(POV: Skyler)

In a small town of the Raging Flame Plane, a child in bed asks, “Father, can you tell me the legend of the Candle Ancestor?”

The father takes out a book and begins to read.

“Long, long ago, there was an infernal elf who was born as the prince of a nation. His talent was unrivalled, and many forces took note of him. His brothers were jealous of his talent, and they hatched a plot to drive him out of the royal family. The kind-hearted Candle Ancestor never expected his brothers to plot against him, so the plot successfully drove him out of the royal family.

After he was driven out of the royal family, the prime minister sent assassins after him. After he left the capital, he was ambushed by thousands of assassins. The Candle Ancestor fought bravely, but there were simply too many assassins. As he lay on the ground, bleeding from thousands of cuts, he saw a candle calling to him.

When he touched the candle, all of his wounds healed, and he jumped back up to his feet. With one slash of his sword, he defeated all the assassins and escaped.

The Candle Ancestor wandered the world for many years before returning to the imperial capital. When he returned, he was heartbroken to hear that the prime minister seized power and massacred the remaining members of the royal family.

Brimming with righteous fury, the Candle Ancestor charged into the palace and fought the evil prime minister. A great battle ensued, but the Candle Ancestor emerged victorious. After the Candle Ancestor reclaimed his throne, he became a virtuous king.

The Candle Ancestor went on to establish the Imperial Academy, a safe center of learning for all beings.

Using the power of the candle, the Candle Ancestor managed to extend his life by thousands of years.

In the end, when a beast tide attacked the imperial capital, the Candle Ancestor appeared. Using the candle, he fought off dozens of peak Nascent Soul magic beasts before ultimately perishing.

To this day, no one knows where the candle has gone.”

Listening to this story, I shook my head and sighed. While the Candle Ancestor was indeed a genius, he was kicked out of the royal family because he often was cruel to the residents of the capital, and dragged the reputation of the royal family through the mud.

The assassins were sent because he offended many people, and his victims pooled money together to hire a few assassins, no more than ten.

Furthermore, the Candle Ancestor only fought with the prime minister because he wanted the throne.

He also prolonged his life by burning other people with the candle to slow down time around himself. Countless lives were sacrificed to increase his lifespan.

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Lastly, during the attack on the imperial capital, there were only two peak Nascent Soul magic beasts. I’m not sure how those two beasts became dozens.

History is indeed written by the victors.

Meanwhile, in the Maple Plane, a child says to his mother, “Can I listen to the tale of the Stick Lord?”

“Many generations ago, there was a wood elf. He was the young master of the Maple family, a large family at that time. His talent was unrivalled, and many forces took note of him. His brothers were jealous of his talent, and they hatched a plot to drive him out of the family. The young Stick Lord trusted his brothers, so he was caught by surprise and the plot succeeded and was chased out of the royal family.

After he was driven out of the royal family, the Assassins were sent after him. After he left the capital, he was ambushed by thousands of assassins. The Stick Lord fought bravely, but there were simply too many assassins. As he lay on the ground, bleeding from thousands of cuts, he saw a stick calling to him.

When he touched the stick, all of his wounds healed, and he jumped back up to his feet. With the power of the stick, he chased away all assassins.

The Stick Lord wandered the world for many years before returning to his family clan. When he returned, he was heartbroken to hear that his uncle seized power and eliminated all his brothers.

Brimming with righteous fury, the Stick Lord charged into the clan and fought the evil prime minister. An earth shattering battle ensued, but the Stick Lord emerged victorious. After the Stick Lord reclaimed his throne, he became a virtuous ruler.

The Stick Lord went on to establish the Maple Academy, a safe center of learning for all beings.

In the end, when the Maple clan was attacked by another powerful family, the Stick Lord emerged and bravely fought off the enemies at the cost of his own life.

After his death, the stick was lost, and never found again.”

Wait. Why does this story sound so similar to the story of the Candle Ancestor?

In the Radiant Sword Plane, a child asks, “Can you tell me the story of the Radiant Sword Sect Founder?”

“Many years ago, there was a boy named Alexander. No one knows much about his past, or where he came from.

He became famous when he overthrew a small dynasty. After becoming the emperor, he worked hard, and was kind to his people.

Afterwards, the Radiant Sword Sect Founder managed to break through to the realm after Nascent Soul, the Dao Pursuing realm.

His dao was the dao of kindness, and seeing the suffering of people in other nations, the Radiant Sword Sect Founder decided to expand his empire, treating all the people in foreign territories kindly. He then used the treasures he found to start the The Radiant Sword Sect which took in talented disciples, and quickly became the number one sect in the world.

He later abdicated his throne and retreated into seclusion. Though his empire later crumbled, the Radiant Sword Sect still stands strong. Right now, no one knows where the Radiant Sword Sect Founder is, except maybe the current Sect Master.”

Indeed, in the trio of the Candle Ancestor, the Stick Lord, and the Radiant Sword Sect Founder, only the Radiant Sword Sect Founder is still alive.

It’s most likely because the Radiant Sword Sect Founder is the only one who obtained his treasure through his own efforts. After all, both the Candle Ancestor and the Stick Lord got their treasures by sheer luck, or perhaps fate.

Furthermore, both the Candle Ancestor and Stick Lord relied on their treasure for strength, while the Radiant Sword Sect Founder relied on his own power. To succeed, one must rely on themselves for strength. No external strength comes for free. Thinking about this, a plan comes to mind. A plan to remove the system once and for all.