Chapter 2896 - Destiny Plays Tricks Upon Us All
When he held the Book of Destiny in his hand, the red-robed man’s gaze heated up. No one knew it, but he’d spent all of his countless years trapped here awaiting the return of the Book of Destiny.
It was only after acquiring the Book of Destiny that he could become the true ruler of tribulations!
With this, he’d transform from a pitiful worm exiled by destiny during the Primordial Era into... Destiny’s Chosen!
Far, far too many years had passed, and waiting was fundamentally a kind of torment.
Especially since he was waiting for a chance to claim the Book of Destiny. That was unquestionably far too difficult.
Such opportunities were even rarer and more fleeting than chances to break free of the shackles of destiny and reach its Far Shore!
The man in red robes had lost track of how many times he’d almost given in to despair or considered giving up. The torment was just too great.
But perhaps the heavens had opened their eyes. Just as his obsessive desire for the Book of Destiny was about to run dry, the fleeting opportunity he’d been waiting for had appeared!
No one knew this either, but although this was the opportunity he’d been waiting for, when he first heard the news, he wasn’t happy or excited.
He was terrified! Terrified that there’d been some kind of mistake! And terrified that even if the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t be able to seize it.
The fear left him tentative, uncertain, and ill at ease.
Even when Su Yi took out the Book of Destiny, the man in red was still worried that something would go wrong and that all of his hopes and all of his waiting would come to naught.
Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong!
Su Yi wasn’t just weak. His mastery of the Book of Destiny was woefully inadequate.
Seizing the Book of Destiny with such ease left the red-robed man unwittingly rueful. Perhaps destiny itself is rewarding me! This is compensation for all my years of waiting!
“Su Yi, you’re my benefactor,” the man in red said seriously. “As an expression of my gratitude, I’ll give you a chance to live. I’ll even let you reunite with the little peacock.”
He’d seized the Book of Destiny, but Su Yi made no effort to reclaim it. Instead, he moved a thousand feet away with no sign of joy or sorrow.
His companions were watching from afar, their hearts on tenterhooks. When they saw this, they felt chills in their hands and feet, and their hearts were frantic. Not even the Book of Destiny could save us!? What kind of existence is the man in red? How could he possibly be this strong?
“Seems to me that it’s too early to discuss repayment,” said Su Yi, his gaze sincere. “You believe in destiny, so I’m sure you know that just as water has no consistent form, destiny has no consistent state. If destiny can play tricks on me, it can play tricks on you, too.”
The man in red smiled. “You really don’t understand destiny. Let’s put it like this. No one in this world is qualified to speak of destiny before me!”
He spoke with the utmost contempt. “Do you know how I wound up in this state? It’s simple. I grasped the mysteries of destiny, risking myself in the process, sacrificing my life in pursuit of the Dao!”
He sacrificed his life in pursuit of the Dao? Su Yi couldn’t help but recall the way River Ancestor Lu Shu had charged into the Abyss of Endless Tribulations with the Great Ceremonial Destiny Stele!
Yet now, the stele had somehow appeared in the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone, battered almost beyond recognition.
The red-robed man had sacrificed his life in pursuit of the Dao, while River Ancestor Lu Shu had charged into the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. Was there some sort of connection there?
“Ultimately, I was cast out, my body wracked with endless tribulations, neither fully alive nor fully dead, but my understanding of destiny is now so advanced that not even those who’ve sloughed off its shackles can compete with me!” the red-robed man said with the utmost confidence.
He smiled faintly. “You say that destiny is capricious and plays tricks on us all, but in my eyes, you’re no more than a novice trying to impress an expert with his meager knowledge.”
He effortlessly opened the first page of the Book of Destiny. “See this? If I couldn’t control the Book of Destiny, why would it open for me so easily?”
When Su Yi saw this, he finally told the truth. “I really haven’t mastered the Book of Destiny, but... someone claimed it long ago.”
The red-robed man looked stunned. “What do you mean?”
“The Book of Destiny belonged to a departed friend of mine. He...” said Su Yi.
But before he could finish, the man in red laughed dryly and shook his head. “A departed friend? No need to discuss a dead man. I understand far better than you that the Book of Destiny wouldn’t have accepted you as its master if it already had an owner!”
Su Yi tried to argue. “You say that, but...”
The red-robed man burst into laughter. “No buts! I know you’re upset about losing the Book of Destiny, and that you’re unwilling to accept this, but your so-called ‘well-intentioned warning’ was nothing but an attempt to scare me. Keep this up, and... you’ll only make me look down on you!”
Su Yi sighed.
The red-robed man held the Book of Destiny aloft and said leisurely, “Open your eyes and have a good look. How could destiny be capricious now that I’m in control of the Book of Destiny? And how could it possibly play tricks on me?”
His tone was filled with calm certainty. “The Book of Destiny is mine. Henceforth, I am Destiny’s Chosen! Destiny is mine to command!”
The man in red was indeed the very picture of a ruler. He presided over the world, issuing decrees and enacting his will!
River Ancestor Shen Xiao and the others’ hopes turned to ash. We’ve lost. How could this possibly end well for us now that the man in red has seized the Book of Destiny?
Su Yi, however, furrowed his brow. This shouldn’t be happening. Don’t tell me he’s really managed to seize control of the Book of Destiny?
He’d only just thought this when an astonished shout rang out. “No, this isn’t right. Curse the heavens! How could—!?”
The red-robed man suddenly looked up and stared intently at the Book of Destiny.
It was also then that a swath of light fell out of its first page, enveloping the man in red completely. The man in red instantly vanished. Even his voice came to an abrupt halt.
This sudden development left all who saw it unwittingly stunned. What’s going on?
Su Yi, however, inwardly sighed in relief. Phew. Everything is going just as I suspected.
He immediately rushed up and took the Book of Destiny in hand.
“Did that guy suffer a tribulation?” River Emperor Winged Dragon asked in a daze.
Earlier, he’d all but given in to despair, his hopes turning into ash. He’d already started mentally preparing for the man in red to end him.
He would never have guessed that the confident, contemptuous man in red would vanish inexplicably into the Book of Destiny in the blink of an eye!
“Most... likely...” said River Empress Lu Ping. She almost suspected that her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“That’s definitely it! I’m sure of it! Otherwise, why would that guy have been so frantic and astonished?” laughed River Ancestor Shen Xiao. He was practically dancing about for sheer joy.
He’d survived a close brush with death. The darkness had receded, and he saw the light of the sun once more. The change was instantaneous, but he went from extreme sorrow to extreme despair. The disparity was such that even a River Ancestor like him lost control of his emotions.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha!” Wang Zhiwu clutched his stomach and laughed at the top of his lungs. “Interesting. Far too interesting. I was so fucking scared earlier that I almost gave in to despair!”
He laughed so hard he wept. “He even said Brother Su was unfit to speak of destiny in front of him!”
Su Yi had tried to dissuade the man in red on numerous occasions, only for the man in red to sneer and look down on him. He even insisted that no one in this world understood destiny as well as he did! He grabbed the Book of Destiny and boldly proclaimed that destiny was henceforth his to command, only... for it to run him over!
It was obvious that Wang Zhiwu had forgotten his comportment, too. He was beside himself with joy.
The red-robed man had put way too much pressure on them all. The sheer despair was suffocating.
But the outcome seemed to prove Su Yi’s right. Destiny really did play tricks on everyone, and it really was capricious. In the blink of an eye, the red-robed man was finished.
“Don’t celebrate prematurely. That guy isn’t dead yet,” said Su Yi.
Silence abruptly descended over the group. His companions exchanged glances, all of them bewildered and uncertain. The battle really isn’t over yet?
“My dear brother, don’t tell me we’re in for more unexpected developments?” asked River Ancestor Shen Xiao, his heart clenching.
There was no getting around it; the man in red was too strong for River Ancestor Shen Xiao to handle. If anything else happened, he’d have to start carefully considering his last words...
“I can’t say for sure yet,” Su Yi said casually. “Give me a moment to look more carefully.”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao nodded repeatedly. “Go ahead and check. I’ll keep an eye on things here. With me here, no one will disturb you!”
He glared murderously at the others.
Wang Zhiwu pursed his lips. The old man’s getting more and more shameless, and he calls Su Yi his ‘dear brother’ like he really means it.
Nonetheless, none of them uttered a peep. All of them were anxiously awaiting the final result.
......
“Nooooooo!” The man in red robes cried out in alarm. “What the hell is happening!?”
His voice came to an abrupt halt. He looked around and discovered that the scenery had transformed around him. He now stood in a seemingly endless ruin.
As far as the eye could see, all he saw was the mysterious power of the Laws and the heart-palpitating aura of divine punishment!
Deep within the ruin, he saw densely clustered cages floating amidst the chaos mist.
It was indistinct, but he saw that some of the cages imprisoned true names.
“This must be the Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin. I’m not dead yet!” The man in blood-red robes instantly calmed down.
That is, until he looked around and found no exit. Despite himself, his heart sank once more.
Rumor had it that those trapped in the Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin fared miserably. Even their true names were imprisoned, becoming part of the power of Destiny’s Wrath.
“Oh? So, the new Destiny’s Chosen is here?” a strange, sarcastic voice rang out.
Immediately afterward, a cacophony of laughter arose on all sides.
The red-robed man furrowed his brow. Who are these people? Don’t tell me they’re all laughing at me?
“What are you lot laughing at? No one in this world understands destiny better than its new Chosen. Can any of you compare?” someone said gleefully.
“Hahaha, that’s right! We truly don’t understand a thing!” someone shouted.
The cacophonous laughter was instantly all the more brazen, as if this were the funniest thing in the whole world.
The red-robed man’s expression darkened. He was now completely certain that these people, whoever they were, were making fun of him. You call me the new ‘Destiny’s Chosen,’ but you’re obviously just making fun of me for slipping up as soon as I seized the Book of Destiny.
“We don’t understand destiny, but we do know that the Little Chosen’s warning was heartfelt. He didn’t lie to you, not even a little, but you obviously didn’t believe him. You were too desperate to acquire the book to listen. Now look at you!
“Are you sure that the Little Chosen didn’t say all that to trick this guy?”
“Shh! True or not, don’t say stuff like that! What if the Little Chosen hears you and decides to get even?”
When the red-robed man heard that, he felt stifled and frustrated. Don’t tell me Su Yi really tricked me?
