When Curo heard that, he was dumbstruck, “Planted a seed in me?” The man nodded and said, “Yes, a seed in you. It is unknown how they select the people but through times, they select some people and implant a seed in them. This seed is harmless to you and will only show it self once you attempt to break the Limitations of the Realm.” Curo was stunned.

He sat there quietly and then the man sighed as well and said, “I know, this is all extremely far for you. You are only in the Foundation Establishment at the moment. You still have to pass the Core, Nascent Soul, Origin, The Three Saint Realms and the Three Sovereign Realms.” He then shook his head slightly and said, “It is all still too far away for you. However, Since my Soul Fragment doesn’t have long anymore, I have no choice but to tell you all this now.”

Curo was startled as he quickly asked, “What does Senior mean?” The man let out a deep sigh as he explained, “The Nine Ancient clans are using a special technique to wear down the resistance of the Realms Will. If nothing is done, it won’t last another month. Using the last power left in my Soul Fragment, I plan to send the Realm’s Will to a safe location.” Hearing this, Curo gulped. The man then looked at Curo and said, “As the previous Realm’s Lord, I have no choice but to plead for you to take up my mantle. However, as a cultivator I wish for you to follow your own path and your own heart in your decision. For you, both the paths are open and it is up to you to choose which to pick.” Hearing this, Curo let out a sigh as he nodded to the man. He could feel the sentiments of the man.

Although he wished for Curo to protect their home by becoming the Realms Lord, at the same time, he couldn’t tell him to give up on the future of walking down the path of a Wanderer. After giving Curo one final glance, Curo felt his mind grow dizzy. When he felt his consciousness slip away, he heard one sentence, “Tell Brother Jing I am sorry for what happened.”

When he felt his mind clear again, he immediately shot up. When he shot up, Qing Zhao looked at him seriously but before he could say anything, his face flickered as he looked towards the sky with a complicated expression. Curo asked, “Did someone from the Ancient Clans come here?” Qing Zhao looked at Curo with a surprised expression as he nodded his head. Curo sighed and looked up, “He will withdraw soon. They have lost the Realm’s Will.”

Hearing this statement, Qing Zhao was shocked before he was astonished to discover that what Curo had said was true. The people that had come from the Ancient Clans suddenly paled as they hurriedly sped away without any care. Qing Zhao asked, “How did….”

But before he could finish his sentence, Curo interjected, “Can you have Ancestor Jing come here?” Qing Zhao was startled but nodded his head. When Instructor Sheng and Ancestor Jing walked in, they discovered Curo sitting up. However, the boy was different. His aura had changed. When before he was a resolute and serious person, now he had become muddled, as if there was something on his mind. Jing Fang looked at Curo and asked, “You asked for me to come here boy?” Curo nodded his head and stood up.

With cupped hands he bowed gently and said, “Lord Long Heng asked me to tell you this; He is sorry for what happened back then.” Hearing this, Ancestor Jing paused mid step as his pupil dilated. He immediately glared at Qing Zhao but seeing the same shocked expression on his face, he realized that this wasn’t something set up by him. When he thought about it, Qing Zhao was eccentric, yes, but he would never do something like this.

Jing Fang then straightened his back and said, “Tell me what happened.” Curo nodded his head as he narrated everything he had experienced within the white world filled with hazy grey mist. However, he withheld the information about a Wanderer having planted a seed in him. Before he could make up his mind on what path to choose, he would not tell anyone about it. Jing Fang let out a deep sigh after hearing the story and looked at Curo with a complicated gaze.

He then said, “Although I can feel that you left some things out, I will no privy to them. This is your own life, the decisions you make are your own. Just, what ever you decide, never regret that choice.” After saying so, Jing Fang stood up and left the Healing Hall room. Qing Zhao and Headmistress Xi also exchanged a few words with Curo before they left but neither of them asked anything either. When only Instructor Sheng remained, he gave only gave Curo a long gaze and then said, “As Ancestor Jing said, this is your own path. Whatever you choose, it will be your own choice. However, no matter what you choose, don’t regret the decision afterwards.”

Curo solemnly nodded his head as the murkiness started to slowly disappear form his eyes. Instructor Sheng then called a Healing Hall Disciple in and after she had looked Curo over, she allowed him to go. Instructor Sheng accompanied Curo to the courtyard and then said, “Tomorrow, be at the office in the morning. I will have to deal with the Roaming Dragon Division paper work and things, so I am going to need your help in dealing with the usual paper work. I will try to help you out as much as I can but my main focus will be on dealing with the problems caused by the Roaming Dragon Divisions formation.” Hearing this Curo nodded his head and after Instructor Sheng warned him a bit about taking it easy and letting his body rest for a couple of days, he left.

When Curo entered the courtyard, he looked at the lonely willow tree that was next to a small pond and sighed. When he went to sit down under the tree, he thought to himself, “Of course they realized that something wasn’t right.” He could only sigh to that as he sat down under the tree. As he gazed the quiet pond, his mind trailed off to everything that had happened in the past year. From the time he met Ancestor Jing to everything that had happened today, it was all like a dream to him. With only a year, he had reached this stage, he couldn’t help but wonder about the Wanderers. The people that have broken through the Limits of a Realm and forged their own path forward.

Deep down, he wanted to be like them, an unfettered, wandering soul. However, at the same time, he knew that if he did not become the Realm’s Lord, he may never see his home again.

From what Long Heng had told him, these Nine Primordial Clans were extremely ruthless and arrogant people. No matter which path he chose, he would still have to confront them. Sighing, Curo took out a wine bottle from his Spacial Ring and also fished out a cup. After pouring it full, he looked at the cup before slowly drinking it. As he savoured the wine in his mouth, his mind began to wander again. What made this so difficult were the attachments he had to the Realm.

Had his Father been a cold and uncaring person, he would not have a second thought about which path to follow. However, it wasn’t like that. His Father had always been extremely caring and protective of him. Even when he was crippled, his Father cared more about him than he did for his Clan. Another person like that was Jing Fang. Although they had met recently, he owed him far too much. It was only thanks to him that he could walk down the path of cultivation, while at the same time, he was the direct reason he had managed to survive the Spacial Transfer in the first place. If he hadn’t been there, he would have bled out and died a dogs death on that day.

Curo raised his head from the wine cup, seeing that it was half empty and looked up. The moon hung high in the sky with countless stars glistening in the background. As he looked at the sight, he muttered, “I wonder what is out there….”

Just when he finished the sentence, a young voice, not older than his own echoed out, “Each of those dots is a World. In each world, there are billions of beings alive. In each of those Worlds, there is war, there is love, there is hate, there is peace.” Curo didn’t even feel surprised any more as he turned his head towards the sound and found a youth, no older than himself next to the pond. He had short, dark blue hair, fair skin, a built body and a longsword sheathed on his left waist.

Curo produced another cup from his Spacial Ring and filled it. He then extended it towards the young man. The young man was slightly startled by the calmness of Curo as he sat down and accepted the cup. He glanced at Curo and just as he wanted to say something, Curo said distractedly, “Every time my head is muddled, I meet you. Every time I meet a problem, I meet you. Who exactly are you?” Hearing this, the youth looked towards the sky as well and said with a bitter smile, “I am just a wanderer, drifting from place to place with no place to call my own.” Curo then looked at the youth and sighed, “You were the one that planted the seed in me?”

The youth was slightly startled again as he nodded his head. He then said, “The true world is far bigger than this little place. Here, the Nine Primordial Clans can throw their weight around with no care in the world but out there, they would be nothing more than dog shit.” Curo glanced at the youth that was slowly drinking the wine and asked, “Why me?” The youth lined his gaze with Curo’s as he said, “To break the Limitations of the Realm, you first have to break the Limitations of oneself.”

Curo raised a brow as the youth looked at his cup again and explained, “One can fight against their fate but no one can fight the Heavens. So, instead of fighting, why not gently stroll along the path, Heavens created for you and see where it ends up. No matter the person, everyone has two fates; One is where they stay in their Realm and don’t break the Limitations and the other is where they do.”

The youth then took a sip from his cup and continued, “For countless years, we have sought the end of the path before us but we never have been able to. Those that break the Limitations forge their own paths and by following their own path, can they truly be called cultivators.” Hearing this, something broke in Curo. Like a dam having been shattered, his mind entered a mysterious state. Seeing this, the youth let out a smile as he downed the cup in his hand.

He looked at the empty cup and whispered, “Good wine.” He then gently placed the cup down and rose up. He gave Curo one final glance and disappeared from where he stood. When he reappeared he was in a strange desolate land.

He looked behind him and muttered, “When the 13 Wanderers appear, the Realmverse can break it’s shackles and join the true cultivation world.” Leaving that sentence behind, the youth disappeared again.

Curo felt his mind lighten as he realized that he was only one grain of sand in an endless desert. His path was not something that someone else could dictate. His will was his own, his cultivation was his own and his path was his own.