Forbidden?
Me?
That I cannot cultivate?
"...Master, I don't quite understand and I have a question."
"...What is it?"
"Does fate truly exist?"
"Yes... it does exist. What we humans call fate definitely exists and it affects every living being in this world."
My fingertips were trembling.
"If fate truly exists, then what about the free will of living beings? Doesn’t it mean it's nonexistent..?"
If free will doesn't exist and everything is predetermined, then what's the meaning of all this..?"Well... it's not exactly like that. Cultivators who have received the blessing of the seven stars, controlled by the celeatial power of heaven, can faintly perceive fate starting from the Qi Refining 7th star.
You might think you've only learned about astronomy and reading the constellations, but from the moment a cultivator is granted permission by the heavens, they are allowed to vaguely perceive the Heavenly Mechanism."
The master's explanation continued.
"Of course, it's impossible for a human to directly witness the vast entity known as fate. However... it's possible to read the very basics of it.
From the Qi Refining 7 Stars, a cultivator can read their own lifespan and know how much of their life remains."
"Lifespan..? Are you saying that a human’s lifespan is predetermined?"
"Yes."
"Then... What is the purpose of cultivation? Why do cultivators continue to cultivate even knowing their lifespan is predetermined..?"
"That's because... while lifespan is certainly fixed, it's not absolute."
Lifespan, not absolute?
"For instance, a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage has at most the same lifespan as a mortal. But from the Qi Building stage, they receive additional lifespan from the heavens as they ascend in their cultivation.
The Qi Building stage grants 300 years of lifespan, the Core Formation 600 years, the Nascent Soul 1200 years, and Heavenly Being 2400 years. Although the exact lifespan varies, a cultivator receives a new lifespan from heaven as they elevate their realm.
That’s why cultivators themselves bring change to the Heavenly Mechanism, and since ancient times, cultivators have also been called Heaven-Defiers."
"...Then, can't I too receive a new fate as a cultivator?"
"...It's not necessarily so. While it’s said that a human can receive a new fate, in reality, the heavens often grants a 'fate that transcends lifespan' from the beginning."
His complexion grew dark.
"Born with natural talent, spiritual meridians, and spiritual roots. The fate one is born with becomes the standard of whether one can change their lifespan."
"...Am I destined not to become a cultivator? Born with a fate that cannot escape its own fate...?"
"...It seems so."
I asked in astonishment.
"Then, is there really no way?"
"...I've looked, and there seems to be none. ...I'm sorry."
"The lifespan set by the heavens... I don't understand it. Aren't the heavens just a concept? Isn’t the blue sky what we call the heavens?"
"The heavens are not merely that. It’s the law that flows through this world... a vast and immense principle... that's what the heavens are..."
Indeed.
The heavens, this world, does not permit me.
"We are all born with a fate given by the heavens, grow up, and die. Cultivators may defy the heavens and cause changes in the Heavenly Mechanism.
In reality, no cultivator can escape the grace of the heavens that gave them birth. Therefore, while one can overcome their lifespan, the fate to do so is also granted by the heavens..."
Master held my hand and said.
"...I too, have experienced it. Although I can't compare to you."
His voice was trembling.
"I spent my life striving and striving. Bloodied my fingers forming hand seals, and my voice hoarse from chanting mantras. Through a lifetime of effort, I barely reached the Qi Building stage...
But with my talent, the early Qi Building stage was my limit..."
Master was a person of Three Spiritual Roots.
He had True Spiritual Roots quality, but his spiritual meridians were weak, and he was born with impurities in his body, so he could only stay at the early Qi Building stage.
"My obsession with enlightenment and lifelong dedication to mantra and spell research was to enable my disciples, even with lesser talent, to ascend as much as possible in their cultivation realms.
And you, a person of Five Elements Spiritual Roots, from a lowly mortal to reaching the Qi Refining 7th Star... you've splendidly proven the values I've pursued... But it seems... everyone has their limits."
The words I heard on the day I first met him.
Those words were meant for me, but now, they were directed at himself.
"...I'm sorry for being such an inadequate master. I'm sorry for having such a fate and not being able to do anything for you..."
"...No, I too am sorry for being so inadequate..."
The two of us clenched our teeth and apologized to each other.
"...There's nothing more I can do for you. But, although it might not be possible... I'll still try. I'll scour through more ancient texts and rituals, to see if someone not born with the fate of a cultivator can be granted permission by the heavens..."
"...Thank you."
"What else can someone abandoned by the heavens do... Heavens have set our fate, but it has not dictated how we live within it... So, let's struggle as much as we can, together."
Our eyes met.
"That's the best I can do for you as your master."
"......"
I didn't answer.
I just clenched my lips and bowed my head.
Though silent, we understood each other’s hearts.
From that day, my daily life changed significantly.
I no longer formed hand seals until my fingers bled, nor practiced cultivation methods.
Instead, I scoured the Cheongmun Clan’s library with my master, searching through all sorts of ancient texts and ritual books.
"What is the criterion for those permitted or not permitted by the heavens?"
Is it because of my internal energy?
Or is it because, as a martial artist born without spiritual roots, I forcibly acquired spiritual roots by reaching the Five Energies Converging to the Origin?
Or is it because I came from another world?
Or because of my regression?
Or is it just my fate?
However, among the ancient texts, content about humans rejected by the heavens were extremely rare.
It was exceedingly difficult to find.
Nevertheless, as I read books about the heavens, the Heavenly Mechanism, and fate, I began to understand the concept of fate a bit more.
It was said that from the Qi Refining 7th Star, cultivators begin to read their own fate.
Of course, it isn't detailed, only a rough estimate of their lifespan.
And as their cultivation realm ascends, they become more accurate in knowing how much lifespan remains.
A Qi Building cultivator vaguely knows whether upcoming events in their life will be good or bad.
By the Core Formation stage, this becomes more detailed, understanding the auspiciousness and danger of forthcoming events.
For those above the Nascent Soul stage, there was no information on how accurately they perceive fate, but it was said to be more precise than Core Formation cultivators.
I also found books on human free will.
For example, if a mortal is granted about 80 years of lifespan by the heavens, do they necessarily live for 80 years?
What happens if a cultivator with bad intentions kill a mortal who has an 80-year lifespan prematurely?
The answer was, the heavens only bestows fate, but it doesn’t concern itself with how a being walks that fate.
In short.
Humans are given a path named fate.
But due to external pressures or their own will,
Some may not fully complete the path of their destined fate.
'So that's it.'
As I read books about fate, I thought about what had happened to me before.
'Even though my initial life and health conditions changed in many lives, I died on exact the same day, at the same time, under the same circumstances.'
Does that make sense statistically?
Even when my health varied in each life!
I once thought that maybe fate really existed and that perhaps I had no free will.
But then, when I beheaded Crown Prince Makli Hyun.
For the first time, I died before my destined lifespan and thought that lifespan wasn’t fixed.
However...
'According to this book, the heavens granted me a lifespan of about 50 years. If I walk the path of fate properly, I can live according to that lifespan.
But if I die earlier due to external pressure or my own choices and will, then I cannot complete the path of the fate granted to me.'
If fate is a path given to humans, then humans have free will, as asserted by this book.
Of course, the problem is that one cannot go beyond the path of the fate given.
The book similarly explained fate.
Heavens gift humans with fate, but not all humans can walk the path of their given fate.
Some, due to lack of willpower, others due to external circumstances.
But even if one walks the path of fate to its end, there's no path laid out by the heavens beyond it.
That would be the limit of that existence.
Humans can live freely until they reach their fate.
But reaching beyond is impossible.
Living freely during the life gifted by the heavens is the right and virtue of all mortals.
With the statement that every being should live freely and gratefully within the life given to them, the book came to an end.
'...Is this book like... that.'
I thought the fate described in the book was similar to the book itself.
I don't know how much content the author of the book wanted to include.
But there's a limit to the size and amount of the paper, and the book has its own limits.
The author writes the desired narrative within the set length of the book, but cannot exceed it.
No narrative can go beyond the book.
When the book is closed, the story ends.
'This is the concept of fate...'
Then, is this really the end for me...?
Really, am I...
'No, it's not.'
I clenched my teeth.
Even if closing the book means the end, my story continuously returns to the beginning.
Surely, heavens have bestowed this fate upon me.
If heavens have given me this fate, there must be a reason.
'I have overcome fate time and time again...'
In my first life, I was just a miserable beggar destined to die.
But what about now?
I have mastered the sword.
With mediocre talent, I reached the Five Energies Converging to the Origin, a legendary realm in martial arts.
I forcibly acquired the ability to cultivate, said to be possible only for those born with spiritual roots.
Even though fate weighed me down.
I have surpassed it time and time again!
"There... must be a solution."
There must be a solution!
I read and reread ancient texts like a madman.
One day.
My master came with a book.
His eyes bloodshot.
"I found an ancient text in the upper archives of our clan."
The book Master brought had no title and looked like it was about to turn to dust.
"Read it."
I read the book.
It was a collection of ancient unofficial histories.
These stories included a young man melting ice in a river with his body heat to catch a carp for his sick mother in winter, and a blind man regaining his sight after praying to the heavens.
A story of an old man whose life was extended by performing a thousand rituals for the heavens, even though he was supposed to die.
"Although it's unofficial history, and mostly about mortals, don't they share something in common..?"
"...Yes. Miracles happen in impossible situations."
"Right. Especially the last story in the collection about the old man gaining extra life after performing rituals... maybe..."
"Keep trying and trying again, and it will happen?"
"Yes... These stories contain the lesson that if one devotes all their sincerity, even the heavens are moved. Even mortals can move heavens with their sincerity."
Master's voice trembled.
"...Of course, it also means that what we've been doing so far might not be sincere enough."
"......"
Indeed.
Who hasn't made an effort?
But if one makes an effort and the heavens do not open its doors,
What should be done?
"...Let's keep trying rituals."
"......"
"If the heavens reject us once, we try ten times. If ten times, then a hundred. If a hundred, then a thousand times... let's keep performing rituals and endlessly ask if it's really impossible..."
Master spoke with clenched teeth.
"Let's ask if this is really where we end..!"
"...Yes, Master."
I also looked at him firmly and nodded.
From that day, we traveled everywhere, reading the stars and attempting rituals.
Of course, every time we attempted a ritual, clouds would gather, blocking the celestial energy from the heavens.
Once we even went to a place called Mount Gugwol in Yanguo to perform a ritual.
Master thought that since the peak of Mount Gugwol pierced through the clouds, the ritual there couldn't be covered by clouds.
But even on a peak higher than the clouds, ghostly clouds appeared soon after we performed the ritual.
As if the heavens, defying the laws of physics, would not let me onto the path of cultivation.
Master and I went to many famous mountains and rivers, selecting seven stars among the twenty-eight, performing rituals incessantly.
While performing rituals, I also intermittently learned from my master about the Qi Refining 8th star..
The knowledge of the Qi Refining 8th Star, the Six Harmonies Path, involves applying the Six Harmonies of Heaven, Earth, and Four Directions to the ritual, stimulating the spiritual power through the method.
This stage allows cultivators' formation to grow larger and their spiritual power to fill their entire spiritual meridians, becoming much stronger.
Unfortunately, the training methods of the 8th star were useless unless the 7th star was fully mastered.
I continued to consistently digest the theory and enlightenment.
Meanwhile, I also met Kim Young-hoon from time to time, learning about martial arts and embodying the enlightenment of the Five Energies Converging to the Origin.
Tme passed.
The day my lifespan was to end was drawing near.
"Do you have any questions about the Five Elements?"
"Not today."
"Good, let's go prepare for the ritual."
My lifespan was not much left.
I had hoped that reaching the Five Energies Converging to the Origin would extend my life.
But by looking at the books in the Cheongmun Clan's archive, I realized that I was likely to die with the same lifespan as before.
My progress has been significant lately.
I have understood the Qi Refining 9th Star, Five Elements Origin, not just the Qi Refining 8th star, Six Harmonies Path.
Of course, I still couldn't practice the cultivation methods of the 9th star.
But in terms of pure understanding of the path, I was on par with a Qi Refining 9th Star cultivator.
Recently, I was also previewing content related to the Qi Refining 10th Star, Four Images Unity.
'Still, the process of integrating the Nine Palaces spiritual meridians and spiritual roots into Two Branches is highly advantageous for me.'
It was mainly about integrating the meridians, so it was a realm I could certainly reach if given time.
"Let's begin, the sun is setting."
Together with my master, I started the ritual.
Of course, clouds gathered again this time, blocking the celestial energy.
"...It's a failure again."
"...Yes."
My master nodded and sighed softly.
Again.
I could hardly remember how many times we had tried.
"Let's go to the Heaven-Treading Desert tomorrow and try again. It seems the clouds will gather later there..."
"Master."
"Hmm, what is it?"
I opened my mouth to my master, who was trying to smile while collecting the ritual tools.
"...I hope we don’t perform the ritual tomorrow."
"What are you talking about? The celestial energy will be present in Heaven-Treading Desert tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then when..."
"I have something I need to do, Master. Could we postpone it for just tomorrow?"
"Hmm... The next optimal day for the ritual is a month later. Can you return to the Cheongmun Clan by then?"
At that, I gave a bitter smile and said.
"...I will return."
Twenty days from now.
That day was the exact day I had been dying in all my lifetimes..
The day my lifespan was to end.
***
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