Sundering Nature

Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don’t read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

TL: Zhao

Editing: Krisaia

Li Yiming stayed silent as the footage came to a sudden halt.

"The Heavens rule everything, and yet we’ve all witnessed it fear him, even when he had given all of it up. I’ve been under close monitoring of Heaven’s Laws since then," The clone began talking to himself again.

"I thought that it was a brilliant idea to set my soul free onto the world and split my body, but it was not enough..."

"And then I found him. A recorder who could hide from the Heavens. He was a pure-hearted person, someone who liked to sculpt in stone."

’In stone?’ Li Yiming’s attention was piqued.

"I made a mistake. Recorders conceal themselves from Heaven’s Laws using powers that were voluntarily granted to them, but they are not exempt from the rules. And I hurt him..."

"Did the recorder leave behind that footage?"

"What do you think? You’ve seen the stone tablets, and that person who writes novels."

"The place and time," Li Yiming said with a glacial tone.

"You don’t quite understand the role of recorders, do you? They’re not prophets. In fact, most of them don’t even know about their own powers. All they’re doing is creating works of arts inspired by Heaven’s Laws. How should I say... They might obtain an image, some kind of voice, or even video footage of some kind."

’So even the recorder won’t know when that... scene will unfold...’ Li Yiming sank into a long silence when he pondered over the content he had just seen, his heart aching as he thought about Liu Meng’s ultimate demise.

"You’ve seen what’s bound to happen. Do you think that you could have done anything about it in your current state?" The clone asked.

’What could I have done...?’ Li Yiming grew anxious as he recalled the scene. The scene depicted beings who far surpassed the level of a sage, and it would have been impossible for him to save Liu Meng if he were present. Li Yiming grew irritated and restless as he pondered over his own weakness and failure to protect those dear to him.

"Do you not seek power?" A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Can you grant me that power?" Li Yiming gazed with intensity into the eyes of his clone.

"Take it, and even the sight of you can make both the Heavens and Hell tremble in fear..." The clone smiled, but his eye suggested at ulterior motives.

The small metallic sphere gradually morphed into a long, thin, metallic staff adorned with carvings of flying dragons. The clone held it from one end and offered the other end to Li Yiming.

Li Yiming heart’s was swayed by the temptation. He still held his suspicions about the clone, and the promise of power was not as simple as it seemed, but his desire to save Liu Meng only grew more intense upon witnessing the footage. ’I might lose myself entirely if I accept the proposal... but how am I supposed to protect you otherwise?’

"Don’t!" A low voice was heard the moment Li Yiming reached out for the staff.

"Oh? She’s grown that much?" The clone made a sinister smile when he heard the voice.

"Li Yiming, don’t listen to him! He..."

"Stay quiet!" The shadow of Bai Ze, which was slowly condensing, vanished.

"You must choose your own path." The clone’s tempting voice came again.

"I have something I need to ask you first." Li Yiming suddenly straightened his back and looked at his clone.

"Oh?"

"All of you are talking about him, and how even the Heaven’s fear him. He must have been someone incredible..."

"Of course. You have never seen him." The clone took on a solemn expression.

"Then my question is: what did he fight for?"

* * *

Bai Ze, who had been standing still on the street, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward. Fang Shui’er having been paying close attention to her condition, quickly rushed forward to catch her. Instead of focusing on recovering, Bai Ze struggled to free herself from Fang Shui’er’s embrace and stared at the horizon while mumbling something which Fang Shui’er could not understand.

"What happened? I can feel..." Fang Shui’er shared Bai Ze’s anxiety, as she knew that there was something terribly wrong with Li Yiming.

"I did what I could. Now it’s up to him to decide whether he wants to live or die."

* * *

Deep within the mountains, Stargaze, who had been meditating still on her grass carpet, woke up. She immediately set her eyes upon the three stone tablets which rested on a table nearby. As atypical as it was, she showed signs of hesitation. After glancing at the tablets, she stared at her own palm.

"I suppose we all get to choose our own path." Stargaze sighed and took a deep breath. She performed a few hand seals and once again became enshrouded in a thin veil of mist.

* * *

"Li Yiming!" Yun Yiyuan was barely able to contain his rage. The phone he held turned into dust.

"Do you need to go back?" The fair-skinned man sitting in front of him said with an amused voice.

Yun Yiyuan glared at Pan Junwei, and the two looked at each other with hostility.

"You better accelerate the pace of your research..." Yun Yiyuan sat down.

"Bing Shuai has worked on this for thirty years, to no avail. You should be happy with what we have achieved."

"I want to see the experiment subjects. I refuse to allow anyone else to be involved in this."

"Of course. We hope so as well."

"When will I get to see him?" Yun Yiyuan took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Whenever you want, but you need to give me your guy first."

"I have two other people with vampiric talents. They’ll be here tonight at the latest."

"I’ll see you then." Pan Junwei smiled and stood up.

"Did you lie to me about your connection to Li Yiming?"

"What do you mean?"

"I’ve received reports about Li Yiming’s team showing up in your research facilities." Yun Yiyuan squinted his eyes and stared straight at Pan Junwei.

"Oh, you mean Qing Linglong? They’re part of my team now." Pan Junwei said as he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

"Tell Ying Mei to come see me." Yun Yiyuan said to one of his followers.

"We’ve been trying, but..."

"But what?"

"She’s not answering."

"What?"

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Qian Mian asked Li Huaibei as the two stood outside of the Boundary. They had come planning to take Wu Jia along with them, but Li Huaibei decided to give up.

"It’s not going to be easy to get what we want." Li Huaibei sighed as he looked at the Boundary. He had never imagined the girl who seemed helpless just a few months ago to become his equal.

"I would never have thought that Fang Shui’er would become a sage..." Qian Mian said.

"It’s not just Fang Shui’er. Bai Ze’s also a sage." Tian Yan, who had been sitting right beside them, added.

"What? But..."

"There’s no mistake about it. She’s indeed a sage." Li Huaibei shook his head.

"No wonder Li Yiming decided to create his own organization. They have three sages..."

"We don’t need to worry about that. We are fighting to see the same things as them. What I’m concerned about is what happened to Bai Ze..." Tian Yan said as she rubbed her eyes and leaned close against Li Huaibei’s back.

"It must have something to do with Li Yiming."

"He just killed a bunch of people at the Yunyun Corporation headquarters..." A voice was heard from behind as someone walked out of the shadows.

"Ying Mei?" Qian Mian frowned and looked at Li Huaibei, who seemed to have been aware of her presence.

"Sis Ying? Why are you here?" Tian Yan asked in surprise.

"I’m asking to join the Star Alliance..." Ying Mei said with a smile.

"What?" Qian Mian was taken aback. For someone rumored to be Yun Yiyuan’s right-hand to join them was a complete shock.

"I want to live." Ying Mei smiled bitterly as she pleaded to Li Huaibei.