Absolute Choice

“Humans can be categorized into good and bad, just as how there is a difference between pure pixies and fallen pixies. Not every pixie is good; likewise, not every human is evil.”

Shi Xiaobai pondered over his words for a few seconds as he felt that he needed to explain in greater detail. Therefore, he continued, “No species or group should be placed under the camp of good or the camp of evil. It’s because this world does not have absolute good or evil. With different angles and points of views, things are seen differently. There is definitely some difference between good and evil and there might even be a twist. This King has no intention to exonerate the evil acts of pixies that betray themselves. Even from the angle of a human, that is an evil sin that should be punished. However, where there is light, there is darkness. On the contrary, light must be present for there to be darkness. With the existence of baddies that betray the pixie, there must be heroic existences that will punish the baddies. The rampant acts that are done by sinful factions also imply the potency of the heroic organizations.”

This was not the first time Shi Xiaobai was explaining his understanding of good and evil. Back in the Nine Revolutions Transcendental Tower, he had once had a deep discussion with the blond girl who was deemed Hero King three thousand years ago. Therefore, he already had the words at hand to deliver his words confidently.

The naive pixie girl was left confounded by the seemingly unintelligible concept. She attempted to comprehend the meaning behind the words but failed. Perhaps Shi Xiaobai’s presentation of his harmlessness finally got to her as she turned a little emboldened. She said in angry embarrassment, “I don’t understand! Simpler, explain it in a simpler manner!”

Shi Xiaobai smiled, finding it quite a normal occurrence.

He knew from a very long time ago that people had different levels of intelligence. Not everyone possessed a natural intelligence of a king like he did. For instance, a confidant that could instantly connect with him like Dawn Li was a rare breed. Most people were a little witty like Liu Yu, or terrifyingly honest like Feng Yuanlin.

“In short,” Shi Xiaobai directly gave a simple conclusion. “Not all humans are bad. There are also good humans. And This King is a professional hero meant to deal with baddies. Not only will he not harm you, he will also protect you. Do you understand?”

Cherryblossoms obviously understood such a direct explanation but there were things she remained confused about. She could not help but mutter, “I know about heroes. Granny is a hero of the pixies! But… why are heroes categorized into professionals and non-professionals?”

From Cherryblossoms’s understanding, heroes were great pixies extolled by everyone for their great contributions to the species or if they saved their kind during a particular catastrophe.

Why would anyone claim to be a hero?

Cherryblossoms remembered her grandmother’s words. There was only a tiny chance for one hero to appear out of a million pixies. Heroes were rare and precious, existences that could hardly be found. Only when people recognized you as a hero did you have the right to be deemed a hero.

Although Cherryblossoms felt that her grandmother’s words had a smugness that did not match her age, her grandmother commanded universal respect among the pixies. She was looked up to by thousands.

Cherryblossoms found it disconcerting to connect the role of the lofty hero to the base role of a profession.

Shi Xiaobai ruminated over it.

In a calamitous era, the word Hero was not a mere title or honor bestowed on them. It was a global organization, a profession that was recognized and respected by the public. It was a symbol of the strong as well as a representation of the brave. Heroes would defeat calamity fiends, saving humanity and protecting Earth. This was knowledge known by all.

The young pixie had asked a question lacking in common knowledge but Shi Xiaobai was not surprised by it. After all, he had already realized that there was a huge difference in what they deemed as common knowledge.

The young pixie had previously mentioned terms that Shi Xiaobai had never heard before like the Postnatal realm and the twelve-race alliance. He originally believed that it was a problem with his own level of general knowledge but now, he realized that the problem stemmed from the concept of common knowledge.

His ‘common knowledge’ and the girl’s ‘common knowledge’ was not the ‘common knowledge’ born out of being in the same society or even the same world.

“Did This King transmigrate once again?”

Shi Xiaobai could not help but consider this terrifying thought.

Shi Xiaobai had experience transmigrating in the past. The last time, he had transmigrated from Earth to an alternate universe without any warning. The civilization and general knowledge he knew underwent tumultuous changes.

Now, he had arrived in a forest without any warning and his general knowledge was being turned on its head as well. Shi Xiaobai had no choice but to suspect if he had transmigrated to another world.

But it was still too early to jump to conclusions. There was still the possibility that the forest was isolated from the outside world that resulted in a difference in ‘common knowledge.’ It was still possible that he remained in the same alternate universe.

Of course, the more awkward possibility was that both he and the girl lacked ‘common knowledge.’

Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of leaves amid the forest.

Shi Xiaobai was slightly taken aback. Where did the wind come from? He clearly could not sense the existence of the wind. And strangely enough, there had not been any winds in the luxuriant forest since the very beginning.

How did the leaves rustle without a wind?

Shi Xiaobai listened carefully and was surprised to realize that the sounds seemed to come from every direction.

At that moment, a fragrant smell rushed at his olfactory senses. It resembled that of paddy fields, the fragrance of green grass.

“Ah! It’s the Holy Tree’s fragrance!”

Unlike Shi Xiaobai’s shock, the pixie girl had already closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths as though she was intoxicated. It looked like she was greedily breathing in the fragrance that suddenly appeared.

“The Holy Tree is blooming again!”

The corners of Cherryblossoms’s mouth curled into a blissful smile.

“Holy Tree? What Holy Tree?”

Shi Xiaobai seemed to recall something as he asked.

When Cherryblossoms heard his voice, she suddenly opened her eyes and stretched out her hand to cover the youth’s nose. “Ah! Don’t smell it! You can’t smell it!”

Shi Xiaobai did not dodge, allowing the girl’s soft palm to cover his nose and mouth.

Only then did Cherryblossoms’s nervous expression relax. She heaved a sigh of relief. “Phew! That gave me a fright!”

Shi Xiaobai gave her a questioning look.

“The Holy Tree is blooming!”

Cherryblossoms said matter-of-factly but when she saw how the youth remained perplexed, she finally realized that he was truly unfamiliar with the situation. She said in surprise, “Don’t you even know this? During the World Tree’s blooming, all living beings apart from pixies are not to approach it in a fifty-kilometer radius. The Holy Tree’s fragrance is a great tonic to us pixies but a toxin to other living beings. Isn’t this common knowledge?”

Shi Xiaobai’s pupils constricted slightly.

“World Tree!?”

This was the third time Shi Xiaobai was hearing the term.

He had heard it in his first meeting with Kali and the second time was when the Infernal Queen was explaining the story regarding the Transcendence, Time, and Fate Holy Trees.

The stories they told were not the same but be it Kali or the Infernal Queen, they all mentioned one thing. The World, Time, and Fate Holy Trees had been destroyed by the Original Sin of Calamity during the first apocalypse.

Shi Xiaobai still remembered back when he asked Kali who she was and the long story she recounted to him.

The story began with: “Ten thousand years ago, I was a pixie that guarded the World Tree, leading a carefree life. Then because of the first apocalypse, the World Tree lost its life, and before it withered, it chose me to be the inheritor of its power. Back then, I was a pixie, as well as the World Tree.”

The World Holy Tree had been destroyed ten thousand years ago!

No, that’s not right. His knowledge stemmed from a world different from the pixie’s. Then, the World Holy Tree that the girl mentioned might not be the same World Holy Tree he knew.

“I need to return.”

Suddenly, the girl that hid behind Cherryblossoms poked her head out and whispered, “I’m the pixie that protects the World Tree. I need to return.”