In the center of the hall, the Daoist boy—an avatar conjured to resemble Lord Genesis—was still delivering his meticulous lecture. Every immortal present watched with rapt attention, afraid to miss even the slightest hidden mystery. So it was that, in this vast palace packed with thousands of immortals, only a single voice echoed throughout.
At the third-floor railing, the real Lord Genesis—disguised as an immortal—sat shoulder to shoulder with Monkey, perfectly still. From afar, the two of them looked no different from the other immortals, as if quietly listening to the 'Lord Genesis' teaching below.
Monkey’s hand tightened, and his gaze wavered ever so slightly.
Elder Stillwater had once discussed 'Heavenly Dao' with him, but never in such detail as Lord Genesis now revealed.
All along, he had thought his fate was bound only to Lord Lao’s 'Heavenly Dao,' to Master Sage Subhuti’s hidden intentions, and at most to the mysterious power that had drawn away Birdie’s soul.
But he was wrong.
The Heavenly Dao Stone governed the destinies of all. From the moment he was born, it had already been decided: when his fate changed, so too would the fates of everyone else.
Back in Stillwater Valley, his second senior brother had made it clear: White Ape’s life had been extended by three months because of him.
Now, thinking carefully, hadn’t the destinies of those around him already changed long ago because of him?
Birdie died at the wrong time because of him; Anna Yang never took up her post as Mount Hua’s goddess because she followed him; firearms were invented because of him; the nature of warfare itself changed because of him; demonkind rose to prominence because of him; the Heavenly Fleet suffered devastating losses—all because of him…