Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible

Sect Master Qing Shi’s long, gray hair swayed in the ocean wind. The familiar cold air might have been soothing had he not been distressed over the future of his sect, his family, and himself.

Standing on the shore of the Poison Ocean, watching the distant walls of the Beasthaven Sect, his thoughts spiralled into a scattered, disjointed mess. Even with his decades of experience as the leader of the most powerful sect on this planet, even with his near-peerless cultivation, with all his resources and connections to the upper realms, he had failed to find a path that could save the countless lives he was in charge of from the impending doom.

Escape from the planet? That was the only acceptable solution for every party involved.

But it was simply not possible. Where could the thousands of disciples and elders of the Beasthaven Sect and their family members escape to? The teleportation mechanism might be available, but the resources to keep it running at such a grand scale were not so easy to prepare.

And even if they did escape, the sea of stars out there was not a gentle world that would simply accept them. Especially for people from this layer of the macrocosm, the scrutiny they’d face while traveling towards the central layers was harsh beyond reason.

At most, Qing Shi could only take a small number of friends and family with him if he selfishly chose to leave and hide in a different corner of the world. But what about the rest of the sect? Could he abandon them?

Impossible.

Sect Master Qing Shi would have never risen to his current position in life if he had a mindset that selfish. The ancestral masters had chosen him out of many competent candidates, understanding his sense of loyalty and duty.

Certain people would call him foolish for not attempting to save those he could and fleeing. But Qing Shi didn’t care. Either he would find a way to save even the chickens and dogs his sect had nurtured, or go down with this world facing its end.

A dignified death on a battlefield... Not a bad way to go,

Qing Shi sighed. Dying here among his people was better than dying as a pawn of an upper realm powerhouse.

"Hello there, fellow cultivator. You look preoccupied."

An unfamiliar voice came from behind, jerking his thoughts to a standstill.

Qing Shi turned around slowly, alarm bells ringing in his head.

How the hell did somebody sneak up on him?

Moreover, this person had called him ’A fellow cultivator’. This was a term suited between peers. On this planet, Qing Shi’s peers could be counted on fingers.

Which force would openly send someone so capable to this secret island? The inner territory of the Beasthaven Sect was hardly a place any ordinary cultivator could track down!

But upon seeing the appearance of this ’person’, Qing Shi was stunned.

A pitch-black void, shaped like the hunched silhouette of a tall human, stood in front of him, just a few meters away. Qing Shi opened his DaoSeekingEyes, spread the senses of his AstralForm and SpiritBody, and repeatedly scrutinized the silhouette, hoping to figure out its identity.

But let alone learning who it might be, he couldn’t even sense any signs of life in that silhouette. It stood there like a ghost, untouched by the five elements and layered realities.

Without waiting for the silhouette to speak again, Qing Shi closed in on it in the blink of an eye and poked a finger toward its throat. Yet, the silhouette made no move to counter him. It didn’t even move an inch.

As if touching air, Qing Shi’s finger and fist sank into the chest of the pitch-black silhouette and appeared behind it, affecting nothing, affected by nothing. It felt like he had only punched the air. This thing truly was a walking, talking, void!

"If you’re done studying me, let’s have a more civilized discussion, shall we?" said the silhouette in a polite tone. From up close. Qing Shi couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. But he could sense its impassive confidence.

"I’m not quite sure I should trust anything that comes out of your mouth when you don’t trust me enough to reveal your identity, fellow cultivator," Qing Shi said after retracting his fist through the chest of the silhouette.

"That’s a good point. But I’m sure you’ll be quite interested in what I have to say to you. My identity, in comparison, is meaningless," the silhouette replied.

Qing Shi could guess that whoever this person was, their intention behind this visit was not simple. They wanted to convey a significant message to him. And at the moment, what matter could be more significant than the danger their planet was facing?

Masking his qi under his DaoDomain, Qing Shi sent a secret signal to the sect to surround the area in secret and block all types of arrays, artefact formations, and qi-fuelled mechanisms. Then he sat down on the sand and gestured at the silhouette.

"Go ahead. I’m listening."

The silhouette hummed for a moment and began to recite a rhyme:

"Soul of a dragon, scattered with the winds

Soul of a human, unfettered by sins-"

Qing Shi’s pupils shrank, countenance freezing. He wanted to stop this person from reciting any further. But at the same time, a part of him became curious, interested in knowing where this conversation was leading to.

"Celestial curses await their touch

But the scholars of laws left an undying grudge;

When Myriad crimson worlds lie torn apart

Forbidden Sword Seed rises from a shattered heart;

The rulers of stone seek an unforged throne

When the shepherds of stars must fell their own

The scrolls of the wise seek to right past wrongs

The heavenly dao sings farewell songs."

In one breath, the silhouette finished the rhyme and chuckled, perhaps enjoying how drastically it had affected Qing Shi’s composure.

"...Where did you hear this from?" Qing Shi asked in a cautious tone. His voice couldn’t help but tremble a little as he added, "And why is it different from the one we know of?"

The silhouette didn’t immediately answer. To Qing Shi, it seemed like his question had caught this mysterious messenger off guard.

"Different? What part of it is different from the prophecy you know?" The silhouette finally asked.

For a moment, Qing Shi suspected that he was being tricked into spilling a significant secret. But considering how much this person knew already, what was the point of keeping the rest hidden?

At this point, Qing Shi was ready to gamble.

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