She Doesn't Like Reading

Ibrahim was by no means the only fallen one. The waters of the Flowing Gold River were the physical embodiment of boundless time. It was neither an attack nor corrosion, but attrition. Even if your ideals were as steadfast as stone, dripping water would wear them through; even if your kingdom was flourishing and mighty, it would become nothing more than historical wreckage. Mankind could neither outrun time nor resist it. Ibrahim was only the vanguard. Following him, one legend after another stalled in the Flowing Gold River. No matter how hard they struggled, they were washed away in the end. Perhaps they possessed many lofty aspirations—such as continuing to follow the grand laws of the Grey Fox God Era, expanding the frontiers of sorcery, probing the forbidden domains of angels, and so on... Yet within the Flowing Gold River, all their ideals were worn down to mere blanks. Once their perseverance gave out, failure to advance meant retreat. Such was the normal course of the world. Most people could only drift with the flow; only the strong could perceive the direction of the current, and only saints could walk against the tide. People like Ibrahim belonged to the echelon of saints two centuries ago. Regrettably, time had stripped away everything they had. They no longer had a home. "Cough, cough!" Choking once again on the water, Yaxiu felt he was nearing his limit. A simple desire to survive was hopelessly fragile before the Flowing Gold River. Every drop here was life's most hysterical scream. That time in the Flowing Gold River on the Time Continent, he had barely managed to resist the golden torrent because he was alongside the Witch and the Sword Princess, but now... He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Silver Lantern beside him. Although she was not fast, her movements showed no hesitation or lag whatsoever. Clearly, the Flowing Gold River could not erode her will, and she was largely pulling Yaxiu forward. What was wrong with the world? Why was the resolve of wicked people always so much firmer than that of good people? Yaxiu let out a self-deprecating scoff, gritted his teeth, and struck hard against the water, recalling his own home and sanctuary in his mind. Igola and the others were definitely up above, racking their brains over how to save him. If he failed to return, they would eventually disband as time wore on. Igola would infiltrate the Four Pillar Cult to play false with Mercury Trojan; Tamasi would hunt down the Four Pillar Cult and clash with Igola; Harvey would keep digging downward until he unearthed his bones... Lisi... Even without him, Lisi would certainly grow up fast and well in the Yisu Imperial Palace, but if possible, he still wanted to watch her grow up. She would surely be adorable and beautiful, though since she loved eating so much, she might grow into a chubby, cute girl... And Annan... Anfeier was waiting for Igola as well. If he wasn't around, Igola would probably end up a scumbag... And those in the Void Realm—the ones most important to him, the ones he could never bear to part with... Yaxiu nearly ground his teeth to dust as he battered aside the oncoming spray, swimming shoulder to shoulder with Weise! My life has only just begun! "My life cannot end like this!" Suddenly, a shrill wail erupted from a legend ahead. This was not the first fallen whose willpower had rusted through, yet the legends grew visibly tense. "Jina, don't be reckless!" "Calm down, Jina! You're the mind sorcerer known as the 'Dreamvoice Singer'!" Yaxiu did not understand why everyone was so alarmed, but beside him, Silver Lantern's voice was heavy with gravity. "Be careful." "Why?" "Shouldn't you understand better than anyone?" Weise stared at Jina as he was swept backward. "Even without sorcery spirits, mind sorcerers remain just as dangerous. What's more, this is a legend." Remembering Igola, Yaxiu nodded in heartfelt agreement. Then he looked toward Jina, ready to dodge at any moment alongside Weise. Yet as Jina struggled, he raised his clear, melodious voice in a mournful elegy. Almost everyone froze in place as a dense, inescapable nostalgia seeped through their ears and bored straight into their minds. This song of Jina's was not his strongest, but it was undoubtedly the easiest to take effect—after all, most people here had only just learned they had lost more than two hundred years of their past. Even Jina himself had suffered rusted willpower precisely because he realized he had nowhere left to return to. Bolstered by legendary-grade technique and fueled by the genuine emotion of despair, it was enough to be called a miracle even without sorcery spirits. Still, legends were legends. Many broke free of the melancholic thoughts in an instant; some grew sluggish in their movements; yet there were also sorcerers who valued sentiment and bond, and they were dragged downward into ruin by Jina's invisible hands. Splash. Weise felt herself being pulled backward. She turned her head and saw a pitiable soul being dragged into despair. Yaxiu flailed forward with all his might, his expression ferocious as though wanting to kill someone, but his entire body felt weightless and unable to summon strength, like an untethered balloon washed away by water. Rationally, he knew this would not do, yet emotionally, he was venting months of pent-up weeping. He was only human; his heart was not made of iron. How could he ever truly let go of his past? When he saw the Watcher, he had been genuinely happy. Even if it was merely a false solace, at least he could talk with the Watcher until tears welled in his eyes. These legends had merely heard that their homes were gone; they had not yet laid eyes on the Senluo wasteland, and there was still a chance for them to return to their homeland. Whereas he... Smack! Just as Yaxiu's grip slipped completely, Weise caught his hand. She continued swimming, but burdened with such dead weight, she too was swept backward by the Flowing Gold River. "It's only because the Flowing Gold River has drained me of strength," Yaxiu said. "Otherwise, I'd definitely drag you down to die with me." His meaning was for Silver Lantern to let go of him. Instead, Silver Lantern nodded. "As you wish." She yanked Yaxiu straight toward her, wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him tight, and continued struggling against the Flowing Gold River. "Do you want to die?" Yaxiu asked. "Then again, if I'm gone, you'll definitely be caught by the Square-Round Cicada as well." Jina's mournful song still echoed through the passage. Weise said, "I truly didn't expect you to be broken by this song. To my ears, it's just a rather grating tune." "Not understanding it is a blessing," Yaxiu's voice unexpectedly softened. "Because you haven't lost enough." "No, it's because what I have far outweighs what I've lost," Weise said, staring fixedly at him. "Don't you still have someone you love?" "Don't you want to kiss her lips? Don't you want to feel the warmth of her body? Don't you want to lose yourself in her embrace from morning to night?" "I—" "Stop listening to that hideous singing. Listen to me!" Weise interrupted him, pressing close against his ear. Her voice was gentler than the elegy, more alluring, commanding all his thoughts. "When you leave the Void Realm, the moment you open your eyes you'll see her. Still half-asleep, she'll wrap her arms around you and act spoiled. After washing up, you'll make breakfast together. In the morning, she'll read in the study; you have no interest in reading, but you'll sit beside her doing other things. Now and then your eyes meet, now and then you kiss, now and then you tease each other." "After lunch, you'll go to the library to read. A library must require silence, but you never can settle down to read. You love making her laugh, hushing only after receiving warnings from others, though occasionally you'll quietly share a book with her." "After dinner is your time of intimacy. That's when she's most compliant all day. Whatever you want goes, yet she always anticipates your heart's desire a step ahead. Only after you've both had your fill do you lie down on the bed, still wanting more, gazing into each other's eyes as you enter the Void Realm..." By the time Silver Lantern was halfway through speaking, Yaxiu was already able to barely resist the elegy's disruption and regain a bit of strength. And once Silver Lantern finished, he halted his backward drift entirely, recovering the willpower to fight against the current. By now, they were less than ten meters away from the Square-Round Cicada. The lingering singing drew closer and closer. Turning to look, they found Jina drifting past them. Casting a glance at this despairing legendary sorcerer, they pressed on upstream against the flow. A moment later, the heartbreaking elegy finally ceased, signifying that the Square-Round Cicada had received a new snack. "She doesn't like to read," Yaxiu suddenly remarked. "I do," said Weise. At that moment, having eaten a bit too much, the Square-Round Cicada let out a burp. Although it did not cease feeding, its body grew larger and larger, and the chirping from its timbals grew increasingly piercing. With the Square-Round Cicada's cries, the flow of the Flowing Gold River grew even more sluggish, yet its power to erode a sorcerer's willpower only intensified rather than waned. If the pressure of the Flowing Gold River before had been a dense, overwhelming barrage, now it was a gargantuan iron ball rolling forward, choking off the entire space. One could still barely dodge the former, but the latter could only be endured head-on. "It can even manipulate the Flowing Gold River?" Yaxiu gasped in shock. "The Square-Round Cicada's spellcasting just now used the water of the Flowing Gold River as fuel, so naturally it can manipulate the river to a limited degree," Weise explained. "In fact, the essence of a sorcery spirit casting a spell is channeling power from the Void Realm into reality through the Gate of Truth. Put simply, casting requires sorcery power and spell components. We sorcerers provide the sorcery power, while spell components are transferred by sorcery spirits connecting to the Void Realm." "Just as time-faction sorcery spirits consume the water of the Flowing Gold River, fire, water, and earth arts consume materials from the Void Realm. Nothing in this world can truly be created out of nothing; all sorcery spirits could be called miracles of space." Recalling the resources he had found on the Time Continent, Yaxiu asked, "Then what about physical arts factions like swordsmanship or fist-and-claw?" "That touches on the derivative evolution of Void Realm materials," Weise replied. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand." As the two conversed, their arms were not idle, desperately swimming toward the main group. Because the resistance of the Flowing Gold River had increased, everyone's speed dropped drastically. Every inch forward was an agonizing struggle. As the two swam back, another three people with rusted willpower were washed down, queuing to be graced by the Square-Round Cicada. As they drew near the main group, Yaxiu and Weise could hear voices speaking up ahead: "Kasnas, once we survive, join me in reforming the Wubainian Cult!" "No. I want to travel to other countries. I want to visit the Blood Moon Country that Professor Palase came from and see if the Blood Saint clan really is that much stronger than our Dragon Blood Cultivation System." "Senluo is our homeland after all. If it truly has become a chaotic wasteland, I intend to rebuild it." "I'm going to Gospel to seek an answer..." Yaxiu felt somewhat bewildered watching them suddenly exchange their ideals, but Weise saw through their struggle: "Jina gave them the idea. They're using words to steel their own willpower." "Even without sorcery spirits, so long as one is adept in the mind faction, words are a potent power. In truth, if they weren't proficient in the mind faction, they probably would have been washed away long ago." "The mind faction isn't just used to see through others; it's also an inevitable path to understanding oneself. Any sorcerer who seeks truth within must achieve something in the mind faction to persevere relentlessly." Weise added, "I have Silver-tier mastery in the mind faction." "I'm Gold-tier," Yaxiu said. "Then why did you still need my help?" Weise scoffed. While talking, they caught up with the main group, and also discovered why even legends had to resort to speaking aloud to steady their wills. The Square-Round Cicada was growing smarter and smarter. Under its active control, the farther upstream from it, the slower the current became, yet the more terrifying the resistance grew. It was gradually learning how to exploit the Flowing Gold River to procure food. Let alone swimming forward, merely holding their ground was an immense trial for the sorcerers. Slaughtering one another had become utterly meaningless. Leaving aside the fact that the sorcerers no longer had the spare energy or thought for it, more importantly, it was the Square-Round Cicada that controlled the current's speed. Furthermore, everyone vaguely realized that the more people the Square-Round Cicada consumed, the higher its intelligence would become. "Ah!" In the end, Kasnas was overwhelmed, pushed toward the Square-Round Cicada's mouthparts by the sluggish water. This legendary sorcerer, who had wanted to visit the Blood Moon to witness the Blood Saint clan, still could not escape the fate of being submerged by history. Now it was Weise's turn to flag, swept back multiple times by the immense current. After all, which legendary sorcerer here was weaker than Weise? Whose vision was narrower than hers? Yet this was a torrent of time that even they could not withstand; that Weise had endured this long already proved she possessed the caliber of a legend. Yaxiu said nothing, merely dropping back to match her pace. When Weise looked at him, Yaxiu's expression grew somewhat awkward; he glared at her, then looked forward again. For some reason, that glare from Yaxiu acted like the finest whetstone, shaving away the excess rust from Silver Lantern and polishing her will until it shone even brighter. Weise's nearly fractured willpower solidified once more, and together with Yaxiu, she continued battling upstream. After the Square-Round Cicada let out a second cicada chirp akin to a burp, a sudden cheer erupted from Meisi at the very front. Yaxiu and Weise lifted their heads and saw a torch glowing in the distance—there lay the finish line of the trial passage, and the origin of the Flowing Gold River!