“Speaking of which, I haven’t asked for your name yet. My name is Mu, what’s yours?”
It would never forget their first meeting. There was a touch of red blood on the corners of her lips as this quiet and gentle woman stood in the void, looking at it with a smile on her face.
[What is my name?]
It had no idea what its name was. It did not even realize that such a thing as a ‘name’ existed in this world.
Before meeting her, its world was nothing more than endless darkness and desolation.
It was because it met her that its world now had sound, had expectations, and today, light had also become a part of it…
“I don’t know what my name is,” it mumbled in reply. Inexplicably, a lowly feeling of shame took root in it, as if it had blasphemed her just by looking at her like this.
“No name, huh…” Mu walked around it, then she suddenly clapped her hands and smiled, “I know! Seeing as how you’re so dark, your name should be Mo.”
“Mo…” It murmured, and then it slowly beamed, “My name is Mo!”
It had its own name now, and it was Mu who gave it to it. It was determined not to lose it in its life, and one day, it would let everyone know its name!
But soon, it realized that its appearance was not quite the same as Mu’s.
Mu had arms and legs, a head and a body, and she was even wearing pretty clothes. She was such a pretty person. It also wished that it…
As those thoughts ran through its mind, the round black blob, without a fixed shape, began to warp, gradually transforming until it looked just like Mu.
Mu looked at it in surprise, “You can even assume Human Form… but this won’t do, you can’t look like me.”
Mo was puzzled, “Why?”
Mu kindly explained, “Because everyone is unique in this world.”
Mo didn’t quite understand, but if Mu had said it, then it must be true.
It was a shame that it couldn’t look like her. She definitely had the most beautiful appearance in this world, it thought to itself.
“Then, what should I look like?” Mo asked.
“Just the way you were is good, too.” After a pause, she added, “But if you have to assume Human Form, then why don’t I give you a hand?”
“With what?”
“Changing your appearance,” Mu reached out her hands and pounced on it with a teasing grin on her face, then she began to rub and shape it.
Mo did not resist, allowing her to do as she pleased.
Mu worked for quite a while before taking a few steps back and studying Mo carefully, after which she nodded in satisfaction, “There, that’ll be your look.”
Mo held out its hands and spread them out in front of itself, feeling confused as it looked at its small hands.
Seeing its confusion, Mu took the initiative to explain, “This is what my Brother looked like, but he died when he was very young, so you can take his form from now on.”
“Okay…” Mo responded obediently.
Mu then looked up at the Profound Source Gate again and rushed over to it with excitement, “This gate is a treasure. It ate a part of my Space-Time River, so I’ll have to take it with me.” She then turned to Mo, “This is the door to your home, do you still want it?”
Mo waved his hand, “I don’t want it, you can have it.” Who would even want such a thing…
Mu nodded, “In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony.”
The Space-Time River was summoned again and wrapped itself around the strange gate. Perhaps because a piece of her Space-Time River was left inside the gate, this time, Mu was able to collect it with ease.
“Let’s go,” Mu beckoned Mo and led him away into the distance.
On the way, Mo asked the question that was on his mind, “Mu, what is death?”
“Death… If a person dies, then we will never be able to see each other again, and that person will only live on in the memories of others.”
“What is a Little Brother?”
“Well… it’s a sibling born from one’s parents.”
“Then, am I your Little Brother?”
“Yes, you’ll be my Little Brother from now on!”
“You’re my Little Brother, too!”
“That’s not right, I’m your Big Sister. Sixth Sister, to be exact!”
“What is a Big Sister?”
“Hm… A Big Sister is a sibling born from one’s own parents.”
“But isn’t that what a Little Brother is?”
“Hey listen, a Little Brother should speak less because if he talks too much, his mouth will glue shut and he’ll never be able to open it again!”
Shocked, Mo covered his mouth in a panic.
…
“Mu, where did this Little Friend come from?”
“This is the one I told you about, the one who was shut behind that strange gate.”
“You got him out of there?”
A crowd of people surrounded Mu and Mo, their eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity. Mo clung to the corner of Mu’s clothes and hid behind her.
It had never known that so many people existed in this world, and that they all looked different. It was no wonder why Mu said that everyone was unique.
“Little Friend, what’s your name?” Someone asked.
Mo shook his head and did not answer, a timid look on his face.
The speaker asked with pity in his voice, “Is he mute?”
Mu laughed, “Of course not, the child is just a little shy.”
“There is something odd about this boy. I’ve never seen that power inside his body before. Mu, do you know what you’ve rescued?”
“I’m not sure, but it was too pitiful to see him trapped behind that gate all alone. I couldn’t just leave him after I discovered him.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Rest assured. With how weak he is, he can’t do much even if the power inside his body is a little strange. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“That’s good. Right now, the Great Monsters are running amok and our people are in a tough spot. We can’t afford to deal with any more trouble.”
It was Mo’s first time meeting someone other than Mu, and after a brief conversation with them, he was led off to rest by Mu.
In the days that followed, they slowly came to know each other better and it became clear that Mo was no mute. Mo had also figured out the relationship between these people and Mu.
The 10 of them had such a close bond that they called each other Siblings.
Mu was ranked sixth out of the 10, which was why Mu asked him to call her Sixth Sister on the way here.
As he was the youngest, he was affectionately called Little Eleventh by everyone…
Mo also finally figured out what a Big Sister and Little Brother was…
It even witnessed death!
In those days, the Great Monsters of the Early Ancient Era were committing atrocities all across the land, and the Human Race chose to stand up to them, thus everything under the Heavens was put under a constant baptism of blood and war.
It was not known just how many Humans had thrown away their lives in those battles.
For a being who had been locked behind a gate all this while, it was a great shock for Mo to suddenly see such an unimaginable scene.
Because of Mu, it began to think of itself as a Human, and as it watched Mu and the nine others busying about, it too wanted to help. It wanted to kill those Early Ancient Era Great Monsters and give the Humans a peaceful place to live.
Mo began cultivating, but the Human Race’s Open Heaven Realm Method did not suit it at all, and no matter how hard it tried, it could not raise its cultivation.
That was until one day it unwittingly felt the power surging deep inside the bodies of some of the Humans, and almost instinctively, it drew that invisible and formless power into its body, refining and absorbing it.
It actually felt as if it had grown a little stronger.
Mo was both pleasantly surprised and horribly terrified by this discovery. It was pleasantly surprised to have found a way to cultivate, but also terrified because it had never heard of this kind of cultivation before.
It went to look for Mu at once to ask for clarification; however, Mu was out fighting at that time. By the time she returned, it was several dozen years later, and Mo had grown significantly stronger.
Mo could not forget the joy on Mu’s face, how happy she was that it became stronger.
The words that reached its mouth were stuck there, but Mo suddenly realised that this was not so bad. As long as Mu was happy, what else mattered?
Having found the right path to cultivate, Mo’s strength soared by leaps and bounds.
One day, it would finally become strong enough to step onto the battlefield!
Mu did not give it any preferential treatment just because of who it was, and Mo simply participated in its first battle against Monster Race as the most ordinary of Human soldiers.
After all, Mu was one of the 10 Commanders of the Human Race of that era and had more important things to do than babysit. It was impossible to keep Mo by her side and watch over it at all times.
During Mo’s first battle, the army that it was in was ambushed by the Early Ancient Era’s Great Monsters and torn to pieces. The casualties they suffered were severe!
Mu rushed to provide support when she received the news, but by the time she reached the battlefield, the fighting was over.
Originally, she thought that Mo was already no more, but what she saw instead stunned her.
The Human Race, which had been at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength, had won the battle at a huge cost, with just 30% of their forces surviving in the end.
Mo stood in the middle of the bloody sea of corpses, with many of the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters nearby bowing down in submission as the cheers of the surviving soldiers came like a tide.
It was only after this that Mu learnt that Mo had used its power at the most critical moment, causing Monster Race Masters to change sides, leading to their eventual victory.
It was only now that she realised the special nature of Black Ink Strength, which seemed to have the ability to twist the mind and spirit of living beings.
Mo had no choice but to confess to Mu about its years of cultivation, and that subduing Monster Race Masters with its power was just an idea that happened to crop up. It had never done it before.
For the first time, Mu reprimanded him.
Mo panicked, not knowing what it had done wrong, but seeing Mu’s reaction, it knew it had to have done something wrong.
After scolding Mo, Mu couldn’t help but sigh, saying that it wasn’t its fault before leaving with a grimace.
As it watched Mu’s somewhat sullen back, Mo vowed to itself that it would never use that method of cultivation again, nor would it ever use its power to subdue any living creature.
However, things rarely went as one wished in life.
As the battle between the Humans and Monster Race raged on, the fighting only became more and more fierce.
Even if the Human Race had the 10 Martial Ancestors, the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters had a considerable number of powerful Masters of their own.
Things were looking increasingly dire for the Human Race, and there were even many who had submitted to the Monster Race, willingly becoming their slaves in order to survive.
Battle after battle, Mo, who had witnessed countless deaths, could no longer resist the urge to use its power once more, twisting the hearts of the Humans who turned against them.
Not one person on the entire battlefield was spared during that event! Even those of the Monster Race were subjugated by it.
In that battle, the Human Race Army, which had not seen glory for a long time, received an overwhelming victory!