Chapter 1806: Do You Want to Become Stronger?

Do You Want to Become Stronger?

"I know what you want to say, First Senior Brother." Chen Ling paused.

"With Li Leider's personality and talent, he is destined to be unsuitable for depending on anyone, and even less suitable for being a flower in a greenhouse... Only by making good use of that unyielding lion in his heart can his true potential be brought out."

Li Leider's deep blue eyes surfaced in Ning Ru Yu's mind. After a long silence, he let out a long sigh.

"Then... what do you plan to do?"

"The Red Star's Return is imminent. Some things should also be started ahead of time..." Chen Ling paused for a moment.

"Tomorrow, bring him to see me."

...

Li Leider stayed awake all night.

But a night passed, and Chen Ling didn't take the initiative to look for him, nor did he return to that Home of Old Six. He just came back quietly like this, and then disappeared again... It was as if he and this grassland had already been forgotten by him.

However, Li Leider was already used to it. Over all these years, Chen Ling had always been like this.

Li Leider washed his face and prepared to go out to get some fresh air. A whole night of singing training had left him physically and mentally exhausted. In the past, whenever he felt stressed, he would go sit on that grassland and look at the starry sky and distant mountains, and his heart would naturally calm down.

But just as Li Leider pushed open the door, he saw a figure standing outside.

"...Martial Uncle?" Li Leider froze.

"Didn't rest well last night?" Ning Ru Yu sized him up and down for a while and said.

"...It's alright." Li Leider didn't want others to know he had been practicing singing opera all night, immediately changing the subject. "Is there something the matter?"

"Let's go... Your Master wants to see you."

"See me?" Li Leider was somewhat bewildered. "If he wants to see me, I can just go find him... Why trouble Martial Uncle to come over personally?"

Ning Ru Yu smiled.

"The place he's at... you can't go to by yourself."

Before Li Leider could recover his wits, Ning Ru Yu waved his hand, and an illusory curtain slowly drew open. In the next second, the two disappeared without a trace.

Li Leider only felt the surrounding space folding rapidly. Just like when he entered the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path, his entire person shuttled rapidly through the void in a bizarre posture. He could feel the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path constantly retreating. Ahead was the deepest area of the Ancient Vault that he had never set foot in...

When Li Leider's feet stepped onto solid ground, he was already situated in a boundless desert.

Piercing wind mixed with fine sand flew past Li Leider's cheeks, causing his British Overcoat to flutter. He looked around, the confusion in his eyes growing denser.

"This is..."

"This is the restricted area of the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path." Ning Ru Yu pointed in a certain direction. "Go... He is right over there."

Li Leider looked in the direction Ning Ru Yu pointed, only to see that at the end of the distant horizon, a shrine was currently erected on the desert...

Li Leider still intended to ask something, but when he turned around, Ning Ru Yu had already disappeared.

Despite having been in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path for so long, Li Leider had never set foot here, nor had he even heard of any restricted area... Now knowing that Chen Ling was waiting for him here, his heart suddenly felt a bit nervous.

He pulled down the brim of his fedora. After a moment of hesitation, he still walked toward the shrine.

As Li Leider got closer, he finally saw the full appearance of the Ancestral Shrine clearly.

This shrine wasn't large, and its design was quite ancient. It was already impossible to tell which era's product it was... Behind the threshold, a figure draped in a red-and-black Theatrical Robe was standing in the center of the shrine with his back facing him. Dim candlelight surrounded him, projecting his shadow onto the wall, swaying silently.

He was like the shadow of that shrine, yet also like a ghost that didn't belong to this world.

Li Leider didn't enter that shrine without permission. Instead, he stood still outside the threshold. At the same time, that figure in the Theatrical Robe slowly turned around...

As he turned, Li Leider finally saw clearly the scene behind him that had been blocked.

On the solemn and respectful tabletop, five Spirit Tablets were enshrined.

Li Leider's eyesight was quite good. In that instant, he seemed to clearly see the text on these Spirit Tablets. The words on every single Spirit Tablet were the same:

—[Nameless Actor].

What was this?

Doubt flashed through Li Leider's heart.

Chen Ling seemingly didn't plan on speaking any nonsense with him. Standing within the Ancestral Shrine just like that, those crimson eyes gazing at Li Leider outside the door, he spoke calmly:

"Do you know where the power of the Nine Monarchs comes from?"

Li Leider didn't expect Chen Ling to throw out this question right off the bat. This solemn and icy atmosphere made the nervousness in his heart grow denser... But without needing to think, he spoke the answer:

"You said the power of the Nine Monarchs comes from the Red Star Fragments that fell in Shennongjia before the Great Cataclysm."

"Then do you know where the power of World-Ending comes from?"

Li Leider froze and shook his head.

"Whether it's World-Ending or the Nine Monarchs, their power doesn't come from the 'Divine Pathways' nurtured by Earth's civilization, but from the Red Star... We call this mysterious power from beyond the heavens 'Red Star Aspiration Power'."

"The Red Star is the nemesis of civilization. When the Red Star descends, all Divine Pathways will be affected by it."

"Li Leider, have you ever wondered... why I took you as a disciple?"

Chen Ling's calm words echoed in the shrine.

Li Leider was stunned. Not only was he digesting the massive amount of information in Chen Ling's words, but he was also constantly pondering that last question... And this question, in fact, had already troubled Li Leider for a long time.

Why would a World-Ending Calamity possessing world-overturning power take someone from the Path of the Thief as a disciple?

"I... don't know." Li Leider answered truthfully.

"The Divine Pathways and the Red Star actually don't have a one-sided counter relationship. Currently, humanity's Divine Pathways are affected in front of the Red Star because the Red Star's volume is too massive..."

"In fact, this condition works in reverse as well. For example, extremely powerful Divine Path Wielders, when facing Scarlet Heaven Cultists, can reduce the influence they suffer to a minimum, because the Red Star Aspiration Power within the bodies of Scarlet Heaven Cultists is extremely weak. It's just that even if all the Divine Pathways on Earth were added up, it would still be far from enough to suppress the Red Star."

"But the Path of the Thief is special. An ultimate Path of the Thief can, while staying away from the Red Star's influence, reversely 'steal' Red Star Aspiration Power... Even if it's only a sliver."

"However, it won't be that easy to achieve this."

The Theatrical Robe swayed slightly and silently. Chen Ling slowly stepped forward. When he stopped, there was only the threshold of the shrine separating him and Li Leider...

He looked into Li Leider's eyes and spoke solemnly:

"Tell me, Li Leider..."

"Do you want to become stronger?"

...

...