102. Predestination and Choices

It is the middle of the night and a boy is looking at the reflection of the moon on a river bed. The boy observed the random frogs flickering with their bioluminescent antennas as the attempt to lure the nearby noisy crickets. He is in deep thought as any moment now will determine who would be preyed or hunted tonight just like the frogs and the crickets.

The boy is Clay who had been waiting for almost two hours now. He specifically chose this location as the river would easily cover their tracks and would be perfect to implement his plan. The river is located at the base of the mountain and the surrounding area is relatively flat if he disregards the undulant surface covered with rocks.

After a few more minutes, he finally felt a beastly aura slowly approaching him from to his right. He spread his Qi Projection and formed a hand then picked up a stone the size of a fist and threw it at the approaching figure.

Crack!

The stone was easily deflected by the hand of a metallic figure approaching him. It was none other than the obsessed driver who is convinced he is a Spectral Cultivator. The man walked with his protective suit fully activated.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s useless?”

Clay spread a few more of his Qi Projections and while it looks like he was picking up stones, three of the Hand Projections were hold small sized parchments.

“Ha ha ha ha. This is would be my first time seeing someone fighting a powered combat suit with stones. Why can’t you just…”

Clay pretended to throw stones at him while calculating their distance and when the driver was at least ten meters away, Clay poured his Qi into the array on the parchments he inscribed last night. The three talismans emitted a blinding light and in an instant, a concentrated and powerful burst of energy exploded to where the crazy driver was standing.

Boom!

Clay reinforced his body with his Qi but he was still thrown by the wave created by the impact. He immediately composed himself but when he stood up and was about to activate another talisman, he saw a white cloudlike figure at the center of the explosion.

“If I a..ah.. .. . ah… . Immortal Emerald Soul Sect, I would …”

The figure dissipated like a mist before it could finish its sentence and before it completely disappeared, it still managed to send out an attack.

Clay put up his Qi barrier however the dangerous wave of energy bypassed his defenses like it was nothing. He has no idea what kind of spell was placed on him but it felt like a cold air seeped through his body. He circulated his Qi and protected his meridians and the coldness was immediately dispelled.

He was about to deliver a follow up blow by detonating another Simulacra Formation he inscribed however he stopped as he could not find or feel the presence of his enemy.

Clay knew that white figure was the soul of the driver so he activated his Godly Eyes to determine if he was still alive.

He could not find anyone but he was still on guard and said, “Listen my friend, it’s all a misunderstanding and I can explain. Immortal Emerald Soul Sect is my enemy as well and I am not a spectral cultivator.”

Vigilantly, he continued to look around but there was no response. After two minutes Clay stopped and moved closer towards the center of the explosion.

Clay is overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. It was out of his expectations that he would meet someone who is familiar with the sect that destroyed earth. Though he has many questions, he needed to ensure his enemy is eradicated first and he needed to clear the area as soon as possible as well.

He focused his attention at the center as he was still afraid that something might still attack him by surprise.

When he was a few steps away from the middle, he saw a headless body wrapped with a suit that looks like it has been forcefully crushed and when he turned to his side, he saw a hand lying not far. The might of the terrifying explosion caused a fully armored cultivator to have his limbs and his head separated from his body.

The very reason why this planet has stringent rules of owning a spatial ring is primarily to avoid space related explosions similar to what he just did. Many machines are installed across the globe to monitor unregistered spatial rings and on the surface, they are saying that it is where criminals especially terrorists are hiding their weapons when in fact, they wanted to trace the source of the unregistered rings and confiscate the originating materials.

If Clay could inscribed a rudimentary formation capable of such devastating explosion, how much more if it was created using the aid of technology.

The driver must have not considered the possibility of him retaliating in such a way so he let his guard down. Under normal circumstances, he could have had evaded with his suit but Clay took advantage of his overconfidence. Clay had a different scenario in mind but seeing his enemy welcomed his taunting, he quickly shifted his plans to attack the driver in his moment of carelessness.

Yesterday, although the materials given to him were limited, he made an adjustment and was able to divide it into six equal parts. The first part was used to create a spatial ring with one cubic meter space and the other five were used to inscribe an array similar to the Simulacra Formation he used to kill the Flamed Horned Lion back when he was offered as a sacrifice at Gar Wahger planet. The adjustments he made may not be enough to tear space, it was still sufficient to create a single point explosion.

Clay spread his Qi and picked up any debris left by his opponent and stored them on his spatial ring. When he picked up the headless body, a necklace fell out. The necklace was a little oval disc on chain similar to a dog tag worn by military men back on earth.

Clay used his Qi Projection to pick up the necklace but before he could store it in his ring, the surface of the necklace glimmered as it was illuminated by the moonlight. Though it was momentarily, he felt he read something familiar.

He wanted to read it but he heard voices echoed from afar indicating that a few men must have been alerted from the explosion earlier. Clay had little time so he stored everything he was able to find. He even dug the ground stained with blood before finally leaving.

At least two kilometers from where he killed the man, Clay stood before a waterfall. He took out a rock he chiseled earlier while waiting for his opponent. He planned on destroying the spatial ring and let the contents rot in the subspace to bury all evidence. He does not know if the man has allies but it is the safest way to clear him from any involvement.

Before destroying the spatial ring, he took at the necklace again for him to observe. Earlier, it looked like he saw English Alphabets.

“N, A, S, A”

Clay was having a bad feeling. There were unknown writings but in the middle is definitely written in English. He refused to believe the man he just killed is related to earth.

He was confused what to do next.

Although he was interested in knowing how the man has information about Immortal Emerald Soul Sect, he was willing to let it go if it means his safety but knowing the man may have relation to earth is a another matter.

He clenched his fist in hesitation.

Clay closed his eyes and stored back the necklace. At the same time he activated the array of the simulacra talisman while inside the spatial ring then simultaneously release his control on the ring imploding the subspace completely destroying the ring. He then inserted the damaged and useless ring into the rock before finally tossing it at the waterfall.

Splash!

Clay turned around and as he walked back home, he tried to recall if there are things he missed to destroy. The briefcase was already stored in the ring earlier including the isolation formation the man installed at the residence as well. Aside from the last Simulacra Talisman hidden under his bed, the only thing left to do now is wait for any investigators.

Clay carefully approached the village. It is the middle of the night and everyone was woken up and alarmed when they felt the ripples of the explosion. He could see from afar that his grandparents were looking for him so he sneaked at the entrance and joined the commotion and pretended to be on the lookout as well.

(Is that old Nuir’s grandson?)

(Somebody call that old Nuir. Tell him his grandson is here.)

Clay was getting worried no one would notice him but thanks to the neighbors who joined the welcoming party yesterday that he was recognized.

“You little rat leaving in the middle of night. You think you’re some kind of hero. Go back now and sleep.”

Clay was pinched on the ear and was slowly dragged by his grandfather.

He smiled in relief. Indeed, he is neither a hero nor a special someone. Just a regular guy who shall live and die like everyone else but not today. He did not want to kill however he did not want to take chances after he experienced the killing intent of his enemy.

While he was contemplating on what to do next, he suddenly felt cold wave of energy from his forehead spreading towards his body. The feeling was similar to the last attack of the crazy driver only this time it is much more intense.

As soon as he circulated his Qi, his eyes dimmed and lost consciousness.