Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Ryza received immediate feedback regarding Hunzhen's control over his own destiny.

This unexpected turn of events caused Lysa's eyes to widen slightly, and her face suddenly turned pale.

The fact that Hunzhen interfered with the fabricated threads of fate created by the God of Luohe, making them real, was already enough to shock Lysa.

Of all these things, what shocked her even more than the fact that Hunzhen could interfere with the threads of fate, rather than making them appear real.

Because the Lord of the Luo River had already told Lysa that once she chose to become Hunzhen's vassal, she would naturally be subject to the fate of the singularity. One day, this fictional fate, which was originally just for positioning, would become real, and at that time, it would be declared that she would never be able to escape it.

What the God of Luohe said was easy for Lysa, who held the power of destiny, to understand.

Fate is not static; it often changes under the influence of individual will and subjective initiative.

If she truly establishes a connection with the singularity, and the originally fictional fate becomes real, this is something that would naturally happen.

To put it bluntly, the original fate was fabricated; the two people never had any connection to each other.

If Lysa were to become Hunzhen's vassal, slave, friend, lover, adoptive sister, godmother, etc., and possess any kind of truly close relationship, then just like with other beings who have similar relationships, a connection would naturally be established.

At that time, either the originally fictitious threads of fate will become real, or new threads of fate will be born, causing the originally fictitious creation to be naturally destroyed.

This is completely different from Hunzhen actively and directly interfering with the threads of fate, which led to the current situation.

The former is the natural result of any life form with destiny, while the latter is more of an ability of beings like her who can manipulate the power of destiny!

Moreover, from the perspective of a cultivator of destiny, even a cultivator of her level could not interfere with such thick threads of destiny; only a peak being like the God Lord of Luohe could do this!

But doesn't this mean that Hunzhen has an attainment in the Way of Destiny that is no less than that of the Lord of Luohe?

Obviously not!

"Is it because this fate was fabricated and imposed on the singularity by the teacher, giving him more control over this fate, thus enabling him to exert such influence?"

"Or is it that this unique characteristic is the reason why Hunzhen can become a singularity?"

A jumble of thoughts flashed through Lysa's mind.

Before she could figure all this out, Hunzhen learned the method to control and distort her fate, and she received a response from fate.

She thought that Hunzhen's ability to interfere with the threads of fate, causing them to materialize prematurely, was already defying the heavens.

But she never expected that Hunzhen's interference with fate would have such an effect.

This……

That's it.

Lysa sighed softly.

After a brief moment of resentment, Lysa suddenly remembered why she had taken the initiative to show herself.

Realizing that she had come here to become the other party's vassal, she immediately gave up resisting.

Commonly known as...opening!

There is an attraction between people.

Lysa bowed slightly and answered Hunzhen's earlier question in a solemn tone: "I have begun to believe. As a servant of fate, I have witnessed your power to intervene in destiny."

"Your Excellency Hunzhen."

Then she uttered the words that Hunzhen had heard in the simulation: "My name is Lysa, and I have come to become your follower, following the guidance of fate."

Hunzhen shook his head and chuckled: "Follower? But you don't seem to be following me, but rather... submitting to fate."

A flicker of panic crossed Lysa's eyes.

From Hunzhen's tone and expression, she realized a possibility—Hunzhen refused to accept her as a follower!

After Hunzhen gained control over her fate, it became impossible for her to follow and spy on Hunzhen without being discovered, once Hunzhen intended to avoid her.

"No, if Hunzhen abandons me and leaves me behind... how can I explain this to my teacher? What was the point of me following him all the way here? I even brought out my teacher's jade token?"

"Bound by the fate of the singularity, and then carelessly abandoned when fate manifests, I fear I will never make any progress in my life..."

"Is this the outcome fate has given us?"

"It's fate, so be it..."

At this moment when Lysa's heart wavered and felt desolate, many thoughts flashed through Hunzhen's mind.

He could certainly choose to ignore and abandon the other party.

After all, they had no relationship to begin with; it was the other party who stalked them like a pervert.

In the simulation, Hunzhen confirmed that even if he refused Lysa's request and said goodbye, Lysa would only nod silently and then give up on continuing to pester him.

But honestly, why did he refuse?

After Lysa used the Divine Decree to support him, it is foreseeable that his fame and prestige will rise again.

With a record of fighting against peak God-Kings without defeat, his title must be far more prestigious than that of other titled prodigies.

And I doubt that the Eagle God King would dare to obstruct or refute me.

On the other hand, he was also very curious about the Lord of the Luo River.

From the simulation and Lysa's reaction, he could guess that the reason Lysa approached him was secretly orchestrated by the Lord of the Luo River.

Since the other party has not shown any hostility so far, what is there for him not to make contact with?

Then Hunzhen laughed and said, "Submitting to fate? So be it. After all, just now, the fate you submitted to also bowed down at my feet. Therefore, I will accept your following. Time will prove your ideas wrong, and you will become my true follower."

Hearing that the path of destiny she sought had been so blatantly rejected, Lysa, whose heart had already shrunk to that of a quail, suddenly felt a surge of anger: "Even you, my lord, cannot pretend you didn't hear that! What you just did was merely make my fate submit! As for speaking of making the concept of destiny submit, even my teacher, the Goddess, wouldn't dare to presume to achieve that!"

From Lysa's rebuttal, Honjin saw a hint of rigid seriousness, which he found somewhat amusing.

Although she was refuting him, she still followed the proper order of address after "submitting" to him, and changed her form of address in accordance with etiquette.

"I really don't know if this guy is a coward or a daredevil."

Hun Zhen inwardly scoffed, making a soothing gesture towards Lysa while maintaining a fake smile, and said, "Lysa, you misheard me. I said 'the fate you submit to,' not 'fate.' How could you think I'm claiming to be able to subjugate the concept of fate? In your eyes, am I such an arrogant person? Or have you decided to follow me without even understanding me? Hearing you take the title of 'Goddess of Fate,' you thought you'd gained a capable assistant? Tsk tsk, it seems I might have to be a little less discerning in my assessment of your personal qualities."

Lysa was speechless for a moment, and her face quickly turned red.

It wasn't out of shame, but out of annoyance.

As the goddess of destiny, someone who is well-versed in the ways of fate, how could she not even be able to distinguish lies?

The true meaning behind Hunzhen's previous words was clearly that he did not take the word "fate" to heart.

Lysa had seen such people before; they were mostly brave individuals who shouted slogans like "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens," "Fate is not unchangeable," and "I will fight against fate and win!"

Even if Ryza foresees a tragic or bleak future for such a brave person, she will still offer her blessings while expressing her respect.

but……

As she watched Hunzhen, with a fake smile on his face, criticize her, her brows twitched involuntarily.

Why is it that someone who is a respected master whom you have decided to follow, and a brave warrior who is not afraid of fate, makes you want to hit him so much?

Suppressing her resentment, Lysa chose to remain silent.

As for hitting people or anything like that, since you've already decided to follow them, just keep those thoughts to yourself.

"What he said at the beginning was quite captivating, and his views on fate and gravity resonated with me. I could even discern a profound meaning hidden within them. So why did things turn out like this... Ah, never mind. I chose this master, and I chose this path; I'll finish it even if I have to crawl!"

Lysa was still complaining in her heart when she heard Hunzhen's next sentence start to raise her blood pressure again.

"But oh well, after all, it's the Servant I chose, so I have to learn to accept it no matter how bad it is."

Hunzhen's tone was somewhat helpless.

Lysa: "..."

"Ryza, let's put aside your personal evaluation for now. Now that you're my Servant, let's see how you perform. Didn't you say before that it was the will of the God that made you follow me? Well then..."

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Hunzhen's smile vanished, and he said calmly, "Take me to meet this Lord Luohe, your teacher."

Lysa frowned slightly and bowed, saying, "Lord Hunzhen, although I have chosen to follow you, I will not comply with matters concerning the God Lord."

Even death?

Even death.

Honjin was not surprised by Lysa's answer.

After all, he had already witnessed the other party's stubbornness after getting involved with the God of Luohe in the simulation, and this question was a routine to avoid arousing the other party's suspicion later.

Meeting Lysa's unwavering gaze, his earnest tone suddenly shifted: "Your decision to follow me is a significant event for your Temple of Destiny, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

Lysa nodded in confusion, not about the question itself, but about why Hunzhen had asked it.

"Your teacher didn't specifically say I couldn't see her, did she?"

"That's... how it is."

Lysa responded, but her tone was slightly hesitant.

Hunzhen shrugged: "Such a big matter, don't you think you should go and report it? It's very likely that your teacher is waiting for you to bring me to report it, but you're just dragging your feet here. Aren't you ruining your respected teacher's plans?"

Lysa, however, wasn't immediately swayed. She looked at Hunzhen warily: "Lord Hunzhen, do you think I'll believe you just because you say that? As the great god who rules the Luohe Realm, even the biggest matters in our eyes are just trivial. How could you possibly be troubled by such a small issue!?"

"No, no, that's not right."

Hunzhen shook his head: "With your teacher's abilities, wouldn't she have foreseen this possibility? Wouldn't she have imagined that after you followed me, I would want to go to her and ask her for clarification? Someone with such powerful connections, since she didn't specifically instruct me not to go, the subtext is that she wants you to lead me there!"

"this……"

"Besides, your teacher specifically sent you to find me. In your teacher's eyes, my matter must be a major issue even at the level of a god, right? Otherwise, why would she specifically instruct you? Or do you think that your teacher, as a great god who rules the Luohe Realm, simply didn't anticipate this possibility?"

"..."

Lysa was speechless.

I've said all the nice things and all the bad things to you, what am I supposed to say?

Lysa thought back carefully, recalling the earnest teachings of the Lord of Luohe. In her daze, she couldn't help but feel that what Hunzhen said seemed to make some sense!

"Oh well."

After a moment, Lysa finally nodded, but added, "However, if the teacher doesn't intend to see you, I will take you away immediately. If there are no problems, let's set off."

"No problem," Hunzhen replied quickly.

So, led by Lysa, the two embarked on their journey.

The location of the "Temple of Destiny" where the Lord of Luohe resides is not a secret, but rather information that most people in the Luohe region have heard of.

Therefore, Hunzhen already knew this in the earlier simulations.

The so-called Temple of Destiny is not located within the territory of the ruling kingdom, but is a mobile aerial temple that can appear anywhere within the Luohe region.

Well... the reason this information was made public is also because it was really hard to find.

The Temple of Destiny moves erratically with the current of fate, and it can be said that it is almost impossible for anyone who is not a practitioner of the path of destiny to discover its true location.

Its existence is hidden within the vast torrent of destiny formed by countless threads of fate. Even though Hunzhen can now see the threads of fate through the superdimensional vision, it is still difficult to find any trace of them.

Incidentally, there are other things in this world that are on the same level as the threads of fate, things that are difficult to observe and exist in higher dimensions.

However, if everything is observed, the excessively large flow of information will not only fail to provide Hunzhen with additional information, but will also result in nothing, just like watching a static screen on TV, or even overload the pig's brain.

Naturally, prior to this, all information except for the void was blocked.

Now, the observation of the threads of fate is also a matter of Hunzhen's own choice to switch on and off.

Let's get back to the main topic.

Led by Lysa, the two traversed the path formed by the torrent of fate and soon arrived at the Temple of Fate.

The Temple of Destiny is situated on a floating island, its edges sheltered by towering towers. The temple's architectural style is somewhat similar to the Taj Mahal. Outside the main entrance of the temple, there is a long lakeside corridor, which can be seen as the dividing line between the Sky City and the central city temple.

immediately……

"Lord Hunzhen, Your Highness the Goddess, the Divine Lord has been waiting for a long time."

A woman dressed in a nun's habit that was similar in style to Lysa's but more elegant spoke respectfully in front of the main gate of Sky City, which connects the lakeside corridor outside the magnificent temple to the city wall tower.

Upon hearing this, Hunzhen suddenly turned his head and gave Lysa a "see?" look.

Lysa opened her mouth, then followed Hunzhen inside, looking utterly lost.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, it must be just a coincidence!"

Lysa thought to herself, as if struggling internally. (End of Chapter)