'Because of me?'
The Allfather's words dropped Shin's jaw. Shin was currently twenty-three-years-old, far younger than the maximum lifespan of a Spirit Venerate at four hundred. Spirit Immortal Dream had ascended almost five hundred years ago, which meant that the Allfather had long surpassed the maximum lifespan that humans could live to. If the Allfather wanted was really all-knowing… Perhaps he could have orchestrated everything in Shin's life. From the moment the Awter Clan found the Aether Crystal Mine, to the day that the Frie Clan massacred through their rivals. What if the Allfather was responsible for Shin surviving the massacre and joining the Frie Clan as well? What if… The Allfather knew everything about Shin's life before he was even born?
'How was that possible?!' At this point, Shin was unable to hold back his emotions. If the Allfather were telling the truth, Shin's entire existence would have been dancing within the palms of the mighty being. There was no way that Shin would accept that as a fact! Fortunately...
"Ah, to be more specific, it was to make someone like you." The Allfather clarified his statement. "Let me ask you this question, Shin Iofiel… No, I extend this question to your friends back there as well…" The shadow looked over Shin's shoulders and addressed Lady Seph and the rest.
"What do you think of the world's state before the Black Masks came onto the scene?"
"Huh?" All of the onlookers let out an unconscious sigh. They couldn't understand what the Allfather had meant.
"It was peaceful!" Venerate Maurice was the one who stepped forward with the answer. Lady Seph was from the Himmel Empire, and Heigui Xuegang was from the Lantis Republic. Therefore, their view of the world as a whole might be short-sighted. Only the Master Explorer, a neutral citizen, could give an unbiased take. "I've travelled to every single corner of the globe! I drank wine with remote villagers that knew nothing of war! I slept in ravines without the fear of bandits! Everything was so… peaceful!"
Unable to hold back his emotions, Maurice went on a rampage. He thought of the deceased Shizen, the boy who had tragically died under the hands of Junius. Then, he thought of Junius, the man who was influenced by the Allfather to commit evil deeds. It was an endless cycle of violence and bloodshed, something that was rare during the era of peace.
Lady Seph thought about it before finally nodding her head. "Yes, it was peaceful. It was an age where children wouldn't be forced into poverty or war. Elderly folks would live to their maximum lifespans and pass away smiling, while young men and women would laugh daily all the way to the bedroom."
There were some minor skirmishes, but they were mostly contained to the parties involved. There were few innocent lives lost, something that the ancient eras completely lacked. Before the Three Superpowers came into existence, millions of lives were lost per year just through war. Disease due to lack of medical advancements was another major cause of mass human death. However, once the legendary peace treaty had been signed, the world shifted to an age of massive technological change.
Fewer people died from conflicts, and fewer humans were subjected to the terrors of losing a family member. Like it or hate it, it was a fact that the Three Superpowers were responsible for the age of peace that the world has enjoyed for the past few thousand years.
"Yes… The world was at peace..." The Allfather responded with a snicker. "Without war, the population had been exploding! More and more normal humans were able to awaken their Spirits, and billions had climbed up the cultivation ladder. Just five hundred years ago, the human race had set the record for the most number of Spirit Practitioners! However..."
The cloaked shadow was animated, flailing his hands wildly in the air. He spoke with great nostalgia as if he had personally witnessed the growth of the human race from the beginning of its evolution. "The world was at peace… But that had stagnated the growth of our race as a whole..."
"What?" Shin didn't realise he shot back a question.
The cloaked figure shook his head. "Let me ask you this, other than Dream, how many had ascended into the Immortal Realm since the Three Superpowers came into existence?"
"Huh?" Shin was stumped, and so were his fellow elite comrades. They were all the cream of the crop, so naturally, they had memorised the names of all the Spirit Immortals, as well as the year that they ascended. And well...
"Let me tell you..." The shadow didn't wait for anyone of them to answer. He looked up at the sky and said the magical number that was in everyone's head. "Zero… There have been zero Spirit Saints that ascended into the Immortal Realm. Dream… My master… She was an exception. A genius that could trigger her own Spirit before the age of ten, Dream was the most prodigal being that ever walked the planet. In my six hundred years of existence, I have never met someone that monstrous… Even you, Shin Iofiel, would be an amoeba compared to her brilliance."
The Allfather demeaned Shin, the greatest genius of his generation, without hesitation. However, no one dared to correct him. The man had lived for six hundred years, triple that of Lady Seph's lifespan and not that far off from Zishen's. He had most likely walked in the shadows for that half-millennium and had witnessed every genius that was in the book. Not to mention, Spirit Immortal Dream's achievements were legendary, and her effect could be felt five hundred years later.
"Other than Dream, no one else had come close to breaching that unbreakable barrier! Not a single Spirit Saint that I've seen could even hope to touch Dream's shoes… Not even..." The Allfather didn't complete his sentence. He shifted his gaze from the heavens and looked at the ground. There was no question that the Allfather was the strongest being on planet Earth, but what was the point?
The Allfather had failed to follow his master up into the heavens… and that was unacceptable for the proud, ancient Spirit Saint.
"Before I was the Allfather… Before I became this way… I was a theorist that served under Dream," a cold voice, one completely unlike the agitated voice from before, came out from the cloaked shadow's hood. "I'd always pondered… Why was it so difficult for someone to become a Spirit Immortal? Thousands of cultivators made it to the Spirit Saint realm and over a hundred could reach Rank 99 if they lived long enough… But, why has there only been twenty-one Spirit Immortals?"
Now, the cloaked shadow looked straight at Shin and the rest, and a voice of genuine curiosity echoed out: "Why is that?"
"T-That..." Lady Seph stammered as she struggled to find an answer. Truth to be told, many elders in the world felt the same way. Other than Spirit Immortal Dream, the last Spirit Immortal was Spirit Immortal Himmel, the founder of the Himmel Empire. However, he ascended almost ten thousand years ago.
"I'm sure you don't know… But I do." The cloaked shadow had no face, but Shin could tell that the man behind the voice was as gleeful as can be. "I have chased the Immortal Realm for five hundred years now… I studied every ancient tome and compiled every document I found. I spoke with ten-thousand-year-old Spirit Beasts, and I scoured the continent for any and all relics from the past. And... I've found the answer..."
"All of the Spirit Immortals barring Dream… They were the product of their times. The first three Spirit Immortals, the Ancient Three… They were the ones that unified the entire human race that had just come out from the age of extinction. They were the sole three beings that survived in the world where only ten percent of newborns survived and against all the odds, transcended their mortalities to reach the acclaimed realm. Spirit Immortal Damien was a child that had been rife miseries. His parents abandoned him for having a weak Spirit, his lovers were all prostitutes that died due to their association with him, and everyone he loved wanted to kill him. He rose above all odds and became the first-ever Spirit Immortal that used the Dagger, the one Spirit everyone thought was trash."
Bit by bit, the Allfather narrated the legendary stories of all the Spirit Immortals of old. He'd even added essential details that had been forgotten by time to the mix, dropping the jaws of his ardent listeners.
"Even Spirit Immortal Himmel was a product of the latest warring times. A man that killed thousands with a blink but lost hundreds of his loved ones the next day... So… Do you see the pattern I'm trying to paint?"
"..." The spectators weren't idiots. They could infer what the Allfather was trying to convey easily. It was just… It was hard to admit it outright.
"What do all the Spirit Immortals have in common?"
"They were..." Shin gulped not willing to say the final words. His palms were shaking, and every pore in his body was releasing gallons of sweat. However, in the end, Shin had no choice but to say the right answer: "... products of war."
"That's right..." The Allfather dropped his rapidly moving hands and stared down the young man. "Or to be more precise… They were the products of endless conflict… Shin Iofiel, let me ask you one final question, genius above geniuses..."
The Allfather openly mocked the young man, forcing his heart into a wild state. "How do humans grow?"
'How do humans grow?' Shin parroted the question. Was it through time? Was it through love? No, there was only one answer to that question. Shin looked back at all the times he showed explosive growth. All the times he shocked the world by shattering records. All the times he became stronger… There was only one reason for his growth...
"Conflict..." A weak voice was pushed out of Shin's throat.
"Precisely," the Allfather laughed. "Humans… No, all living beings require conflict to grow. And the bigger the conflict, the more explosive the growth. Peace… It seems like a good notion, but why is it that so little legends appear during peaceful periods? Why is it that not a single Spirit Saint could ever hope to reach my level? Isn't it because of this fucking peaceful period?!"
The cloaked shadow was beyond irate. The tone of his voice was as venomous as a snake, and his anger could be felt by the intense dark aura that surrounded his silhouette.
"That's why… you plunged the world into war?" Shin asked fearfully. However, there was dark, murky energy flowing into his azure eyes. "That's why you killed thousands?! That's why you brainwashed innocent lives to do your bidding?! THAT'S WHY YOU CAUSED ME SO MUCH PAIN?!"
"Hmph! You speak as if you're the holiest being that exists..."
"Y-you!!!"
Shin wanted to retort, but his voice fell flat. He thought about the people he had killed to reach this point. He'd thought about the families he had shattered because of his desire to grow.
"No, you're right… I am scum, by your standard at least." The Allfather sneered derisively. "But by my standard, I'm a saint that wishes to achieve the most impossible dream. To become the twenty-second."
"You killed millions of lives… You wrecked my life... For your selfish desire?"
"HAHAHA!!! Shin Iofiel, that's the most naive thing I've ever heard!" The Allfather let out a peal of bellowing laughter, shattering the demeanour of the angered Shin. "Who the hell remembers some random Joe selling oranges by the roadside? Who cares about a grandmother that would die on a farm that she grew up in? No… Given enough time, even the most illustrious of Spirit Saints would fade into the annals of time! Only the names of Spirit Immortals live forever! Only those that reach eternal life would become the beacon that lights the next generation!"
The Allfather's words stung Shin. As much as he would like to retort… The six-hundred-year-old existence was right.
"My selfish desire? That's rich! Aren't you the same? Aren't you trying to chase Yggdrasil for your own selfish desire? To meet Ariel and the ones you have lost?!"
"!!!"
Shin couldn't retort. How many have Shin sacrificed for his own personal growth? And where did that growth stem from?
The Allfather was right…
"All humans are selfish… You had best remember that, my potential nemesis and the springboard that would leap me into the Immortal Realm..."
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