Wang Wei walked out of the cultivation room, and Wang Qi came to see him. However, Wang Wei could tell this was just a clone, and he knew the fact that the real one had entered seclusion.
"Why do you seem stressed out?" Wang Wei asked.
"I haven't figured out what gift to bring to the celebration," Wang Qi said.
"That's what's gotten so you riled up?"
"You should take this seriously. On such a grand occasion, we must bring the appropriate gift, or we will lose a lot of face."
"It's not like I'm going as my real identity, so it doesn't matter as much as you think."
"But, aren't you going to meet Lady Xun Junyao in person? Since it's your first meeting, you should bring a worthy gift."
"It's fine since I already prepared the perfect gift."
"Please don't say something as stupid that your presence is the best gift," Wang Qi warned, making Wang Wei speechless.
"I was going to say that as a joke, but now, you've ruined it.""Patriarch, this is a serious matter."
"I know," Wang Wei waved his hand.
"So, what gift did you prepare?"
"You're persistent, aren't you?"
"It's one of my best qualities."
Wang Wei sighed and told him the gift he had prepared; he even summoned it to show him.
"It's indeed perfect for her," Wang Qi said, and Wang Wei rolled his eyes. "However, wouldn't it be better to refine it into something else? Maybe a hairpin, bracelet, or a mirror. Oh, I forgot she hates mirrors."
"She does?"
"It's a known fact," Wang Qi explained before handing Wang Wei all the information he had gathered about Xun Junyao, and it indeed stated that she would return any mirror she received as gifts and even publicly admitting to not liking them.
"The most beautiful woman in the world doesn't like to look in the mirror?" Wang Wei muttered.
"I had the same reaction after finding out," Wang Qi added. "Do you think she doesn't like what she sees?"
"Or she's afraid of falling in love with herself," Wang Wei joked as he thought about the Greek myth about the man named Narcissus.
"Is that possible?" "Stranger things have happened."
"True," Wang Qi nodded before changing the topic. "Did you prepare a gift for the first meeting with the madam?"
"That's not necessary."
"But—"
"I don't want to complicate our first meeting," Wang Wei stopped him. "So, there is no need for any gifts or grand gestures. We only need to talk."
"Maybe you have a point." Wang Qi did not bring up this topic again.
"Did anything special happen during my absence?"
"No, everything was calm. Everyone seems to be waiting for the celebration."
"Including them?"
"Yes, including them."
"I expect the men's faction to behave in such a way, but I thought someone like Five Feather would be jealous of Xun Junyao's beauty and make trouble," Wang Wei commented.
"That might still happen at the celebration," Wang Qi added. "However, knowing that her actions might turn everyone against her, she might restrain herself."
"I hope she doesn't, as that would make things more interesting," Wang Wei sneered. "Where is Red Mask?"
"I'm here." She appeared in the room, kneeling on one knee.
"Anything to report?"
"I've assassinated Fierce Tiger and anyone who knew about Zhen Biyu except the one called Old Ma," she reported.
"Good work," Wang Wei praised. He did not ask how she did it, as long as she did. "What is the reaction?"
"I've made it look like a retaliation for one of their previous missions against the Great Chu Dynasty," Red Mask responded. "And since then, they've become more cautious."
"Did they enact a new leader?"
"No, they are still fighting to decide."
"I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else."
Wang Wei shook his head in disappointment. His current plan for the rebellion is to replace their members with his fate shadow guard and take control from the inside. Then, when Empyrean Jimin returns, he will decide their ultimate fate based on how he returns.
"If he succeeds in becoming a Paragon, Wang Wei will remove most of his people, leaving the minimum number to gather information. Then, he will continue a cooperative relationship with them. If he returns as an Empyrean, then Wang Wei will take over their operation and force Empyrean Jimin to serve under him.
The best course would probably be for him to die, but Wang Wei also felt it was a waste for such a talent to die so suddenly.
Wang Wei checked on his team and the Changing Fate Hall. He became a handsome young man wearing a black inner shirt, a floating white robe, and a handheld fan that added a scholarly aura to his demeanor. Anyone who saw him would think he was the kind of person who could recite poems on the spot.
'Given how Xiao Tiandi turned out, she should find this appearance approachable,' Wang Wei thought. He then finally teleported to the Ubiquitous Hotspring World. As soon as he arrived at his designation, he noticed two things. Firstly, there were so many people. This place used to be a popular entertainment spot, so it was normal for it to be lively. However, it was on a different scale now that so many people worldwide arrived for the celebration.
The second thing he noticed was the abnormal amount of destiny condensed in this place. His eyes could see an invisible dragon swimming above the sky on a golden lake. 'Something is definitely going to happen in this celebration,' Wang Wei analyzed. 'And it will be major.' He tried divining the truth but only discovered something easy to guess: Xun Junyao would be at the center of everything.
'Since faith fails, let's try to look into the future,' Wang Wei thought. His eyes then reflected the River of Time as he tried to peep at the mystery of tomorrow.
"It's useless even if you use Time Dao," said a soft-spoken voice. "The celebration is a critical node in history, a time nexus, if you will, so the future is not set — well, at least for us who have not escaped the shackles of time.
This voice was correct. In Wang Wei's eyes, the future was an entangled ball of threads, each representing a different possibility. There were so many of them that even his mind could only peep at a fraction. On top of everything, the lines he could see were blurred.
He turned around to see who had spoken. It was an elderly man with white hair and a white goatee dressed in a plain black robe. However, the man had a charm of mystery about him, which was accentuated by the fact that he was blind with gray eyes.
"And who are you?"
"People called me Old Man Tianji. It's a pleasure to meet you, the Destined One."
'Of course they do,' Wang Wei thought to himself, rolling his eyes. His meeting with the lower-dimension Old Man Tianji was also this random.
"It seems you came here purposely to meet me, but can I ask how you found me?" Wang Wei was curious as even the parasites, who were Paragons and had plenty of manpower, failed to find him, but this old man did.
"I've observed everyone who comes and leaves this place," Old Man Tianji said. "I can say with confidence, whoever it is, I can see some information about their fate — no matter how little. However, you are the only exception, so I deduce who you were."
"What if I was only a man really good at Anti-Divination?"
"I thought of this possibility," Old Man Tianji replied. "That's why I called your status as a test, and based on your reaction, I figured I hit the jackpot."
"I have to say — well played, old man," Wang Wei admitted.
"Thank you. I have a feeling that coming from you, those words mean a great deal."
"They do," Wang Wei acknowledged. "So, why did you want to contact me?"
"For now, I only wanted to ensure you were present at the celebration."
"And why is that?"
"I can't say anything more, but you only need to know your presence, no, your destiny, is essential to whatever is going to happen," Old Man Tianji.
Wang Wei sighed. "I don't appreciate how you know something but keep talking in riddles."
"I am not blessed like you," Old Man Tianji responded, his tone not hiding his envy. "Even at my current cultivation level, there are plenty of secrets of fate that I cannot reveal, or I will suffer tremendous backlash." He was very talented and achieved the realm of Everlasting, but even then, he was permanently blind because of peeping too much into fate when he was a mortal.
"Then, don't say anything — I'll just look it up myself," Wang Wei said as he directly looked at Old Man Tianji's fate line.
"It's useless," the old man said calmly.
"Hmm? What's this?' Wang Wei immediately saw something interesting. "You have more than one fate line? No, that's not it. Your…"
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