Why had it come to this?

The first time he met a Heavenly Person... the first time he met the guardian of Hai Province Town... two joyous events coincided... it should have...

Ji Jue couldn't remember what followed.

He was already stunned by the harsh reality.

Following Professor Ye through the halls, undergoing checks, they finally arrived outside that particular room, where the secretary politely opened the door for them.

The room behind the door was elegantly simple, serene, and plain, furnished only with a table and a chair. The Hai Province Town guardian was even having breakfast and had promptly invited them in upon hearing of Ye Xian's arrival, truly approachable and devoid of any pretense.

What surprised Ji Jue was that the illustrious Heavenly Person's breakfast consisted only of a bowl of thin porridge and a steamed bun, accompanied by a small dish of pickles.

Their sudden arrival couldn't have been an act; it merely reflected his ordinary lifestyle.

Moreover, there was no oppressive aura that usually surrounded those from the Heavenly Origin System; no terrifying presence that made it difficult to breathe at just one glance.

But what stunned Ji Jue was...

There was nothing else.

Just an old man with a face full of age spots, almost bald, wearing pajamas, his hand trembling as he slowly brought a spoon to his lips and swallowed slowly.

He even dripped a few drops.

Which the secretary immediately wiped off with a handkerchief.

The secretary bent down and whispered something into the old man's ear.

The previously dazed old man seemed to wake up a bit, his eyes lit up.

Then, he looked at Ji Jue.

"Oh, is it little Ye...?"

The old man spoke slowly and unclearly, "It's been so long, you've grown so much, so much... Yes, since you went to Yunzhou..."

"Guardian, that's not who it is."

The secretary hurriedly interrupted in a low voice, "It's Master Ye Xian from Thousand Islands, from the Ye family."

"Isn't he... already gone?" The elder suddenly looked confused, stared blankly for a long time, then as if enlightened, said, "I remember now, little Lu mentioned... How could I forget?

I'm really sorry, I'm getting old, getting old..."

His speech was slurred, his sentences mixed up, his consciousness flickering.

"..."

Ji Jue bowed his head, feeling as though several layers of masks of agony had been placed upon his face.

Was this clearly dementia?

An illustrious Heavenly Person? A provincial guardian?

Are you serious?

Indeed, this world is a massive farce, and depending on the situation, it could get even more ridiculous. Ji Jue was almost in agony.

And they still expected to accomplish it all in one stroke?

To reorganize Spring City?

Stop talking nonsense, pack up and go home already!

Nothing particularly enlightening followed in the conversation; just the old man, in his capacity as the guardian of Hai Province, giving his thanks and welcome to Ye Xian and offering a few words of encouragement to the young man.

As if going through the motions.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two men took their leave.

Ji Jue remained silent for a long time after leaving, cautious of the glaring surveillance overhead. But when Ye Xian looked back at him, Ji Jue felt a momentary flicker around them.

The surveillance remained the same, but their conversation was momentarily shielded within the Circle Realm that enveloped Sprin City's surroundings.

"Were you wondering why someone with dementia could become a Heavenly Person, become the guardian of Hai Province?"

"...Indeed, a bit," Ji Jue sighed softly.

"Decades ago, when Spring City fell, Tao Cheng took the risk and advanced to a Heavenly Person. At that time, he was already recognized by the Federation as a formidable force; he merely needed to follow the rules to advance to the Heavenly Person status.

He held out alone in Spring City for two hours before reinforcements arrived, in which he burned more than half of his soul... Spring City was thus not completely sucked into the vortex, allowing so many refugees in Hai Province today.

Without him, Hai Province couldn't have stabilized until now.

He regained consciousness only seven years ago, and four years ago took up his post as the guardian of Hai Province, continuously driving the entire plan forward.

So, don't worry about him; even if he's dull and forgetful, forgetting who he is or what he is, his determination to clean up the Earth Cave and reorganize Spring City will not waver."

"Two hours?" Ji Jue was shocked.

Ye Xian nodded, "Even longer."

Two hours, one hundred twenty minutes, and more.

In those moments when Spring City was on the brink of collapse, each minute and second stretched out as if eternal in the midst of the mutant pollution that could completely transform the city.

Too long, and too drawn out.

For anyone.

He couldn't understand why the Federation's reinforcements would take over two hours to arrive.

Nor could he imagine the terrifying challenges and dangers the old man faced alone during that time.

The path to the Heavenly Person Realm is profoundly arduous and lofty.

Even with the best preparation, it's difficult to achieve.

Let alone in such haste...

When he sacrificed much of his humanity and soul to embrace the Heavenly Origin, the Heavenly Origin drew even closer to him.

Today's Heavenly Person, Tao Cheng, from a human perspective, was severely damaged and hardly whole, but this loss, by some twist of fate, complementarily connected him with the Heavenly Origin, bringing him extremely close to the Superior.

Similarly, it also made his journey to the Saint Realm extremely distant... destined never to forge his own path or inscribe an origin.

Faced with such lofty states and feats, Ji Jue couldn't feel any sympathy or pity.

Would an ant pity an elephant?

Moreover, facing the terrifying vortex's pull and the Evil Foolish pollution, with one man's power, he held up the entire Spring City for a full two hours.

Just this alone was enough for Ji Jue to marvel and admire.

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