One-Eyed Monster

”Change? What kind of change can there be in this world? Is that the reason you chose this road of no return?” The Great Mentor strongly disagreed with Kuyi Tulan’s assertion and immediately retorted. In his view, these were all excuses.

In fact, the Great Mentor knew the real reason Kuyi Tulan had chosen this path.

Kuyi Tulan feared loss because everything he had was hard-won, a point clearer to the Great Mentor than to anyone else.

Yet, what truly drove Kuyi Tulan’s fear of loss was not the difficulty of his acquisitions, nor his capacity to cherish them, and certainly not his ever-growing ambition.

Everything has a root, and that root lies in the very nature of desire.

Initially, Kuyi Tulan was just an impoverished child from a blacksmith’s shop. His world was small, so naturally, his desires were few. At that time, he only wished for a full stomach and the freedom to chat idly in the smithy. That alone would have satisfied him.

Later, when he went to the Alchemy Workshop, he discovered more mysteries. Kuyi Tulan was still relatively innocent then, his desires confined to the Alchemy Workshop. There, as long as he could swiftly complete Alchemy Equations, he would gain more resources—these resources were the objects of his desire at the time.

Later still, he entered the Empire’s council chambers, where he witnessed power and true resources...

From that moment on, a new door opened in Kuyi Tulan’s world.

The more he saw, the more he understood. Consequently, the more he wanted. His desires grew unknowingly, slowly taking root within him, like a fruit growing ever larger, gradually consuming his entire mind and body.

The growth of his desires fueled his ambition. This was the true reason for Kuyi Tulan’s choice.

Desires expand with one’s awareness. Some people can control the growth of their desires; they see the essence of desire and promptly curb its wild, weed-like growth. Others are controlled by desire, gradually sinking into depravity and eventually becoming its slaves. Then there is the third type, like Kuyi Tulan, who coexists with desire; the growth of desire makes them stronger. To obtain more, he even began to sacrifice things he valued. Compared to Dark Wizards, he was not yet so extreme as to trade everything he possessed for power.

The Great Mentor, Guzan, felt regretful. After all, Kuyi Tulan’s talent was unique; he was a one-in-a-million Alchemist, reaching heights others could only dream of.

Equations that took others a year to comprehend, Kuyi Tulan could master in mere moments, thanks to his Essence Sensing Skill. He could naturally grasp their intricacies without needing lengthy explanations from others.

What a pity, he thought, that such a gifted person had been blinded by desire and had embarked on this path of no return, ceaselessly seeking power...

Desire is boundless. In its presence, no matter what one obtains, satisfaction remains elusive...

Kuyi Tulan naturally did not grasp this point. His inner desires had long since grown as rampant as wild weeds—ineradicable, unquenchable.

The Great Mentor sighed, at a loss for words. For the first time, he felt a powerlessness more profound than the weariness of old age.

Unending desires can transform an innocent child. Recalling Kuyi Tulan’s past, the Great Mentor could not help but feel a sense of self-reproach.

”If only I had paid more attention to your growth back then, we might not have reached this point today.” The Great Mentor was overcome with remorse. Regret served no purpose, yet even so, it could not stop an old man’s helpless sighs of lament.

As the years flowed by, memories would fade. When familiar scenes remained but the people did not, a sense of wistfulness would slowly, unconsciously emerge.

Kuyi Tulan had searched for the Great Mentor for so many years; this, in itself, was a testament to his persistence. At this moment, his emotions were also quite complex.

He had always felt that he and the Great Mentor were not on opposing sides, merely that their opinions differed. Unfortunately, very few people could understand this.

He could endure the misunderstandings he faced from the world, but the Great Mentor’s misunderstanding was something he found difficult to accept. He had to personally tell the Great Mentor that his choice was not a mistake.

He was simply ahead of everyone else. Once his entire plan succeeded, people would view him differently.

”Child, what is it that you truly want!” the Great Mentor, Guzan, exclaimed, his expression complex as he looked at Kuyi Tulan. This was the disciple he had brought from the blacksmith’s shop. If this disciple went astray, he would never find peace for the rest of his life.

”I want our Kayne Empire to conquer the entire world, to no longer be bullied by other empires!”

Kuyi Tulan’s grand pronouncements, while often sounding hollow, were irrefutable because his actions invariably centered around this overarching theme. No matter how selfish Kuyi Tulan might be, what he was currently doing was indeed strengthening the Alchemy Workshop and contributing to the Empire.

This point, perhaps, no one could deny. In recent years, many within the Empire’s Guardian Army had come to hold the Alchemy Workshop in high regard, a result of Kuyi Tulan’s promotion of Battle Alchemy.

And indeed, as Kuyi Tulan said, he and the Great Mentor merely had differing opinions.

The Great Mentor’s Alchemy Workshop was an organization dedicated to researching Alchemy Techniques and rarely participated in the Empire’s affairs. During times of crisis, the Alchemy Workshop had also contributed to the Empire, but its role was primarily supportive; at that time, the Alchemy Workshop had never appeared directly on the battlefield.

Kuyi Tulan brought the Alchemy Workshop onto the battlefield. He showed the world that, besides Fighters and Hunters, Alchemists could also be a major combat force.

The Exchange Beast was also an alchemical product that Kuyi Tulan vigorously promoted. Its first appearance had caused considerable controversy.

”Conflict will always exist. The peace of this world does not lie in the strength of power, child.” The Great Mentor began to speak profoundly again, feeling that he could persuade Kuyi Tulan.

”No, Mentor, you are mistaken. I also know that power is not omnipotent, but at this current stage, without power, we are only fit to be slaughtered.”

If Kuyi Tulan were merely someone blinded by ambition, he would not have garnered so many followers.

Those who chose to follow Kuyi Tulan were not ordinary people either. The reason they followed him was simple: Kuyi Tulan possessed leadership qualities.

Undoubtedly, Kuyi Tulan was a straightforward person, but his grand vision could make many prostrate themselves before him.

Perhaps Kuyi Tulan was not as perfect as people imagined, but he was indeed working hard to change the strength of the Kayne Empire.

”Wensi and Mantai are eyeing us covetously. If we continue to defend passively, we will lose even more...”