Chapter 55: Fate Is Uncertain, Reality Is Changeable

Fang Shi felt a sudden chill.

First, the Lady of Luck had possessed a man.

Second, being watched by a deity was no good thing.

“The Lady of Luck favors you” does not mean mere luck in the literal sense.

It means the deity, who sees herself as the embodiment of luck, has taken an interest in Fang Shi.

“The Lady of Luck favors you” essentially means she wants Fang Shi to become her Chosen.

If Fang Shi had not been reborn, he might have accepted.

After all, with a deity’s protection, one’s strength increases dramatically.

Extra talents are granted, levels surge, and in crisis, one can be pulled straight to the Celestial Realm.

Survival in the apocalypse becomes far safer.

But the problem lies in Fang Shi’s rebirth.

No one can control time—not even the Time Dragon, who merely drifts within time itself.

He cannot take others through time and space.

After becoming a Chosen, one’s soul holds no secrets from the deity.

Past memories can be dredged up one by one.

If the deity discovers you are a reborn soul, being flayed alive would be the least of it.

Your soul would be torn apart, your spirit shattered—unless the deity uncovers the secret of rebirth, she will never stop.

Because this represents the supreme authority—time.

To master time is to master all of the multiverse.

Even benevolent deities are not safe; they might seek to break free from dogma and faith.

Their hunger for time is greater, and their methods more ruthless.

Besides, the deities’ stance in this apocalypse is unclear.

The monsters attacking Blue Star include not only followers of evil deities, but also followers of benevolent ones.

Even benevolent deities have directly ordered the assault on Blue Star.

The deity worshipped by the Firefeathers, Aivendela, should belong to the chaotic good alignment.

She should not have launched an invasion—yet she did.

Once, a Chosen priest communicated with the deity to understand why.

He was immediately stripped of his Chosen status; had it not been for the brutal power of the attribute panel, his level might have been wiped clean.

In short, Fang Shi had no intention of becoming the Lady of Luck’s Chosen.

Even if his power surged temporarily, the long-term consequences would be endless.

“Lady, I am but an ordinary mortal—what merit or virtue have I to earn your favor?”

Fang Shi spoke humbly, barely stopping short of outright refusing.

The Lady of Luck smiled with a slight smirk; she had sensed Fang Shi’s discomfort.

A flash of golden light transformed the boy Jiang Xian into a girl Jiang Xian.

Yes, a girl.

For Jiang Xian’s chest now bore what no boy should have.

Her face had become feminine, even cute and beautiful.

Coupled with the Lady of Luck’s aura, her every gesture carried both the playfulness of a girl and the allure of a mature woman.

Divine Power—Alter Reality.

This is the deity’s power of creation.

“A Fate-Undefined One? How could you possibly be ordinary?”

Tymora’s silver bell-like laughter echoed through the labyrinth, as if Fang Shi’s ordinariness was laughable.

Fate-Undefined?

Fang Shi asked, puzzled: “What does that mean?”

Tymora smiled: “Mortal, do you know what fate is?”

Fang Shi shook his head: “No.”

Tymora waved her right hand, and the world around them changed instantly.

Beneath them appeared a raging, endless river.

Tymora and Fang Shi stood upon the river.

Divine Power—Virtual Reality.

She pointed to the river below: “This river is fate.”

“All living beings exist within this river, flowing downstream—fate is already sealed.”

“Yet the multiverse is vast; accidents inevitably occur.”

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“There are beings whose fate lies within the river, yet they do not flow downstream—they are unknown.”

“Such beings are called Fate-Undefined Ones.”

Hearing Tymora’s explanation, Fang Shi suddenly understood.

This was just determinism.

It meant everyone’s fate was predetermined—but some were not.

As for why his own fate was undefined, Fang Shi strongly suspected it was due to his rebirth.

Perhaps his fate was fixed before rebirth; after rebirth, it changed—and thus became undefined.

But Fang Shi disliked this theory; he hated the feeling of determinism.

“Lady, I think this view is wrong. If one person’s fate is undefined—”

“Those who interact with him will have their fates disturbed, and thus become undefined too.”

“These disturbed individuals, in turn, interact with others, whose fates also become undefined.”

“Thus, one spreads to ten, ten to a hundred—everyone’s fate becomes undefined.”

“Therefore, there are no truly predetermined beings—all are Fate-Undefined Ones.”

Fang Shi’s argument was logical, unless these Fate-Undefined Ones were isolated beyond the multiverse.

Otherwise, even disturbing a single particle would make everyone’s fate undefined.

Tymora shook her head: “Mortal, I thought you had sharp insight, yet you fail to grasp this.”

Fang Shi was not offended; he seized the chance to say: “So I am unworthy of your favor.”

Tymora giggled: “No, mortal—the more you refuse, the more I favor you.”

“When you murmured my name, I sensed your existence—that is fate.”

I murmured her name?

Fang Shi was startled; he recalled carefully—he had indeed muttered her name once during a draw.

Could it have been that time?

“Lady, you said my fate is undefined—why do you now call this fate?”

Tymora gave him a flat look: “That proves you don’t understand fate.”

Fang Shi was about to retort: “You don’t understand a damn thing—your logic is incoherent, nonsense.”

But he remembered her authority—perhaps she truly understood fate deeply.

He was just a mortal, with limited knowledge; better not to humiliate himself.

Tymora continued: “Most believe fate has only one possibility—but in truth, there are countless possibilities.”

“A Fate-Undefined One simply has more choices—not that they lie outside fate.”

“Their uncertainty is relative to the mainstream of fate.”

Tymora waved her hand again; the river instantly split into countless tributaries.

“These tributaries are the fates of the Fate-Undefined Ones.”

“They hide within the river—even deities cannot see through them.”

“As for other beings, even if disturbed by Fate-Undefined Ones—”

“Under the overwhelming force of the mainstream, the ripples eventually fade.”

“The final outcome remains sealed.”

Fang Shi understood again: this was treating all possibilities as a single set—called fate.

Within fate were two subsets: one called the mainstream, the other called the tributaries (others).

Ordinary beings belonged to the mainstream; Fate-Undefined Ones belonged to the tributaries (others).

The influence of tributaries on the mainstream was always corrected.

Fang Shi deeply suspected that “deities cannot see through” meant the tributary set contained too many possibilities.

Deities had limited power—they could not observe them all, so they called it “unseeable.”

Yet, this classification of sets must be changeable.

According to the Lady of Luck, his past life was certainly part of the predetermined fate.

Otherwise, he had muttered her name many times before rebirth—why hadn’t she come then?

“Apart from Fate-Undefined Ones, can the fates of other beings not be changed?”

Or, how could any other being become an Unfated One?

Fang Shi felt his rebirth could not possibly be so simple—it must conceal a great secret.

He could not bear to let this chance pass without probing the Lucky Lady for clues.

Taimora explained: “Of course. Deities can alter the fate of all beings.”

“But such alteration merely channels their own tributary into the main stream of fate, thereby influencing its direction.”

“In essence, these beings’ fates remain predetermined; only the main stream changes.”

Fang Shi’s gaze sharpened: “So Your Majesty means all deities are Unfated Ones.”

Taimora smiled: “Mortal, don’t you understand yet? The Unfated One holds the possibility of immortality.”

“Though this path is strewn with thorns, and only one in ten thousand may reach its end, it is already luckier than all mortal things.”

Fang Shi fell silent for a moment: “Why me?”

Though he had not learned from the Lucky Lady how to become an Unfated One, he now understood her purpose.

Deities vary in temperament, yet one truth never changes.

They are all beings who never act without benefit.

Why would they idle across worlds to meet a stranger and expend divine power to alter reality?

Fang Shi warned himself: never again summon a deity’s name so carelessly.

What if another deity answered?

Of course, it might also be due to the Lucky Lady’s domain—making her more sensitive to Unfated Ones.

Taimora smirked seductively: “Because I like it. I want to see what kind of storm an Unfated One can stir up on Blue Star.”

“And don’t you think the theme of post-apocalyptic survival is unfair to humanity?”

“If humanity can quickly produce a strong one, the apocalypse will no longer be an apocalypse—it will become a landscape.”

Fang Shi believed her. Her nature truly was like this.

She could not bear injustice in the multiverse and often intervened on the side of justice.

But this was certainly not the whole truth.

Before his rebirth, the actions of all deities pointed to one issue.

Blue Star was important to them.

How important, Fang Shi did not know.

But that did not stop him from suspecting the Lucky Lady’s motives were far from simple.

As always: if not for his rebirth, he might have accepted.

He could always become a traitor later—could a deity really cross the attribute panel to strip his power?

Moreover, the attribute panel’s core nature is plunder.

If a deity refuses to grant power to a priest, can the priest not advance?

That’s too naive. Watch me forcibly plunder.

If you won’t bleed willingly, someone else will bleed for you.

Fang Shi still remembered: before his rebirth, some people sought special abilities.

They deliberately became priests of evil deities.

After succeeding, they ignored the evil deity—and their levels still skyrocketed.

“Thank you for your kindness, Lady, but I cannot accept.”

Fang Shi declined, tightening his grip on his longsword.

Taimora’s expression turned cold: “Mortal, you refuse me again and again, without even hearing my terms—you insult me.”

As she spoke, an endless pressure surged toward Fang Shi.

He strained to resist; his bones cracked audibly, and he involuntarily bent his waist.

This was a chasm of life-tier—unavoidable, and impossible to evade.

But it could be resisted!

“Your will, honed over time, has improved: I → II.”

“【Steel Will II】: You possess extraordinary resolve. (+6 bonus to all Will saves)”

Before his rebirth, Fang Shi’s will had already been on the verge of transformation.

After rebirth, through days of battle and facing the pressure of a third-rank creature and a deity,

his Steel Will I finally broke through, rising from +2 to +6.

That four-point difference freed him from the divine pressure.

Even if it was only a faint projection of divine might, it was an extraordinary feat.

Fang Shi slowly straightened: “Your Majesty, you know you cannot harm me. Why waste divine power?”

Now, his blood-red cloak hung on him, his steel sword gripped tight, eyes blazing, meeting Taimora’s gaze without fear.

Especially since Fang Shi stood taller than Jiang Xian, as if looking down upon Taimora.

Taimora’s face grew colder: “Mortal, who gave you the courage to defy a deity? Do you fear no divine punishment?”

Fang Shi smiled faintly: “Lady, why not try casting divine power on me yourself?”

“I won’t dodge. I’m right here. Give me a harsher divine punishment.”

Taimora’s expression turned indifferent: “So you know about the Edicts.”

“But do you know Edicts aren’t omnipotent? I can lower your luck, plunge you into misfortune.”

“I could even pay a price to make you truly die.”

Fang Shi showed no fear: “Really? I’ll wait and see.”

Before his rebirth, why was sacrilege so widespread?

Because one day, a colossal face appeared in the sky above Blue Star.

It was a deity attempting to descend—but no matter how furious it became,

no matter how the weather shifted, thunder cracked across the heavens,

even as it lit the entire sky with dazzling fireworks,

it could never descend.

In the end, this day-long spectacle ended as abruptly as it began.

Since then, countless traitors were born.

And all, except those killed by monsters, lived perfectly well.

The Trial Tower and Secret Realms remained accessible.

No deity raised any fuss.

Are deities all fools? Good deities might be excusable—but evil ones?

They simply lack the power.

As for Fang Shi’s own misfortunes—could they truly be called bad luck?

In the Infinite Labyrinth, encountering a Level 6 monster on the third try? That’s luck, isn’t it?

As long as you don’t seek to slay it, the danger is minimal.

Just run away and you clear it.

Even the third-rank creature? Purely a scare, no real threat.

Don’t treat Edicts like dumb fools without judgment.

If a deity says “do not intervene,” then they cannot intervene.

Of course, they still collect their benefits without fail.

Taimora, hearing Fang Shi’s provocation, spoke coldly: “Mortal, you need to wake up.”

Divine power—altering reality.

Endless golden light burst from Taimora’s hands.

Rushing toward Fang Shi.

“Boom!”

A cute pink pig fell to the ground.

PS: Thank you to Dukou Dukou Dukou for the monthly ticket and Wudi Naiqi Ge for the donation.