When Su Qingcheng left Nature Warlock’s cave office, she was greeted by the sight of a middle-aged couple. The man was waving at her; naturally this was Flametongue who was greatly interested by Su Qingcheng’s display during the qualifying battle. His wife on the other hand maintained a perpetually cold look on her face, and did not look impressed at all. For this fiery and icy pair, they sure really looked adorable, this was something Su Qingcheng couldn’t deny. For so many peerless experts to be interested in her, Su Qingcheng couldn’t help but wonder if she could perhaps forge her own path in the world of cultivation and make a name for herself also. Flametongue laughed happily when Su Qingcheng quietly approached him and Jack Frost.

“I see you’ve just been inducted personally by Nature’s Warlock, that old fogey! You know, he and I are bosom buddies.” he bellowed out; he was definitely a chirpy type of guy. “I’m Flametongue, and this is my wife, Jack Frost. I’m ranked 5th on this branch’s Heaven Ranking board, while she is ranked 44th on the Earth Ranking board. She’s not exactly a talkative type, but let me tell you, she is gre—“

“Shut up…” Jack Frost pinched Flametongue’s waist from behind, causing him to grunt in pain a bit before laughing again. Su Qingcheng’s smile widened as she realized that Jack Frost only looked cold but was definitely a maiden at heart.

“What might these esteemed seniors want with this young upstart today?” Su Qingcheng asked politely.

“Let’s not beat around the bush then,” Flametongue nodded resolutely before gently patting Su Qingcheng on the shoulder. “Dark Lily, you need to know that as someone with abnormal constitution, before even becoming a Geomancer, you are now eligible to embark on a path that only a few freaks have ever gone on before. With the role of the Ranking Boards as a congregation of underground protectors of the continent, and with Nature Warlock’s intent to groom you to become a peerless existence, it is only right that I help. A lot of us guys are quite eccentric and you won’t necessarily find us as willing as Nature’s Warlock or myself to help you.”

Su Qingcheng’s interest was piqued when Flametongue was explaining this in a straightforward manner.

“Let’s talk over some drinks and food.”

“Senior… I am…”

Jack Frost shook her head again, looking at Su Qingcheng in a different light. She seemed a lot warmer at that moment, but quickly regained her frosty composure again as Flametongue laughed once again. “Right, I forgot. You are barely fifteen. Truly a freak like that Faceless girl.”

Faceless again? Su Qingcheng was now really interested in this girl who had been inducted to the ranking boards at her age, but over 50 years ago. How strong must she be now? Her thoughts were interrupted when Flametongue and Jack Frost led Su Qingcheng to another cavern which looked a lot like an inn. They took a seat at a quiet part of the establishment and Flametongue’s normally cheery disposition became serious.

“I need to tell you this now because you’re already nearing the point of your breakthrough. There is a divergent path that is not only incredibly risky, but allows you to break the limits of the normal Tianqi cultivation realms. Only a freak like Faceless could do this kind of thing successfully, and I feel like you’re the next person in countless generations to have the potential to do the same thing.” Flametongue explained.

Su Qingcheng nodded, soon realizing why Nature’s Warlock was so willing to impart his techniques to her. It was because she had the same limitless potential as this mysterious Faceless ranker.

“Right. This sort of deviation is not known to the outside world. We call this the Tianqi Divergent Stratums; and the best part about it is that the auras of these divergent stratums are exactly the same as their corresponding counterparts.”

“What are these realms then, esteemed senior?”

“We call these kinds of freaks Variants. Variants all start as users, but once they break to the Geomancer realm, they are no longer Geomancers, but they rather become Terraformers,” Flametongue continued to impart his knowledge to Su Qingcheng, causing a mental gate to open right before her very eyes. “Terraformers are essentially Variant Geomancers. Not only can they use Tianqi to influence nature for offensive and defensive purposes, but they can also permanently change how nature appears and forms. This is why we call them Terraformers.”

“So domineering?!” Su Qingcheng was startled.

“Variant Princes and Princesses are called Knights,” Flametongue began to enumerate the Variant versions of the Tianqi stratums. “Variant Lords are Viscounts. Variant Sages are called Magi and Variant Emperors are called Fiends.”

“Fiends? By the way, are there any Variant Tianqi Gods?”

“Haha. Nobody has ever reached the Paragon stratum in the continent’s entire history. As for why we call Variant Emperors Fiends, it is because we can treat this Variant path as one of self-punishment and tempering. The Variant path of cultivation is wrought with peril and the risk of death. However, successfully breaking through each stratum and acquiring the Mark of Paragon at each stage will imbue the cultivator with an immense power that allows them to be invincible against anybody in the same stratum as them or weaker!”

“Amazing. That’s too much!”

“Right, but the risk is also severe. Without powerful mentors like Nature’s Warlock, there’s no hope for regular people to do it. But you have already obtained the constitution of a divergent user, managing to absorb and refine the Lightning Wyvern Prince’s core before promoting to a Tianqi Geomancer. Therefore, you still have the opportunity to form your first Mark of Paragon and becoming a Terraformer!”

“Inconceivable!” Su Qingcheng gasped.

“The Tianqi Paragon is an unknown, mysterious existence that we aren’t even sure is even a real thing in the wide Universe. However, we do know that if such a being were to exist, they could snap their fingers and a Tianqi God would just disappear like that! The Mark of Paragon is the proof of this Variant Tianqi strength, which manifests itself differently depending on the person who acquires it! However, the way to obtain this Mark is incredibly difficult. Fortunately, Faceless gifted me her manuals and findings when cultivating on this path, because my wife and I helped her out many years ago.”

“So fortunate for me?!” Su Qingcheng shuddered.

“We’re too old to embark on the path of a Paragon, but you… You just might be able to catch up to Faceless and stand by her as an unparalleled fighter!”

“Why are you gifting this to me?”

“You are the only person in countless years to have displayed such potential. This is why Nature’s Warlock was so keen on finding you. You definitely have the martial bearing of your mother, even if you don’t inherit her Ghost Calamity Palm, you have already displayed an immense amount of ability at your feeble age of fourteen. If you can successfully embark on this path, well… I can say that I haven’t wasted this gift from Faceless.”

Su Qingcheng smiled as Flametongue passed to her a set of scrolls and tomes which she casually put in her Dragon Hoard Ring.

“The heavens even favor you, look at that Dragon Hoard Ring, it was created by Long Po Tian, the Invincible Dragon Emperor!”

“You know my sister’s teacher?”

Jack Frost was startled. “Good heavens. Is everyone in your family a bunch of freaks? You have a sister who is Long Po Tian’s disciple?”

“That’s right. My elder sister gave this ring to me.”

“She truly loves you, to be able to give you a priceless treasure like that,” Jack Frost had interrupted Flametongue by now. “Sigh. Long Po Tian’s wife is my sister. His power is incredibly strong and can definitely teach your sister how to be someone worthy of the zenith of the martial Way. We tried to convince him to become a Ranker, but he didn’t want to budge. Therefore, he is not a member of this organization, so we can talk about him freely.”

“It must be fate for us to meet then,” Su Qingcheng giggled. “Esteemed seniors, may I continue to inquire about the Path of the Paragon? What exactly is Faceless’ level then?”

“She is ranked 80th on the Continental Ranking Board, but I bet Nature’s Warlock didn’t tell you which one, right?”

“No, he didn’t!”

“Of course not. Let me tell you right now and clear up any misunderstandings. Faceless is a Tianqi Fiend, which is equivalent to an Emperor. Therefore, she is ranked 80th in all the continent’s Tianqi Emperors. Now you tell me, how scary is that?”

“Eh… my mother said she could be ranked in the top 10 though?”

“You stinking brat,” Flametongue laughed loudly. “Your mother is a dirty cheater. She has the Ghost Calamity Palm which can incinerate anything including a person’s soul. If she were to be merciless, nobody would even want to fight her. And she was the top student of the Nightflower Fox! That woman was just too scary, that she literally had to be kicked off the board because she was half-a-step into becoming a god.”

Su Qingcheng sucked in a cold breath and realized that Yao Meiyue was the person she was aiming to be like this whole time. Yao Meiyue let out a mental snicker as she heard Flametongue talking about her like she was so shameless.

“Also, your mother is really old despite her looks, you know that? She might look like Jack Frost’s age, but she is older than I am! How about Faceless? She is thirty years younger than her. Do you know that?”

“So young?!” Su Qingcheng slapped her palm to her face.

“Therefore, you can’t treat the ranking boards of the Heaven class with common sense or logic, as everybody has their own tricks and secrets. I know you also have your own secrets and mysteries about you, otherwise how can you control Lightning so expertly like that and having already formed a divergent nascent soul before even getting a normal one?!”

Su Qingcheng sheepishly scratched her head. “Therefore, I believe you have to go on the path of a Paragon and become an unparalleled existence like Faceless, and be one of the continent’s ultimate protectors. The Universe is vast and not many people know this, thinking the world is only this continent… They don’t even know about Cloud Nine and the Infernal Lands.”

Su Qingcheng nodded. She was kidnapped by exiles from Cloud Nine and Yao Meiyue detonated herself to defeat a God from the Infernal Lands. How could she not know about these two otherworldly realms?

“You kid, are unusually knowledgeable for your years,” Flametongue looked at Su Qingcheng’s solemn expression. “Don’t tell me you know about the Upper and Lower Realms?”

“Esteemed senior Flametongue, I was kidnapped by exiles from Cloud Nine. How could I not know about these realms?” she sighed, before Flametongue smiled awkwardly in response.

“No wonder the Heaven Thunder Prison collapsed like that,” he sighed. “That domineering thunder prison must have been created by a Heavenly Thunder Lion that could shapeshift into a human. They must have been a half-breed to do that. They were exiled because they were not pure magic beasts…”

“Right.”

“And you were subjected to some hardships under them, and as lightning creatures, you turned disaster into fortune. Too formidable, this kid’s luck…” Flametongue sounded like he was an uncle talking to his niece. Jack Frost could only laugh, she had never seen her husband like this in a very long time. “If Nature’s Warlock hadn’t already convinced you to study under him, I would have made you learn under my wife so you could form an Ice nascent soul! Bwahahaha.”

Jack Frost blushed darkly. “Humph! You’re too shameless. My arts can’t be passed down that easily!”

“Hahaha. Enough of that. To be honest, there’s nothing much I can explain to you that isn’t already in Faceless’ tomes and manuals. All you can do is to study them well and cultivate hard on this path. You may or may not need high class elixirs to supplement your training, but I feel that once you get through the bottleneck to become a Tianqi Terraformer, all will be well for you.”

Su Qingcheng cupped her hands together before standing up and bowing. “Thank you both, esteemed seniors, for opening my eyes and letting me see things from a fresh perspective. It’s getting late and I must take my leave.” Su Qingcheng smiled as she quietly left.

Jack Frost looked at Flametongue with a worried face. “If she fails at any point she will die as the energy will cause her body to blow up. Are you sure about this?”

“I am confidently sure. To absorb the Lightning Wyvern Prince’s core like that, means some heavenly beast had already planted lightning seeds into her body. To do that, she had to let her tianqi paths get tempered by lightning so much that she was barely feeling the pain. How torturous do you think that is? She survived it at the age of fourteen years old. Once she becomes a Terraformer, her physique will be strong enough to form all the nascent souls in advance, barring divine essences. Once she becomes a Knight, she can form divine essences without risk of blowing herself up. We personally oversaw Faceless’ training at one point. My judgment is not wrong.”

Jack Frost nodded silently but smiled faintly. Her silence spoke volumes.

Meanwhile, Su Qingcheng had already returned home, and was curious to find out that Su Ran was not around. Shrugging, she finally collapsed onto her bed, exhausted after all that.

We’re rich! We’re bloody rich! Yao Meiyue finally let go of all her pent-up emotions. To get Faceless’ Path of Paragon manuals, do you know what that means? It means you can become a user who can surpass even me in the future! And for you to inherit the Natural Nascent Tempering of Nature’s Warlock, this will allow you to become invincible in the first three regular stratums once you become a Terraformer!

“Master, you even know of this? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Humph, you little brat, don’t be too ambitious. The Path of the Paragon is long and arduous. Every single step is riddled with peril. If you tried to practice it on your own without any guidance, that would be tantamount to suicide. Even I wouldn’t dare practice it, but that freak Faceless developed this on her own lonesome. And I was already an old fogey when she began her training.

“But I need to become strong, too.”

Don’t you think I know that. That’s why I’m going to help you. I’m your secret weapon to break through. But you have to be prepared to suffer through torture and pain beyond your imagination. It would be worse than when that Fan Yu brat forcefully injected lightning seeds into your body. As long as you are prepared to undergo a fiend’s tempering and training, you will become an invincible soldier that no one would dare to mess around with. Do you dare to embark on the lonely path of the Paragon? All I need is one word. If you don’t want to, you also have to tell me, and we can continue with our conventional training plan to break you to become a regular Geomancer.

“When did my Master become so stupid? Of course I’ll embark on the Path of the Paragon.”

Very good. Then rest well. I will draft up preliminary plans and preparations for you to become a Terraformer within the next 2 months. When you become a Terraformer, people will think you are just a regular Geomancer. But oh, oh, you will give that stupid Xiao Tie brat a good show. Hehehe…

“Thank you, Master.” Su Qingcheng finally heaved out before passing out in bed.