"Interesting." Mo Tianxing commented for the first time after listening to Mo Shen's hour-long preaching of the dao.
She listened attentively, grasping every word that came out of his mouth. When it came to talking about her physique, she was even more engrossed. Mo Shen had no doubt she would be able to enter the dao if she studies the painting he will give to her for a month. And she will create her own dao within a year.
Indeed that was the advantage those with affinity to a particular dao had. They would enter the dao much faster than others, in fact in their early years of cultivation, most of them would have entered the dao. But hardly any of them would be as fast as someone like Mo Tianxing or Mo Yu that was born in the Dao Universe where their Dao seed was very compressed almost to the point of explosion. At most those in higher heaven worlds would enter the dao around 2,000 years of age or before the Empyrean realm.
Although those with a particular dao physique had a glaring disadvantage of being only able to comprehend one dao, but was that really a disadvantage? How many people throughout the history of the universe had comprehended more than one dao? Most likely happens maybe once every 10 million years by absolute geniuses that stand above the rest.
"Have you entered the dao?" Mo Tianxing asked Mo Shen to which the latter nodded. Mo Tianxing had expected such after listening to him so she wasn't surprised. "What of your dao? Have you created your dao?"
"Not yet. My dao is different. It is exclusively my own creation, not a part of the 3000 supreme dao." Mo Shen answered with a slight smile.
"What is the name and nature of the dao?" Mo Tianxing asked curiously albeit her hesitation. It seemed like a sensitive topic, so she wasn't sure Mo Shen would answer her.
But to her surprise, Mo Shen didn't seem to share her 'privacy' for the topic. "My dao is called Boundless Dao of Infiniteness." Mo Shen stated with a proud smile on his face.
"The name seems self-explanatory, what do you think it means?"
Mo Tianxing was confused at the statement. She felt that if she couldn't answer that question, she might lose value in his eyes and she might miss out on something she wasn't too sure of. To her it seemed like this his casual question might be his main test for her. If she didn't know it or couldn't at least give a close answer, she would no longer be worthy in his eyes.
Alas, she didn't know how right she was. Mo Shen now had a more favourable impression of her due to her demeanour. But that was just all it could ever be, a favourable impression. She would never be worth his time if she didn't have enough value. Not that he needed her at all, but to be worthy of being someone he could chat with, she needed more than being a genius, more than superior beauty, more than a mature demeanor, and certainly more than just a good impression in his eyes.
She herself needed to think more than what the eyes could see. She needed to have a strong dao heart, she needed to be strong physically and mentally, needed to stand above her peers in both her thoughts and composure.
Although it seemed far-fetched that she could meet all this criteria with just answering his question, but it was enough for him. The question he posed to her couldn't be said to be a difficult one, but how many could answer it?
Being able to answer the question meant that they dared to think that someone could comprehend all things, that someone could encompass the universe, within and without in their dao. It meant they dared to think that one person could comprehend the dao and surpass all limits everyone saw as the peak. Now, if someone dared to think like that, he was already Mo Shen's friend no matter the gender or race.
"I guess I'm going to fail this test huh." Mo Tianxing commented disappointedly. She didn't have such a wide vision to harbour such thoughts. Her knowledge was only limited to what the citizens of the Dao Universe was entitled to and what Mo Shen had told her.
"But even though I don't have much clue of what that means, I guess it has to do with encompassing the 3000 supreme dao in your dao." She looked at Mo Shen nervously awaiting his judgement on their future relationship.
"What brought about your answer?" Mo Shen asked her without revealing any expression that could portray his thoughts.
"Truthfully, I was totally clueless about the meaning of your dao. But when I considered the kind of person you are, one that looks down on even the greatest of talents, one that doesn't put the universe in their eyes, one who seems to stand above even the supreme dao, that thought suddenly came in." She replied honestly.
Indeed she had inferred her answer from Mo Shen himself not from the name of his dao.
Hearing her reply Mo Shen smiled. "I guess you passed. You are only half-right, but that is enough. I only wanted to see someone who dared to have such bold thoughts. Although it maght be because of your ignorance of the outside world and the dao as a whole, but you indeed are right. Those who are in the know won't dare to have such thoughts."
With that, Mo Shen sat down on a stone seat in front of a painting set Mo Tianxing had provided. It was now time for him to comprehend the dao.
Using his all-seeing eyes, he examined Mo Tianxing and the dao seed in her, comprehending it's nature and intricacies for about 10 minutes before closing his eyes to begin painting.
This time he spent only 2 hours to finish the painting and comprehension on the number 3 dao: The Dao of Life. It was probably because he had understood her nature and had comprehended her thoughts and character thoroughly before now. It could also be because his mind was now clear after comprehending his path.
"I guess we could be considered friends." Mo Shen said as he stood up from his painting and beckoned her to look at it.
Mo Tianxing who hadn't moved from her position one bit let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding for over an hour. Maybe it was because of the suspense created by Mo Shen's undecided answer to the test or because of the painting, only she knew which it was.
"But I hope such friendship won't evoke any romantic feelings between us because it's going to be a nuisance especially when I will never have such feelings for you."
Although his words sounded harsh, Mo Shen didn't care. It was necessary to state such at the beginning before any complication occurs. He knew himself, that he would only love one woman in this life and she has yet to come his way. Or has she? But whoever it was, it definitely wasn't Mo Tianxing. That he knew.
"Can't say I didn't expect that." She commented wryly.
It would be a lie to say that she didn't feel hurt. It was like a denial to her feminine charm. If she were a normal girl, such a statement would have evoked a seductive feeling in them, making them feel the need to pester and conquer such a man. Even she from before she met Mo Shen won't have been any different. But after having a feel of his words and the kind of person he was, she couldn't even bring herself to think such a thing.
"It was necessary." Mo Shen said with a shrug.
Mo Tianxing stared at the painting for a good 10 minutes before she could take her eyes off it. She could already feel the essence of the painting which was the Dao of life. With it she could probably comprehend the dao to save her life and get stronger so she at least would have the qualification to look up to him in the future.
Unknown to her, Mo Shen had already become the focal point in her life. A point she aimed to be able to reach. She didn't have any romantic feelings for him, and she knew she couldn't. Her subconscious wouldn't allow such even if she wants to indulge herself. He was someone she could only seek to reach, not someone she could stand beside.
She stored the painting in her spatial ring. It wasn't the right time or place for her to comprehend the painting. She needed to go into seclusion to fully comprehend it.
"By the way, I've always wanted to ask, how old were you when you comprehended the dao?" Mo Tianxing inquired with blazing curiousity. "Now that we are friends, I think it won't hurt to ask."
"I was 17? 18 perhaps." Mo Shen answered. Even he was trying to calculate his age when he entered the dao. Although it wasn't long ago, he never paid attention to it. It was Mo Fan that was keeping track of his age.
"Wait! What?" Mo Tianxing almost screamed out with visible shock written all over her face. She couldn't comprehend such. It was one thing she thought of him as a genius above all other geniuses, but this was the peak of monstrosity. He was an absolute monster.
Suddenly she thought of something.
"How old are you?" She asked in a low voice, as if she was afraid of hearing the answer.
"I am 19." The final straw that broke the camel's back.
Mo Tianxing almost collapsed from pure shock. "You..." She couldn't even find what to say.
"I guess we really are on a different leagues huh?" She said in a frustrated tone. This had defied all common sense, what could she do.
"Wait, you don't happen to be His highness, the Demon Prince right?" She asked like she had already half guessed.
The demon prince was the only one know to have been born within such time frame. Put together with his presence that seemed to command all to kneel.
"I am the first prince of the Eternal Demon Empire, Mo Shen." Mo Shen declared. At that time, his whole friendly demeanor had disappeared, leaving the frightening presence that she felt when she first saw him. One whose might couldn't be defied.
Immediately she knelt down. "Greetings your highness." Mo Tianxing paid her respect with only reverence in her mind.
Initially she had heard that the prince was the most ordinary of all as he didn't even evoke any phenomenon at his birth. But now she knew how untrustworthy such rumors were. Either his phenomenon was too intricate for the common man to see or he had transcended phenomenons. Any of such could testify to how much of a monster he could be.