Li Changzhou's world still had a sky full of stars.

Even though he didn't make it into the top ten, his million mana, Primordial Divine Body, still earned him the favor of countless Heavenly Wills.

Li Changzhou glanced at the rankings and, seeing his absence, didn't let it bother him.

The words 'Divine Lord' called sweetly by Xian'er still echoed in his ears.

Scenes flickered across his vision—

Before the Spirit Rice ripened, she and Jiang Xiaoyue lay on the field ridges keeping watch through the night, hearing the chirps of insects, gazing at the starry sky;

Sleepovers with Xu Ni and Jiang Xiaoyue in a tiny room, discussing their dreams;

The awe of seeing a city-like flying boat, the joy of witnessing Dream Lake's depths;

The despair of being hunted;

The decision of Jiang Xiaoyue to stay behind, letting the others run while she fought back;

Xu Ni running away but then shouting 'Let's fight them' and returning;

The courage and resolve as they all faced death together;

The joy and ambitious plans of establishing the Three Sisters Market;

...

He didn't turn Xian'er into a puppet nor extend the power of the 'King of Black Fog' into the sweeping player battles.

Yet he wasn't without his own private interests.

Instead of relying on existing power, he sought a new path, cultivating Xian'er and building a force simultaneously.

He failed.

The Value Game didn't recognize his efforts... or perhaps it did, but he wasn't good enough.

But he didn't feel defeated; rather he felt glad.

Glad he chose to nurture Xian'er, teaching her the principles of cultivation, letting her in her beginning—Qi Refinement Realm—develop beneficial habits and character traits for the future.

Instead of immediately granting her Great Magical Power and Great Divine Power once she gained Spiritual Power and he was able to intervene.

He recalled the look on Xian'er's face when she got her first storage bag entirely her own, carefully polishing it with clean velvet.

How could he bear to ignore the personal will of a little girl who cherished even a storage bag, and raise her cultivation to the Divinity Transformation Stage in just a year, exploiting her for fame and fortune?

Li Changzhou grew fond of her too.

He wished for Xian'er to be happy like Qian Xia, to face setbacks but not lose heart, and if it gets too rough, he would assist.

Yet the absence of his name among the top ten in the rankings made him, someone never trailing others, naturally uncomfortable.

Well then, there's always a first, as long as he has a clear conscience.

If his grandfather and grandmother were still alive, they would surely support his choices.

Li Changzhou set his sights on the endless stars, preparing to pluck a Heavenly Will.

Just then, all the Heavenly Wills parted, like the Queen Mother once cleaved the galaxy, a fog-like Heavenly Will descended.

It seemed all the Wills were avoiding this newcomer, almost like isolating it.

"Looks impressive, you're the one!" Li Changzhou didn't hesitate.

He couldn't really choose; he only picked randomly.

If it turns out unsuitable upon acquisition, not merging it would be fine, not a big problem.

As a result, Li Changzhou's Divine Sense approached, but this Heavenly Will Ball shrouded in fog rebuffed him.

"Refusal?"

If it refused, why did it show up in his starry sky?

[Three Questions]

"What does this mean?" Li Changzhou discovered for the first time a conscious Heavenly Will.

However, Heavenly Will is essentially the thoughts of the great Dao, with some intention akin to plant instinct.

[First Question: Have you ever transcended fate?]

"How should I know?" Li Changzhou was perplexed.

He didn't even know what his original fate was, how could he talk of transcendence?

The fog on the Heavenly Will Ball thickened, evolving on its own.

Li Changzhou saw an image, a person extremely resembling himself, shattering his own identity.

"...Shadow, third-world Saint, useless." He tore out a complete body, abandoning it.

"Time, fourth-world Saint, useless." Yet another body was discarded.

"Time-space, huh, I actually used such petty tricks to become a Saint." Discarded.

"Master of Order, rubbish." Discarded.

"Guardian of the Red World, watchdog." Discarded.

"Red Moon Wizard, dissecting world by world was somewhat interesting." Discarded.

Body after body, each one a Saint's body, a Saint's Dao Fruit, discarded by this person so similar to Li Changzhou.

Li Changzhou knew who he was.

Even the Tao Ancestor does not know his name, and can only refer to him as the 'Black Hand', a Saint who has massacred other Saints, a Saint who has repeatedly become a Saint.

In ancient legends, several Saints were personally nurtured by him, only to be slaughtered by him, and their Dao Fruit devoured.

"Heavenly Demon Clan Great Emperor..." This time, the Black Hand did not discard it directly, but instead broke off the Great Emperor's body's hands.

At this time, the Black Hand took out all the Saints' Dao Fruits, leaving only its own.

It was a black fog, with only the hands being the hands of the Heavenly Demon Great Emperor.

The Great Emperor's hand formed a seal.

"Seize the creation of heaven and earth, use my destiny to replace the Heavenly Destiny, what's done is done!"

The Great Emperor's hand shattered.

The Heavenly Will Ball begins to reclaim the dense fog.

Li Changzhou focused his attention and saw, in the gradually disappearing scene, the black fog grabbing a piece of black bone from its chest and throwing it onto the pile of Saints' corpses.

"Thus, I am clean, and can go to..."

[Answer: Yes]

[Second question: Do you believe in destiny]

The dense fog evolved, the scorching summer, Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia stood at the bus stop, the bus heading to Ming City University was approaching.

[Answer: Yes]

... Completely a self-question and answer.

Or rather, directly replacing Li Changzhou's response, what he wanted to answer was not important at all, this Heavenly Will Ball treated him like a database and searched on its own.

[Third question: In five words or less, summarize your philosophy of governance.]

This question... activated Li Changzhou's long-dormant passion for questions.

It does not search directly but lets the player answer themselves, obviously testing whether the player understands themselves and recognizes the path they want to take.

Just like a person who has lived their whole life, when God asks them, what do you think of your life?

God certainly knows their life, but God wants to see if the person before them understands themselves.

Some people work hard all their life, thinking they're diligent, but God says: "No, you were merely forced into labor, not truly diligent."

As a player, one can take the opposite approach, first consider the life they want to live, and then go through it — for example, the Turquoise Pool first decides 'as you wish', and then manages the cultivation world as you wish.

So, what is Li Changzhou's philosophy of governance?

Being true to oneself?

Adaptability?

Governing with virtue?

Fair rewards and punishments?

Countless words emerged, yet Li Changzhou negated them one by one, until only one remained.

"To stop at the right point."

Casually say a few words, without explaining fully, able to comprehend then comprehend;

Interference in another person's life is just a light touch, like whether the Immortal can muster the courage to seal the actions of a hanged ghost with blood, not acting against enemies in the same realm, etc.

The Heavenly Will Ball disperses the dense fog, placing Li Changzhou's Divine Sense upon it.

[Name: Heavenly Will·Fate]

[Effect: After fusion, obtain Fate Heavenly Will — you say what's done is done, destiny says: yes.]

[Evaluation: Comet Level ~ Star System Level]

Heavenly Will does not have high or low, so-called evaluation is merely for the player's convenience, forcefully ranked by the official based on the player's standards (such as whether the power is strong, whether the range is wide, whether it is easy to resist, and other factors).

Nonetheless, for players, Star System Level is certainly stronger than Comet Level in all aspects, [strongest] is well-deserved.

"Destiny... hmm?"

Li Changzhou was surprisingly able to see the data panel after fusion, even without having fused, just by holding [Heavenly Will·Fate] in his hand.

[Name: Heavenly Will·Fate]

[Effect: After fusion, obtain Fate Heavenly Will — you say what's done is done, destiny says: yes.]

[Evaluation: Comet Level ~ Star System Level]

[Current Fate 1: I abandoned the previous life's black bone from the Corpse Bone Gene, what does previous life's item have to do with me, it's rubbish, but I also understood why I found familiar Qi on the Corpse Bone Gene back then, where did it pick up these bones, where is the saint's corpse pit?]

[Current Fate 2: I, Li Changzhou, once the words are spoken, cannot take them back, fulfilled the contract signed with the Divine Will Clan, and married at the Turquoise Pool!]

[Current Fate 3: Eighteen years from now, son Yang Tianlu has countless wives and concubines, indulges in luxury and knows only enjoyment, wife Yang Qinglan sighs: "This child is wasted.", I remain silent.]

[Note 1: Every time a "Current Fate" is broken, the player increases their control over fate]

[Note 2: After a "Current Fate" is broken, it continuously refreshes until the player has completely mastered fate]

A certain degree of foreknowledge.

Perhaps one day, there will appear "Current Fate: I have become 'victorious'!", but this contradicts "controlling one's own fate".

Only by mastering their own fate can one become a 'victor'; since one has already mastered their own fate, there will be no 'current fate'.

Li Changzhou did not rush to make a decision, planning to take it out, letting Li Qianxia and them play, to see their "current fate".

However, this "current fate 3", son indulging in luxuries... should I tell Yang Qinglan?

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