Light from All Things

When ascension rose once more from within the sinking, when all that had been numb woke anew. Under the collective will of the people, the light of Chixiao, surging and converging in mighty waves, was this very torrential momentum. The contest between them had ended long ago. From the moment the aberration of sinking had screeched to a halt, Fernand had already been barred from success. And when that single flyer fluttered down from above, everything he had painstakingly prepared had already fallen into Ji Jue's hands. All that remained was merely the technicality of victory and defeat. And so, just as Ji Jue resolved to end it all, Chixiao finally arrived at its ultimate stage and tempering! Boundless radiance shone far and wide. As Ji Jue's soul rose from his physical frame, answering the call of the blazing sun and plunging into that searing light, what met his eyes was an ocean formed by countless silhouettes. Within this projection of the Order of Tianyuan, blurry figures raised their hands in fanatical fervor, seemingly weeping tears of joy. Calling for the descent of a hero, calling for the arrival of a ruler, calling out his name. Before Ji Jue, an endless flight of stairs finally materialized. Leading to the highest reach of the firmament. All phenomena turned upon it; heaven and earth pivoted around it. Beneath the command of Chixiao, this magnificent achievement of remaking all things—the authority of Tianyuan to govern the Seven Cities—was now right before him. Phantoms of Tianyuan and the Tower shifted within the light of Chixiao. The throne of sovereign dominion had lain vacant for far too long. If only Ji Jue took a step forward—no, with merely a flick of thought—the seat of dominion would welcome its true master. But as his hand instinctively began to reach out, it froze in midair. Locked in stillness. Regardless of the urgings and calls from Supreme Goodness and Great Sin. As though gripped by doubt and hesitation, unable to make a decision. He just suddenly felt... "...This seems like a bit of a drag." Having so many people hopping about before his eyes every day, waving their arms, constantly cheering and screaming—just imagining it made his eyes and ears ache. It was basically like taking a job, and a twenty-four-seven on-call gig at that, where every other day your research gets interrupted by all kinds of random nonsense. Utterly infuriating. I've got plenty of my own things to do, alright?! Please, I just came here to open a factory! You can't expect me to sell my blood, sweat, and youth for your sake my whole life just because I happened to do a few good deeds, and after selling my youth, sell my children and grandchildren too. This is completely backwards! I only handed out a few flyers and did something normal. If anyone else had done the exact same thing, would it really have been any different? How did it ever come to this?! "Why?" Ji Jue looked up, asking into all of this in bewilderment. Must a savior appear for there to be a future? Must a supreme ruler hold sway over everything just for people to go on living? Haven't there been more than enough despots and tyrants who brought endless ruin? Yet no one answered. There were only waves of fanatical roars like mountains collapsing and tsunamis crashing, begging him to reign over all, to rule everything, and to lead them forward forever along a path of peace and tranquility. Just as the Abyssal Lord of the past had taken it for granted that Luo Island was his personal property, just as Fernand today had taken it for granted that he could shove the Seven Cities into the mire. With Tianyuan converging here and now, why was it taken for granted that Ji Jue should grasp all of this in his palm? The Path of Tianyuan of the bygone Everlasting Empire had long since been severed completely by the Mohists. Even if he walked this path to the very end, he would merely become another tyrant, turning into the very shape he held in lowest contempt, waiting for the next Ji Jue to stand before him and issue a challenge. It shouldn't be so. It ought not to be like this. If he shamelessly reached out his hand and flattered himself that all of this was his own creation, what difference would there be between him and Fernand, who constantly spouted that all things rot by nature? "How about... let's just not?" Ji Jue proposed to all of it. In the dead silence, not another sound arose. Those fanatical silhouettes seemed to freeze, staring at him in stunned speechlessness. "All I can say is, sometimes people really never learn," Ji Jue scratched his head with a self-deprecating sigh. "With Master Kanemoto's lesson right there before me, when it's my turn, I still almost walked straight into a dead end..." "So in the end, was I the one who couldn't let go all along?" All of this may have begun because of him, but what existed now was by no means achieved by him alone. If so, why must there be one person to control everything forever? Even less was there any need to find someone to take upon themselves all the Crowns of Glory on behalf of everyone. Tianyuan and Embers, after all, were not equivalent. In the eyes of Tianyuan's ilk, such an opportunity was rare; if all things had the chance to return to order, one should step up without hesitation. But for an artisan, all of this was simply natural. Why claim credit for oneself? The Tianyuan forged by the Seven Cities is not my exclusive Tianyuan. The Chixiao formed by the multitudes is not my solitary Chixiao! The truth had always been this simple, yet only now did Ji Jue finally understand... "After racking my brains searching high and low, did I end up figuring it out inside Tianyuan of all places?" The moment comprehension welled in his heart, Ji Jue could hold back no longer and burst into hearty laughter: "—All things are self-made; therefore, all things self-transform!" If all of this was natural, perhaps the sinking of the Seven Cities was natural, the ascension of the multitudes was equally natural, and the ultimate outcome was likewise only natural... This was what it truly meant to be natural and right! And so, Ji Jue chose to let go. Hanging in the void, Chixiao hummed and shuddered as if conforming to Ji Jue's will, its brilliant light cleaving down! Crackling fractures sounded one after another, echoing through the ocean of converging souls. That was the vast echo of shackles coming loose, the profound reverberation of order reconstructing itself, the final mournful wail of the throne collapsing and the long stairway shattering... The lofty throne, the authority of dominion, the sovereign power over life and death—all of it vanished like smoke before Ji Jue's eyes. He had relinquished it. Severing completely his absolute authority within Chixiao, unwinding the pervasive coercion and control, erasing every decree. And returning this power originating from Tianyuan back to all those who constituted Tianyuan... You are self-made; you self-transform. What you have received is the recompense you rightfully earned. Bow no more to gods, seek no longer for saviors. In this world, there is no hero who can promise salvation. You have already chosen to save yourselves. Why, then, would you need the eternal guidance of any savior or hero? "Decide for yourselves whether you should act," Ji Jue said with a smile, waving to those bewildered figures, offering one final promise: "If one day you no longer need me; if one day, all that I create as an artisan can no longer satisfy you... "Then hesitate no longer... "—Cast me aside as is only right!" In an instant, the blazing sun thrummed, shuddering once, then again! A crack fractured across the foundation of Tianyuan, rapidly widening and intensifying. Everything on the verge of completion plunged once more into a chaotic storm, completely falling apart. The blazing sun expanded, all restraints gone without a trace. Yet when all coercive force was lost, the countless specks of glimmering light that should have dissipated in every direction remained right where they were—in fact, they converged and surged even more fiercely than before! It was as though... when he chose to let go, all things and all phenomena reached out their hands toward him. Forming an entirely new visage, manifesting a fresh order and form once again. All things self-made, all things self-transforming. A fluid, seamless metamorphosis; a natural, fitting change. Revealing its ultimate form. Never had there been such a fragile Tianyuan, having completely forfeited absolute rule and control over its interior; yet never had there been such a bizarre Tianyuan, drawing all phenomena naturally toward it. Willingly and gladly submitting to his guidance and dispatch! It also left the expectant watcher far away in the dark, atop the lonely tower, frozen in silence, the smile stiffening on his face. On the verge of explosive fury! For a moment, he decisively thrust out his hand, heedless of his successor's protests, intending to correct it back onto the proper track. But as his hand extended, for some reason, a familiar face floated into his mind. The advice and plea offered by the only person in the past he could call a friend. The 'sheer nonsense' he had regarded as a joke and cast to the back of his mind. "Gives birth to them, rears them, shapes them, completes them... grows them, nurtures them, matures them, ripens them; shelters them, protects them..." His face receded into darkness as he let out a contemptuous sigh. "'Nourishes all creation yet acts not as master'? "Is it that the shallow views of fools never change, or is the naive stupidity of you Mohists cut from the exact same cloth?" No one answered. There was only that laughter, long since faded into the past, echoing in his ears once more. Full of such self-satisfaction. He withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes, looking no longer. They were all a bunch of obstinate fools anyway. Sick of it! Only within the transformations of Chixiao, as the traces of the Imperial Seal of the Realm faded away, a line of ancient silver characters rose from the banner-tally. Like the flame of legacy rekindling anew. [Gives life without possessing, acts without presumption, leads without dominating—this is Mysterious Virtue.] The flare of flame flashed and vanished. Couldn't understand it, but it looked pretty awesome! He'd messed around blindly, written an entire operating system with his eyes closed, made it totally open source, and... seemed like maybe nothing went wrong? Then that proves I'm right! As for the rest, who cares! Who needs power over life and death? Who needs to throw their weight around? It's just a factory. You come to work, I pay you, done deal. Why all this messy nonsense? "This is for the best." Ji Jue sighed softly. A brand-new Chixiao banner-tally manifested between heaven and earth. So light, so airy, like a phantom. It bore none of the terrifying prestige and dazzling grandeur of Tianyuan formed by the Seven Cities before, possessing no solid weight at all. Yet when such a feather-light banner-tally was brandished with casual ease, it seemed to upend the entire world. Heaven and earth swayed; creation roared in resounding answer. Just like the pivot of the world, naturally and effortlessly guiding everything. No need to grasp all phenomena—all phenomena gathered toward it on their own! Heaven and earth were brightly illuminated. Even if the blazing sun was nowhere to be seen, all things shone with light! Why must there only be Chixiao?