His theories and achievements, which took a lifetime of agony to complete, had been dismissed in less than five days by Ye Xian's paper, deemed worthless.

Even so, he never gave up, continuing his inquiries until today.

Numerous tragedies, tortures, and failures

had virtually filled Duan Mu's life.

Any single episode could have crushed anyone else, but he had trodden over all of them, surmounted everything. Now, he was a master above tens of thousands, an epitome of a late bloomer.

But nobody knew how much Duan Mu hated the term "late bloomer."

How much he hated himself.

And his meager talent, far from sufficient above, barely adequate below.

"That year, when I met you during the Master's assessment, I knew that one day you would reach heights that I could have never foreseen in my lifetime.

I've felt that way till today."

Duan Mu sighed softly, "I just hoped to exhaust my remaining years striving forward, even just a bit more. As long as I could move forward, it was enough."

Ye Xian asked, "If so, why change your approach?"

"Perhaps because... I can't go on?"

Duan Mu's expression twisted, resembling a mixture of crying and laughing, "From seven years ago, I discovered that despite all of my efforts and daily devotion, besides moving myself and others, it was utterly useless.

At best, I was merely marking time."

Staying in place, making no progress.

In vain struggle, he watched as figures surpassed him one by one, as the targets he wished to chase grew increasingly distant, as he grew daily more senile, truly falling into decay.

When he called a student by the wrong name for the fourth time, he suddenly realized the eminence of Embers.

And his own mediocrity...

"Why is it like this, Master Ye?"

Duan Mu looked at her, without resentment or bitterness, or perhaps, just maintaining a serene façade, not wanting to be looked down on by Ye Xian till now.

"Embers generously led me onto this path, Embers cruelly drove me to this despair and confusion. But why is my life so pathetic?

What use is my life to the heavens?"

He raised his hand, caressing his gradually flaking elderly visage, murmuring softly, "Embers, a boon, the worldly Melting Furnace, what am I being forged into?

Junk in the furnace? Or residue in the ashes?"

He looked at the craftsman before him and asked earnestly, "Is it delusional for a piece of scrap iron to dream of becoming gold?"

"Absolutely."

Ye Xian nodded decisively, "Transcending mediocrity, turning stone to gold, shedding the old form and appearance, even ordinary iron can enter the realm of gold.

Isn't that what alchemy is about?"

"Yes, so I've come to terms with it."

Duan Mu nodded gently.

His shattered face finally displayed a smile: "If I've lost my way, so be it, at least there's a path. I still want to continue moving forward, as far as possible. Any step forward is better than wandering in place.

To a genius like you, my shameless demeanor must seem quite laughable, right?"

Ye Xian replied indifferently, "Do you care?"

"...I've long since stopped caring."

Duan Mu grinned, behind his peeling face, a thick darkness and ferocity emerged, eyes of scarlet opened one after another in the dark.

In that instant, the whirring darkness issued countless screams and wails, merging into a strange echo:

"Master Ye, please check for me..."

He said, "This time, have I gone far enough?"

In the distance, a roaring upheaval began, the present world shook, fog stirred and dispersed, replaced by boundless darkness, like a tsunami, carrying numerous Mutants and residual spirits, surging toward the outpost!

And right in front of Ye Xian, Duan Mu's elderly body cracked layer by layer, revealing the Mutant form forged from the Zhi Fu Melting Furnace, the layers of darkness coalescing into a four-armed giant over three meters tall, with seven eyes, eyes of compassion or cruelty. Around his body, numerous Spiritual Circuits gathered, twined, and decorated like gold and glass.

From hysterical laughter, a spirit rising above the origin stone suppressed all around.

—Heavenly People!!!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.