Immortal Paladin

We entered the temple together, and the moment my foot crossed the threshold, I felt a quiet weight settle on my shoulders. The interior was built entirely from pale gray stone, smooth and cold, with relief sculptures carved along the walls. They retold the feats of the Four Heroes in long, continuous murals with battles frozen in stone, divine blessings cast upon mortals, and monstrous shadows being torn apart by figures larger than life.

Zhou Yong practically bounced as she walked, pointing excitedly at every carving she recognized. She spoke at length about the Dragon God blessing the harvest and stabilizing the four seasons, then shifted to the Repentant Listener and her boundless wisdom rooted in Buddhist teachings, and finally to the Martial God whose journeys across the martial world ended with him standing at the very peak of strength.

Hei Mao tilted his head. “What about the Destiny Seeker?”

Zhou Yong straightened, clearly pleased by the question. “The legends say it all began with her. The Destiny Seeker searched for the Ancient Souls, gathered the heroes together, and led them to subdue the Heavenly Demon.”

Before she could go on, Wen Yuhan cut in sharply, her voice stern. “That’s enough. You’re exaggerating.”

Zhou Yong flinched.

Wen Yuhan’s voice was stern as she continued, “You’re making too big of a deal out of it. I was only at the right place at the right time. Nothing more.”

Gu Jie tilted her head slightly. “Being at the right place at the right time is a skill of its own.”

Wen Yuhan did not answer, but her eyes flickered. Hei Mao eased Ru Qiu down against one of the stone columns, letting the unconscious man rest there like an afterthought. 

Aside from the murals, there was little decoration, only a huge stone table at the center with four seats arranged evenly around it. The way Wen Yuhan looked at that table told me it held more history than the carvings combined. She took one seat and gestured for us to do the same. I sat directly across from her, Gu Jie to my right, and Hei Mao to my left.

Wen Yuhan turned to Zhou Yong. “Go outside. Play with your juniors.”

Zhou Yong hesitated, glancing at us, then back at her master. “But, Elder Sister—”

“Go.”

Her shoulders slumped. She bowed respectfully, casting one last wary look at us before leaving.

“I don’t have refreshments,” Wen Yuhan said once we were alone. “So speak plainly. What do you want, and who are you affiliated with?”

“I don’t have refreshments,” Wen Yuhan said flatly. “So let’s get to the point. What do you want, and who are you affiliated with?”

From the short interaction alone, I reached two conclusions. First, Wen Yuhan did not possess her Immortal Art, Destiny Seeking Eyes. I could feel it in the way she looked at us. She was too uncertain and too blind to possibilities. If she had it, she would not be this ignorant. Second, even if she was pretending, there was no reason to dance around the truth. Divine Sense was very good at cutting through flimsy lies, and honesty was often the sharper blade.

I cupped my fist and spoke plainly. “My name is Da Wei. I’m from the future. These are my disciples, Hei Mao and Gu Jie.”

Hei Mao followed with a short bow. “Fourth Disciple, Hei Mao.”

Gu Jie mirrored him. “First Disciple, Gu Jie.”

Wen Yuhan remained composed, but doubt surfaced in her eyes almost immediately. “From the future,” she repeated. “That’s a bold claim.”

“There’s no easy way to prove it with words,” Gu Jie said. “So I’ll show you.”

Golden light flared as Gu Jie’s eyes shone, revealing her Immortal Art: Destiny Seeking Eyes.

Wen Yuhan shot to her feet, shock breaking through her calm. “That’s impossible,” she said sharply. “Who are you?”

As the original owner of that Immortal Art, she recognized it instantly.

I leaned forward and went straight to the heart of the matter. “Then tell me where yours went. If you still had Destiny Seeking Eyes, you wouldn’t be asking these questions. You would already know who we are.”

“You think it’s that simple,” Wen Yuhan said quietly. “You think seeing everything means understanding everything.”

Wen Yuhan slowly sat back down, her hands tightening on the armrests. She looked shaken, as if something deep inside her had been struck. After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice low and strained.

“You would never understand.”

I took a slow breath and did my best to earn her confidence.

“We really came from the future,” I said evenly. “If you knew what we’ve been through, you’d understand why explaining it properly is almost impossible.” I spread my hands slightly. “You probably wouldn’t even recognize the world we came from. How about you at least try hearing us? Who knows? You will probably find our stories as improbably, so you should at least try to make us understand. We’re pretty open-minded, after all… How about this? My dear disciple, tell her about your rather unbelievable experience to get her into the perspective we weren’t normal in the first place..”

Hei Mao snorted, then spoke in a flat tone as if he were talking about the weather. “I’ve been to the Underworld, passed the Wheel of Reincarnation, and somehow managed to turn back and return to the living.” He paused, then added with some bitterness, “Miraculously.”

Gu Jie nodded. “I bore the Sixth Sense Misfortune for a long time,” she said calmly. “I later obtained the Heavenly Eye from a certain Emperor and completed the Destiny Seeking Eyes once more.” Her gaze was steady. “That alone nearly killed me.”

I followed up without hesitation. “I’ve been to the False Earth. I fought Ancient Souls on their home ground during the Ascension Games, survived, and confronted the Supreme Void itself.” I met Wen Yuhan’s eyes directly. “And lived.”

Her eyes widened despite herself.

“Crazy, right?” I added. “We might even become trauma buddies, you know?””

Hei Mao clicked his tongue. “I couldn’t come with you then, Master. I wished I’d been there.”

Gu Jie exhaled slowly. “I was there too. It was one of the most intense wars I’ve ever experienced.” She paused, then added, “And it doesn’t even compare to the Civil War the Empire just went through.”

Wen Yuhan stood abruptly, disbelief flashing across her face. “Enough,” she snapped. “You’re lying. Your realm is only at the Heart Path. Do you really expect me to believe this nonsense?”

I didn’t get offended. Instead, I nodded. “That’s fair. This body is a clone. More accurately, it’s an avatar. I made it like this for the sake of training and to watch for my disciples here in case something happen.” I shrugged slightly. “Whether you believe that or not is up to you.”

To prove my point, I raised my hand. Mana and qi flowed together under my control, intertwining until they birthed something greater. Quintessence gathered invisibly, the power of creation condensing as I refined it carefully. Slowly, a single blue mote took shape above my palm, serene and perfect. It was a Mana Soul.

I looked at her. “If I were truly of a lesser realm, could I do something like this?”

The Wen Yuhan I knew was stronger than the one standing in front of me, both in cultivation and in mind. That alone said a lot, considering the Wen Yuhan I once dealt with had her realm suppressed to the Fourth Realm on the False Earth. I found myself wishing my main body were here. If nothing else, I could summon Wen Yuhan herself or even Yuan Shen to settle this far more quickly.

Wen Yuhan stared at the Mana Soul for a long moment before finally sitting down again. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” she said slowly. “But that doesn’t mean I believe you.”

“That’s good enough,” Gu Jie replied. “We don’t want anything from you. It just happened that when we arrived in this world, you were the first person we encountered.”

Wen Yuhan narrowed her eyes. “Then answer me this. What do you know about time travel?”

“I know it never comes without consequences,” I answered.

She nodded. “Exactly. If you truly traveled back in time, then you should find a way home as quickly as possible. Lingering would only worsen whatever backlash awaits you.”

I leaned forward slightly, choosing my words carefully. “Then tell me something,” I said. “Do you know a man named Quan Shou… or Yuan Shen?”

Wen Yuhan frowned deeply. “Quan Shou and Yuan Shen are my disciples,” she said coldly.

I did not waste time circling around it. “Then do you know about Yuan Shen’s twin?”

Her expression hardened instantly, anger flaring in her eyes. “You are not welcome here,” she snapped. “Leave. Go back to wherever you came from.”

I let out a dry laugh. “And how exactly are we supposed to do that when we don’t even know how we arrived here in the first place?”

Gu Jie leaned forward, her voice steady but firm. “Driving us away might only gather more misfortune. Things that were meant to happen may not happen at all because of our presence.” She met Wen Yuhan’s gaze without flinching. “The butterfly effects alone could spiral beyond control if you simply turn us away.”

Her tone sharpened. “As one of the Four Heroes, you should cooperate if you don’t want this to turn ugly.”

Wen Yuhan’s anger flared. “Ignorant little girl,” she spat. “You should know your place.”

Hei Mao moved instantly, his qi surging as he shielded Gu Jie. “If it’s a fight you want,” he said calmly, “we won’t back down.”

Gu Jie raised a hand, signaling him to stop. “Calm down,” she said, then turned back to Wen Yuhan. “There has to be a reason we found you when we arrived in this time period. That alone suggests you can help us, at least to some extent.”

When it came to consequences and butterfly effects, Gu Jie had never been more correct. Thanks to her mastery over misfortune, we could speak far more freely than most without immediately collapsing fate around us. That was the only reason I dared to be blunt.

I straightened and spoke in a serious tone. “One of your disciples becomes a terrible villain in the future. Do you know that?” I watched her carefully as I continued. “Yuan Shen sends proxy clones and avatars to destroy countries, families, and entire sects. His actions leave nothing but ruin behind.”

I took a breath. “And now, another threat looms over the Hollowed World. It’s being carried out by none other than Yuan Shen’s twin sister.”

Wen Yuhan glared at me. “Why is she a threat?” she demanded. “Do you even know her goals? Her plans?”

The truth was, we didn’t. All we knew was that she controlled the Heavenly Temple, and the Heavenly Temple stood as our enemy. I remembered Yuan Shen once calling his twin a monster, his voice shaking with complicated emotions. That had to mean something.

Gu Jie suddenly stood up, shock written all over her face. She stared at Wen Yuhan as if seeing her for the first time. “What did you do?” she asked, her voice trembling with horror.

Wen Yuhan broke. She covered her face, massaging her forehead as tears slipped through her fingers. “I just wanted to live,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Gu Jie’s eyes hardened. “You damned the fates of the twins on a gamble you were certain to lose,” she accused coldly. “What were you thinking?”

Two young boys rushed into the hall in a panic, their footsteps uneven as they cried out together, “Master Wen! Master Wen!”

One wore white robes and looked more composed despite the fear on his face, while the other wore dark robes and ran too fast for his own good. The boy in dark robes suddenly tripped, smashing his face hard against the stone floor. Blood splattered immediately, yet he pushed himself up stubbornly, staring at Wen Yuhan with tear-filled eyes and a bleeding nose.

“Sister is having another attack,” he rambled desperately. “I was just playing with Quan Shou, and then I heard something from her chambers. It was loud, like something screaming.”

Quan Shou hurried to his side, carefully supporting him as he stood. “You broke a bone again,” he said with a tight frown. “You need to stop being so careless.”

Hei Mao leaned toward Gu Jie and whispered in recognition, “That boy… he’s afflicted with Sixth Sense Misfortune.”

Gu Jie shot him an irritated look. “I have eyes,” she replied sharply. “I can see that.”

I stepped forward and placed my hand on the boy’s shoulder, channeling Cure. Yuan Shen winced, then relaxed as the pain faded and the blood stopped flowing. Before anyone could speak further, Zhou Yong rushed in from the outer hall, breathless and pale.

“Master Wen,” she cried, “guests from the Four Seasons and the Monastery have arrived.”

“I don’t have time for them!” Wen Yuhan screamed, her voice breaking with fury. She brushed past Zhou Yong without slowing, moving toward the inner halls with purpose and panic. “Not now!”

Gu Jie quickly turned to Hei Mao. “Go with Zhou Yong. Greet the guests. Stall them if you must.”

Hei Mao hesitated, then nodded, following Zhou Yong out. I followed Wen Yuhan immediately, with Gu Jie beside me and Quan Shou helping Yuan Shen stumble after us.

I had no idea what the Four Seasons or the Monastery were, but I could guess they were powerful enough to be distractions Wen Yuhan couldn’t afford right now. We reached a lonely chamber at the very edge of the temple, isolated and heavy with oppressive heat. By then, my suspicions had solidified. If Yuan Shen bore the Sixth Sense Misfortune, then his twin sister had to be the one burdened with the Heavenly Eye.

Wen Yuhan stopped at the entrance and turned sharply. “Stay outside.”

“No,” Gu Jie replied immediately. “My master is coming with you. I will stay here.”

“I’ve had enough of you,” Wen Yuhan snapped, anger flashing openly now. “You push too far.”

Gu Jie met her gaze without backing down. “I possess the Destiny Seeking Eyes,” she said firmly. “I know what I’m doing.”

Wen Yuhan clenched her fists, then let out a long breath. “Fine,” she said bitterly. “You may come.”

Gu Jie turned to me and spoke through Qi Speech, her tone serious. ‘Do not use Divine Possession.’

I nodded once, silently agreeing to place my trust in her.

When we entered the chamber, the heat hit me immediately. A small girl lay on the bed, her body trembling violently as if burning from the inside out. Even standing several steps away, I could feel the fever radiating from her skin. Her shadow twisted unnaturally against the wall, filled with shifting eyes and jagged teeth that opened and closed in silent screams.

Wen Yuhan rushed to her side and began casting spell after spell, her hands shaking despite her practiced movements. “Hold on,” she whispered desperately. “Just hold on.”

“I can help,” I said carefully.

She didn’t look at me. “You’re free to try.”

I layered my spells carefully, casting Cleanse, then Blessed Regeneration, followed by Cleanse again. I reinforced it with Cure and finished with another Cleanse to stabilize her body. Slowly, visibly, the girl’s breathing eased, and the unbearable heat receded.

The sight stabbed deep into me. She reminded me painfully of Nongmin when he first awakened the Heavenly Eye, except this was far worse. Nongmin had survived through countless breakthroughs, relentless trial and error, and the love of his mother. This child had none of that. Her meridians were shattered, her dantian fractured, and the pain carved into her body was constant and merciless.

Wen Yuhan gently brushed the girl’s hair back, her touch tender despite the storm raging behind her eyes. Guilt weighed heavily in her gaze, thick enough to choke the air.

I finally spoke. “What is her name?”

Wen Yuhan’s voice trembled as she answered, “Yuan Shun.” She swallowed hard before adding, “And she is destined to destroy the world.”