Chapter 1

The mountainous area in the northwestern region of Dalsoria remained in its natural state, untouched by development. There were no roads and no cars. Even the sighting of a human was rare. Nestled among the mountains was a solitary shack. Beyond it was a clearing filled with medicinal herbs whose scents wafted in the air. The shack was small and housed nothing more than a bed and a desk, the latter of which was covered in books and scraps of paper. On the bed lay an elderly man. His eyes were closed, and he had a peaceful expression on his face. A young man who looked to be approximately 17 or 18 years old was sitting by the bed. "I envy you so much, Sal. You got to pass away peacefully after at the age of 81," Icarus Frye murmured with a faint smile as he looked at Salazar Aldridge, the elderly man who had just died. "Alas, my life is far more tragic. Who knows how much longer I must live before I get to move on too." Icarus sighed, his gaze filled with pain and helplessness. Nearly five thousand years had passed since he first started on the path of cultivation. Throughout those long, arduous years, he'd failed to die and failed to proceed to the next cultivation phase. After cultivating for almost five millennia, he was still in the first phase—the refinement phase! Indeed, he was still at the very most basic phase of cultivation. Technically speaking, one wouldn't even consider it a cultivation phase, really. It was more akin to a preparation phase to prepare a person's body for cultivation. Only when one had reached the second phase—the foundation phase—did it count as truly embarking on the path of cultivation. Yet Icarus just so happened to be stuck right at the refinement phase with no means of progressing further. Over the years, he'd consumed over ten thousand foundation enhancement pills, to no avail. During the first millennia, his mentor consoled him by saying that his spiritual core was stronger than everyone else's, so he needed to stay in the refinement phase a little longer. But just like that, a thousand years passed, and even his mentor started wondering if he'd been mistaken. Had Icarus merely been a mortal without a spiritual core? But then again, could a mere mortal live for a thousand years without showing any signs of aging? Later on, Icarus' mentor succeeded in his ascension, joining the ranks of immortality and leaving the mortal world. From then onward, no one paid any attention to Icarus' cultivation. As time went on, the spiritual energy and resources of the world gradually decreased. And now, even if Icarus managed to have a breakthrough and proceed to the foundation phase, he wouldn't be able to ascend to immortality. That being said, Icarus never even thought about wanting to achieve immortality. All he wanted was to get past this stupid refinement phase! That was his obsession. By now, he had cultivated until the 9832th stage of the refinement phase. Most cultivators only needed to reach the 12th stage before progressing into the foundation phase. Just the thought of cultivation alone vexed Icarus. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and looked at the pieces of paper on the desk that were scribbled with all sorts of medicinal formulas. "If I'd known you'd end up becoming so obsessed with medicine, I wouldn't have taught it to you back then!" Icarus said, shaking his head helplessly. According to Salazar's dying wishes, he was to organize these formulas and bring them with him. He'd only just started sorting through them when he heard the sound of footsteps outside. He swiftly lifted his head and looked out the window. Considering where Salazar had built this shack, how was it possible that someone managed to find it? Icarus' brows creased slightly. After about 15 minutes, a group of people appeared in front of the shack. There were seven of them in total—a young man and woman, an elderly man in a wheelchair, and four muscular men in suits that looked like bodyguards. Once Icarus saw the dying man sitting in the wheelchair, he knew they'd come to seek medical help. The handsome man approached the shack and called out loudly, "Greetings, Dr. Aldridge. My name is Fred Talbot. We're from the Talbots of Riverton. We would like you to—" Icarus opened the door, cutting Fred off. "You're too late. Salazar Aldridge passed away not too long ago." Everyone's expressions stiffened in shock. What was that? Salazar Aldridge, the genius doctor they'd gone to great lengths to find… was dead? "H-How could this be…" Fred mumbled, his face pale. He stared dazedly at Icarus. To treat the severe condition that plagued Jeremiah Talbot, Fred's grandfather, the Talbots used all of the resources at their disposal. They had expended a lot of money and manpower before they managed to procure the location of Salazar who had withdrawn from society for nearly two decades. After much hardship and difficulty, they finally located Salazar's shack, only to receive this devastating news instead! "How could it be such a coincidence? We've only just found him… No, it can't be. Dr. Aldridge isn't dead. He's just choosing to hide from society. He doesn't want to see us!" Ruth Talbot, the pretty young woman, exclaimed in agitation. Tears had filled her reddened eyes. "Yes, that's right! Dr. Aldridge is definitely inside!" Fred agreed. Eyes filled with hope, he entered the shack. Immediately, he spotted Salazar on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. After taking a closer look, he realized that the old man was no longer breathing. "H-How can this be happening…" His hopes dashed, he felt as if all the energy had been sucked out of him. "I already told you that Salazar has passed away. You can leave now," Icarus said, his brows furrowed. He was a little displeased that Fred had barged into the shack without permission. All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Fred. He swiveled his head around to look at Icarus. "You're Dr. Aldridge's disciple, aren't you? I'm sure you must've inherited his medical skills. You can treat our grandpa instead. As long as you succeed, we'll give you as much money as you want!" Icarus shook his head and replied, "I'm not his disciple. I'm just… an old friend of his." Technically, Icarus was Salazar's mentor. It was under Icarus' influence that the 15-year-old Salazar had chosen to study medicine. But of course, there was no point in saying this. No one would believe him if he did. As it was, claiming to be Salazar's old friend was rather strange too. Icarus looked like he wasn't even 20 yet, and Salazar was in his 80s. How could two people of vastly different ages be considered old friends? Nevertheless, no one was in the mood to ponder this right now. They were all wallowing in despair after having their hopes destroyed. Meanwhile, when Jeremiah heard about Salazar's passing, he slumped down in his wheelchair with a defeated gaze. Such was fate. His time was up. There was no point in trying to fight it. Ruth was deeply saddened to see Jeremiah in this state. She couldn't stop crying. Brows furrowed, Icarus looked at Jeremiah and asked out of the blue, "You're already 73 years old. That's a pretty long life. Isn't it more than enough? Why do you want to carry on living?" Upon hearing that, everyone was stunned. They were curious to know how Icarus knew Jeremiah's age. However, once they processed what Icarus said, their expressions hardened. Did he imply that Jeremiah had lived long enough? Who in this world would ever claim that they'd lived long enough? What did he mean by that? Was he trying to taunt Jeremiah? Was it an insult? "What are you trying to say, you bastard?" Fred fumed as he threw a punch at Icarus' chest, his expression foul. Icarus' gaze flickered ever so slightly, but he didn't even move. Before Fred's fist could make contact with Icarus, Fred felt as though he'd been hit by a powerful force. He was sent flying backward before stumbling onto the ground. Everyone's jaws dropped. They were all thunderstruck. It had clearly been Fred who threw the punch. Icarus hadn't even moved, so how did Fred end up on the ground instead? "Fred!" Ruth shrieked. The four bodyguards finally came back to their senses and began making their way over to Icarus. "No one is allowed to move!" Jeremiah ordered hoarsely, and the four men swiftly halted. Clutching his chest, Fred crawled up from the ground and stared at Icarus in horror. "I'm afraid we've been very rude, young man. May I know your name?" Jeremiah asked. "Icarus Frye." Jeremiah nodded in greeting before saying with a smile, "You asked me why I wanted to carry on living. I shall answer that question now. It's because I want to continue spending more time with my family. I want to be around to watch my grandchildren grow up. I want to see them get married, start their own families, and have children of their own. "Isn't that the case with everyone? We all hope to see our families flourish and do well for themselves." "Grandpa…" Ruth cried even harder after hearing what Jeremiah said. Meanwhile, the mention of family made Icarus' eyes flicker. To him, family was nothing more than a distant memory. But for ordinary mortals, family was a constant in their lives that carried on from generation to generation. Wouldn't most mortals long to live for as long as they could? "What you have is end-stage lung cancer, right? You have less than three months to live, so make the most of your final moments," Icarus said before heading back inside the shack and shutting the door behind him. The Talbots were stupefied. How did Icarus tell just by looking at Jeremiah that the latter had lung cancer? Plus, he was spot-on. The doctors had indeed said that Jeremiah had less than three months to live. Icarus had to be Salazar's disciple! After coming back to his senses, Fred started pounding on the door, shouting, "Mr. Frye, you're Dr. Aldridge's disciple, aren't you? Please treat my grandpa. Please, I'm begging you! We'll—" "A person's life and death is in fate's hands. Leave at once, all of you. Or else, don't blame me for not showing any courtesy." Icarus' calm voice rang out from the shack. "A doctor should be compassionate! How can you refuse to save a life—" Fred growled in anger. "Freddy, come back here," Jeremiah said. "Grandpa!" Fred cried out, his eyes red as he turned to look at Jeremiah. "The young man is right. Life and death are both determined by fate. If is it my fate to die, how can I cheat fate? Let's go," Jeremiah said. In a sincere manner, he called out to the shack, "Young man, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Mr. Aldridge. I didn't expect him to have passed on already… I know we have disturbed his peace by coming here today, and I'm truly sorry for that. I hope he will rest in peace now." Once Jeremiah finished speaking, he instructed everyone to leave. Although Fred didn't want to accept this outcome, he had no choice but to obey Jeremiah. As they made their way back, everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was heavy. Noticing the thoughtful look on his younger sister Ruth's face, Fred frowned and asked, "What's on your mind, Ruth?" Brows slightly furrowed, Ruth muttered, "I keep getting the feeling that Icarus looks a little familiar. It feels like I've seen him somewhere before." "How is that possible? It's our first time coming to the northwestern region. How could you have possibly met that guy Icarus before?" Fred said. "You're right, but… he really does seem familiar to me," Ruth replied as she rubbed her temples. Being in a bad mood, Fred ignored Ruth. He assumed she was merely mistaken. Yet, after only taking a few more steps, Ruth came to an abrupt stop. "I-I remember now. I saw him in school before!"