The Old Veteran

"There are a lot of questions regarding your pet and your supposed revival from the dead, but firstly," The old man stood up and gave a bow.

"Thank you for helping the city in its time of need."

In the next second, Bian helped him up saying "I just did what anyone would have done. We are in this war together against the Shura"

The old man was actually a veteran who had retired from the battle fields. He knew how tough gold-horned Shura were, seeing as how one had forced him to retire earlier than he would have cared to.

Bian explained to him that he was a surpasser, but had low fitness at the time. His beast soul pet was the one to subdue and ultimately kill the Shura, sadly his pet died while in battle in the sanctuaries.

The old veteran felt it was a shame, such a powerful beast could have been used to offset some of their losses.

"Why is the alliance at such a disadvantage? I thought we had managed to catch up to the Shura with the aid of the sanctuaries." Bian couldn't help but ask. Such a war had not taken place in the novel, so it must be related to him one way or another.

"Its all because of this damned traitor, the Dread Oracle" The old veteran brought up a blurry hologram of a woman with green hair, Bian immediately narrowed his eye once he saw her.

'I must be the cause of this war, one way or the other. The only direct effect I have caused so far are the executioners. Meaning this green haired lady should be an executioner and a probable cause of the war.

I shouldn't be wrong to call her Executioner Green.' Bian had these thoughts in a split second. He felt she should be Executioner Green because of her green hair. Since such a war did not happen in the original timeline, he was definitely related to it this time.

"How do we deal with an oracle?" Bian asked, a little bit deflated. How does one even fight an enemy that could see the future.

"She isn't all powerful, not like the New Community."

Bian felt as if a bomb had exploded in his head. It was way too early for the New World Organization to start making a move. They had exclusive access to crystal armors, which could boost a persons fitness to around 30,000. It had to be known that Bian's current fitness was just over 1000.

The old veteran was unaware of the internal discord his words had caused Bian he continued to explain.

"The New Community has both Shura and humans as members and sides with neither of us. They have the strength to easily foil the plans of the Dread Oracle, but their motives are unknown." The Old Veteran said.

"What about the Shura and the Dread Oracle? Do we know their motives?" Bian hurriedly asked. Lack of information was the number one cause of death.

"Although never explicitly stated, we have deduced that they are searching for someone. Their motives cannot justify their actions though, much blood has been spilt because of this new allies of theirs." The Old Veteran said in a pained voice. He stood up and showed Bian to the door.

"Once more, thank you for your help. You are free to go home now."

"Yeah, about that.."

...

Bian was able to borrow his commlink to buy a new one for himself. He waited at the teleport station to receive his new commlink, his mind in utter disarray.

'How does one even fight someone who can see the future. Its a cheat skill' Bian sighed. They were probably searching for him, trying to kill him, to execute him. He didn't fancy his chances against a gold-horned Shura. Their common strength was like that of a mutant creature and after Shura change, they could be as strong as the sacred-blood creatures.

A drone flew by and after some scans, dropped a new commlink for Bian. He found out that he was on a planet called Subterranea. He called his mom, thinking of how to comfort her.

"Why didn't you wait an extra year before calling." His Mom said playfully.

'That's not the tone of a parent who thought their son was dead. They didn't know?' Bian thought his parents knew about his passing. It seems as though he was wrong, his family must have thought he was preoccupied in the sanctuaries and could not call them.

'Probably thanks to Han Yan and Man Tian.' Bian was grateful they didn't let his parents know. They would have been beyond devastated.

"There is someone who wants to greet you." His Mom said for a moment, then Bian saw a baby boy on the screen. His mom whispered into the baby's ear and he said, "He-hello big bro-bro..."

Bian saw his mom mouthing the words 'brother' to the baby and he couldn't help but laugh. "Nice to meet you little bro, brother is too long anyway. What's your name?"

"His name is Manwei Wangzi" His mom said lovingly, rubbing his cheeks. Bian felt his heart melt. He now had one more person waiting for him at home, another reason not to die.

"What about Dad and the little shadow?"

"Ran is in school, while your father- he joined the planetary defense force, to help fend off against the Shura."

"WHAT! Why did he do that. There's no need for him to put himself at risk." Bian almost yelled, but lowered his tone remembering there was baby near by.

"Yes, you're right. I said the same thing. Do you know what he told me?" His mother asked, to which Bian shook his head. "If I don't defend what we love, who will?"

Bian was left speechless, such resolution couldn't be argued against. "Alright Mom, make sure you use the money and the S-class licenses to buy a good hyper geno art for the family, especially for dad." Bian transferred all his S-class license he had gotten from working, all except one which he saved for himself.

He said goodbye to his mom and called Han Yan. After a few rings there was no reply. He also called Man Tian, but there was no reply there either. He could only assume they were both in the sanctuaries.

After leaving them a message, Bian placed both hands on his head wondering how he could defeat an oracle. The old veteran was passing by, he saw Bian and came over to his side.

"Young people should not be so troubled, it shows us old guys have failed in our task." The Old Veteran said. "What's on your mind, young hero."

Bian looked at him strangely, unsure if he fit the title's description. A hero was supposed to have cheats and be overpowered, yet here he was. He came into this world with nothing and if not for the information he had, he would either be dead or worse, mediocre. He sighed and asked, "I was just wondering, how do you kill an oracle."

The old veteran stroked his chin as he thought of an answer. "How do you kill an oracle?"

Thus, both men were left pondering on how to fight someone who could see the future. Eventually, the old veteran said, "Well she isn't omniscient. After all, you thwarted an attack on this planet and the Godslayer himself has done the same."

He paused for a moment then said in a voice only Bian could hear. "My way of life is to try my best, knowing full well that evolution will take care of the rest."

"Evolution?"

"Yes! Even before the interstellar era, the only reasons humans rose to the top wasn't strength, speed or even smarts. It was because they could change, adapt and evolve. Your body doesn't know what is going on in the outside world, so you have to break it down for it.

Stay in cold water and your body adapts to cold, train everyday and you develop muscles. Now things are even better, hyper geno arts can directly enhance your body. Evolution doesn't ask you what you want, it gives you what's best based on everything you've done in the sanctuaries.

I am talking too much. Young man, follow your heart and train diligently. The rest will sort itself out." The old veteran said before heading back to tend to his duties.

As Bian saw his figure retreating, he could only chuckle at himself. "I have work to do, can't sulk around all day. Thank you old man" Bian said the last part in his heart. Although the advice he gave did not sound solid, it was what Bian needed to hear right now.

He bought a house with a teleporter, in planet Subterranea. Afterwards, he left a message for Man Tian and Han Yan, telling them the location of the house. This house was actually a mansion of sorts, with a swimming pool, large field and several rooms. He had the money, so he wasn't stingy about spending it.

His top priority was still to acquire strength, Bian browsed the Saints Hall S-Class catalogue searching for an appropriate geno art he could use. Most surpasser level hyper geno arts made use of one or more elements.

Bian wasn't exactly attuned to any element, and he also lacked the means of acquiring spirit geno points which could aid his elemental affinity. He browsed, searching for a hyper geno art that didn't heavily depend on elemental abilities.

After searching for a while, Bian found a hyper geno art that made his eyes glisten like gold.