Senior Duanmu

This question was a little infuriating. Chris thought back to the statues inside the pavilion he had entered. The second pair of statues had the wolf's claw piercing through the rabbit's body, while the third pair had the wolf chomping on the rabbit's decapitated body. Under the current circumstances, however, the statues didn't make sense at all!

Chris felt even a little bit panicked. Was it wrong to imitate the statues? Now, he had three choices: run away, kill the wolf, or just stay there until the wolf lets him go. Unfortunately, none of these options were solutions to the quest. He wouldn't be able to make peace with the wolf, unless...

"That won't work either…" The thing that popped up inside his mind was whether he could just tame the wolf. However, taming it didn't mean he had made peace with it. If he did that, he would just be suppressing it, and its anger would be even greater.

All of a sudden, his eyes caught the character status once again. Then, he looked at the skills one-by-one and found two solutions to his problems.

First, it was the skill Divine Providence. Using it would grant the wolf the "god" status for 10 seconds—this meant that they would have the same level of stats. During that time, perhaps the wolf could kill him, and he could finally imitate what the statues had represented.

The second option, however, was the one he chose. Simply because it was the one he understood the most. After all, the hypothesis he had about how Divine Providence would work was just that, a hypothesis. He couldn't put everything in an uncertainty.

Upon making a decision, he hurriedly said, "Blessing of Life! Blessing of Life!"

Blessing of Life (Divine) (Sacrifice): You can make the world prosper at the cost of your divinity. The lands will be bountiful, the ocean will regain its serenity, and all the living things in the world will be given long and healthy lives. Warning: Using this skill will make you lose your divinity. Using it the second time will turn you into a mortal.

The instant he used the skill twice, his body became extremely heavy, as if had lost all power to move. He felt as if a big part of him was forcefully sucked out, causing him to cough out a mouthful of blood. Not only this, his domain was immediately cancelled, and the next moment, he felt fangs biting into his flesh. Next thing he knew…

"What just happened?" Chris woke up with a start as he felt himself floating in space. The pain on the nape of his neck had yet to subside, and he subconsciously touched it. Feeling that there was no blood or any form of injury, he gradually calmed down and checked his surroundings.

And what he saw… was extremely beautiful. At the moment, he seemed to be floating a few meters in the air, and he had a bird's eye view of the entire courtyard. At the moment, the courtyard had turned into a world of myriad colors. All kinds of flowers bloomed, and the trees and flowers around the vicinity were growing at a visible rate. What caught his eyes, however, was the scene in the middle of the courtyard.

There, the wolf was chewing on the rabbit's head. The blood on its mouth as well as that on the ground was a contradictory scene to the world full of life around it. Chris suddenly realized that, the moment he died, he was kicked out of the rabbit's body. Now, the question was, did he succeed or not?

Time went by as he observed what was happening. Only now did he realize that something was amiss. Misha, who supposedly had a "resurrection skill," didn't revive at all. The wolf had already gulped down the rabbit's head, and it had already turned its eyes on the headless corpse. However, there was no reaction whatsoever from the body.

"Did I make a mistake?" Chris muttered to himself as he looked at this scene.

"You've already lost your divinity and even turned back into a mortal, how can you revive then?" It was at this time that a voice woke him up with a start. He turned around and saw a bald old man floating toward him. The wrinkles on the man's face made it seem like he had lived hundreds, if not thousands of years. He wore a monastic robe, and there were prayer beads around his hands and neck. All in all, he looked just like a buddhist monk.

After observing the old man for a few moments, Chris realized something and slowly bowed to pay respects. He didn't know why he did so, but he just felt like this senior before him deserved to be treated that way. He then spoke, "Senior, are you the Dreamy Saint?"

The old man's half-opened eyes showed signs of life as he nodded. However, he didn't speak and only looked on toward the wolf as it devoured the rest of the rabbit's body.

After a while, the wolf licked the blood on the ground before walking away, satisfied. Chris, unable to hold his curiosity, finally asked, "Senior Dreamy Saint, what do you mean by what you said a while ago?"

Only after the wolf deep into the forest beside the courtyard did the old man react. He sighed before saying, "Misha was once hailed as the most benevolent goddess in the world. All the worlds she had governed prospered for thousands of years before she finally decided to leave them behind. I was fortunate enough to inherit a part of her legacy."

"Young man, what's your name and why are you here?" the old man suddenly asked.

Chris thought for a moment before replying, "My name is Arch. I think it was because of the Legacy Mode for Glorious Heaven? Wait a minute…"

He suddenly realized something very important. Why did the old man ask him that question? Wasn't everything here supposed to be a scenario made by the system?

A flash of hatred appeared in the old man's eyes before he regained his calm. Chris, however, didn't notice this at all. The old man took in a deep breath and looked toward the skies. "Glorious Heaven, oh, Glorious Heaven. Ruthless and merciless just like the old ages. Arch, hmm, what a peculiar name. I once had a friend who had the same name as you. But alas… Follow me."

The old man turned around and walked toward one of the pavilions. He was heading toward the pavilion opposite to the one where the five pairs of statues were.

Chris looked on for a moment as he didn't know how to move. Soon, he realized that he could just move however he wanted to, and the only thing hard was going up. The feeling of being able to walk in the air was quite amazing.

Halfway toward the pavilion, the old man spoke, "Dreamy Saint is the title I once held at my peak. However, now I am but an old man. You can call me Senior Duanmu."

Chris affirmed as he followed Senior Duanmu toward the pavilion. Once inside, what he saw… was simply an abundant amount of unused space. Only a wooden bed, a chair, and a table beside it could be found inside the pavilion, and all of them were situated near the wall on the right. To simply put, the entire pavilion was empty.

Senior Duanmu continued walking until he reached the bed. He sat dawn on the bedside and gestured for Chris to sit on the chair nearby.

Once Chris sat on the chair, Senior Duanmu flicked his finger and a ring appeared out of nowhere. Then, another table appeared, as well as a tea set. Senior Duanmu poured tea on two cups and placed one of them in front of Chris.

"This is tea made from Serenity Lily. It's found deep inside Glorious Heaven in Lake Serenity." Senior Duanmu waited for Chris to drink a bit before continuing, "Drinking this tea will grant you eternal serenity."

Chris almost blurted out the tea he had just drank the moment he heard the last words Senior Duanmu had just said. Eternal serenity, eternal peace!?

"Senior Duanmu, please don't joke about this…" However, upon seeing the calm expression on the old man's face, Chris' expression sank. Worry and fear were evident on his face as he asked, "Does it mean I'm going to die?"

Suddenly, Senior Duanmu let out a chuckle. The wrinkles on his face gradually vanished as his countenance became full of life. All of a sudden, it seemed he had become younger by a thousand years. Now, the old man was no more, only a dignified middle-aged man who was still bald.

"Can't believe you'll fall for it. Hahahaha!" Senior Duanmu laughed merrily for a few minutes, even pointing at Chris while doing so.

Chris could only stare in shock at how fast the solemn old man had changed into a prankster. He felt a little bit annoyed and angry, but upon remembering what sort this old man might be, he just choked it down.

After a while, Senior Duanmu finally calmed down. "This old man hasn't seen anyone for a very long time. A thousand years, to be exact. Ah, but no need to talk about that. After all, the world has eyes to see and ears to hear. Ah, and don't worry about the tea, it is indeed made from Serenity Lily, but at worst, you will only fall asleep for a hundred years."

"Senior!" Chris' eyes opened wide in shock. Wasn't that the same as dying? After all, it was already rare for humans to reach 80 years old, let alone 100 years old. Not to mention if he was asleep, how could he take care of his needs? Wouldn't he just die?

In truth, Chris had long since forgotten that he was in another plane. With how vivid and real the world was before him, he had unknowingly treated it as the reality. After all, virtual reality was still a foreign concept in his current world.

Suddenly, Chris felt like his brain was being pulled toward an endless void. Rather than losing consciousness, he felt like his soul was being pulled somewhere by thousands of hands, into a fragrant world that made him feel at peace.

"Divine Providence!" A powerful voice echoed inside Chris' ears. The hands pulling him into the endless void suddenly vanished, as if washed over by an enormous tide. Next thing he knew, he was back on the chair, his hand holding the cup with the tea that almost made him sleep for a hundred years.

He looked at the cup in his hand and pushed it toward the other side of the table. In truth, he wanted to throw it away, but out of respect for Senior Duanmu, he just calmly put it away. He knew that he had almost died, and if not for Senior Duanmu, he could have really been done in by this damned tea.

He looked at Senior Duanmu who had his two eyes locked onto him. It looked like he was observing him but also not.

After a few moments, Senior Duanmu spoke, "How strong is the strongest man in your world?"

Chris was surprised by this question. He thought hard for a moment and the only guy he could think of was a famous wrestler called Gola, which stemmed from the name Goliath. "The strongest man in my world should be Gola, he can lift a few hundred kilograms of weights. He can even throw it!"

This Gola was one of his childhood heroes, so his expression was full of admiration as he thought about this wrestler. Senior Duanmu, on the other hand, was visibly shocked. It seemed the world where this young man came from was…

"Your world is utterly weak. How come it got caught up in Glorious Heaven?" Senior Duanmu asked to no one in particular. His shocked expression had long since returned to normal as he pondered about the implications of such a weak world being pulled into the abyss called Glorious Heaven.

Chris' excitement vanished all of a sudden, and he became a little bit wary. Something was really off, judging from the words of the old man before him. He still couldn't shake off the words "ruthless" and "merciless" that Senior Duanmu had used to describe Glorious Heaven. It seemed things weren't simple all, and he felt like he had been dragged into something where he shouldn't have poked his nose into.

Chris was about to ask about it, but Senior Duanmu spoke first, "Now is not yet the time for you to know. Rather, even if I want to tell you, I can't. Remember, the world has eyes to see and ears to hear."

Chris nodded in affirmation. Although there were a lot of things he couldn't understand, what he knew was that Glorious Heaven itself might be watching their every move. Now, he had reaffirmed his thought that this place and Senior Duanmu were not just a part of a randomly-generated scenario by the system.

Seeing that the young man was at least sensible, Senior Duanmu smiled, satisfied. He suddenly waved his hand, and a new tea set appeared on the table, replacing the one made from Serenity Lily. "This tea hails from Misha's original world. It's called Smiling Rose Tea. As for its effects, you can already guess. But don't worry, it won't harm you at all. Unfortunately, it's the only thing your body can withstand."

Chris looked at the tea worriedly and wanted to decline. He was afraid that he would have a terrible grin on his face that would last for years if he drank it. However, upon looking closely, a familiar scent wafted into his nose, which made him want to drink it. This scent was the same scent his body was giving off when he had turned into Misha. He didn't really notice at that time, but now that he was back to his original body, that scent seemed to have given him a soothing sensation.

He sipped the tea and, as expected, a wide grin appeared on his tea. However, rather than the unreasonable smile he was expecting, it was more like a genuine smile as good memories appeared inside his head. He was filled with a positive energy that it almost seemed nonsensical. This state of bliss lasted for a few seconds before slowly calming down. Apparently, Smiling Rose Tea wasn't that potent.

Seeing that the young man had calmed down and was enjoying his tea, Senior Duanmu said, "Arch, would you like to hear Misha's story?"