"Fate?" Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Qing Tan and the others exchanged bewildered glances. It wasn't as though they hadn't heard the term before—on the contrary, it was something often mentioned in daily life. But truly understanding and encountering it firsthand were entirely different matters. Fate was always a nebulous, elusive concept, and so, hearing Xiao Yan speak of it now made them feel as if they were lost in a fog.
"Let me give you a simple analogy. Say there are two glasses of water in front of you—one poisoned, one safe. You don't know which is which, so you randomly pick one to drink. That choice leads to only two outcomes—life or death."
"In the original course of fate, you picked the safe glass, survived, and went on to achieve great things. But at the moment of decision, a fluctuation—like the one she mentioned—occurs. It nudges you toward the poisoned glass instead. And from that single moment onward, the entire trajectory of your life changes. That is what I meant by an interference with fate."
"Lin Dong likely experienced something just like that. At the critical moment of breaking through to the Ancestor Realm, he was influenced by that power, and the result… was that the entire world fell into ruin." Xiao Yan paused and then looked toward Qing Tan. "As for you, if what she says is true, and your interference was even stronger than Lin Dong's, then the consequences on your path would be even greater..."
"Then… what about you?" Lin Jing suddenly remembered what the Plane Spirit had said—that the fluctuation surrounding Xiao Yan was a thousand, even ten thousand times greater than everyone else combined.
"Me?" Xiao Yan chuckled dryly. "I suppose… my entire life must have been rewritten."
He had only reached this conclusion after recalling the experiences he endured during the Path of Reincarnation. That path was vastly different from the hundred lifetimes of illusion he'd once experienced beneath the Ancient Bodhi Tree. Though those trials had also been perilous, their memories were dreamlike and vague—forgotten upon waking.
But the Path of Reincarnation was different. Every moment, every event etched itself clearly into his mind. He could still remember everything vividly. He could even use the techniques he learned within that life. It was as if… he had lived an entirely different life.
More than that, that life felt real. Unlike the artificiality of his hundred past lives, that experience felt genuine—so real that it mirrored the events of this very world. In fact, now that he thought about it, if his current life hadn't begun with his transmigration from Earth and had instead started from the Path of Reincarnation directly—it might've unfolded exactly as it had within that trial.
And all of this had been interrupted by the intrusion of his past life. That life never once appeared during the Path of Reincarnation. Based on what the Plane Spirit had said, there was a strong possibility that the reincarnation path was his true fate, and the life from his past was an aberration—a distortion of what should have been.
"I'm just speculating here, so don't take it too seriously," Xiao Yan added, seeing the stunned looks on their faces. He didn't want to dwell too deeply on this topic, but inwardly, a fierce determination had already formed.
'One day,' he vowed, 'I'll make whoever manipulated my fate pay.'
"Xiao Yan is right. No matter what, our world has been saved. That alone is something worth celebrating," the Plane Spirit spoke up with a grin, smoothly changing the subject. "Aren't there still some dancers around? Go find a few pretty girls to help us celebrate our great Emperor Yan! If you can't find anyone, I'll take the stage myself."
"Uh… could you not use my mother's appearance to say that sort of thing?" Lin Jing couldn't help but mutter awkwardly. "It's really weird hearing you talk like that looking like her..."
"I could use your father's appearance instead."
"...Keep using my mom's." Lin Jing shuddered at the mental image of her dad pulling that act. It wasn't just grotesque—it was downright traumatizing.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing you. As such a noble existence, of course I have my own form." The Plane Spirit smirked with pride, clearly enjoying her mischief. Then, in a flash of radiant light, her appearance shifted—transforming into an adorable young girl that looked no older than a teenager.
Xiao Yan's eyelid twitched slightly at the sight but said nothing. Honestly, with how many little lolis he'd encountered over the years, he was long used to it. He wasn't particularly bothered anymore.
Lin Jing, on the other hand, was clearly disgruntled. She glanced at the now-younger Plane Spirit and muttered under her breath, "What's with people this age pretending to be cute..."
"I am this young, thank you very much!" the Plane Spirit huffed.
"Fifty billion years old and still calling yourself young… shameless."
"I'm not as shameless as you," the Plane Spirit snapped back, smirking mischievously. "Let's not forget which little girl keeps having dirty thoughts about her teacher, dreaming about sleeping with him every night—"
"You—! Stop spouting nonsense!" Lin Jing's face instantly flushed crimson. Meanwhile, Qing Tan let out a helpless sigh. She had suspected it before, but now it was obvious—Lin Jing clearly had feelings for Xiao Yan.
But from what Qing Tan could tell, Xiao Yan didn't seem to share any romantic affection for Lin Jing. Besides, they had a master-disciple bond between them, and their difference in strength was massive. The chances of them ever ending up together were slim to none. Lin Jing's love… seemed doomed to go unanswered.
"If you two want to argue, take it elsewhere. I'm not interested in hearing your back-and-forth squabbling." Xiao Yan cut in before they could escalate things further. All he wanted right now was a quiet place to recover from his wounds. He had no time to waste listening to their nonsense.
"Playing favorites..." The Plane Spirit pouted. Though Xiao Yan hadn't explicitly taken sides, his timing had clearly been in Lin Jing's favor—cutting her off just as the Plane Spirit had been about to deliver another teasing blow. But it made sense. Xiao Yan didn't exactly have a good impression of the Plane Spirit, while Lin Jing was his well-behaved disciple. His bias was obvious.
"How old are you anyway? Why are you still bullying a little girl?" Xiao Yan shook his head in exasperation and turned to leave.
But just then, the Plane Spirit spoke up again. "Says the guy who's played more girls than I can count. I won't even get started on your past. Dead giveaway—you like lolis. You've got no room to talk!"
"...Do you have a physical body?" Xiao Yan turned his head slightly, his voice calm, but a strange glint flickered in his eyes.
"Of course! I'm a noble Plane Spirit! Of course I have a physical body!" she answered reflexively. But the moment she saw the smirk growing on Xiao Yan's face, a shiver ran down her spine.
"You... why do you ask?"
"You said I'm a loli-con, didn't you? Well… allow me to prove it to you."
(End of Chapter)
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