Transcending the Nine Heavens

“Watch for yourself,” the sword spirit instructed, extending his hands. The Nine Tribulations Space slowly opened up, up to the point it resembled the endless galaxy.

The white light, with the growth of the Nine Tribulations Space, enlarged and became clearer. Growing to the size of a hill, it stood in front of Chu Yang.

Chu Yang focused his eyes on it and just as expected, a few words were inscribed clearly.

After reading through, Chu Yang was left stunned and at a loss.

Understanding that one is within the nine levels of heaven;

Thus trying to break out of these heavens;

All know of the existence of the nine heavens;

Yet who has actually seen these heavens?

“What is this about?” Chu Yang frowned. As he pondered over the phrases, he got more confused.

From its literal meaning, the phrases should have been talking about him. The first phrase describing where he was, the second phrase his ambitions. The third phrase, seeing as all know of the heavens’ existence, must mean it wasn’t anything special.

But the last phrase gave him much to think about.

Yet who has actually seen these heavens?

Could it be… that the sentence meant: Who had seen the real nine heavens? Perhaps, despite its unlikelihood, no one had seen the heavens? This nine heavens that he was on, was not the actual nine heavens?

But, how was that possible?

If this was not the actual nine heavens, then where was it? Was there another world out of this nine heavens?

“Sword spirit, was the reason for your slumber also due to absorbing these heavenly reincarnation rays of light?” Chu Yang asked, “The materialization of your body, was also made possible by these light rays?”

“Yes,” the sword spirit replied truthfully, “I just did not expect myself needing an entire day to fully consolidate what little I absorbed. Plus, I obtained huge benefits from it!”

After stretching his body, he exclaimed, “Watch, I have far exceeded the highest cultivation I had during the past eight times I followed the other nine tribulations sword masters. Your cultivation too, exceeds theirs at this point in their lives, especially the soul. Whether it is the heavenly treasures, divine spirit, cultivation, or the use of the nine tribulations space, you have outclassed them in all areas! Meaning to say, this has exceeded… exceeded… exceeded…”

Towards that last part, the sword spirit mumbled, and finally with some difficulty, he added, “Exceeded them!”

Chu Yang smiled, but remained silent.

He knew what the sword spirit wanted to say, as well as his concerns.

His actual thoughts were: This has exceeded the destiny of a nine tribulations sword user! But he would never dare to say that out loud.

“In other words, the path I will take has changed?” Chu Yang smiled and asked.

The sword spirit did not deny, but smiled and replied, “Your path lies within your heart.”

With that, he sighed and continued, “Actually, in one’s life, regardless of whether he is strong or weak, a person or event will come forth at the critical moments to guide him in his path.”

“Thus after the guidance, the strong gets stronger, the weak weaker! As for that person, the saddest part lies in never knowing who came forth to guide him. When you realize you have walked far down that road, there’s no turning back.”

“Thus the strong continues to look down on the world, while the weak can only bemoan…”

“This guidance is but just what you garner after listening to how others talk or seeing what others do. Agree, and you will follow. Disagree, and you will choose to do the opposite. This person does not need to be connected to you… he could even be a stranger you have never met, but he can influence your life.”

“Seeing a beggar making a living on the streets to support his family, the strong views it as pathetic and is determined to never be like him… so he strides towards his goal with greater determination. The weak, however, sees the beggar happy with his family and thinks: there is true love in the world; thus is filled with hope. Yet, this hope is just contentment: I can’t be worse off than the beggar, can I?”

“Thus, two people, who were on the same starting line, will only drift further apart until their paths never cross…”

“Just as I said, if others were to have seen it, they would have thought that they were in the nine levels of heaven and had no need to work towards breaking out of these heavens. But you, instead thought that there is another heaven out of this nine levels of heaven!”

The sword spirit, deep in thoughts, said, “Therefore, this is where you are unique.”

Chu Yang, however, was still thinking about the story regarding the beggar and asked, “Does that mean… the reactions the strong and the weak had when they saw the beggar; does it mean that… the strong walk a heartless path? While the weak despite being easily contented, is filled with empathy and compassion? If a human does not have sympathy, what good is it even if he becomes one of the strong?”

The sword spirit chuckled. “By saying that, you have made a serious mistake. The strong can be split into two types; the first one, which you have stated, is disdainful. ‘I must never be like him’… that is a mindset. That is someone heartless. The other type, however, is empathetic and compassionate… but also angry that the beggar has not done more with his life. This is someone sympathetic!”

“If the person is healthy, he can do anything to support himself. Even if he is disabled, if he is willing to become stronger, he can pick up a skill to support himself. Beggars… who only passively wait for people to give him food, has already given up on life and dignity… These people, if they are strong and healthy, can only be described as hopeless, and any sympathy placed on them is unnecessary. Lying on the streets, becoming a reference for people to reflect upon themselves… is meaningless.”

“Hence, the path of the strong and the weak lies within the hearts of everyone. Your future path is determined by how you choose.”

The sword spirit said, deep in his thoughts.

Chu Yang quietly nodded.

The sword spirit laughed, and said, “Chu Yang, let me tell you a story.”

“Please,” Chu Yang replied.

The sword spirit was silent for a moment before saying, “A long, long time ago, there were three young men in a village. The three of them decided to find a teacher, the three of them had the same aptitude, were all hardworking, and all learned under the same teacher.”

“One day, the eldest of them went out, and received a great opportunity after finishing a task. Hence, he achieved great success and his cultivation greatly exceeded that of the other two. Hence, he became a legend thirty years later.”

“The second eldest of them worked hard, but could never catch up with the eldest. Finally, he lost hope and gave up; he led a normal, mediocre life. Whenever someone mentioned the eldest senior, he would scold him angrily: He just had better luck. If it was me, I could do it too! Don’t look at how great he is now, he used to borrow a few taels of silver from me in the past and he hasn’t returned them back! This is the kind of person he is! Even if he is accomplished now, he is still trash!”

The sword spirit spoke slowly.

Chu Yang couldn’t help but let out a laugh. The attitude of the second eldest senior was typical sour grapes. There were too many such people on Earth.

The sword spirit continued, “The youngest of them, however, treated the eldest senior as his goal. He often told people that if the eldest senior could do it, so could he. Hence, although the road was difficult, he never gave up and continued on, until finally, he achieved his breakthrough and became another legend following the footsteps of the eldest senior.”

“The second eldest senior continued his tirade till his death, scolding the eldest for owing him a few taels of silver and for his luck and the youngest for abandoning him after achieving success despite how well he used to take care of him. He scolded the two for having dishonest characters, and that they would never be able to compete with his honest and upright character.”

Chu Yang stopped laughing.

After he thought about the story thoroughly, he felt a sliver of fear.

How scary one’s thought could be! How scary one’s belief could be! How scary one’s character could be!

Was this Heaven’s will? Obviously not!

“Chu Yang, what I want to tell you is… in this world, among any three people, it’s similar to these three: one is highly successful, one is trying to catch up to that success, and one just bemoans his fate,” the sword spirit said gently but clearly.

“Whether it’s to become a martial artist, an official, a businessman, or a farmer, it’s the same for all! In your eyes, to having your cultivation reach the ninth supreme level is heaven. In the eyes of the average person, to have immense wealth is heaven, while some would regard having a few acres of land and becoming a landowner is heaven!”

“There are nine heavens and they are all different. Nine heavens, nine heavens… actually there is a heaven in the hearts of every single person, how can it be limited to just nine? There must be more than millions even billions of heavens! Since there is no limit as to what the heart wants, the heavens have no limits as well!”

The sword spirit turned his head and looked at Chu Yang seriously, asking, “Master, how big is your heart?”

Chu Yang murmured to himself, “How big is my heart?”

He suddenly thought about the creator of the Nine Tribulations Sword, who had the power to fold the nine heavens. Could I… be greater than that person?

The sword spirit was silent for a while, before a determined look appeared on his face, as if he decided upon something. “I suppose you can feel it as well. As of now, in these nine heavens, you have already reached the peak if your cultivation has reached the ninth supreme level! However, Zi Xieqing has obviously exceeded that, and by a great deal too.”

“The fortune-telling elder whom you met today, could be another powerful person… from the other side!”

“As for legends regarding the nine heavens, at the moment, it is clear that supreme martial artists Chen Feng and Liu Yun do not belong in these nine heavens anymore…”

“Another thing is… the creator of the nine tribulations sword, my master! My master… he could fold the nine heavens. His cultivation exceeds that of Zi Xieqing.”

“Actually, there are many worlds out there, exciting worlds! Even more exciting than these nine heavens!” The sword spirit said.

He looked at Chu Yang before asking slowly, “Don’t you want to fold the nine heavens?”