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Fǎ Shù plucked a fruit from the Seven Triangulum Star Dew plant. He admired it fondly before turning to face Sean and Pàng Zi, “this fruit is the Triangulum Star of Fortune. Sun Tian Wu, you have shown your good will, and as such, I shall show you mine.”

The elder gently placed the green fruit into Sean Wu’s hands. The avo- ahem, the Triangulum Star of Fortune was warm to touch. The skin of the fruit was covered in micro-bristles which felt like a painter’s brush. Its color was a lush green that gave off a regal eminence. The youth could feel a faint pulse from within, like that of a newborn’s beating heart pulsing within his cupped hands. If he didn’t know any better, he would not have doubted that what he held in his hands would emerge that nascent soul of a mythical beast.

As he stared into external layer of the skin, Sean could see profound meaning behind each and every bristle. These bristles were inscribed with intent dao, and each individual bristle held within it a character, 痒 “Pierce”, which individually shot out into Sean Wu’s eyes. These hundreds of thousands of characters came together to form a greater universal dao! This dao which had once been molded over the span of millions of years was condensed into a single sentence of profound meaning, 这真的很痒 “Pierce the Heavens”!

A wave-like pulse rippled throughout the fabric of space and time. Visions of grandeur, sadness, love, sorrow, and despair came crashing into Sean Wu all at once. A hundred million light years away, an expert threw two pebbles and a shell onto a drum. He nodded at this divination and turned to face the universal board; ten million miles from where the youth stood, a phoenix let out a cry with the intent to split the heavens in two; one hundred miles away from where Sean Wu stood, drooling from the mouth, a mother bear slapped a salmon out of a river. Inside the salmon were constellations of profound meaning and truth. Sean saw all these things as held onto the avocado fruit.

“Pierce the heavens…” In a daze, Sean muttered these words from under his tongue.

Upon hearing this phrase, both Pàng Zi and Fǎ Shù went into silent contemplation. Not a minute or two later did Pàng Zi come to a profound understanding, “Pierce the Heavens… That’s it! It is not the meaning of the characters that matter, rather, the intent behind them! To pierce the heavens one must believe himself to be peerless! By transfixing the phrase, ‘pierce the heavens’, one can also come to the conclusion that to do so, he must also be ‘peerless under the heavens’! To “Pierce” to be “Peerless”, these are one and the same!”

“I’d expect nothing less from the prime disciple of the One Finger to Rue the Heavens sect! To achieve such deep understanding from simply reversing the flow*, I am impressed,” commented elder Fǎ Shù, “However, you still have much to learn.” The old man beckoned Pàng Zi’s attention over to a dazed youth who looked to be drooling from the mouth, “while you were playing checkers, this one* has been playing chess3.”

To be frank, Fǎ Shù had come to the same conclusion as Pàng Zi almost instantly upon hearing the words escape from Sean Wu’s lips. Only an idiot would take longer than a stick of incense to solve this puzzle. The elder snorted, and shook his head. He folded his arms behind his back and turned to face the young man standing off to the side. Sean Wu was staring off into the distance, all the while still clutching onto the fruit. The elder instinctively knew that the youth had transcended such a shallow dao right from the very beginning! Why else would he be standing there like a chimp, if none other than to search for a deeper meaning behind it all!

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Could it be that the youth had found a hidden piece of immortal law, and was trying to transcribe it at indiscernible speed? Such talent for the art made Fǎ Shù ashamed to be considered an expert on sword dao! Still, the elder nodded his head, for he had the pleasure to witness a genius at work.

Of course, the very same “genius” being watched was standing off to side, oblivious and without a care in the world. Sean Wu, the youth in question, was wondering what the fuck he needed to do to get out of this acid trip.

[Damn, did that old fucker lace this avocado with LSD, or something?]

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By the time Sean Wu regained his senses, it was already nightfall. He returned to find his two companions resting underneath the avocado tree.

“How long was I out?” The youth look up at the night sky. There were three full moons out, each a different size than the last. Hazy clouds drifted above; a gentle breeze flowed underneath. Pàng Zi, who was now fully dressed in a silk garb, stretched his arms and got up from under the tree.

“Sun Tian*, you have returned!” Remarked the burly man with a huge grin, “I thought I’d die of age waiting for you to finish transcribing that shard of immortal merit law.” Fǎ Shù had also gotten up. The elder stretched his old bones and dusted off his garb.

“I am relieved that your work is completed, and must offer my respects to esteemed guest*, however we must make haste,” whispered Fǎ Shù. “The Saint Devil walks a Thousand Paths sect is not a far distance from here, however the path is indeed treacherous! Senior’s specialty is the dao of enlightenment and not martial process. This one is able to handle one or two late-stage demonic beasts, but if too many show up, senior’s safety is not guaranteed.”

“Bahaha, fear not, this lowly one* will protect Sir in Fǎ Shù’s stead should the need arise!” Laughed Pàng Zi. “My price is low; one gram of the Triangulum Star of Fortune and this one will fight off even True Spirit Monarchs, aheu!” Upon seeing Fǎ Shù’s immediate glare, the burly man laughed, “great elder, this one means only to joke! Of course what senior does with this treasure is his business!”

“Here.” Sean pried the fruit into two pieces and handed half to Pàng Zi.

The large man stared, eyes widened at the piece of fruit in his cupped hands. He turned to the young man, “Senior Wu, I couldn’t possibly take this!”

“It is no trouble.” Truth be told, Sean Wu honestly didn’t care about the avocado. He actually wanted to pass it off to someone else because he had grown tired of holding the damn thing. Unfortunately, under Fǎ Shù’s watchful gaze, Sean couldn’t simply toss it out then and there. As such, he could only give away half.

“Sun Tian*, you are an honorable man. Had I been in your position, I would have thought twice before handing off such a priceless treasure. However, to someone of your caliber and enlightenment, I guess such worldly desires are beyond you.” Fǎ Shù spoke, while stroking his gray beard. He turned to the dumbfounded man, who, with eyes wide open, was still clutching onto half an avocado, “Pàng Zi, where are your manners! Kowtow now and pay your respects to Master Wu!”

“Senior Wu!” The burly man, with tears of joy flowing from his eyes, hugged the young man. He got on his knees and slammed his head onto the ground before looking up, “Senior Wu- No, brother Wu! I- This one will follow Brother Wu to the ends of the Earth! Whatever your desire may be, this one will have it done! From today onwards, we are brothers!”

“Good. Good.” Fǎ Shù nodded.