I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

There was a shadow on the wall. It had no fixed shape; sometimes it looked like a person, sometimes like a beast, and sometimes like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind. But no matter how it changed, it remained stuck to the wall, unable to leave.

"The Ninth Heaven, the Shadow of the Dao." The voice seemed to seep from within the walls, deep and distant. "You are within the Dao, I am above the Dao. You cannot pass through."

Qin Yuan asked, "What do you want?"

"The answer," said the Shadow of the Path, "is your Path?"

"guard."

"What are you protecting?"

"people."

"What if that person dies?"

Qin Yuan didn't answer. He glanced at Lin Qing'er subconsciously. She stood half a step behind him, her right hand on the hilt of her sword, her eyes warily fixed on the wall of light.

The shadow of the Dao turned to her. "And you? What is your Dao?"

Lin Qing'er tapped her fingers twice on the hilt of her sword. "I didn't say."

"Without the Way, you will never catch up with him."

"I won't chase after them," Lin Qing'er said. "I'll follow them."

"What if I lose them?"

Lin Qing'er did not answer. She didn't know how to answer.

The wall of light began to move. It pressed down on the two of them, not fast, but unstoppable. Qin Yuan swung his sword at the wall, but the sword energy struck it, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, without even a ripple.

"Your attacks are within the Dao," said the Shadow of the Dao. "The Dao will not attack itself."

Qin Yuan sheathed his sword. He watched the wall of light draw closer and closer, and the shadows on the wall constantly changed shape.

"You asked what would happen if she died," he said. "Then let her live."

He infused his entire body with the power to protect the Heavenly Dao. Golden light emanated from beneath his skin, like magma flowing beneath the earth. The wall of light paused for a moment.

"My path is not about protecting the outcome," Qin Yuan said, "but about protecting the process. If she lives, I protect her. If she dies, I protect her memories. If she reincarnates, I find her. If she forgets me, I help her remember again. The outcome is not important. The process is what matters."

The wall of light began to move again, but at a slower speed.

Looking at Qin Yuan's retreating figure, Lin Qing'er suddenly said, "I've figured it out."

Dao's Shadow: "What?"

"Trust," Lin Qing'er said. "I believe him. I believe every word he says, every single thing he does. If he lives, I follow him. If he dies, I live in his place. If he is reincarnated, I wait for him. If he forgets me, I will help him remember. Isn't this the way?"

A blue light emanated from her chest; it was not spiritual power, nor law, but something more primal—like the color of the soul itself.

Gold and cyan blended together. Two lights shone simultaneously on Qin Yuan's sword.

He swung his sword again. This time, the sword energy didn't collide with the wall of light, but passed right through it. Ripples spread across the wall like water, and a crack appeared.

The shadow of the Dao trembled. "You...you are no longer within the Dao..."

"I'm still here," Qin Yuan said. "I'm just no longer defined by you."

The wall of light shattered. The fragments didn't fall; instead, they transformed into white specks of light, rising upwards like snow falling backwards. The shadow of the Dao disappeared along with the wall of light, uttering only one sentence before vanishing: "There are still people waiting for you up there."

The Ninth Heaven vanished. Qin Yuan and Lin Qing'er stood in the starry sky.

In the center of the starry sky, there is a white star. Unlike other stars that twinkle, it is constant, gentle, and like a lamp.

The stars split open, and an old man emerged. He wore white robes, had white hair, a white beard, and white eyes. He looked very old, so old that the wrinkles on his face were like deep, etched lines. But his steps were light, as light as if he were walking on cotton.

"Lord of all realms," he introduced himself, "I will not fight you. You are already too strong."

Qin Yuan sheathed his sword. "Then what are you going to do?"

"Let me ask you a question," the Lord of All Realms said, looking at Qin Yuan. "Why did you come here?"

"To become stronger."

"And then what?"

"Protector".

"You're already very strong. Why do you want to go even higher?"

Qin Yuan opened his mouth, then closed it again. He realized he couldn't answer the question.

The Lord of All Realms turned to Lin Qing'er. "And you?"

"If he goes up, I'll go up," Lin Qing'er said.

"What if he stops?"

"I'll stop with him."

"What if he walks too fast and you can't keep up?"

Lin Qing'er thought for a moment. "Then I'll walk slowly. He'll be waiting for me up ahead anyway."

The Lord of All Realms laughed. The laugh deepened his wrinkles, but his eyes brightened.

"You've passed," he said.

Qin Yuan frowned. "That's it?"

"That's it," said the Lord of All Realms. "I asked this question not to get an answer, but to let you think about it yourselves. If you think about it and can still move forward after thinking about it, that's enough."

He raised his hand, and white light shot into Qin Yuan's brow. It wasn't an attack, nor an initiation, but rather the opening of a door—the door to the laws of all realms. Qin Yuan saw how stars are born, how they burn, and how they die. He saw how worlds take shape, how they flourish, and how they decay. He saw how rules are established, how they are obeyed, and how they are broken.

His cultivation level rose from the fifth level of Origin Saint Emperor, passing through the seventh and ninth levels, and finally stopped at the first level of Void Sovereign.

The Lord of All Realms raised his hand again, and azure light pierced Lin Qing'er's brow. The Azure Emperor's memories flooded back like a tide—not a sacrifice for a mission, but a sacrifice for protection. She owed no one. She was a hero.

Lin Qing'er cried. But she laughed very hard.

The figure of the Lord of All Realms began to fade. His feet had become transparent, and the starlight behind him could be seen.

"Where are you going?" Qin Yuan asked.

"The place you must go," said the Lord of All Realms. "At the end of the Dao, there is someone waiting for you. Go."

He transformed into specks of light. The white star shattered, and the fragments pieced together to form a door. The door was transparent, like glass, but what lay behind it could not be seen.

Qin Yuan pulled Lin Qing'er along and pushed open the door to enter.

Behind the door was pure white. It wasn't light, it wasn't fog, it wasn't anything with texture. It was white as if there was nothing, yet it was also as if there was everything. Qin Yuan felt as if he were in water, as if he were in the air, and as if he wasn't anywhere at all.

Lin Qing'er's hand was still in his. This was the only thing he could confirm was real.

In the pure white light, light began to gather. Not from any one direction, but from all directions converging on a single point. That point grew brighter and denser, until finally it exploded—not an explosion, but a blossoming, like a flower opening.

The ball of light spoke. It had no mouth, no vocal cords, but its voice appeared directly in Qin Yuan's mind.

"The end of the Tao, the source of all realms. The God of Nothingness."

Qin Yuan drew his sword. "You're going to stop me?"

"A test," said the God of Nothingness, "not a barrier."

It didn't move. But Qin Yuan felt a pressure—not in terms of power, but in terms of existence. It was as if his body was questioning him: What right do you have to be here? What qualifications do you have to stand before me? His guardian Dao convulsed within him, like a wild beast being choked.

"Your path is protection," said the God of Nothingness. "If the object of your protection disappears, will your path still exist?"

Qin Yuan did not answer. He brandished his sword.