Being too stunned to speak, Jiang Feng could only keep his head down with his hands crossed on the table to support it. His pupils were trembling, as the shock filled his mind with questions for the future.
Seeing that Jiang Feng was still unable to cope with truth, Ling couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"What else is there troubling you?" Ling asked, moving to his side and sat down as she converged the surrounding spiritual energy into a chair.
"…for starters, what are we going to do now? There bounds to be a day where we finish exploring the whole world, what's going to come afterwards? And what am I going to tell my parents about all this?"
Replying to Ling's question, Jiang Feng laid back and stared at the ceiling. He felt a little lost with how his life changed almost in a single night, and now he was faced with the decision to quit school entirely.
Ling couldn't understand the feeling Jiang Feng was going through, but his words made her realized a thing- that the Jiang Feng now wasn't the same one she knew from the past, that she had to accept the fact if she intends to continue living on with him.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize, I was just felt things are going a little too fast for me."
Shaking her head at his words, Ling turned to window as she gazed at the world outside, her sight seemingly at a faraway time while she continued.
"No, I didn't realize until now, that you are the same one that I loved, but also different. 'You' lived an entirely different life to 'him', being used to how short-lived mortals are. But now that you're a cultivator, it's also definite that you'll outlive those that you love, leaving you all alone in this fragile planet."
"…"
Jiang Feng turned silent as he was reminded of the fact that he was a cultivator.
The thought of being the only one alive while the people in his surroundings leave him as time passes terrified him, sending chills down his spine as his hair stood on its pores.
"However, that can be changed."
Lifting his head at her words, Jiang Feng stared into Ling's eyes as the light in them shone brightly.
"I can assist them in cultivation, just like what I did for you, but their lives will still fade in the river of time if they fail to achieve immortality."
"If so-" Jiang Feng stood up in an instant, determined to make things work with the first plan Ling suggested.
"That leaves us with only one choice." Ling cut him off as she pointed to the ceiling, prompting Jiang Feng to look further from it.
"The space?"
"No, the Heavenly Laws."
…
Ling's thoughts.
"No, the Heavenly Laws."
That's right, only the laws of the heaven can change the lives of the mortals below it. If it were 'you' in the past, such a thing can only be described as easy as breathing, but now that you've been forced to fall into such world sparse with spiritual energy, only travelling between worlds can hasten your return.
"The Heavenly Laws, in other words, the absolute law that needs to be followed by those beneath it."
"Even if it was a god, once deemed to have infringed upon the rules of the heaven, bolts of Heavenly Punishment will descend to obliterate all those that challenges it. The you back then could have ignored such a rule with the strength and status you have, but if the you now wants to achieve the same thing, you must first step back into the realm of gods."
…
Jiang Feng's thought.
The Heavenly Law.
The law that limits the lives of us mortals, if I could have it for my own will…
"Stop what you're thinking, Feng!"
"What happened?"
Weird, why did Ling react so suddenly? Her face is so pale and her expression is grave, as if there is something terrifying behind me.
"Whatever you thought of just now, don't think of it again. Not until you reached the realm of gods."
"Why though?"
"The Heaven can sense the thoughts of mortals. For us to have the thoughts of wanting to rule it is equal to declaring ownership over the Heaven, naturally landing ourselves with a Heavenly Punishment."
"What?! All of that because of a thought?"
That was close, if Ling didn't stop me just now and the Heavenly Punishment really did descend, I'm pretty sure everyone in this house, no, all life near us would have perished.
…
"So, have you made up your decision? If you chose to let things stay as it is, I won't reject it and continue to stay with you for as long as possible."
Sitting back down after regaining her compusure, Ling looked at him and asked again.
Being enlightened to the cruel truth of life by Ling, Jiang Feng no longer limited his sights to his future, but of those around him as well. He didn't think a long life without love ones by his side would be something he wanted.
"If leaving to another planet is the only way to rise up to the realm of gods, then I won't hesitate to take it anymore." Jiang Feng replied, a newfound determination shining in his eyes.
"But it's more likely that they'll leave you first. Your friends, your family, if you cannot achieve that realm within ten-thousand-years, no, a thousand years, then all of this will be for naught." Ling said, reminding him of the obstacles he will face in the road of cultivation.
"It just means I would have to work harder, doesn't it?"
Staring at the smile on Jiang Feng's face, an old feeling surfaced within Ling as it calmed her tension. For a second, the memories of her past overlapped with the present, striking out the extreme similarities.
'That's right, I believe it's possible if it's you.'
…
With a new goal in mind, Jiang Feng decided to quit school as Ling suggested in the start.
Although there may be a few thing or two he could only learn in school grounds, he figured they would be useless to him since he would most likely be away from Earth.
Putting aside his thoughts on how to reveal his decisions to his parents, Jiang Feng and Ling began cultivating as they aimed to have Jiang Feng breakthrough to the Foundation Building Entrance Stage within the week.
Taking the chance to ask, Jiang Feng gain a few extra knowledge about the current cultivation world.
First of it being the categories of cultivation levels, with Qi Circulation Stage being the starting point and Godhood marking the end. The difference in levels between each Godhood cultivator was also categorized, but it was a field that Ling had no knowledge of.
The next thing that was taught to him was the stages of realms.
With Earth being next to the lowest rank, an Abandoned World, Jiang Feng came to knew that the planet they were going to visit was a Lower Cultivation World, ranked third to the last.
The second to the last was the current rank of Earth, Mortal World. Sparse in spiritual energy, but barely enough for a person to cultivate.
Going up, there were still Normal Cultivation Worlds that had the most number throughout the universe, Lost Worlds filled with dense Spiritual Energy, and the Divine Realm where those who have reached the level of a god reside.
Since they planned to explore Earth to see if there was any other cultivators' tomb, Ling also taught him a few Qi Stage spells and arts, ranging from Entrance stage to Peak Stage.
Of course, among those that she taught to Jiang Feng, one of them was the Spiritual Energy Manipulation that she showcased before.
A week soon passed as Jiang Feng sat down with his parents to talk about his decisions in life.
When they heard that he was going to quit school, the feeling of shock assaulted them in an instant, but Jiang Feng's father rationality held on as he listened to what his son had to say.
Expressing their doubts when Jiang Feng said he had memorized all the things in textbooks, Jiang Feng's mother decided to make a set of papers to test him, only to be stunned when he completed all of it in 2 hours of time.
Seeing that Jiang Feng really was able to learn all the contents in textbooks, the two agreed for him to quit school.
Giving his thanks to his parents, Jiang Feng also took the chance to tell them that he and Ling would be going on a 'honeymoon' using their own savings, which they thought was a small matter compared to the previous one.
Another week came after that as the couple stood before the front gates, hands with luggage and dressed casually like they usually are.
Jiang Feng's parents stood at the doors as they waved goodbye at the two, wishing them a happy trip as their figures walked out from their line of sight.
"Are you ready? We won't be back for at least a month."
Stopping next to an empty road, Ling turned to Jiang Feng and asked as her figure began to hover above the ground, being carried by her Spiritual Energy Manipulation.
Responding to Ling's question, Jiang Feng's lips curled up as his face was filled with excitement, the adventurous feeling stuck in his mind.
"Yeah, I am."
While saying so, Jiang Feng's legs also lifted off the ground with their luggage in his hands, having used Spiritual Energy Manipulation on himself.
Seeing the anticipation of their 'honeymoon' on Jiang Feng's face, a smile also appeared on Ling's face as she turned away from him.
"Then let's go."