System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

Chapter 814: Chapter 814: The Eye of Heavens and the Immortal’s Lesson

Emerging from the chasm that had sliced through the temple floor, Ethan soared toward the surface and landed softly upon the wild grass. A few hundred meters away, atop an adjacent hill, Isabella stood waiting alongside the survivors of the allied kingdoms. Everyone huddled around her with pale faces; the terror instilled by the Domain’s beasts and the slaughter broadcast to the empire kept them from wandering this dimension alone.

The moment Isabella spotted Ethan, her eyes lit up and she rushed to meet him.

”Did you find anything down there?” asked the Frost Dragon Princess, approaching while the other cultivators watched Ethan with awe and trepidation. ”That tremor and the tear in the earth... we thought the temple was collapsing.”

”Nothing interesting,” answered Ethan, keeping his expression neutral as he concealed everything that had transpired. ”Everything was empty, just withered ruins.”

The blind monk, leaning on his staff of mystic wood, offered a faint smile. Though his empty eye sockets were covered by a white blindfold, it was evident he didn’t believe a word. With calm, the monk began stroking the jade rosary beads resting against his neck.

Suddenly, beneath the shadow of his blindfold and within the depths of his empty sockets, two orbs of golden light began to condense. They were invisible to the ordinary human eye, but to Ethan, whose amethyst eyes were attuned to the laws of perception, the phenomenon was clear as day.

”What is he doing?” asked Ethan internally to the small creature on his shoulder.

[I see... he is practicing the Divine Eyes], Crul responded in his mind, observing the monk with curiosity. [He is trying to read your fortune and your karma. Don’t worry, he is merely looking for a misfortune.]

Just as Crul had predicted, the monk’s audacity lasted for a mere instant.

Suddenly, the monk stiffened. A moan of agony escaped his lips as a stream of boiling blood burst from his nose, his ears, and his eyes. In seconds, blood drenched his golden robes, forming a crimson river that dripped onto the grass.

Terrified, the monk dissolved the golden orbs and, with trembling hands, reached into his robes to pull out an ancient sealing talisman, slapping it onto his forehead. Only then did the bleeding cease, leaving him gasping and trembling in pain on the ground.

With a sigh of relief, the monk wiped his blood-stained face, presenting a gruesome sight.

Ethan walked over to him, extended a hand, and helped him to his feet.

”The Divine Eyes can only see what they are allowed to see,” said Ethan, looking down at the monk with glacial coldness. ”If you attempt to see more than the heavens permit... you will die young, monk.”

Hearing his words, the blind monk felt a mortal chill run down his spine. The warning brought back the teachings of the Great Abbot Smiling Buddha.

In his youth, the monk had been an arrogant genius, convinced he possessed the strength needed to bear the weight of universal laws. Thus, he had secretly cultivated the forbidden technique of the Divine Eyes. However, when he managed to manifest it, he understood why the abbot never put it into practice despite claiming it allowed one to transcend the mortal realm: the Smiling Buddha had tried in the past, and the toll had been devastating.

The monk had lost his sight as punishment, for the heavens do not allow anyone to spy on them with impunity. In exchange, he had formed the embryos of the Divine Eyes. In his daily life, that ability allowed him to perceive his surroundings with clarity, as though he possessed his eyes. In fact, he often used that ”blindness” to his advantage to sneak into the women’s baths at neighboring monasteries; if anyone accused him, he merely had to lift his blindfold and show his empty sockets to clear himself of suspicion.

Yet when activating the true power of the Divine Eyes, he could glimpse the threads of fate. That achievement had so impressed the Abbot that he named him the official heir to the Smiling Buddha.

However, in this moment, the monk knew he had peeked into a destiny that involved gods of the higher plane. Being out of his league, he took the full brunt of the direct backlash, nearly losing his life on the spot. Had it not been for the barrier protecting the mortal world, his head would have exploded into a thousand pieces in that exact second.

”Thank you for your advice...” said the blind monk, bowing his head in reverence while holding his still-heaving chest. ”I apologize for spying on you, Your Excellency. I assure you it will not happen again.”

Upon hearing this, the frost princess was thoroughly astonished. Since when was the blind monk, known for his stubborn pride, so submissive? What on earth had Ethan done, and why was the monk apologizing with such deference? Ethan’s imposing aura was drawing her in more and more, ensnaring her like a moth drawn to a dancing flame.

Noticing the frost princess’s unmoving gaze, Isabella stepped up to Ethan, wrapped her arms around his waist, and turned him slightly to plant a passionate kiss right on his lips before everyone’s eyes.

Ethan chuckled, holding her tight by the waist as he looked down at her with amusement.

”Is my princess feeling jealous?” asked Ethan with a teasing smirk.

”Do you have any idea all these bitches are staring at you like you’re a big piece of meat?” whispered Isabella, furrowing her brow and shooting him an intense glare.

”I do have a big piece of meat, don’t you just love eating it?” replied Ethan in a low voice, winking at her.

”Shut up, you idiot!” exclaimed Isabella, feeling a burning blush flush across her cheeks.

Ethan gave her a firm, playful slap on her rear, letting out a hearty laugh that echoed across the hill.

The blind monk merely shook his head in silence, letting out a resigned sigh. He would have expected to hear these types of conversations in private, but they spoke them openly right in front of him, as if he weren’t standing there.