The Sword Awakens the Five Elements Chapter 113: Fate? Strength

Before Su Ye learned the true cultivation level of Ouyang Yu, the life-and-death struggle in Weilan City seemed to have only three possible outcomes. Once her power level was revealed, two additional outcomes emerged. The first was that Ouyang Yu would intervene to help him kill his nemesis, Zheng Tiandao. The second was that she would intervene to erase Su Ye from the world for having fallen into the demonic path.

Zheng Tiandao was destined to die. Su Ye faced two paths of survival and three of destruction. The only common thread between the two surviving paths was the necessity of remaining true to his heart. Synthesizing all options, Su Ye deduced the difference between the divination results of Ouyang Yu and Feng Yu'an. Ouyang Yu could see five possibilities, while Feng Yu'an, obscured by a more powerful entity, could only see three—the difference between the visible and the hidden.

Since leaving Peach Blossom Village and embarking on the journey to find the Mortal-Grade Five Spirit Orbs, all of his gains had stemmed from his seemingly worldly yet steadfast kindness. Only by anchoring his spirit in this way could he potentially shoulder the mandate of heaven in the future and become the savior to lead the three thousand worlds against the cataclysmic destruction. Su Ye’s life and death were entirely tethered to the balance of good and evil.

Mixed within his heart were the frustration of having his fate decided by the powerful and the joy of gradually seeing the path ahead. His humble origins—seventeen years of tempering his state of mind without knowing the way of the immortals—had granted him a heart far more resilient than that of ordinary people. All his emotions distilled into a deep breath and a long, full stretch.

Luo Jinghong’s shattered soul was waiting for him to reshape it. Even if a gale were to rise, to him, it would be nothing more than an insignificant interlude on his journey. He flicked a stone into the spring, where the ice had melted with the arrival of spring. Even ripples spread across the water. The stone flew to the opposite bank, vanishing into the rain-washed rice paddies.

A young woman sitting on a tree branch poked her head out and smiled. "Brother Su, what are you doing here?"

Su Ye looked up, seeing that face of peerless beauty, and his eyes crinkled into crescents. "I’ve had some insights recently and needed to calm my mind and let them settle before I can continue on my way."

Being with Luo Jinghong always made him feel relaxed and at ease from the bottom of his heart. There was no need for calculating schemes, no need to deliberate over which artifact to use for defense, and no need to consider the distant, looming catastrophe of all living things.

With a slight exertion, Luo Jinghong floated down from the branch like a feather. "You lack common sense," she said, summoning a felt mat for practice and sitting beside him. "If there is anything you don't understand, I can reluctantly help you answer it."

Su Ye sat beside her, feeling relaxed and comfortable. It was a feeling no other woman could give him.

"Helping me is only natural; why the 'reluctance'?"

"I am a very capable artifact refiner now... taking time out to accompany you, isn't that sacrificing my precious time?"

"You can calculate it that way?" Su Ye laughed heartily.

"I always feel... that only by continuously refining artifacts and supplying the Demon Suppression Bureau will the anxiety in my heart subside..." Luo Jinghong did not laugh; she looked at her reflection in the water and voiced her inner worries.

Su Ye’s smile faded. "Heaven is unkind; it treats all things like straw dogs. With the sixty-year cycle, the heavenly way has turned dim, and demonic energy is rampant... Once the heart-questioning trial ends and I accompany you to Lingxi Island, I must also plunge into the battle. Only through combat can I gradually refine my sword intent..."

"Aren't you already in the midst of battle?" Luo Jinghong rested her chin on her hand and smiled faintly. "Eliminating potential threats, integrating the forces of all factions in the Great Qian."

"You even discovered that." To prevent her from worrying, Su Ye had deliberately kept the truth from her.

"Lady Hu tells me everything... She says that with your character, even with a thousand hardships and dangers, they are but trials to help you grow."

"Lady Hu holds me in too high regard." Su Ye picked up another stone and skipped it across the water. "I haven't reached the Spirit-Hiding Realm yet... The flaw of having no spirit root will be magnified when formal cultivation begins. The path of cultivation ahead is long and arduous. No one can say for sure if I might die in the midd..."

Luo Jinghong immediately covered Su Ye’s mouth, pouting, "You are not allowed to say such unlucky things."

She slowly released her hand. Su Ye remembered the reasons he could not die. He had to achieve immortality as the grandson of Su Zhenshan... and he had to find the soul-molding method to end Luo Jinghong’s suffering from her shattered soul. Even if the heavens collapsed, he could not die.

Luo Jinghong picked up a stone and, imitating Su Ye, tossed it into the spring. Plop. It sank to the bottom.

"Uh..." Su Ye, just about to praise her technique, hurriedly pretended his scalp itched and scratched his head with his index finger.

"It seems... I am not a jack-of-all-trades," Luo Jinghong laughed. "I will specialize in artifact refining from now on and stick to it to the end."

Su Ye smiled. "I am a bit better than you; I know alchemy and sword arts, and I can even create a few techniques." Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He summoned the *Great Arhat Vajra Staff* from his jade gourd. It was an orthodox Buddhist martial technique, but only the upper volume remained; the lower volume was lost. The upper volume mainly focused on body tempering and qi control, lacking specific forms or routines. Feng Yu'an's words echoed in his mind. Luo Jinghong observed Su Ye’s actions quietly, not interrupting his sudden inspiration.

"Hong'er, have you ever heard of General Ouyang Ba of the Dragon Soar?" Su Ye turned to look at Luo Jinghong. Though he was accustomed to her face, he was still struck by her beauty in that fleeting moment. His pupils widened imperceptibly.

Luo Jinghong smiled, her tone as gentle as water. "General Ouyang Ba of the Dragon Soar was originally a monk who guarded the Dharma Temple. During the sixty-year demon-cleansing period, he returned to secular life and used his staff to strike down countless demons... He entered the military through his merits and later achieved many victories. Although his rank was not high, he left behind a set of staff techniques suitable for the physique of commoners. Among the low-grade demon suppressors with mediocre talent, the Dragon Soar Spear and Dragon Soar Staff they practice originate from Ouyang Ba."

The Buddhist cultivation scripture is the *Marrow Cleansing Sutra*, and the body-tempering technique is the *Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic*. Passed down since ancient times, the internal and external techniques have remained unchanged. Only the *Great Arhat Vajra Staff*, used for protecting the faith, was lost during the period when the Great Qian imperial court suppressed the temples. Through the circulation of the underground black market, the undestroyed half-volume of the staff technique fell into Su Ye’s hands by chance.

"Could this... be the will of heaven?" Su Ye looked at the Sanskrit-inscribed *Great Arhat Vajra Staff*, his mind suddenly clear. The opportunity Feng Yu'an spoke of broke through the layers of mist and surfaced in his consciousness.

"...What will of heaven?" After a few moments, Luo Jinghong asked in surprise.

"When I was gradually figuring out the path of creating techniques... this incomplete original Buddhist staff technique landed in my hands," Su Ye’s eyes widened. "If this isn't the will of heaven, what is?"

Luo Jinghong stretched out her slender hand and took the *Great Arhat Vajra Staff* fragment from Su Ye. "Now it is in my hands, and I also understand the Dragon Soar Staff technique... but is it the will of heaven?"

Su Ye looked at Luo Jinghong’s smiling face. In her clear eyes, he saw his own talent more distinctly. The Dragon Soar Staff and the *Great Arhat Vajra Staff* fragment were not created by Su Ye, and they had been circulating in the world for a long time. Even today, the Buddhist faith has not restored the complete *Great Arhat Vajra Staff*. Considering all the reasons, only Su Ye would spare no effort to help the Buddhist faith restore its former glory.

Luo Jinghong gently placed the *Great Arhat Vajra Staff* fragment back into Su Ye’s hand and chuckled softly. "One who shoulders the mandate of heaven must also have the ability to bear it. The suffering involved is something ordinary people cannot withstand. I believe in you... you will definitely succeed."

Su Ye looked at Luo Jinghong, a brilliant smile blooming on his face. For himself and for others, he would become the chosen one of heaven. Not perhaps, but inevitably.