Condemning the Heavens

In the forest, Xue Wei, Bai Tianyi, and Hei Gou were hiding under the thicket just inside the forest. They were observing the experts in the sky, their eyes showing hesitation.

"We could skip meeting up with Prophet Lan and just leave the continent right away," Xue Wei said a bit hesitatingly. Although he wanted to know what Lan had to tell him, he did not want to walk into a trap with his friends and risk getting them injured and possibly killed.

Bai Tianyi and Hei Gou were both aware that Xue Wei said that for their sake, and they felt warmth in their hearts, but their faces were stern.

"We need to get information before we know what we can do," Bai Tianyi said seriously. "And that information can only be gotten from that phony prophet, Lan, so no matter what we have to make our way to the center of the continent."

The three were conversing with one another, each deep in thought, when suddenly Xue Wei jumped back on high alert. His entire body crawled with discomfort, and his eyes were bulging wide open.

"Who are you?!" he exclaimed. However, he did not raise his voice and made sure to check the air above them. Their pursuers had left long ago, but the current problem was a young man that was squatting next to them.

The young man seemed to be around twenty. His hair was short and his eyes had a playful expression in them. He had wooden sandals on and, instead of the robes that most wore, he wore black pants and a shirt.

His body was sturdy and strong, and his muscles were clearly visible under the clothes. The fact that he had managed to sneak up on them without anyone noticing his presence, not even Bai Tianyi, meant that his power was no laughing matter.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down!" The burly man laughed when he saw them. "I just saw three handsome men-" he said before pausing and glancing at Tianyi, "-sitting together in the middle of a forest and was curious as to what was happening. I have no ulterior motives."

"It is quite hard to believe you just like that," Bai Tianyi snorted. But instead of getting mad, the burly man just laughed and reached out his hand before he wreaked havoc in Bai Tianyi’s hair.

"What a cute kid, speaking like an adult! You should enjoy your childhood more!"

Hearing this, the corners of Xue Wei’s lips twitched. This fellow was rather amusing, but he did not lower his guard.

"Well, I am in a bit of a pickle you see." The man awkwardly scratched his head and a slight blush appeared on his face. "Someone is following me and traveling alone will without a doubt give me out, so I was wondering if you were interested in a travel partner? It seems that your group also needs someone to blend in to make you less suspicious."

"Why would we travel with you?" Hei Gou narrowed his eyes. "We are already being chased by god and every man. Why would we add even more trouble to our entourage?"

"You said it yourself: god and every man is chasing you. So it does not matter to have a few Diviners added to the fray."

"Wait." Xue Wei supported his head in his hands. "Are you that genius that ran away from the Diviners?" he asked seriously. He had come across Diviners in Cloudsoar City who had clearly been chasing someone. To think that this someone would voluntarily seek them out.

"Oh, you know about me?" The Diviner was stunned and looked at Xue Wei curiously. "Then it makes it easier," he said, grinning.

"Where are you going?"

"The center of the continent, Tiansong Empire."

"Oh, the Tiansong Empire is it. I know the way, and I can even get us there without anyone noticing. Why don’t you just accept me and let us get going."

"Well, I can’t really trust just any Diviner I come across, now can I?" Xue Wei felt appalled. This Diviner was so hyper and filled with energy, smiling constantly and joking around.

He did not seem to take the situation seriously at all. "Tell us first, why are they chasing you?" Xue Wei began. The Diviner genius pondered for a moment before he accepted that his request was a bit over the top for a stranger.

"I was doing military service before I went back home to the temple. Honestly, I am tired of the whole war thing." He sighed. "I understand that humans and beasts might not have the best compatibility with one another, but to kill at sight is just too much."

"Not to mention, why do we need to enslave one another? When I said that, they grounded me. I decided to live for myself so I robbed the treasury and left that night. Since then, they have not found me. I am doing pretty well if I may say so myself." The Diviner was gloating slightly. Xue Wei was shocked. Were they looking for him because he had stolen their treasures?

"Oh, don’t worry, I was the candidate to become the next head of the Temple, so they are quite friendly towards me." He grinned. "They almost caught me a few times, but I escaped by threatening to kill myself. In the end, they have no option other than to do what I tell them to."

"We don’t really like Diviners," Hei Gou muttered, but even he had been moved by what the ostentatiously happy Diviner had said. Still, none of them let their guards down.

Xue Wei looked at Bai Tianyi, who in turn was looking at him. He was pondering for some time before he nodded his head.

"What level of strength do you have?" Xue Wei finally asked a question all three of them were curious about.

"I am an Earth Knight, sixth layer," the Diviner answered proudly. "Not bad," Xue Wei said and nodded his head. Bai Tianyi had given his consent to travel with them, but Xue Wei was still on the fence considering that Hei Gou was a Primordial Beast. If this Diviner changed his mind, he could cause some serious damage to their group.

The Diviner seemed to understand that there was something wrong, so he pondered for some time.

"Let me take a heavenly oath!" he said with a grin, "Everyone knows that it is impossible to escape the Void unless the soul has transcended the laws of this world."

Xue Wei was surprised. "The Void?" he asked curiously. "Is a heavenly oath not something that is made to the heavens, where the heavens will strike you down should you break it?"

The Diviner and Bai Tianyi both looked at him as if he was an idiot, but then the latter remembered that he was very young and not from the center of the continent.

"No," Bai Tianyi decided to explain. "A Heavenly Oath is made to the heavens, but above the heavens, between the worlds, is the void. The Void is a place where everything will be ripped to shreds. No one, apart from those who have managed to break out of the laws of this world, can escape if they end up in the Void."

"When one makes a heavenly oath, it goes one step above the heavens and the Void will know of it. If you break a Heavenly oath, the Void will enter your body and shred you to pieces."

"The Void," Xue Wei was shocked by what he heard, but he also knew it was not a joke. "So that is the reason why no one has left the world?" he asked curiously. Bai Tianyi nodded his head. "Only the Four Divine Beasts managed to break free from the laws of the world and leave. The rest of us has never had that ability."

Bai Tianyi suddenly thought about something and then looked at Xue Wei with an odd look in his eyes. "You might be able to escape the Void," he said hesitatingly but then shut his mouth when he saw how the Diviner looked at him with curious eyes.

Xue Wei did not need Bai Tianyi to tell him what he meant. Since his existence itself defied the rules of this world, as a mixed breed, he might have already broken free from the law of the world, but he was not willing to bet on it.

"Okay, if you make a heavenly oath, we’ll travel with you," Xue Wei said with a sigh. He did not really trust this man, but it was indeed true that they would have an easier time fooling their pursuers as a four-man group.

The Diviner swore that he would never betray them – that as long they were faithful to him, he would be their friend and do them justice.

Once the oath was made, he looked at them and introduced himself. "I am Lin Xiao. I am sorry for the late introduction," he said with a grin and looked at the other three, waiting with far too much enthusiasm.

"I am Hei Gou."

"Bai Tianyi."

"Xue Wei."

"Oh! We are now traveling partners! Let’s be good friends and rely on one another in the future! Well then, since we are heading for Tiansong Empire, the fastest way is to go through Heavenward City."

"Heavenward City? There are a lot of cities like those," Xue Wei muttered. "We passed through Skyward City earlier, and even Cloudsoar City. What is up with these boastful names?"

Lin Xiao just snickered and shook his head. "They compete with one another; the more they can boast, the prouder they are. They can’t very well fight one another, so the only option they have is to take a moral high ground."

Xue Wei was not too interested in the reason behind them having such boastful names, so he just nodded to acknowledge what Lin Xiao had said. Lin Xiao pulled something out of his storage ring.

"Well, let us get moving, you three. I have these facemasks, each of you takes one. They are the best quality masks on the market."

"Actually, one of them is for a female, and I suggest that Xue Wei uses it. We can’t really do anything about the size of that kid, even if he can pretend to be an adult from time to time. Changing his body will require quite some energy in the long run, so for us to pretend to be a family instead will be a good idea."

"Why do I have to be the woman?" Xue Wei complained, but both Hei Gou and Lin Xiao looked at him as if he was silly. "Obviously because you are the shortest of us," they said at the same time.

"Don’t worry, I have some dresses that are not too revealing. You can easily pretend to be a woman," Lin Xiao continued, making Bai Tianyi and Hei Gou look at him with an odd expression on their faces. Why did he happen to have dresses? What exactly was his hobby?

Sensing the odd atmosphere, Lin Xiao did not explain himself and gave a chuckle before tossing the masks to them. Xue Wei was not happy. He was a man through and through, but now he had to pretend to be a woman just to hide their identities?

"We can always just leave the continent without going to visit Lan," Bai Tianyi said casually on purpose. He knew that Xue Wei truly needed to meet Lan to get answers, but in the end this was quite the situation. Sighing, he stripped off his red clothes and put on a green dress provided by Lin Xiao. His shoulders were rather broad for a woman; his figure was not feminine at all; and his chest was as flat as a board.

After taking a look at his new appearance, Hei Gou and Bai Tianyi started laughing so hard they could not stop trembling. Even Lin Xiao gave a giggle from the side. Xue Wei felt that all his pride had been destroyed.