so wide it would take three people hand-in-hand to encircle it. He realized the Original True Solution was no mundane object.
"Yes!" Shi Yunfeng nodded vigorously. As a young man witnessing that event, the awe had seared itself into his heart, prompting him to revere the willow as a deity. Over decades, he had offered sacrifices and prayers, but the willow never responded, nor did he know it could communicate via divine sense.
Yet now, everything had changed. Since Shi Yi's arrival, Liu Shen had, for the first time, initiated divine sense communication with him. And her reason? To ensure Shi Yi stayed. Double Pupils, born sage—Shi Yunfeng didn't fully grasp these terms, but he knew Shi Yi was someone Liu Shen valued.
"Senior Liu Shen, can you tell me what the Original True Solution inscribed on this rune bone truly is?" Shi Yi approached the willow's massive, charred trunk, fearlessly patting it.
He reasoned clearly: a being of her caliber could end him with a thought. Cowering before her would only earn her disdain. Better to be bold.
Liu Shen remained silent, her blackened trunk as immovable as a stone monolith, unshaken by Shi Yi's touch.
"Senior Liu Shen, don't be so stingy! I admit I was wrong to offend you. You've punished me—forgive me, please! Just tell me what the Original True Solution is," Shi Yi pleaded, unburdened by pride. With a powerhouse like Liu Shen before him, he'd shamelessly persist until she answered.
Half a day passed.
Perhaps exasperated, a shimmering green willow branch emerged from the void, whipping Shi Yi's backside with a sharp crack. As he rolled on the ground in pain, a faint ripple of amusement emanated from the great willow.
Then, a genderless voice finally sounded in Shi Yi's mind.
"You shameless rascal, truly without dignity."
"Little Shi Yi humbly seeks Senior Liu Shen's guidance! How does one cultivate the Original True Solution?" Shi Yi scrambled to his feet, undeterred by the sting.
Another lash, but her willingness to communicate was a good sign. Silence would mean he'd truly burned that bridge; dialogue meant there was still room to maneuver.
"For mortals to comprehend the Original True Solution, they must forge the strongest foundation. In youth, during the Blood Transformation Realm, one must rival the cubs of heavenly-ranked primordial beasts, lifting one hundred thousand jin of divine iron with raw strength. Moreover, their mental will must be tempered harder than iron. The former—your one hundred thousand jin of strength—you've achieved. The latter? Your will is far from sufficient," Liu Shen's divine sense carried a trace of gentleness, perhaps softened by Shi Yi's earnest apology and his young age.
"My heart is like iron, unbreakable?" Shi Yi blurted out instinctively.
"Your six words capture it well. I didn't expect such poetic flair from you. But I doubt you can live up to them," Liu Shen replied. Having inadvertently revealed a hint of her true gender, she ceased hiding it, her voice now distinctly feminine and melodious.
"So, you're saying I can't cultivate or comprehend the Original True Solution?" Shi Yi's small face fell, filled with regret. He knew himself too well—a man whose will would crumble under a simple honey trap, far from unbreakable. Despite his Heavy Pupils, fragmented Qilin Precious Technique, Qilin Step, and one hundred thousand jin of strength, he was, at heart, a mortal with extraordinary gifts.
"Ordinary people, lacking an ironclad will, cannot comprehend the Original True Solution. Forcing it would lead to backlash from the bone's runes—vomiting blood at best, death at worst. But you, a Double Pupil bearer, can cheat. Use your Double Pupils to study the runes," Liu Shen said, opening a new path for Shi Yi.
Her words were a revelation, but Shi Yi wasn't reckless. "So it's possible to cheat like that? Is there a cost?"
"You're not entirely clueless. Cheating has its price. The stronger you grow, the harder it is to control your power. To master it perfectly, you'll need to diligently temper your mental will," Liu Shen explained.
"Temper my will? Does that mean self-torture?" Shi Yi asked, wincing.
"How can one who shirks hardship temper and ascend?" Liu Shen countered.
"I don't think I'm that bad…" Shi Yi mumbled.
"Then why do you think you were sent here?" Liu Shen's retort silenced him, leaving him speechless.