Cultivation Methods… Theories… History… Identity… Schemes and everything else flowed through Kiel's mind. From the highest worlds down to the slums of the lowest town, nothing was spared.

The knowledge he so wanted was at his grasp; nothing was hidden from him; everything was shown.

Even the embarrassment and those that were kept as secrets for eons became known. Those that were lost were recovered, and those that were unending met its fated day.

He who learned everything assimilated every knowledge for eons to no end. He had no physical body, and he slept while thinking.

How many years has it been? He did not know. But what he did know was that his pursuit of the Truth ended.

What he chased for centuries should have made him fulfilled, but it brought him no joy.

'As I regained my mind, I gained the truth; only then did I discover everything. The truth is that I am myself. If that is so, what was the purpose of living through everything when you're already yourself?'

The Truth he knew was not the knowledge he craved, for when he learned everything, he gained nothing.

What he gained was a mere comprehension; it was a thought and realization. It was so simple that he chuckled into a guffaw; the answer was right in front of him, but he chose to look over the horizon instead.

A Soul, a Mind, a Personality, all these were the Truth — it was Life he found.

Uncovering the inner workings of a mind means learning about oneself, and as one finds self, one will be able to find everything else.

Ye Feng was a genius, a prodigy in many things. He learned the spear, the war hammer, the zither, a plethora of things. However, even he could not understand everything, appreciate others, or even emotions like happiness, satisfaction, and love.

"I who have learned about everything still know nothing about myself. In pursuit of knowledge, I cultivated, gained strength, and became invincible. In the vastness of different worlds, I am the strongest. Now I have become the personification of strength itself. My word can influence the very fabric of reality, my breath can upheave a Continent, yet all of it is for naught."

Ye Feng grew old, but he did not become wiser. He only grew more foolish for thinking he knew everything he needed to know.

But, even after learning about the Truth, all that he understood was his ignorance.

When Ye Feng regained his memory, he rediscovered the emptiness that plagued him only even deeper. Accomplishments lead to fulfillment, but it leads him to feel defeated.

He sacrificed one to get everything, only to end up sacrificing everything for one.

When his search ended, so did his only existing desire. There was nothing left for him, 'Maybe that's why I was so ready for it all to end.'

This is the Truth—the absolute Truth of the man named Ye Feng.

It was laughable to think that when he became the culmination of everything, he became nothing.

'How funny fate is.' He promptly made a deprecating laugh for the first time in eons.

He saw his Life play before him like a play without pause. Ye Feng recalled everything clearly, how he ascended past Mortality, his achievements, and the praise that showered him.

He found all the grandeur pinned to his name inconsequential to his dismal existence.

Ye Feng, a name that was the envy of all. Eons before he became untouchable by Time and Death, he walked two paths and gained two monikers.

On the Righteous Path, he was called the Drifting Leaf among Reeds. He was the most extraordinary talent without question and saved countless people. He was praised for his righteousness, revered and deified, he was the perfect man, yet, he remained without his own purpose.

He followed others, but not his own.

This void boiled to his core until one fateful night, he disappeared.

Ye Feng walked the opposite path and rerouted his very core of living, abandoning the previous set indoctrinated upon him. He became an Evil Cultivator and marched through the mire of s. He tried every known vice known to man yet still found nothing after winning everything.

He gained another moniker, Fleeting Death.

Ending others to get what he wanted, he had neither remorse nor mercy. Soon, he was feared by all. He was shunned by the people and cultivators alike. He was feared, and no one wanted him.

Not one looked him in the eye.

He was isolated even though he walked the earth.

There are infinite paths, yet the world locked its doors on him.

Even when he did not deny anyone's touch, no one wanted him.

A true sense of solidarity.

He was cursed for being alone.

The Darkest Path was a new life without the faintest resemblance to the other, but it ended all the same. He once again found nothing on that path and left it without a second thought.

He abandoned the Path of Darkness, similar to what he did in the past.

His name disappeared for the next ten thousand years.

The name Ye Feng was forgotten and what remained was a Moniker.

He became a legend on both sides, and despite everything else, he was a figure of respect.

The Legend of the Drifting Leaf among Reeds became the object of admiration amidst the Righteous Path. He was called a Hero and became the object of awe and respect.

A scholar once said, "The Drifting Leaf among Reeds was a Scholar who used a pen to fight. But as he witnessed evil, he picked up a spear and set out to face it. He protected the world and the weak with a soft expression and fought Evil with a stern glare; that was how he lived. Once Evil was no more, instead of vying for power or fame, he cast away greed. The Hero chose to disappear, becoming the Guiding Post of Righteousness. His name is the Drifting Leaf among Reeds, for he is different from every man."

His statue was erected to uncountable numbers of Sects.

Then, there was the legend of the Fleeting Death.

Many cultivators or just warriors, in general, admired him, and while some managed to surpass his diabolical deeds, none managed to become as invincible as he.

"The Fleeting Death appeared like smoke. He walked into the Valley of Death, where the Magna Cult set their base. He walked up to them, slaughtered everyone, and looted their halls, for he had nothing with him. He destroyed a Kingdom and reaped their souls to complete an array. No one wanted him, everyone feared him, but he was also respected. He gave everyone a swift death; he never tortured anyone, neither did he rape nor made anyone suffer, thus his moniker. But despite everything else, he was never called soft. He was diabolic as he was bloodthirsty, and he was the most idyllic person in The Darkest Path — a figure of absolute respect."

Those who strove to walk the path of the Dark Path revered him. No statue was erected, but his moniker and legend were etched in everyone's heart. An object of fear, a monster told to children as they close their eyes to sleep.

Some tried to impersonate Ye Feng's persona, but those who did drown in the spittle of disdain.

'I had everything on both paths, yet I remained empty still.'

Ye Feng once questioned why this was the case; only to find nothing for, he had nothing to base what is within the hearts of a person.

So, after ten thousand years of being detached from the world, he chose to resurface. But, this time, he was a mere no one.

No one knew who he was, but he managed to return to his origin as a scholar thanks to this. He went through different places in search of an answer and was directed to a single site… the Sage Mountain, where he spoke to the Venerable Sage, who told him that no path could fill his voided Life.

Ye Feng traveled every corner of the world, and despite reading all the books, finding nothing only enlarged the void within.

His emotions gradually withered, and only the passion for learning remained. Everyone he once knew had all died; thus, his connections were no more, and in a moment when he had nothing, he caught a glimpse of everything.

He who was so detached from everything, bypassed the Spirit World and reached the very edge of the Universe. It was an unrecorded place where Aether resided… a place where he only saw an eye and caught a glimpse of the Truth.

And as he did, that was when he truly became void.

Inside the Shell of the New Universe, Ye Feng chortled once more as he found his life laughable.

He cleared his mind about the world, and then, he heard it, the being that had kept quiet all this while.

"Center of all, what is it that you find funny?" It asked, without referring to Ye Feng's name.

Ye Feng cared not for his name, but as it was something, at some point, forgotten as well, "I just find it funny that even after finding everything, I failed to see what I am. I know everything in the Universe, yet I was unable to comprehend what I wanted.

"I have watched uncountable lives, living in a far worse situation than I. Yet all managed to smile in their endeavors. Only my doubt kept my feet going, and with my ambitions complete, I found myself unable to do anything. The first time I laughed in true amusement was only after seeing my own foolishness. I am but a mere vintage soul that ironically failed to mature."

Now, more than ever, Ye Feng could feel the hollowness of his existence.