Emperor Lawrence

“Greater Will…”

Lawrence looks through the windows and sighs, at which point the breeze lifts his hair.

“If the Will of Heaven aims to eliminate those who should not exist and to ensure that laws are fulfilled… Will of Nature… What is your purpose?”

Since he has attracted the attention of a second Greater Will, he can no longer think of them casually, he must discover how to hide from their gaze.

The good news is that he has been rewarded for being cautious. Any other from the Divine Plane would conquer the Inferior Plane with their own hand, but not Lawrence, who is using an indirect method. It is not he who is conquering and expanding, but the very natives of the Inferior Plane.

If he fails, it will not be him, it will be them who will bear the consequences.

If there were a problem…

“What is my fate, eh.”

The last words of Eminent Greed echo in his mind.

Fate is immutable, when someone believes they have changed their fate, it was really their fate to avoid that tragedy, never the opposite. Because knowing the future is different from knowing fate. If one did, there would only be despair.

Lawrence rises from his seat and descends the Celestial Firmament Mountain, until he reaches the center of his sect.

Immediately, 77 people approach at high speed and stop in front of him.

“Greetings, master of the sect.”

They all bow respectfully.

They are the elders and teachers of the Path to Heaven Sect.

Currently, the sect is funded by the three vassal kingdoms, Sky Blue Mountain Kingdom, Dajhir Kingdom, and Rising Sun Kingdom. Snatching their money would only complicate relationships in the future, so this funding is not as straightforward as it seems. In the future, the Path to Heaven Sect will accept their assignments and allow their disciples to carry them out, in exchange for a reduction in cost.

Lawrence has read the backgrounds of each immortal in front of him, thanks to Golden Green it is possible to obtain reliable information about each of them. And since Serene Will has been put out of commission, she has helped her, speeding up the recruitment process.

All the previous steps have led to this day, this moment.

“Today I will decide the head of the elders and the head of the teachers, listen carefully.”

The 50 elders and 27 teachers swallow nervously, the moment they have been waiting for has arrived. The Path to Heaven Sect may just be taking its first steps into the world, but it has an unlimited future. As long as Emperor Lawrence is their sect master, the sky is the limit-- no, not even the sky can stop them.

“Abyss’ Servant, congratulations.”

Abyss’ Servant, level 178. An elder man of apparent 70 years of age, with white hair and wrinkled skin, whose dark aura will frighten the weak-minded disciples. He steps forward and bows to Lawrence.

“I promise not to disappoint you. I will guide the elders with firmness and loyalty through the sect.”

“I expect great things from you.”

Lawrence smiles at the show of respect from Abyss’ Servant. No one would think that this elder annihilated an entire sect when one of its inner disciples murdered his daughter. He is a user of corrupt sacred magic and a very interesting one.

Annihilating that sect was just the beginning of his corruption.

He then looks at a woman of apparent 55 years of age, when she notices his gaze, she tries to hide her smile.

“Sweet Passion, you will be the head of the teachers.”

Sweet Passion, level 190. A beautiful woman with red hair, she has very few wrinkles despite her apparent age, she has a cheerful look, but she is not easily intimidated. According to the information they obtained from her, she is a user of illusion magic and in the past was the founder of a very small academy.

From this academy emerged a talented apprentice, so talented that he brought a calamity to the academy. Only she survived.

She walks forward and bows to Lawrence. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will spare no effort in leading the teachers on the right path.”

“I know you will.”

Once she steps back, Lawrence slowly looks at each of the attendees and then says: “In the future, I will establish the elders’ council and the teachers’ council, but unlike the head, this position will be obtained through meritocracy.”

Everyone’s expression changes. Because this means that, as long as they contribute to the sect, everyone has the chance to acquire a position.

“Strive and you will be rewarded, keep doing it and you will be part of history.”

Although everyone has lived long enough to understand that the words of the sect master are intended to ignite the flames in their hearts, they cannot help but hope that his words will come true.

Because only hope prevents them from straying from their path.

“From today onwards, our sect opens its doors.”

Lawrence sets the flight, all the elders and teachers follow him with their gaze.

“Tell the world that the Path to Heaven Sect is accepting disciples.”

That day, the news spread throughout the three kingdoms, even reaching foreign kingdoms. Regardless of their origin, many hunters looked towards the Path to Heaven Sect as a new opportunity.

+++

In a certain foreign kingdom, a man sits in a restaurant.

As he waits for his meal, he looks out the window and sighs.

“Inferior Plane, eh…”

His name, Fateful Omen. He is a handsome man, with pale skin and a calm gaze. His most notable feature is his long black hair, which is tied in a ponytail that incredibly never touches the ground.

“Your meal.”

“Thank you.”

The waitress doesn’t leave immediately, which draws Fateful Omen's attention.

“We rarely serve an immortal as distinguished as you, you must belong to a prestigious family. May I know your name?”

He smiles and then shakes his head, “My family is humble, I am just a simple hunter.”

He can see the waitress’s intentions, but he is not looking for a partner. She may be beautiful by mortal standards, but to him, she is just a country woman.

After a short conversation, the woman gives up and leaves after making her excuses.

As soon as she does, Fateful Omen looks through the window and sighs. The memory of his family comes to his mind.

“Hah… I made all the preparations for them, I just hope they have a long and happy life. That they do not fear death, that they do not live their life thinking about the end.”

If he wanted, he could gather resources to extend their lifespan and allow them to live as long as an immortal, but he does not wish for them to go through that suffering. Because he does not want that experience to happen again.

“Forgive me for not being able to pretend to be your son, but it is difficult when this is not my first life. I couldn’t give you the naivety you sought in me.”

As soon as he thinks about it, the images of two women come to his mind.

His wives from his previous life.

While one possessed overwhelming talent, the other had inferior talent. They later understood that the greatest enemy of an immortal is time, and the latter’s lifespan came to an end. They did everything they could, but each time they needed more valuable resources to extend her life, to the point of having to risk their lives to obtain them.

But sooner or later that moment had to come, and she voluntarily decided to stop consuming them, dying a few years later.

He feels deep gratitude for his parents in this life, because they allowed him to have a second chance. Because of this, he didn’t even mention the existence of these resources.

As for his other wife, she did not die from age, nor from a battle or illness, but from... the end of the world.

‘How is it possible that the Divine Plane still exists? I saw it collapse before my eyes!’

He was more surprised to reincarnate in the Inferior Plane and learn that immortals still ascend to the Divine Plane, when he and his wife witnessed the end of the world holding hands.

That is his last memory, watching how the Steps of Origin and End crumbled along with the Divine Plane. No piece of land escaped the Primordial Chaos, everything melded into nothingness. Nothing remained.

If the Supreme Ranker positioned on the third step, the strongest ranker in the world, could do nothing, less so he who was only a ranker of level 800.

Fateful Omen returns to his senses after tasting the food.

“It’s cold…”

Unseen by anyone, he makes a gesture with his hand and then steam rises again from the food. He nods his head and resumes eating.

If he rejected the waitress's intentions, it was because he does not wish to suffer again for the same reason. He remembers that it wasn’t him who made his wives fall in love, it was they who made him fall in love. Perhaps therein lies the problem.

This time, he will choose his partner.

‘After wandering the world, I am still not sure if this is the past or the future.’

He walks calmly through the city streets, as if time were no limit. Thanks to his level 49 and all his knowledge, hardly anyone can cause him trouble.

‘It’s strange, in my previous life there were also magic formations, but they are not the same as the ones the world practices today. To say they are backward is a mistake, but to say the opposite is also incorrect. The world changed to favor users of magical arts.’

In his previous life, there were users of magic formations and users of magical arts, with the former being the strongest and the latter having the advantage of rising to prominence more easily than the former. But today not only are the former a step behind, but the latter have gained greater strength.

As if the world had bet on magical arts users and discarded magic formations users.

“As a user of magic formations, I can't help but feel saddened knowing that my knowledge is lost knowledge in this world… As well as glad that all the resources the world considers useless, to me, are incredibly valuable.”

He may be a level 49, but with the few resources he has managed to gather, a level 99 has no chance of harming him.

He stops and looks up at the sky. ‘I must ascend to the Divine Plane, I must see it with my own eyes and make sure if it is the same as my previous life. It will be a tortuous path, but with my knowledge, I will have an advantage over others, I will not make the same mistakes as in my past life.’

He has already taken the first step. His long hair is proof of that.

Each strand of his hair forms a bond with the world, making it virtually indestructible. While other users of magic formations need to understand the laws of the world at an early stage, he can skip some steps.

The biggest problem he faces today is that not all his knowledge is useful, it needs to be refined and for that, he needs countless resources. Resources whose value is recognized by the entire world.

Once he overcomes this obstacle, he will become the kind of genius that he could only observe from a distance before.

“...God, so many talents are being rejected. What is the standard of that sect?”

“It seems they have a magic artifact that can see a person’s talent, that today they are strong does not mean that in the future they will be.”

“Ha! There are some hunters who rely too much on their magic artifacts, without them they can only intimidate the weak.”

Fateful Omen stops to listen to a conversation and is surprised, not by the details he heard, but by its name.

‘Path to Heaven Sect? What an arrogant name.’

He directs his gaze towards the distance and squints his eyes.

‘Since they have someone like Emperor Lawrence backing them, they must not lack resources…’

After thinking for a moment, he walks in that direction.

‘Very well, I will reveal my talent. As long as I become an inner disciple, I will get a piece of the pie.’

While in other sects it would take too long to become an inner disciple, the Path to Heaven Sect is hungry for talents. If a rumored level 300 backs it, he may meet the conditions to ascend to the Divine Plane sooner than expected.