Chapter 2904: Old Man
The repeated knocking was actually very pleasant and calming. It became a natural sound to decorate this serene place, making it less boring and dry and instilling a sliver of life into it.
The sound came from an old man on top of the cliff. He wore a cheap robe with wrinkles covering his face. Time has left its mark on his appearance but not his determination.
His eyes were bright and spirited, not muddled like an old man at all. They were profound and visionary after having seen the ups and downs of the world.
Seeing his eyes would give the impression that they could encompass everything.
His hands were filled with calluses and wrinkles. Alas, their grip on the hammer and chisel seemed so firm and strong. Nothing could stop him from grinding it down.
He slowly knocked on the peak and despite the slow speed, he was still making clear progress with words.
“Click, click, click.” The rhythmic sound seemed to be eternal as it echoed across the plain.
Remember, this peak was unimaginably hard, capable of piercing a falling sky. No weapons could leave a single mark on it.
However, the old man was successfully chipping off pieces from the top with his chisel. He was carving ancient and inscrutable runes. From their markings, one could see that the earlier ones have been done very long ago.
This meant that each rune on this cliff required a thousand years or even ten thousand years to finish.
There were ten thousand runes or so on the cliff so far. It would be a complete chapter after he finished. [1]
Just think about the time it took for each rune. To have so many would require an entire epoch. This didn’t seem to be a problem with this old man, or at least time wasn’t.
He probably didn’t feel time passing by while carving. The only thing changing to him was the formation of the runes, not the vicissitudes of time.
He didn’t care about any changes in the outside world either, devoting his entire physical and mental focus on his hammer and chisel.
Once again, the weak would only be able to see an old man carving on this peak.
This wasn’t the case for someone like Li Qiye or emperors at the right level with their heavenly gaze. They would be able to see that the carving process and the runes weren’t that simple.
Furthermore, only progenitors and up would be able to see through the fundamental mysteries. The profound runes here were part of a supreme scripture with a merit law of the light affinity.
This merit law was superior to all of the arts in Academy of Light. Each rune was carefully chosen and upon closer inspection, the runes themselves encompassed various scriptures.
In other words, numerous scriptures existed here. They have been polished and perfected throughout the years. Moreover, they weren’t just carved on this particular peak.
A master could see the dao source of the system right now when looking down. They would notice that these runes were actually carved on this system’s dao source, meaning that this old man was adding his various scriptures to it.
Remember, a system’s dao source was refined by the progenitor’s own arts. It shouldered their supreme grand dao.
Thus, this carving process meant that his runes were erasing and replacing Desolate Saint’s runes in this dao source.
As time went on, Academy of Light would change and one day, the old man would finish carving his supreme dao into this dao source. The system would become his as a result.
This has been ongoing for millions of years yet the inhabitants of the system knew nothing about it.
This was quite illogical. A powerful master, especially progenitors, wouldn’t find it particularly difficult to destroy a system. Plus, they could create their own systems after reaching this realm.
However, changing the ownership of an established system was an arduous task if not impossible.
It required an incalculable length of time and enough power to change the merit laws. No one would want to do something like this even if they were capable of doing so.
Masters of this level had other things to do - things of greater importance. There was no need to waste their time and effort on this nonsensical task.
The old man reached a state of zen and total focus while carving. Nothing else existed in his mind.
Li Qiye leaned on a tree nearby and watched the whole thing, not seeming to be in a hurry.
He forgot about time itself while the old man continued on with his task.
After a while, the latter finally took a break for a drink beneath the same tree.
“The runes are beautiful.” Li Qiye casually sparked up a conversation.
“Indeed.” The old man seemed to be appreciating his own work and recognizing their perfection as a smile appeared on his wrinkly face.
“If I have the chance against an enemy, I would definitely destroy him and turn all of his legacies to ashes.” Li Qiye said.
“This is a bet.” The man took a sip of water: “If I win, his light dao is the incorrect path while mine is the orthodox path.”
“But his path is more direct and effective with faster cultivation speed.” Li Qiye said: “Your light dao is slower and requires more cultivation. The start is like an old ox pulling a carriage, as slow as can be.”
“Don’t try to run before you can walk since that can only result in turning towards the wrong path.” The old man didn’t mind the criticism since he had full confidence in his dao.
1. Remember, wan meaning ten thousand can just mean a lot, not the exact number