Reverend Ecstasy

"Oh, Heaven, is that you? Am I supposed to kowtow or something? My apologies, no one has actually received the Heavenly Dao before, so I don't know how to handle this." Xinzi joined his hands in a prayer sign, glancing left and right as if seeking the origin of the voice.

'It's Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao, but no, you don't have to bow.' Heaven replied in the same deadpan tone.

"Supreme Grand Dao works. Unfeeling Grand Dao works. Why did you have to call it Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao?"

'Because it's Supreme and Unfeeling.'

"But doesn't that sound awkward to you?"

'No.'

"Well, it does to me, so I will go with Heavenly Dao. Can we please go with Heavenly Dao? I swear it would make everyone's life easier. After all, it's named after you. Thanks for not making me kowtow by the way, I have bad knees." The exchange ended with Xinzi taking a "matter of fact" tone that mirrored Heaven's deadpan voice.

'...as you like,' unwilling to carry on with this brain-assassinating argument and give Xinzi more ammo to persecute it with, Heaven conceded. But right afterward, curiosity took over, and it fell right back into the quagmire.

'With that said, why are you so indifferent to my voice?'

"Because I'm high."

'You're what?'

"I'm high! I just had sex, and it felt so good—felt so good—that my brain keeps floating on cloud nine. Hard to feel rattled about anything when you're on cloud nine. I'd ask you to try it,

but you're always on cloud nine and so can't tell the difference." Xinzi threw his arms into the air, pointing at the sky to emphasize his words.

'...'

"Got it? Heaven? Always high? Cloud nine? I'm a genius. Can't tell if it's funny or not, but I'm a genius."

'I got it.'

"Just making sure," Xinzi said, lowered his arms, and fell back into meditation.

While it came prepared for some level of eccentric behavior, Heaven struggled to cope—wondering if the clash between the Heavenly Dao, Demon Hearts, Dark Runes and rebellious bones didn't fry Xinzi's sanity—not that he was that sane of a person to begin with.

'You still haven't answered me. Don't you want the complete Heavenly Dao? Right now, you have access to the majority of techniques created under Heaven's gaze. This includes the mortals' techniques as well. But until you accept me fully, you will not receive the highest secrets: techniques like your mother's One-Thousand Incarnations of the Supreme One.'

"See, Heaven, your marketing skills need some improvement. It's good that you're supreme and all, because you would have made a lousy peddler," Xinzi said in complete seriousness.

"First, explain this to me. Shenzhuo was your most loyal dog, but even he refused to cultivate your Heavenly Dao. Why? Yongye was likely never a viable choice, but Yanglong is also a good dog. He's not as gifted as mom or pops, but I refuse to believe that the Primeval of the Solar Pantheon—the number three expert of the Celestial Paradise—doesn't have the qualifications to cultivate your treasure. Why didn't he?" Xinzi asked.

'At first, Yanglong was afraid of no longer being able to love Yongye. After she forced him to give up on her, he became afraid of not being able to indulge in lust, but more importantly, afraid of not being able to treasure the memory of her smile. The truth...is that it's his love for Yongye that Yanglong tries to bury through hedonism. To this day, Yanglong is still looking for his Yongye—refusing to let go after trillions of years. I find him pitiful, so I allow him to drown his sorrow in whatever way he sees fit,' Heaven explained.

"Huh? Yanglong and Yongye have history?" Xinzi's ears twitched at what he just learned. There wasn't a single person in the Celestial Paradise that didn't know of the age-old animosity between Yongye and Yanglong. When did romance join the chat?

'What's so surprising about it? Shenzhuo is the sky, Yongye is the night, and Yanglong represents the stars. The sun...is only one of myriad stars. The night spreads across the sky as the stars attempt to take root in her—if only for an instant. That...will always be their story,' Heaven said.

'As for Shenzhuo, he suffered from a severe case of identity crisis. He never liked being a God—even when he wasn't one—so it's understandable that he felt reluctant to become the supreme deity. I picked him as my first sword, and across trillions of years, he served me without fail. So, even when he allowed Yongye to lead him astray, I didn't stand in the way.

All living things have a right to self-destruction.

I do not want to force anyone's hand. All things must operate through the natural order. Shenzhuo...wasn't the right fit.' Heaven's words trailed off, and a silence settled in.

Because it pitied Yanglong, Heaven allowed him to drown in sorrow. To reward Shenzuo for trillions of years of loyal service, Heaven allowed him to self-destruct. This was the logic of the entity that governed the lives of mortals and divines alike. When those words pealed through his mind, for reasons that he couldn't understand, Xinzi felt as if the entire world had been cheated.

'But you, Hengye Zhen, are different. You are the one. Do not allow your mother's insubordinate nature to infest your soul. You're different from them and severely underestimate your potential. Yanglong, Yongye, and even Shenzhuo, they all fall short. They're missing something—as infinitely small as it might be. Only you were born flawless.' Heaven's voice shifted to a grave, solemn tone—each syllable conjuring mystical energies that rippled through Xinzi's body and soul.

'Give them all the tools, and the likes of Yanglong would still not be able to use your Five Elements Transmutative Technique. Even Yongye and Shenzhuo would struggle mightily. Hengye Zhen, you can because you are perfect. So perfect that my being aches at the mere sight of you.

Do not let that perfection go to waste.

Become the next Heavenly Emperor and lead all worlds and realms to divine glory.' Heaven made a tempting offer, its voice booming through Xinzi's mind like a deluge of thunderbolts.