Primordial Origin wanted to let out an even deeper sigh but he was beyond defeated at this point, "Let's get this over with."
~
In a remote corner of the Southern Border, on Qing Mao Mountain.
"So, we're back to where it all began," a lone figure stood atop this barren mountain.
By this time it was winter, making the mountain tops extra chilly. Yet Fang Yuan's long hair didn't even say, as if the forces of nature were now afraid of him.
From an outsider's point of view, Fang Yuan moved graciously yet methodically, purposefully taking every step, it seemed slow, yet what would have taken ordinary human days of hiking was accomplished in just a few breaths.
"I feel it," Fang Yuan looks meaningfully at his hands, "This world isn't just rejecting me, it's afraid of me, as if it were a living being, it is doing everything in its power to appease me and urge me to leave."
Fang Yuan clenched his fists hard, the mountains trembled and the windy mountain roads straightened before his eyes, the howling winds cut out and were replaced by warm sunlight.
A crack in space opens itself before him.
"Come out, I know you're in there, I've known since I step foot on the mountain." Fang Yuan relaxed his fists and placed both hands behind his back.
A woman dressed in white clothes, her silvery hair was shiny, like a tassel, it extended to her waist, her deep blue eyes were clear like a lake, they were calm and peaceful, her skin was pale like snow, her face was cold and aloof, and her unparalleled beauty could not be concealed.
Behind her, a slightly less beautiful but still alluring woman stood subserviently, her eyes once held signs of the aura of a hero, an indomitable spirit for justice, but now the once resplendent eyes were nothing but hollow shells, with the faintest of embers.
The two were none other than Bai Ning Bing and Tie Ruo Nan!
Bai Ning Bing was the first 'companion' Fang Yuan had journeyed with, originally from the Bai clan, one of the top 2 clans on Qing Mao Mountain, he was destined to die from his Ten Extreme Physique.
Only after meeting Fang Yuan did he get into all sorts of predicaments. The once-hailed genius was now a woman who was constantly living in Fang Yuan's shadow, trying all sorts of tricks and methods to sneak out from under him, but the gap grew, from an obtainable goal to an impossible chasm.
The woman behind Bai Ning Bing, was Tie Ruo Nan, former enemy, co-conspirator and now slave. She had overstepped her ability and ended up being captured by Bai Ning Bing.
Later, they climbed Red Lotus's spiral and were given an opportunity by him, he sealed them in a hidden space that had accelerated time on their minds but not their physical bodies, allowing them to comprehend and solidify their paths.
Fang Yuan could see that Bai Ning Bing was now a Quasi-Supreme Grandmaster of Ice Path! Even though she was now a dragonmen and not human she still possessed the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique!
And yet…
"All this time and yet the gap only grows," Bai Ning Bing spoke first, she instinctively knew, even though Fang Yuan released no aura, even though no info since the Stone Island was being released to her, she knew, his shadow wasn't even something she could live up to anymore.
Fang Yuan said nothing and snapped his fingers, instantly, Bai Ning Bing hunched over, cracks spread across her entire body and she shrieked in agony.
For a moment the embers of hope lit up in Tie Ruo Nan's eyes before being quickly diminished, "What's the point, the strongest devil is here, even if Bai Ning Bing dies I will quickly follow."
Bai Ning Bing's body burst into flames, and from within the flames, the shadow of a tall strong muscular male physique was there.
Stepping out of the flames, a young man in white clothing, his gaze reflecting his indifference toward the world but also hiding an unbelievably deep-seated pride that no mere mortal could comprehend.
Bai Ning Bing had been reborn as human once again!
He first looked at his hands, then he felt his familiar Adam's apple, his now flat and sturdy chest and of course his lower brother.
"You…" Bai Ning Bing stared, confused, angry, and dismayed, "It has become that easy for you?"
He remembered the gruelling process and difficulty in becoming a Dragonman, and to have the entire process undone by a mere snap of the fingers was a real slap in the face to him, not to mention assigning his gender which he had been desperately trying to fix.
"Is this pity," the word coming as utter scorn, he nearly spat at the word, pity.
Fang Yuan's eyes remained indifferent, what was once one of his greatest challenges had so quickly become insignificant to his life.
"No," Fang Yuan's voice carried a tone of command to them, hearing him speak made Bai Ning Bing desire to kneel before him, but he resisted out of sheer pride, Tie Ruo Nan however dove straight into the floor!
Fang Yuan paid it no mind, to him it was insignificant if Bai Ning Bing resisted or not, and he took no pleasure in it.
"I am fulfilling my promise to you all those years ago, I will give you the most exciting death of your life." Fang Yuan snapped his fingers once again and a surge of power swelled up in Bai Ning Bing, Ice Dao Marks funnelled themselves directly into him, and his body turned whiter and whiter till even snow looked black in comparison.
He had transcended, mere humanity, he was now a Rank 9; an Ice Path Venerable!
"Come, this your peak potential that I have pulled from the future, this is what would have happened had you survived that night on Qing Mao Mountain, without my help, had you overcome the limits of the Dark Soul Ice Physique without me, this is your life without me."
Fang Yuan's expression steeled, "Now, with all your might. Hit me."