Why is life full of sorrow?" Dad…
The sea was silent in the night, the stars shining faintly above.
A young girl, wearing a thick fur cloak, brought her legs together.
Her mother was gone, leaving her holding multiple artifacts.
The spirit of the Supreme Elder looked down at his daughter, his eyes filled with a small comfort.
"Yet we do it to ourselves,"
he said lightly.
The young girl looked up, then down again, her expression relaxed but faint.
"Where can I go, Father? I am confused.
Where can I survive? How can I feed myself?
Dad?"
The spirit of her father smiled gently as he sat beside her and pointed upward.
"I won't be near you forever, my daughter. You already know—I died yesterday.
I want you to survive and become a true peak artist, and bring our continent to full glory."
The daughter stood up.
She smiled brightly and waved her hand back and forth, holding a small pack of stock as she spun it around,
looking happy.
Her father smiled and lightly touched her cheek, whispering into her ear.
"We are all waiting for the Mortal Ruler to return and bring the mortal world to the Nine Heavens.
The great destined era… the Supreme Leader who killed Mingyin died before that era, but he left his descendants to see another day.
Me and the Supreme Leader are different—yet also alike."
He looked down and hugged his daughter.
"The Mortal Ruler will come and save us."
The girl was fascinated by the Mortal Ruler, the first to rule the mortal world.
She asked softly,
"Dad… who is the Mortal Ruler truly? And why did he leave us alone in this world?"
The father froze upon hearing those words. He looked down sadly and raised his hand to his chest.
"The Mortal Ruler was once kind, gentle, and charming.
He left his own son and friend, inspired by the Nine Heavens.
He left us behind to succeed… to become a true heavenly being."
The father fell down and tried to grab his daughter's head, but his hand passed through her like a ghost.
He looked down sadly.
"Even though I regret dying, I am happy I gave you my artifact.
I am happy I could see you one last time."
The father stood up and smiled.
"My daughter, I will go now. This is only my spirit—I can speak with you for a few minutes, but time is up."
He stretched his hand out, trying to touch her head—
—but to his shock, his daughter fell asleep.
He almost fainted on the spot.
"How can my daughter fall asleep so fast?"
He slowly stood beside her, looking up at the sky.
Suddenly, his daughter started to cough and tremble.
"Bing Leng!"
He shouted and tried to shake her, but his hands passed through her.
"Crap—I can't!"
"Buhhhh!"
Her father flew backward, his eyes almost popping out.
The daughter suddenly stood up, laughing loudly.
"Ahahaha! I scared you, Dad!"
Her father gave her a helpless smile.
"If I wasn't already dead, little one…"
He returned to his position and muttered,
"Do you believe the Mortal Ruler is coming back?"
To his surprise, his daughter looked confused.
"The Mortal Ruler? I thought he was only a legend."
Her father laughed softly.
"Ehehehe…
He does exist. Legend says he will return in light, bringing the mortal world to the Nine Heavens."
Bing Leng smiled as she stood up.
"Oh, I remember him again!"
Her father almost slapped her, barely stopping himself.
"Tsk… this child."
The daughter ran off and brought back a large, rusty, ancient book. She opened a page, licking her finger.
"Isn't this one of the first books of the Mortal Ruler?"
The father nodded and continued.
"It is said the Mortal Ruler was born in a mountain covered with qi, soul energy, heavenly energy, and life force energy.
He was one of the Nine Rulers, and the first ally of the Father of Humanity of the mortal world."
The daughter stood up, smiling brightly.
"I want to see him too, Dad."
Her father smiled and looked up.
His hands began to dissolve into white sparks.
"I want to show you a young prophetic vision—from the first ruler of the Fate Building."
The daughter smiled as her father stretched out his hand.
A large artifact made of a massive disk began to spin, and a vast field entered her eyes—
and she saw the sun rising in the sky…
Ahead, a tall staff pierced the ground, pointing toward the sky.
A figure stood there—the Mortal Ruler.
His face was hidden by light as he looked down,
a smile slowly forming.
Below him stood a tall man, over seven feet in height,
wearing thick fish-scale armor with a cloak flowing behind him.
The cloak glittered in the strong wind, fluttering wildly as he walked.
His beard was messy, yet it too fluttered in the wind.
His smile widened.
"Mortal Ruler… when will we go to the Nine Heavens?"
Beside him stood a massive robot, covered in deep bronze metal, with six divine arms and a rusty helmet.
It looked down with a sad expression.
The Mortal Ruler spread his arms wide.
Then the heavens opened.
Countless colors were revealed above.
The Father of Humanity of the mortal world stepped back,
along with many others—except the giant figure and the ribbon of light.
The Mortal Ruler spoke calmly,
"I am free."
Bing Leng felt confused as her vision shifted.
She now saw two little children playing together.
One was short, with messy, curly hair and beautiful eyes—
the same face as Mingyin, but much younger.
The other child was taller and stood quietly beside him.
The two boys stopped at the same place where the Mortal Ruler had once ascended to the Nine Heavens.
The boy with messy curly hair spread his arms wide.
"I am free, Mingyin.
I understand the meaning of life now.
True peace… is freedom."
The tall boy behind him noticed a large rusty helmet, as big as a house, lying nearby.
He stepped closer to look at it.
But Bing Leng froze.
"Isn't that… the son of the Mortal Ruler?"
She froze again as she saw Mingyin speaking the same words the Mortal Ruler once said.
"Isn't this exactly what the Mortal Ruler said?"
As her vision returned to normal, she looked up at her father in shock.
Her father spoke softly,
"I kept thinking the Mortal Ruler would return… not knowing someone had already inherited his will.
He will bring us to the Nine Heavens."
He then pulled his daughter into a hug.
"Go and find him, my daughter.
Find the spirit of Awaken Mountain—she will teach you how to become immortal like him.
Return to the Reign Continent.
Awaken your soul force and soul core.
Hide your identity.
Do not show your true colors.
I love you, my daughter."
Those were his last words.
His body dissolved into thin air, disappearing into white sparks.
Bing Leng held the disk tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"Dad!"
That night, she could not sleep.
She cried the entire night, clutching the disk in her arms.
The next morning, she paused as she returned to the Reign Continent.
Wait… didn't the continent collapse a month ago?
she thought to herself.
She stood and looked behind her.
The sea was too dangerous and too turbid.
She looked forward.
If I don't go, the culprit of the Fate Building will find me and kill me.
She thought.
I need to go to the mountain.
Suddenly, she heard a voice.
"Little Bing Leng!"
Bing Leng almost fainted on the spot.
"Who… who is this?"
she asked.
The voice hesitated, then spoke again.
"I am one of the Nine Rulers of the Nine Heavens, and the true pinnacle of immortal ."
The little girl froze.
"Stop lying. I don't know you," she said firmly.
But the voice persisted.
"I saw you with your father, and I have met the Mortal Ruler.
I can even promise you a way to survive.
Why would I waste my time on a mortal like you?"
The little girl almost froze again.
Impossible… how could a Nine Ruler be in the mortal world? she thought.
The voice continued.
"I left my other half-weak spirit here for a century to find you, Bing Leng.
I am here to stop a chaos that is about to happen in the mortal world, because the end of the mortal world is coming very soon."
The girl hesitated, thinking to herself.
Why would someone want to help a mortal like me? They don't care about us… but maybe…
If I don't listen to this ruler, I will just die here.
Did my father speak with him? she wondered.
The voice persisted.
"I want you to follow my instructions.
Go forward and turn left to enter the jungle, then turn right and sleep in the treehouse.
Enter the mountain area and find Mingyun. Kill him.
Then I will bring you to the Nine Heavens and revive your parents."
The girl hesitated again, thinking to herself.
I have no one to rely on… I need to follow this voice.
"Yes," she said softly.
The voice sounded pleased.
"Good, little girl. Now go and find the other culprit of the Fate Building."
As the voice spoke aloud, it added:
"I have to return and prepare for the Nine Heavens Era."
Far, far away, the heavens were silent.
A deep chasm opened in the clouds.
Chains fell down, shining with light.
A black light opened inside the clouds, and a voice could be heard.
"Humans are chess pieces… their necks held by the strings of fate, each ready to be cut by a needle."
Yet those who fought against it were fools, refusing to resign to their fate—just like the Mortal Ruler, curious and defiant.
Suddenly, the chains closed, and the blind voice stopped speaking.
"That is why I can never achieve true Daos of Chaos."
Far away, at Awaken Mountain,
Mingyin smiled as he touched his chest.
He was sitting on a field of grass, watching many immortals flying and fighting a swarm of carp fish.
He muttered quietly to himself:
"The night sky is really beautiful… but dangerous, with tribulations.
This is what fate wants.
This is the road to life, created by the Dao of Chaos."