"Hm? You recognize this Great One?" The Great One sounded a little surprised when Yuan suddenly mumbled its name.
"Of course. This isn’t our first meeting. You probably don’t remember because they were all separate illusions." Yuan said.
After a moment of silence, the Great One spoke, "Come closer, human. I want you to look into my eyes..."
The eyes on the dragon statue suddenly began glowing golden.
Yuan approached the door and stared at the glowing eyes with a calm look on his face.
The next moment, almost as though someone had covered his eyes from behind, Yuan’s vision blackened.
A few seconds later, Yuan could see light appearing from above, causing him to look up.
When he looked up, a massive golden eyeball that was larger than a star gazed down on him like a sun.
This situation made Yuan recall the time he spent in the starry sky inside his mind at the Tablet of Comprehension. However, there were no stars here— only a single eyeball that felt awfully realistic.
"I will be looking into your memories now, human."
Before Yuan could even respond, the Great One’s sharp pupil contracted, and it began peeking into Yuan’s memories.
"Interesting... You... do not belong to the Nine Heavens..." The Great One spoke in a profound voice.
"Eh?" Yuan wondered just how much of his memories the Great One saw.
"Should I call you Yuan... or Yu Tian?" The Great One suddenly said, bewildering Yuan greatly.
"Y-You can call me Yuan," he subconsciously answered.
"Then Yuan, what do you hope to achieve or obtain in my Dragon Temple?" The Great One then asked, and it continued, "Do you want the treasures inside? Are you hoping to gain enlightenment? Is it my Legacy that you seek?"
"Honestly, I am mostly here for the experience. I am fine even if I don’t obtain any treasures inside or gain enlightenment. As for the Legacy, I am definitely interested in it." Yuan said.
The Great One remained silent for a few moments before speaking, "Truthfully speaking, your talents are too high, and the Dragon Temple wasn’t created with someone of your caliber in mind, as you would simply clear all of the trials with ease, so I am hesitant to let you go inside."
The Great One normally wouldn’t hesitate to let someone enter the Dragon Temple even if that person was very talented, as preventing talented individuals from entering would make the Dragon Temple’s purpose completely pointless.
However, Yuan was on another level. He was simply so talented that even the Great One hesitated to let him inside. After all, if it lets Yuan enter, he would, without any doubt, clear out all of the treasures in the Dragon Temple with ease, almost like taking candy from a baby, and that would be problematic.
"I would normally be ecstatic to find such a talented individual, but you... I cannot see your future."
"Is it abnormal that you cannot see my future?" Yuan asked the Great One, as it should be the other way around— that it’s abnormal for one to see another’s future.
"The Dragon’s Gaze is more than just an offensive technique. It has the capabilities to do so much more if fully mastered, and seeing the future is one of them." The Great One revealed, shocking Yuan.
Does this mean he would be able to see the future if he continues to practice the Dragon’s Gaze?
"Anyways, it is abnormal that I cannot see your future. If you were an Immortal or have a unique bloodline, it would make sense that I cannot see your future, but you are merely a Cultivator in the Spirit Grandmaster realm." The Great One said.
And it continued, "There are only a few instances where I cannot see one’s future. One, if they’re an Immortal or stronger. Two, if they possess the bloodline of a god. And lastly... if they have an unknown destiny."
"Unknown destiny...? I have an unknown destiny— at least that’s what I was told." Yuan said.
"That explains why I cannot see your future."
"What should I do now if I cannot enter the Dragon Temple?" Yuan then asked.
"I never said you cannot enter. I am still thinking about how I should handle this." The Great One said, feeling a little awkward, as it has never been put into such a situation before.
"Take your time," Yuan said to it.
A few minutes of silence later, the Great One spoke again, "Since you’re only here for the experience, I won’t take that away from you. However, you are only allowed to do three trials."
"Okay." Yuan quickly accepted.
And he continued, "What about the treasury room and the Legacy? I was given this key to the treasury room by the other you, and I was even told to obtain the Legacy."
"You may go to the treasury room and obtain the Legacy since you have already earned it."
"I see! Thank you, Great One!" Yuan said.
The next moment, Yuan returned to the cloudy scenery and the Dragon Temple.
"I will open the door for you now. Remember... only three trials..." The Great One’s voice resounded for the final time.
Once the door opened, Yuan was greeted by a portal on the other side.
Yuan didn’t think too much and stepped into this portal, disappearing from the place.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Nine Heavens, two figures sat before a Xiangqi board. One of them was an old man with long white hair neatly tied behind his back, whilst the other person was a handsome man with long golden hair flowing down his back like a waterfall.
"What’s the matter? Are you ready to forfeit this match?" The old man spoke with a smirk on his face after seeing the other individual not move for a long time.
The handsome man suddenly opened his eyes and stood up.
"What’s the matter? Why are you smiling like that?"
"There will finally be some entertainment in the Nine Heavens," said the handsome man.
"What?" The old man raised his eyebrows, clearly puzzled about the handsome man’s words.
The handsome man then turned to look at the empty horizon and said, "A monster has been born. I cannot wait to see how he’ll affect the Nine Heavens— if he survives long enough."