Absolute Choice

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

“If possible, Time and I are willing to transfer all our powers to you, allowing you to gain extraordinary strength in a short amount of time.

“Unfortunately, the inheritors of our powers have also been scripted by Fate. Fate does not react to minute changes in the details which is why even though you who come from a different world and have non-zero impact ten thousand years from now, the changes in the script that your strength can cause is negligible. It is why Fate has been ignoring your existence all this while.

“But if Time and I were to transfer you our powers, making you the world’s strongest person by our excessive anxiety to strengthen you, the script will change drastically. Fate would no longer sit idle as a result. When that happens, Fate might even personally take action to wipe you out of existence.

“Therefore, in the next ten years, there will be no shortcuts for your cultivation. What Time and I can do is to do our best to provide you with a cultivation environment and resources, as well as choose inheritors who can aid you ten thousand years from now.”

Shi Xiaobai nodded, expressing his understanding of the circumstances. He did not wish to gain powers that were a result of excessive anxiety.

Kali had once asked him, ‘Youth, do you desire power?’ Shi Xiaobai obviously desired power, but compared to power, he was more concerned with each and every breakthrough he underwent.

He knew very well how difficult the matter was. He needed to be strong enough to fight the Original Sin of Calamity in ten years of cultivation.

This meant that he needed to cultivate to a realm stronger than Kali’s, and she was an inheritor of the World Holy Tree. After all, Kali had once said that in a battle between herself and the Original Sin of Calamity, all she could do was attempt an internecine outcome.

However, Shi Xiaobai had no intention to shrink back in fear.

Granny asked once again, “To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower. Hidden in the World Holy Tree’s flowers and leaves is a tiny pocket world. In that pocket world, the density of Psionic powers is ten times that of the outside world. It’s the most suitable place for cultivation in the world. If you do not mind, I plan on sending you to cultivate in the pocket world.”

Shi Xiaobai said softly, “Alright.”

Shi Xiaobai didn’t mind where he cultivated. All he wanted was to become stronger as quickly as possible and return to the world ten thousand years into the future. There, he could protect the people he cared for and save the world that he ought to save.

Granny said gently, “Ten years of cultivation will undoubtedly be lonely. If you have any requests, feel free to ask. As long as it’s within what Fate permits, I will do my best to satisfy you.”

Shi Xiaobai pondered for a moment and said after serious thought, “An opponent. This King needs a worthy opponent. Just pure cultivation would not make me stronger. Only constant battles will allow a breakthrough that forges This King as a true member of the strong.”

“Yes, it’s good you understand this. Youth, I am really getting to like you.”

Granny smiled and continued, “Perfect, the pocket world in the vegetation is not only a sub-space filled with Psionic powers, but also a land of trials which is intricately designed. In the pocket world, there is a sky-high tower with a total of a hundred levels and each level has a guardian boss. Their strength will increase with each level, so when you have spare some time from cultivating, you can attempt the tower. Let’s see which level you can reach in ten years.”

Another tower?

Shi Xiaobai laughed helplessly. Just the nine levels in the Nine Revolutions Transcendental Tower had left him exhausted. Wouldn’t a hundred-level tower kill him?

However, a hundred guardian bosses would indeed ensure that his ten years of cultivation wouldn’t be mundane. Combat was forever the best form of cultivation.

“One more thing.”

Shi Xiaobai said, “This King requires large amounts of food.”

Granny was slightly taken aback as she asked, “Food will naturally be prepared for you. How much do you need?”

“Not ordinary food.”

Shi Xiaobai walked to the pixie queen’s throne where there was a lustrous gem embedded on the top of the throne. Shi Xiaobai pulled it out and stuffed it into his mouth before chewing and swallowing it like a glutinous ball.

Gulp.

The crushed gem reached his stomach and instantly disintegrated. The rich energy it contained spread throughout the youth’s body, nourishing his innards, flesh, blood, and bone.

“This is the food that This King wants. This King has the Power of Taotie which allows the energy of material objects to transform into nutrients for the body so as to strengthen it. As long as large amounts of rare treasures are given to This King, the strength of This King’s body will keep increasing!”

Shi Xiaobai had been staring at this gem for quite a while and had been coveting it. He had finally found an opportunity to eat it.

Granny’s eyes lit up slightly. She knew from the information which Kali had sent ten thousand years from the future to know that Shi Xiaobai was an anomaly from a different world, but she had no idea that Shi Xiaobai possessed such heaven-defying powers.

“From the looks of it, I have underestimated this youth!”

Granny was secretly delighted. Although she had pinned all her hopes on Shi Xiaobai, it was out of extenuating circumstances. In fact, she did not hold much hope for success.

But after learning the existence of the Power of Taotie, Granny seemed to see a sliver of hope.

Granny laughed and said, “No problem. In fact, in the first apocalypse ten years from now, nearly all the treasures in this world would be destroyed in that battle. Therefore, even if we were to gather all the treasures in the world, it will not affect the script. As long as it doesn’t affect the script, Fate will not interfere.”

Shi Xiaobai grinned as his eyes lit up. “Then, This King will be counting on you. Even if it’s all the treasures in the world, This King will be able to eat them all!”

Shi Xiaobai’s eyes flickered with the desire of a glutton. After possessing the Power of Taotie, he often felt hungry to the point of having to eat rocks to satiate his hunger. It was quite miserable.

“Leave it to me.”

Granny smiled. She was the creator of the material items in this world. Being the creator of treasures, even if she were to take them back, it could only be described as having the items returned to their owner.

As the residents of the world were enjoying the afternoon sun, little did they know that this was just the calm before the storm. They had no idea that in ten years, they would suffer the most inhumane plundering.

“Then we must not delay.”

Granny raised her elegant hand and drew out a circular door in midair. White beams of light spewed out from the door and led straight to another world.

Granny said softly, “Behind the door is the Flower Leaf Pocket World.”

Shi Xiaobai nodded and turned to look outside the palace. The little girl was no doubt Kali from ten thousand years ago, just naive and innocent.

When Shi Xiaobai recalled the scene of Little Kali charging forward to stop his battle with Hongyue, he could not help but suffuse a smile.

How adorable, the young Kali.

Shi Xiaobai gently said, “Kali will be left in your hands. Do not let her suffer any harm. Yes, let her experience a worriless childhood among the pixies. In the next ten thousand years, the things driving her to live on will be these memories.”

Kali would be the only person who survived the apocalypse ten years later as the inheritor of World’s inheritance.

It would take another ten thousand years before she would meet him again. In those ten thousand years, it was as though those beautiful childhood memories had been her pillar of support.

Granny chuckled and said, “Little Kali is the inheritor I’ve acknowledged. To me, she is the most important existence.”

“That’s good.”

Shi Xiaobai smiled and turned to head for the pocket world’s door of light. Following a burst of white light, he vanished from the palace.

“Silly kid.”

Granny smiled and muttered to herself, “What kind of beautiful memories are there during her childhood as a pixie? The pillar of support for those ten thousand years has always been you.”

…

Pixie City. In the little princess’s room.

Queen Heermann was looking coldly at Little Kali who had her head bowed. She disliked this daughter of hers who lacked talent and enjoyed gallivanting. Compared to children her age, she did not have the qualities required of an heiress to the throne.

“You have disappointed me too greatly! You sneaked out into the pixie forest to play and even brought a human back to Pixie City. You even rushed to stop Hongyue without any regard to your life. See what you’ve done? These crimes would have long earned other pixies eternal exile! As a pixie princess, you have royal privilege, but you need to shoulder the corresponding responsibility. Are you going to continue embarrassing me? I really regret having you.”

Heermann berated her daughter without any qualms.

She did not realize how heartless the last sentence she said was. All she felt was frustration seeing her sobbing daughter.

“Sorry…” Little Kali sobbed in apology, trying her best to stop her tears from falling. She knew that her mother disliked crybabies, so she tried her best not to let out any sound.

This was not the first time she was being berated by her mother. However, this situation was particularly serious. For some reason, hearing how her mother regretted having her felt more painful than when she had a high fever.

But in fact, she had been working very hard. As a princess, she needed to study a lot more classes than children her age. She did not have the time to play at all.

As she was a princess, she was unable to participate in the games the other children partook in. A princess that kicked a shuttlecock was a disgrace to the queen.

Because she was a princess, she did not have friends her age. Even at school, everyone distanced themselves from her out of respect. The adults would often educate their children that the princess was of high stature; therefore, with time, no child wished to ‘lower their status’ to play with her. Without realizing it, she was always alone. The only friend she had was Cherryblossoms who was a lot older.

If only I’m not a princess.

Little Kali often had such thoughts.

But if she wasn’t a princess, then her mother wouldn’t be her mother. Therefore, it was best that she remained a princess.

Little Kali would always come to this conclusion in the end.

She had sneaked into the forest because it was her mother’s birthday the next day. She wished to pluck some fragrant flowers and make a beautiful bouquet as a gift, but… how did it turn into this?

“I can’t let this matter rest. If such a ridiculous mistake can be easily pardoned, my authority as queen would be utterly destroyed by you.”

Heermann said in a solemn voice, “Punishment cannot be avoided. I plan on confining you for a year. In the next year, you are not to leave the palace. I will hire a private tutor to teach you, so you don’t have to go to school.”

Little Kali stared straight in a daze. A year…

She had been confined in the past, but it was typically limited to a day or two. At worst, it was a week.

One year was just too long!

Little Kali was only six. A year to her was like a sixth of her lifetime.

“Uh…”

Little Kali nodded her head gently. Even though she was unwilling, she had never thought of rebelling against her mother.

“Would a year be too short?”

At that moment, a gentle and moving voice sounded suddenly from the door.

Heermann turned her head to look and saw that it was Granny.

“A year is too short?”

Heermann frowned slightly. If she recalled correctly, wasn’t Granny the one who spoiled Kali the most? In the past, Granny would stop Kali from being confined for even a month, forcefully changing it to just a day. Now, she was saying that a year was too short?

When Granny saw Little Kali with tears in her eyes, she said gently, “I happen to have a place very suited for confinement. It’s guaranteed to be isolated from the outside world. A year is too short. How about ten years?”