No trace of me in the future?!

Hearing the Insect God’s divine thought transmission, Xu Qi An couldn’t hide his astonishment. He thought to himself, you’ve never heard of Xu the Silver Gong of Da Feng? What an ignorant Transcendent being!

“The Heaven Insect can only see a fragment of the future. Perhaps you simply didn’t see me,” Xu Qi An responded through divine thought.

Though he said this, based on the Insect God’s revelation, he analyzed three possibilities:

One: Xu the Silver Gong would perish before the great calamity arrived, hence his absence from the Insect God’s future vision.

Two: Someone had concealed his existence.

Just as Xu Ping Feng had used the First Dynasty’s Overseer’s artifact to hide his schemes, the current Overseer sees a future where he won the Qing Province battle rather than being sealed.

Speaking of this matter, Xu Qi An had one doubt that remained unverified:

If the Overseer couldn’t predict the outcome of the Qing Province battle, could he predict events further in the future? If so, then the Overseer could have analyzed his demise from his absence in future visions.

His theory was that the Overseer had seen an alternate future where Xu Ping Feng’s rebellion was suppressed in Qing Province. But the First Dynasty Overseer’s artifact had changed that future.

Of course, this topic was too philosophical for the crude Xu the Silver Gong to fully comprehend.

Three: When the Insect God glimpsed the future, he hadn’t yet transmigrated here.

The Insect God didn’t answer Xu Qi An’s question. After a while, that majestic and authoritative voice continued:

“The future has changed again.”

Again? Xu Qi An pondered before asking:

“The future you’ve glimpsed has changed many times?”

So the future isn’t fixed, or rather, what we call glimpses of the future are merely one of many possible paths… Xu Qi An had an epiphany. He’d heard a saying before that the future was like a towering tree with countless branches. (Note 1)

There were countless possibilities.

The future the Overseer had seen in Qing Province was one branch, and after the First Dynasty Overseer’s artifact appeared, the future had taken another branch.

“Since the founding of Da Feng, the future has changed twice. Counting your existence makes it three times.”

The Insect God’s voice was majestic and authoritative, answering frankly, seemingly disdaining concealment.

“What did you see in the first two instances?” Xu Qi An seized the opportunity to gather information.

“The Martial Sect’s rebellion, the current Overseer’s appearance…” The Insect God paused for a few seconds, as if remembering, then said:

“In the original future, the First Dynasty Overseer would have survived until now, then taken Xu Ping Feng as his disciple. The latter would have allied with the Buddhist Sect to kill the First Dynasty Overseer and take his place to advance to Destiny Master.”

…Xu Qi An’s mind was filled with expletives!

After quite a while, he finally gathered his chaotic thoughts and began to digest the information the Insect God had revealed.

“In other words, in the original future, the Martial Sect rebellion didn’t exist, and the First Dynasty Overseer hadn’t perished. Xu Ping Feng should have been the First Dynasty’s disciple, and only recently would have allied with the Buddhist Sect to backstab his master.”

“The First Dynasty Overseer’s fate of dying by his disciple’s betrayal hadn’t changed, but the timeline had—it was advanced by five hundred years. Moreover, in that future, Xu Qi An truly died in the tax silver case… Why did such changes occur?”

Two words floated through Xu Qi An’s mind:

The Overseer!

“Insect God, in the future you foresaw, was the Overseer also not supposed to exist?” Xu Qi An transmitted through divine thought.

“He is like you,” the Insect God’s answer was concise.

Like me, probably meaning he’s someone who changed the future like me, surely not that he’s also a transmigrator… Xu Qi An muttered uncertainly to himself.

“I wasn’t supposed to exist in the future because I’m not from this world. My transmigration caused changes in the future. Then what about the Overseer, another person who shouldn’t have existed—where did he come from?” Xu Qi An pondered.

Maybe I should exchange secret codes with him sometime? Hmm, the periodic table would work, but I can’t remember what comes after sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus… Let’s try something else, I remember that rule about odd and even numbers… As various thoughts crossed Xu Qi An’s mind, the Insect God’s majestic yet emotionless voice transmitted again:

“How did you acquire such dense luck?”

“This is half of the Central Plains dynasty’s national fortune. Strictly speaking, it’s not ordinary luck.”

Xu Qi An explained the origins and circumstances of his national fortune to the Insect God.

This was to maintain their current peaceful exchange.

“So it was you!”

The Insect God’s voice showed a slight fluctuation.

? Xu Qi An quickly asked: “What do you mean?”

The Insect God didn’t answer.

Seeing this, Xu Qi An could only continue questioning:

“Then what caused the second change in the future?”

This time the Insect God didn’t remain silent, directly answering him, “The First-Rank Warrior of the Central Plains, called Wei Yuan. He will be an important figure in the great calamity.”

Another piece of earth-shattering information… Xu Qi An pinched his brow, calmly analyzing the complex implications behind this information.

“In the future, the Insect God saw, the First-Rank Warrior of the Central Plains was Wei Yuan, not me. In other words, I replaced Lord Wei. The first change in the future was due to the Overseer’s appearance, so what caused this change in the future? After dying at Jing Shan City, Lord Wei became mortal flesh, and who knows when he might recover his cultivation…”

“No, the turning point wasn’t the Jing Shan City battle, because by then I already carried national fortune and various karmic bonds. Even if Lord Wei hadn’t died, I would still have grown to my current level. Lord Wei’s death only accelerated my growth.”

“Then let’s look further back…”

Xu Qi An’s pupils contracted slightly as he found the answer—after the Shan Hai Pass battle, Wei Yuan had abandoned his cultivation to remain in court!

“And that year, I was born…”

“From that time on, I replaced Wei Yuan, and my growth, my rise, were all pushed by the Overseer behind the scenes. In other words, the Overseer let me replace Wei Yuan. No, to be precise, the Overseer had originally chosen Wei Yuan, but later, because Wei Yuan abandoned his cultivation, he had no choice but to abandon this piece and choose me instead.”

“Both changes in the future were because of the Overseer.”

Based on this inference, Xu Qi An finally understood the truly terrifying aspect of Destiny Masters—they could influence the direction of the future based on their arrangements, choosing a “branch” that matched their intentions.

“Under the condition of us being sealed by the Confucian Saint, a First-Rank Warrior can grow successfully,” the Insect God’s voice sounded again.

“What do you mean?”

Hearing this, Xu Qi An frowned.

The Insect God’s majestic voice transmitted into his mind:

“Since the end of the God-Demon Era, throughout countless years, the Nine Provinces have produced no small number of First-Rank Warriors. Yet why are there no First-Rank Warriors in today’s Nine Provinces? Have you considered the reason?”

“I know the warrior system holds many secrets.”

Xu Qi An didn’t answer directly.

First-rank warriors like the Martial Ancestor and Founding Emperor had limited lifespans, but there should have been some who achieved First-Rank status through their own talent and effort. Logically, they should have been able to survive from ancient times until now.

Yet aside from Divine Shu, there were no First-Rank Warriors in the Nine Provinces continent.

Even Divine Shu was a special case—he was suspected to be another body of the Buddha, not to be regarded normally, as an exception.

The Insect God said:

“Because the Transcendent beings are unwilling to see a Martial God appear. Among the current major systems, the commonly acknowledged strongest system is Confucianism, because Confucian Transcendent beings can suppress others of the same level. The statue beside you is the best proof.”

“But even the Confucian Saint cannot kill us.”

“The warrior system is the strongest. You’ve only just entered First-Rank, so you don’t understand the true power of First-Rank Warriors. When you reach First-Rank Great Perfection, you’ll naturally know.”

I do know… Xu Qi An responded through divine thought:

“At First-Rank Great Perfection, even Transcendent beings can’t kill you? This is an ability other First-Rank systems don’t possess.”

The Insect God fell silent for a moment, then responded as if changing the subject:

“According to my speculation, the Martial God is the only existence capable of killing Transcendent beings of other systems. The Buddha, Confucian Saint, Shaman God, and Dao Sovereign all believe this.”

Xu Qi An suddenly understood:

“So, the reason First-Rank Warriors have disappeared is that you all strangled the threat in its cradle?”

The Insect God’s majestic voice echoed:

“Not me, but Them. After the ancient era ended, I’ve been sleeping here, repairing my spirit essence.”

“Why are you cultivating my sister as a vessel?” Xu Qi An asked gravely.

To this, the Insect God responded:

“Not a vessel!”

Not a vessel? Xu Qi An pursued:

“What do you mean?”

But the Insect God no longer paid him any attention. What It wanted to say, It said; what It didn’t want to say, It wouldn’t say.

This was the bearing of a Transcendent being.

The Insect God cultivating the Seven Deadly Insects in Ling Yin’s body has other profound implications, and it’s unrelated to me. Tch, somewhat embarrassing… Seeing this, Xu Qi An stopped pursuing the matter and seized the time to gather intelligence, asking his next question:

“What was the reason for the gods and demons killing each other in the ancient era?”

The Insect God remained silent for a long time, Its voice becoming more majestic and authoritative, like announcing heaven’s decree:

“It was driven by instinct; it was unavoidable; it was to grasp the first hope born after the creation of heaven and earth.”

“Explain?” said Xu Qi An.

The Insect God disdained to respond.

“The White Emperor who came to the Southern Border looking for you recently was actually ‘Desolation’ in true form, and an ancient god-demon, a being of the same rank as you.”

Xu Qi An took the opportunity to sell out “Desolation,” though he believed the Insect God already knew this.

“Its spirit essence was torn apart by the Immortal Phoenix,” the Insect God replied simply.

Xu Qi An nodded. Indeed, for Transcendent beings, there were no secrets in this world.

“Following the logic of ancient gods and demons killing each other, are you and the Buddha and others in competition?” he asked.

This point was extremely important.

“After we break free from our seals, we will first divide the Central Plains and consolidate fortune, then become competitors. Before absolute power, schemes have no meaning.”

The Insect God’s voice was majestic and cold, piercing through Xu Qi An’s thoughts.

This is telling me not to try using schemes to influence Transcendent beings or guide the situation. If I try to do so, what awaits is the Transcendent beings’ big stick… Xu Qi An silently exhaled.

At this level, it comes down to force alone—rhetoric and intelligence have no use.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll threaten you with repairing the Confucian Saint’s seal?” Xu Qi An probed.

“You may try!”

The Insect God replied.

I don’t even qualify to make threats. If I sealed one Transcendent being, I’d probably be finished, unless I could seal all Transcendent beings at once… Xu Qi An probed:

“Why tell me all this?”

The Insect God said:

“These things are meaningless.”

Xu Qi An tried to analyze this. The Insect God meant that among Transcendent beings, this information was public, worthless intelligence. It didn’t care if others knew.

For Xu Qi An, this information might be very important, but for the Insect God, it was worthless.

The gap between circles… Xu Qi An finally said:

“Do you plan to leave on your own, or should I suppress you and then find an Immortal to clear you out?”

The Insect God remained silent. The next moment, Its domineering will retreat like the tide, departing from the Seven Deadly Insects.

It had left.

Dealing with Transcendent beings is straightforward and classy. This Southern Border trip has been hugely profitable… Xu Qi An muttered, finding joy in hardship, as he examined himself, finally having the chance to digest the changes brought by the Seven Deadly Insect’s advancement to Transcendent.

※※※

Note 1: Regarding speculations about the future, don’t take them too seriously, just treat them as this book’s setting (from an author’s survival instinct after being argued with too much).