Chapter 1997 – Struggle Against Fate ... ... ... Young disciples ventured out to search for lucky chances. They hoped to find ruins at the Holy Lord level or above, or perhaps even find some incomplete cultivation methods that would allow them to break into a higher realm. Of course, the chances of this occurring were far too slim. The famous mystic realms of the Divine Realm were long since controlled by the saints, and wanting to find a land of inheritance in the open wilderness was as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. Thus, with this great mountain in front of them, even in their entire lives they wouldn’t be able to ascend the base of the mountain. This was what all humans within the Divine Realm faced. Even if they desperately fought in the wild, recklessly journeying out to search for lucky chances, even if they used every waking moment of their lives to meditate, they still wouldn’t be able to escape the shackles of their fate. These shackles were like a great cage, and they were animals raised in this cage. These fearless juniors were filled with hopes as they entered the Heaven and Earth Alliance. They paid with their youth and sweat as they attempted to use their blood to write their own glorious chapter in life. However... within the slowly passing river of time, their sweat and blood flowed in and faded away. In the end, all they obtained was an unchangeable truth and a body that gradually died from old age... These were the lucky ones. The unlucky ones died in the wilderness, their bodies eventually turned to dust until no sign of them was left remaining in this world. This Heaven and Earth Alliance had a grand name and was the dream of many human youths. But in the 3000 great worlds of the Divine Realm, there were innumerable organizations like this. This was the greatest influence that humanity could form under their present situation, an influence that could fuel their hopes and dreams. Without having experienced suffering and oppression, it was impossible to imagine how people who lived such hopeless lives could still fervently thirst for the revival and glory of their race. This obsession had carved itself into their very beings, flowing with their life and sharing a destiny with them. Humans were creatures that were easily affected by those who surrounded them. As everyone was desperately risking everything in these troubled times, even those listless people would be dragged along, eventually becoming strong and brave. Like a country on the brink of extinction, there would be those people with high and lofty ideals who threw up their heads and showered the people with their hot-blooded courage. In this situation, Lin Ming saw some old people within the Heaven and Earth Alliance that left a deep impression on him. Some of these old people diligently struggled all their lives and yet weren’t able to accomplish anything. Sometimes, they didn’t even manage to break into the Divine Transformation realm, their hearts filled with sorrow and unwillingness as they left the mortal coil alone. But there were some old people that before their death, would call a junior to their side and give voice to all their grief and indignation. They would pass on their hopes and wishes, saying words such as ‘when our people in the wild universe return to the Divine Realm in glory, do not forget the sacrifices of your ancestors.’ However, these two types of old men weren’t the ones that left the deepest impression upon Lin Ming. The ones Lin Ming couldn’t forget the most were a third kind. These people had entered the Heaven and Earth Alliance during their youth. They ventured out again and again, searching for lucky chances, and then secluding themselves to bitterly cultivate. Even when old age arrived and they still didn’t have any achievements, they never gave up on the hope that burned in their hearts. They took out some fragmented map pieces from ancient books and carefully compared them. Then, betting everything on this faint hope, they spent the last years of their lives exploring the universe. They earnestly prepared for this journey, but in truth, all they had were some ordinary weapons, pots of wine, and some inferior medicines. They called on several of their companions and then strode forwards. But in truth, they had already passed the age where they could soar into the skies. Even if they really did find some ancient ruins, it wouldn’t be too beneficial to them. Still, they continued moving forwards, welcoming the winds and rain, welcoming the slowly falling sun, firmly climbing up that planet-sized mountain peak. This was a journey that they didn’t regret. Perhaps outsiders wouldn’t be able to understand their reason for doing so. The end was already decided for them and all their futile efforts only served to stand in stark contrast to the work and energy they put into it. It was hard to imagine just what meaning there was in continuing to explore the world when they were at the twilight of their years. However, Lin Ming knew that when they reached this step, what they chased was not a chance to become a stronger powerhouse; what they chased was a belief. When they died, this belief would allow them to confidently say, ‘in order to resist destiny, I struggled with everything I had’. When six hours passed, Lin Ming watched as those youths who had just become disciples of the Heaven and Earth Alliance finished their trip into the Heavenly Sutra Pavilion. He continued to quietly drink his wine. He had a premonition that he wouldn’t be able to stay here much longer. He wouldn’t be able to watch these youths continue to age. Although Lin Ming had stayed in this quiet corner of the universe for these past years and hadn’t heard of anything important occurring between humanity and the saints, he had a feeling that surged within him telling him that something would happen soon, something that would change the world. The reasoning behind this feeling was impossible to explain. It was a feeling that those with a great destiny felt, when they were so immersed in karmic ties that they unconsciously deduced cause and effect and were able to sense upcoming disasters. Lin Ming sat in meditation, tranquilly waiting for the eve of this storm to arrive. Soon, he planned to break into the half-step Empyrean realm that he had suppressed for far too long already. At the same time, he would open up another Dao Palace and also have the little black dragon grow to a thousand miles in length, having it become a half-grown adult... He could not avoid the surging waves of the world, even if he didn’t yet possess the ability to resist the Good Fortune Saint Sovereign. He wouldn’t sit idly by and do nothing again. In this next wave, humanity truly might be completely destroyed... Lin Ming slowly opened his eyes. The first sight that greeted him was a young girl. This young girl was an excellent talent in Lin Ming’s eyes. If the world was returned to the peaceful era of 6000 years ago, she possessed the ability to become a peak Holy Lord. And if she had resources, she would even have a chance of becoming a World King. This was an Empyrean descendant level of talent. But what a pity. The reality was that the saints would not allow her to grow. Lin Ming had paid attention to this young girl. It wasn’t just because of her talent, but because her last name was Yan. This young girl came from the Ancient Phoenix Clan and was acquainted with Lin Ming. 6000 years ago, a girl called Yan Littlemoon appeared within the Yan Family. When Lin Ming travelled to Fire Spirit Star and the God Beast Mystic Realm in the past, he had worked with Yan Littlemoon for some time. There was karma that tied them together. This young girl was called Yan Ke’er. When the Ancient Phoenix Clan collapsed, the remnant lineages of the Ancient Phoenix Clan still retained a small amount of Ancient Phoenix blood. After Yan Ke’er was born, the Yan Family sensed her great talent and poured into her body the limited Ancient Phoenix blood they had left. The truth was that if this was several thousand years ago, this Ancient Phoenix blood would have only been the lowest grade of phoenix blood in the Ancient Phoenix Clan. But in the current era, this was the most precious treasure that the Ancient Phoenix Clan’s remnant lineages could bring out. This child was their hope, even if everyone knew that this hope was extremely uncertain. “High Master, the nameless jade slip that you chose for me before was indeed extremely suitable for me. I studied it for several months and obtained great harvests from it. I am now confident that I will be able to perfectly break into Life Destruction, and in the future I might even be able to complete the full nine stages of Life Destruction, forming a six mile or even nine mile origin energy cloud...” Yan Ke’er said with longing and hope in her voice. But as Lin Ming heard this, he sighed. The geniuses of humanity had been reduced to a point where just a nine mile origin energy cloud ninth stage Life Destruction was considered amazing... He looked at Yan Ke’er. He could see from her shy and timid expression that the reason she came here today was to thank him and also ask him to help her choose a cultivation method as well as discuss some problems she had with her training. “High Master...” Yan Ke’er lightly called out. When she was just a dozen some years old, she had met Lin Ming. This High Master had given her a great deal of advice. Many times, the seemingly insignificant pieces of advice left her perceiving them for many days whereupon she would end up greatly benefiting from them. As she grew stronger, she felt more and more that this High Master was someone with a long story behind him, and his strength was also a mystery. She had once quietly asked the Elder of the Yan Family about him. However, the Elder couldn’t detect anything unusual about Lin Ming. According to his inner world, he was only at the early Divine Transformation realm. In addition, he had been able to look up the time at which Lin Ming had entered the Heaven and Earth Alliance. They were able to track his growth from the time he was a youth until present. It was hard for anyone to think he was actually some peak master. But even so, Yan Ke’er still stubbornly believed that Lin Ming was hiding his depths. From the outside, he looked like a lazy and melancholic individual, and the people of the Heaven and Earth Alliance also thought this. But, Yan Ke’er could faintly feel that the reasoning behind his attitude had to do with his hidden story. Perhaps this High Master was a Holy Lord! Yan Ke’er had once come up with this bold guess. But, this guess even shocked her. She shook her head, unable to believe it. It would have been far too strange. However, no matter what Lin Ming was, the truth was that he was the person she respected the most. The advice he gave her was far more useful than any teachings of the Yan Family Elders. “This pavilion, you should no longer come here.” As Lin Ming saw that Yan Ke’er was just about to ask him what jade slips to choose, he suddenly said this to her. Yan Ke’er was stunned. “High Master, what did you say?” “There is no meaning for you to train any longer.” Lin Ming continued to drink his wine as he slowly shook his head. “Women... in particular beautiful women who have reached the Divine Lord realm, will experience disaster if they are discovered by the saints...” With the saints ruling the Divine Realm, there was no punishment for a saint killing a human. The saints could freely plunder anything they wished from humanity, including even the virginity of young human girls. For beautiful human girls with extremely high degrees of talent, perhaps it was better if they weren’t born in this world. In a situation where they didn’t have the ability to protect themselves, it was easy for the saints to capture them and use them as living furnaces. But if they grew strong enough that they could kill some minor juniors of the saint race, then this would draw the attention of even stronger saint martial artists. This was because the stronger a woman was, the greater the advantages that could be obtained from them. Thus, their situations only became worse! Moreover, it was impossible for low level human girls to conceal their cultivations in front of saint race powerhouses. Once they were discovered, their fates would be miserable. Yan Ke’er blushed as Lin Ming first started speaking, but by the time he finished, she had turned pale white. She naturally knew what this ‘disaster’ really was. “Let me ask you a question. Even if you know the fate that possibly awaits you in the future, will you still choose to become a powerhouse?” Lin Ming clearly and unhurriedly asked as his eyes turned towards Yan Ke’er.