novelraw Chapter 420 - 410: Son of Destiny!
Chapter 420 - 410: Son of Destiny!
「At the summit of Kunlun Mountain.」
As Hua Xiaotian’s departing figure vanished, a crimson ray of sunlight gradually revealed itself on the horizon.
Facing the slowly rising sun, Qin Fan squinted and said, "In this world, there is nothing more serene than watching the sunrise and sunset. It’s a pity that in all my years, I have never truly had the mindset to watch a sunrise. It is a rare opportunity to witness this beautiful sight atop Kunlun Mountain today. Elder, I must really thank you for this."
"Watching the sunrise and sunset isn’t difficult. What’s difficult is having the right state of mind to appreciate it," the blind old man said with a smile, shaking his head. He seemed slightly startled by Qin Fan’s reflective words. "Young friend Qin, you are still young. You have plenty of time to enjoy these natural sights."
Is this really just a young man under twenty? A heavy question mark formed in his mind.
"Young? Perhaps," Qin Fan murmured, his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze followed the ascending sun as he let out a soft sigh. Then, he continued, "Elder, you went to such lengths to have Hua Xiaotian bring me here. For what purpose?"
"That boy Xiaotian told me a young Grandmaster appeared in the Martial Arts World, one who, a few months ago on the Golden Summit of Emei Mountain, casually slew an expert at the Great Success of the Transformation Realm. An old man like me has lived in seclusion for nearly two hundred years, and this is the first I’ve ever heard of such a thing! Therefore, my curiosity about you, young friend Qin, has been growing day by day. Unfortunately, that boy Xiaotian was rather disappointing, making me wait all this time to finally meet you, haha!" the old man laughed heartily, his earlier excitement having calmed. His breathing then grew somewhat ragged as he asked again, "Young friend Qin, may I touch you?"
"What for?"
The question—*May I touch you?*—left Qin Fan completely stunned.
Instead of answering directly, the blind old man gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh. "Young friend Qin, do you want to know how I lost my sight?"
"I’m all ears." Qin Fan frowned. He wasn’t one for gossip, but the old man’s demeanor had piqued his curiosity.
"Do you believe that the Heavenly Dao exists in this world? Do you believe in so-called Children of Destiny?" the blind man asked solemnly, his sightless eyes turned toward the rising sun.
The Heavenly Dao? Children of Destiny? As the Shura Venerable, who had nearly succeeded in his Crossing Tribulation to join the Immortal Class, how could he not know that the Heavenly Dao and Children of Destiny were not mere legends, but real, tangible existences?
But facing this oblivious old man, he chose to remain impassive, asking, "Does this have something to do with the Heavenly Dao?"
"It does. If you believe in the existence of the Heavenly Dao, then what I am about to say will have meaning. Otherwise, it would be pointless to speak of it at all," the blind old man stated sternly.
"Very well. Please, continue," Qin Fan said with a faint smile, indicating his willingness to listen.
"The so-called Heavenly Dao is the very cycle of order in the Three Thousand Worlds! From childhood, I was fascinated by the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. The more I learned, the more I came to believe in legends and myths. A hundred years ago, I became certain that the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation exists, and with it, people of destiny—the so-called Children of Destiny. They are the ones who will break through the Xu Kong and achieve Ascension to become immortals! I know such a notion is inconceivable to ordinary people, but I was—and am—certain of it.
"In my life, I have sought neither fame nor fortune. I only wished to see a Child of Destiny in my lifetime! To witness someone who truly inherits the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation and becomes a Feathered Immortal in this mortal world. More than ninety years ago, I used a secret technique to peer into the Heavenly Dao. In that vision, I glimpsed the true inheritor of destiny. But even though he was chosen by fate, he opted for an extreme path. He sought to forcefully seize the Heavenly Dao to create an avatar for himself, hoping to hasten his Ascension.
"But how could the Heavenly Dao allow a mere mortal to seize it at will? His madness provoked divine wrath. On the very day he tried to create his avatar, he bled to death. A generation’s Child of Destiny perished in the Netherworld, his soul scattered to the winds, never to be reincarnated. All of this, I saw in my glimpses of the Heavenly Dao. After that, my obsession with the fate ordained by the Heavenly Dao only grew. Fifty years ago, I met the boy, Xiaotian, and thought he was the next destined one in the cycle of reincarnation, so I took him under my wing.
"However, I later realized I was wrong. He was not the one. In my desperation, I began peering into the Heavenly Dao even more frantically. But with each attempt, my recklessness grew, until finally, three years ago, my punishment arrived. My eyes lost their light completely. Since then, I have been unable to perceive the Heavenly Dao in any way. I have even lost the very means to look upon this vibrant world.
"But I have no regrets. I know that if I cannot witness the emergence of the next Child of Destiny, I will never be able to rest in peace! My life’s pursuit is to witness the emergence of a generation’s Child of Destiny, to see for myself that the path to Ascension truly exists in this world. Unfortunately, once I went blind, all I could do was wait here on this mountain peak, accompanying the rising sun and the changing rivers, hoping for fate to take its course. That is, until you appeared, young friend Qin. When you arrived, my outlook changed."
The blind elder’s voice, as if reminiscing about the past, carried a tone of peace. Yet, beneath that tranquility, there was an undercurrent of profound unwillingness to accept his fate.
Listening to the blind elder’s long tale, Qin Fan suddenly asked with a playful smile, "So, you believe I am this new generation’s Child of Destiny?"
"Yes!" The blind elder turned to face Qin Fan’s refined features. "Besides that, I can think of no other possibility. How else could a young man, not yet twenty, possess the formidable strength to slay an expert at the Great Success of the Transformation Realm?"
"And?" Qin Fan asked indifferently.
Child of Destiny? Nonsense! If he were truly just a mortal from Earth, perhaps it might be plausible. But he was the Shura Venerable from the Cultivation World of the Cangqiong Continent! What Child of Destiny? It was impossible, completely unrelated to him! If he were truly favored by the Heavenly Dao, he wouldn’t have been struck down by the Crossing Tribulation Heavenly Thunder during his Ascension, his soul scattered and thrown back to his past life on Earth!
"May I... touch you?" the blind elder asked again, his limbs trembling uncontrollably. It was easy to imagine the state of sheer excitement he was in. If his eyes were not blind, Qin Fan was certain he would see a look of desperate urgency and longing in them.
Stunned by the elder’s bizarre behavior, Qin Fan fell silent for a moment. Finally, he couldn’t help but shake his head with a slight smile. "Fine. Go ahead."
"Thank you... thank you!" Overcome with excitement, the blind elder’s voice trembled. After stammering out his thanks, he reached out with quivering hands, slowly moving them toward Qin Fan’s head.
Hmm?
But the next instant, his brow furrowed deeply. An expression of incredulous shock appeared on his face, and his sightless eyes shot wide open. His quivering hands began to shake faster and more frantically.
Suddenly, he froze and cried out in disbelief, "Impossible! How can this be possible?!"