Above The Sky
Chapter 286 - 286 272 Central Control District 13

286: Chapter 272: Central Control District (1/3) 286: Chapter 272: Central Control District (1/3) “It’s truly beautiful, with clouds and mist entwining and glimmering lights shining the path—it’s indeed like a fairyland.”

Ian looked around the crystal creature museum, then retracted his gaze, his heart filled with amazement and satisfaction, “These crystals have been meticulously carved and impurities have been removed.

The artistic standards of the previous era’s civilization were also very high!”

“Damn!”

Andor, given his cultural level, could only exclaim with emotion, “It’s freaking huge!”

Ian did not stop in his tracks though.

As wonderful as the museum was, there was no time to dawdle; he used the silver chip to store everything he saw and heard, saving it for a time when he could appreciate it later.

But then, on the road, he suddenly stopped.

A sense of familiarity overwhelmed him, just like the Illusory Vision he had six years ago.

“—So it has come?

The Illusory Vision during the advancement of spirit energy…”

Ian was not surprised; he even felt a bit relieved, “At least it’s not happening during a fight with Patrick.”

As the Illusory Vision flickered, Ian seemed to see many phantom images from ancient times.

He saw, in the ancient seas, large waves tumbling, behemoths making the heavens roar as they fought each other, the Gargantuan Eel coiling around a colossal whale, shrieking as they battled from the deep sea abysses to the reef clusters along the coast.

He saw, beneath the azure sky and amid the sands, ancient crocodile herds digging their nests deep in the desert, constructing their own cities and traffic tunnels underground in the damp earth, uniting to fight against venomous scorpions and crabs and competing with prehistoric giant insects for dominion of the subterranean world.

He also saw endless swarms of jellyfish gathering in the sea, forming a ghostly blue mist with their fluorescence, with lightning flowing between each individual, radiating brilliance, danger, yet also a haunting beauty.

One by one, a myriad of images from ‘the past’ surged into Ian’s mind.

But the youth of today is not the child of yesteryear.

He simply closed his eyes, his body slightly swaying, and then embraced all the Illusory Visions.

“My spirit energy upgrade condition is known so far to involve seeing more things I am unaware of, but this time the direction of advancement isn’t prophecy?”

On the surface, Ian continued to walk forward, seemingly untroubled, to the point that Andor might at most think the other was overwhelmed by the majesty and beauty, which wouldn’t be too strange.

However, he sensed something unusual.

His spirit energy was, undoubtedly, of the Prophet series, able to foresee the trends of the future, to know the direction of possibilities, to provide timely feedback and self-correct—an exceedingly rare ability even among Prophets.

But just now, what he saw, seemed not to be from a Prophet?

Rather, it was…

images from the past.

“Past, future…

and the present; can I truly gaze upon them all?”

“Sir, Guide…”

At that moment, Ian heard Andor’s voice, tinged with fear, “Your eyes…”

“Hmm?” The youth turned his head to look at Andor, who was trying to voice a warning.

From the perspective of the Pirate Captain, the white-haired youth, slightly shorter than himself, had eyes layered with almost tangible azure halos, deeply profound, simply like two bottomless pools of ghostly light.

And within these clear yet unfathomably deep eyes, it seemed as if some colossal entity was revolving—those were gears, endlessly turning circles.

Past and future joining and spinning…

In that moment, he even felt as though he was completely seen through, as if his past and future were all reflected in the other’s eyes.

It wasn’t even an illusion.

The moment Ian turned his head and looked at Andor, he already knew the man’s past.

The elf with dark green hair looked blankly at the young White Folk before him, while the youth gazed into his eyes, with the elf’s entire nearly past unfolding in his mind.

——The birth of a coastal fishing village, a peaceful and serene childhood.

A father who had been conscripted by Canaan Moore and never returned; a mother who, alone, had supported the family but died along with her sister in a plague.

A hometown that lost its political favor due to a peaceful front line; villagers so poor they could only sell themselves in the big cities.

Robbed while fishing, compelled to become a pirate and struggle to survive; unexpectedly being able to eat well, while an honest friend who stayed in his hometown to work died from heavy taxes and exploitation.

And finally…

after killing the previous captain, he became the captain himself and faced enlistment.

“Damn it, I became a pirate, rob merchant ships and oppose the Canaan Moore officials every day, yet I could be enlisted with a heavy reward.

My best friend, following the Federation’s words, stayed home fishing obediently, and just starved to death?

He’s a fisherman, how could he starve to death?!”

“Why, why can I, a pirate full of sins, eat my fill, while my honest father and mother just die unclear deaths?!”

Ian could still hear the deepest emotions in Andor’s heart, the anger that couldn’t be forgotten.

He didn’t accept the enlistment and continued to be a pirate in the Southern Sea, occasionally taking private jobs from Federation congresspeople and wealthy nobles——after that night of rage, he couldn’t be bothered to be angry anymore.

After all, he had no other kin or children; living freely by himself was enough, and the rest…

he couldn’t be bothered to think about.

This world, isn’t worth getting angry over, is it not better to just enjoy life?

“…

It seems it’s not just The Empire.”

Withdrawing his gaze, the light of Spirit Energy in Ian’s eyes gradually dimmed after the Foresight View ended; he had already managed to control his gradually improving Spirit Energy.

The youth shook his head slightly, with a certain helplessness: “It seems the entire Terra Continent is just as rotten.”

“Given the production capacity of Terra’s ordinary people, and the extent of resource richness, people still starve to death.

Were the battles between Canaan Moore and the Azure Sky Royal Court really that fierce?

Was it not because the front was tight, so the rear had to suffer?”

“Even with extraordinary powers, human desires are all too common, even magnified by power.”

There wasn’t much time to contemplate these matters, for the long Crystal Corridor had come to an end.

Ahead was another metal door.

Ian was still pondering whether he would need to physically open the door again, but unexpectedly, a fluorescent light flickered, and the metal door opened automatically.

The youth’s aqua-blue eyes reflected a metallic silver light, and a slightly icy wind blew from beyond the door, causing his long hair at the temples to flutter.

The light from the Crystal Corridor poured into the entrance hall, illuminating it in its entirety.

Vivid colors flowed over still-active instruments and screens, making everything appear somewhat distorted, like an overexposed photograph.

But this was real.

“Finally…”

Taking a deep breath, Ian didn’t know whether it was his Spirit Energy or mere luck that had guided him to this place.

But indeed, he had arrived.

At the ‘Central Control District’.