Chapter 00005: Celestial Path
# Celestial Path
Chapter 5
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 5: Celestial Path
Ever since he had nearly been hit head-on by a massive truck yesterday, Ji Jue had been feeling dazed and absent-minded.
After finishing his checkups at the hospital and returning home, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Now that he had woken up, a feeling of lightness and some joy lingered within him, as if he had miraculously escaped death.
Although he wasn’t experiencing the cherished tales of reincarnating in another world, magic being tested, or gaining a harem, at least he was still alive, right?
Living felt great! It felt incredibly great! Since he was nine years old, Ji Jue had never felt he had lived enough.
He sensed that he should still have the chance to live another four, five, six, seven, or even eighty years more.
So what if life had its struggles? So what if he was a bit poor? Life could still be lived, after all.
Long live life!
But… was that scar on his face fading a bit?
The old house left behind by his ancestors had weathered many storms.
The wooden floor creaked underfoot.
Despite Ji Jue's careful maintenance over the years, its decline was still evident.
As Ji Jue washed his face in front of the mirror, he couldn't help but raise his head and scrutinize the scar that stretched from under his neck to his face.
It looked like a snake wrapped around his back.
The mark, born out of a burn, was ugly and hideous, yet now it seemed to have slightly faded.
More importantly, he felt a bit different.
In fact, everything seemed a little different.
It was as though the whole world had subtly changed.
If one were to compare it, it was like a patient who had lost a limb suddenly feeling a phantom sensation of that lost limb—the sense of suddenly gaining an extra eye, an extra hand, or some new sensory perception.
But when he tried to really grasp that feeling, everything became bewilderingly faint.
The more he focused, the more disoriented he became, as if something was lodged in his chest, stuck and causing discomfort.
After washing his face, he slumped down on the sofa and picked up the remote, hoping to distract himself with something else.
But the television screen merely flickered with a broken image.
“Another thing broken?” Ji Jue scratched his head and leaned down to press the switch, but it was still the same.
After all, it was an old television, older than him, with a curved screen.
He had patched it up numerous times over the years, yet this time it seemed different from the usual issues.
Lost in confusion, he suddenly heard a voice that felt almost like an illusion:
“Brother, don’t turn it off, my butt hurts.”
“What?” Ji Jue instinctively pressed the button again and heard a moan, freezing in place, his mind a blank, he managed to lift his head and look towards the source of the sound.
The television.
“My butt hurts,” said the television.
“Wha—”
Ji Jue was taken aback and fell to the floor in shock.
A TV… could talk?
Then the television fell silent, almost as if he had nearly broken it.
Panic and confusion swirled within him until he finally gathered the courage to go behind the television, only to suddenly realize.
Wasn’t it because the butt hurt?
The power cord at the back was frayed and aging, causing a short!
After rummaging around for a while, he finally found some electrical tape and pliers.
Repairing the power cord wasn’t as complicated as he had expected, but rather surprisingly simple.
Then came a sigh of relief from the television. “Much better.”
The television continued, “The voltage has been unstable lately. Don’t keep it on for too long. The picture tube is also wearing out…”
The voice began to fade, becoming increasingly indistinct.
Ji Jue’s head was spinning.
As he gazed at the television, it felt as if an unseen eye had opened again, allowing him to perceive its internal structure and workings.
When he listened closely, it seemed that whispered words were reporting on its status.
When he touched the television, it was as if invisible hands were at play, feeling the level of wear on each component, its lifespan, and even interfering with its operation.
But all of this seemed to be built on his energy.
Each time he used this power, he could feel his vitality rapidly draining away.
Within just a few minutes, he felt as exhausted as if he hadn’t slept for several days, on the verge of collapsing.
He had no doubt that if he didn’t stop, imminent collapse wouldn’t be a joke, but the harsh reality.
In the silence, Ji Jue looked down at his wrist.
He could feel an incessant buzzing and sensing, so clear even in this state of exhaustion, requiring no extra energy, as if the strange watch had become a part of his body.
What shocked Ji Jue was that the numbers on the watch face had gone from being on the brink of maxing out to reset back to the beginning, and even lower than that.
“01”
What stood out even more was that more than half of the zero mark on the dial had turned golden, as if stuck at a certain progress point.
As he infused his limited energy into it, a waterfall of information flooded before his eyes.
“Preparation for the Chosen Ceremony starts, welcome to Tian轨 Group.”
"Error report, the 1,789,989th transmission failed."
“Detected temporary employee in life-threatening danger... Calling nearby stations, no signal response, calling headquarters support center, no signal response... Error! Error! Error!”
“Temporary worker emergency survival protocol activated—During the protocol’s effectiveness period, talents will be forcibly activated as abilities—Reserve energy depleted—Protocol ended—Duration: 0.4 seconds.”
“Detected unknown error, error, error, lost signal response, unable to complete upload. Human resource management program reminds you to become the Chosen One quickly, proceed to Central Station, and complete your formal onboarding.”
Darkness clouded Ji Jue’s vision.
It wasn’t fatigue; it was confusion.
Too many new terms rushed into his mind, overwhelming him: Chosen Ceremony, Tian轨 Group, temporary worker, protocol, error, Chosen One, Central Station, onboarding…
But with some guesswork, he began to grasp bits of it.
It seemed that he had somehow linked with this watch through what was called the Chosen Ceremony.
And he had submitted a resume to a company he had never heard of, then somehow got automatically accepted?
But this company seemed to be a shabby operation with nothing to its name and no one ever looked for him, leaving him uncertain of its status.
When it started up some sort of emergency survival protocol because of his life-threatening situation, it forcibly activated his “talent” into superpower but burnt through the energy entirely.
In the end, it was like telling him to quickly become the Chosen One and go to some place called Central Station to become a formal employee of the company?
“Hello?”
Ji Jue cautiously raised his wrist and asked, “Is anyone there?”
No response.
In the silence, even the ticking of the watch’s hand was too lazy to make a sound.
It seemed to be ignoring him.
“Don’t be silent.” Ji Jue asked curiously, “By the way, what’s the pay like at your company? What’s the size? What’s the main business? How's the salary and benefits? Are there annual leave and year-end bonuses?”
The watch remained silent.
As Ji Jue’s heart calmed down gradually, he continued, “But wait a minute, when did I become your temporary worker? Did I agree to this? Is there any written confirmation?”
He lay back on the tattered sofa and found a relaxing position. “After being a temporary worker for so many years, although I haven't done any work, that’s not a reason for you not to pay me! Can I get some back pay? What about the five insurances and one fund? You guys aren’t avoiding taxes, are you? Be careful, or I’ll report you...”
Silence lingered, and only Ji Jue’s babbling echoed as he felt like a clown.
But being a clown was fine—it meant there wasn’t any hidden danger inside the watch.
Well, if it wouldn’t speak, then he’d leave it be.
He had made himself a temporary worker without pay, and he seemed to be using the watch without having to pay for it.
They were both getting a good deal.
At least he didn’t have to worry that someone would drop from the sky to smack him down and reclaim the company’s assets.
Moreover, Tian轨, the station… he had never heard of before.
In this vast federation with so many big cities, there were just a few railways running back and forth, all managed by the respective city governments.
He had never heard of any Tian轨 Group.
This watch hadn’t moved from his family since his grandfather's time; it hadn’t been sought after in all these years.
Most likely, that shabby company… might be long gone.
Ji Jue sighed in relief and finally felt at ease.
As he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could sense something building up within him, thin and wispy like fog, but when it converged, it formed a steady flow.
Little by little, it filled him and dispelled some of his fatigue.
Amidst this feeling, he sensed a nearly negligible thread flow towards the watch, replenishing its reserves, causing the numbers on the watch face to rise again—“03”
Is this the spiritual essence?
He had accumulated for so many years and barely hit ninety, but that survival protocol burned it all in less than a second...
However, after his talent was forcibly activated once, his spiritual essence recovery seemed much faster, much faster than before.
He was probably just one step away from formally transforming his ability.
So now… was he about to become a superpower user?
Ji Jue’s eyes lit up.
Long ago, he had read a comic that supposedly survived since before the age of disaster, featuring several heroes, all immensely powerful, each more impressive than the last.
One of them was immensely strong, invulnerable, with eyes that could shoot lasers; another was wealthy, dressed in black, helping the vulnerable while hiding his identity; one was a woman wielding a sword and a rope, exuding charm; another wore red and was fast, at everything, even dying quickly…
Was it the eighth or the ninth? They had extraordinary abilities, too!
He could talk to fish, and the fish would reply!
Just like him.
When he spoke to the telephone, it would reply to him, even telling him the call had no balance!
How incredible!
Although he sounded a bit cheeky, Ji Jue couldn’t help but feel extremely happy.
He felt like he was indeed different from before.
It seemed he wouldn’t need to struggle tirelessly anymore.
He could live happily, easily, without worry.
How wonderful!
Even if he flunked an exam, he wouldn’t have to fear; if a paper got rejected, he wouldn’t have to fret; not being able to pass the second-level engineer exam before graduation wasn’t a big deal; he wouldn’t really starve or fall into the streets for not repaying student loans.
After all, I’m a superpower user…
Boom!
A thunderous sound erupted from downstairs, like a divine warning.
Ji Jue poked his head out from the stairway in confusion, seeing a door blown open by the wild wind.
Rain seeped in, and muddy footprints trailed into the depths of the living room…
An uninvited guest arrived suddenly!
Thank you all for your continued support through reading and voting! Thank you!
I’ll beg for your support again tomorrow!
(End of Chapter)
