Diviner of Distant Reach

For years, the jade abacus sat fixed upon his head as if it were a natural organ.
Threads of light meandered into his gray hair, merging with his very consciousness.
At a speed far beyond mortal limits, he interpreted vast streams of data, translating them into lucid hexagrams. Even in sleep, portents would flow into his mind as a parade of strange dreams.

Admiring his reputation as "The Divine Seer," students meeting him for the first time would often ask curiously:
"Master Jingtian, if the jade abacus is so miraculous, then surely, in time, it could lay bare all of the world's secrets?"
In response, he would often pose some puzzling questions:
"That depends on... what do you see it as?"
Many would flatter him to his face, only to be met with a silent smile and a gentle shake of his head. Yet among them, one particularly spirited young girl spoke with blunt honesty:
"It looks like... a shackle."

Instead of getting angry, he burst into hearty laughter.
For a distinguished diviner, the greatest peril is being trapped within the confines of his own extrapolation.
"If one believes solely in the jade abacus," he muttered, "how can one comprehend the will of fate?"
Yet years later, he chose a different path, the only one that destiny had laid before him.

At the Battle of Thalassa, the Yaoqing forces faced off against the borisin.
The newly formed "Deca-Light Reflection Barrier" produced a baffling prediction: instead of deploying the millions-strong and battle-hardened Yaoqing fleet, seek help from the distant Ebonpearl Fleet of the Xianzhou Fanghu.

This conclusion defied conventional military wisdom, and the generals, as expected, adhered to the former course.
The Master Diviner of the Yuque remained in the rear, delving into mystical calculations and presenting the results to the Arbiter-Generals as a foundation for their verdicts, as was customary.
But when the divination results clashed with rational expectations, he resolved to verify them personally.

Disguised as a traveling merchant, he infiltrated the water dwellers' camp.
When the borisin surrounded the water dwellers, he stepped in to save them, ultimately winning their trust at the cost of an arm. From them, he learned a secret that no data bank had ever recorded:
Stirred by the moon, the "Devil's Tide" would engulf the battlefield in a month. The Yaoqing army, deficient in naval combat, would surely fail to sustain their fight, leaving only the Fanghu's Ebonpearl Fleet, adept in water, with any hope of victory.

When he returned, a prosthetic hand had appeared beneath his sleeve.
Diviners of the Yuque had always cherished their hands, even applying ancestral protective hand balm after their divinations.
But having lost an arm, he could no longer perform his delicate calculations as before, and when rotating the astral charts, it would always emit a hollow sound.

That hand was always cold, just like his increasingly precise divination results.
He gradually saw the full picture of the path ahead, far more vast than he had imagined...
An inescapable destiny, with absolutely no possibility of change.

With the demonic star Ketu Mirage looming overhead, the Xianzhou Fanghu was in imminent danger.
He knew the ominous prophecy from many years ago would eventually come true, but he never imagined it would manifest in this way.
He was pleased that his student had grown strong enough to protect the Xianzhou, even if it meant he had to use the Yuque's ultimate weapon, Cloudpeer Telescope, to send a distress signal to the Reignbow Arbiter.

That day, he wore a relatively new ritual robe over his pilot's outfit.
"Sorry, I'll leave it to you."
He entrusted his other outstanding disciple with extrapolating the Deca-Light Reflection Barrier, ensuring the Reignbow's Lux Arrow would land on schedule.
"A diviner needs no farewell, since we've already said goodbye countless times in the future we foresee."
After bowing to his colleague, he boarded the Navis Astrigera, heading for the Fanghu.

Cloudpeer Telescope sent a signal to where Reignbow last left its traces.
In the deathly still air, he raised his eyeline, just as he had countless times before, to gaze at the stars above.
A point of light appeared in the sky, his ritual robe rustling in the gentle breeze. He squinted carefully to make it out, then smiled with contentment.
"I... can see it."

As the Lux Arrow roared through the sky like a blazing sun crashing into the earth, demonic stars, abominations, warriors, diviners... all turned to dust.

Relics of past Master Diviners are all preserved by the Yuque's Divination Commission.
Among such exquisite divination tools as the Ruyi scepter, celestial instrument, hexagram board... a pair of worn boots stands out conspicuously.

Whenever new blood joins the Divination Commission, their first stop is to come here and pay their respects.
Ever since taking office, the General known as Madam Yao has personally presided over such ceremonies.

Most of Jingtian's relics were destroyed on the battlefield, and not even his remains were left behind.
In life, he crafted these cloud boots to verify his divinations personally, allowing him to move freely between battlefields and gather information swiftly.
However, the General discovered for the first time that these cloud boots, which should never touch the ground, had become covered in fine cracks and wear marks from prolonged use.

"Even if fate is predetermined, a diviner has the duty to understand why it is so."

Her master's voice echoed in her ears once again.
Now, the cloud boots float and spin aimlessly in the air, like a child who has lost their father, lost and bewildered.
Do they yearn to journey even further? Do they long to continue treading across the sea of stars?

The diviners gazed at it, watching as it flew further and further away, becoming a tiny speck of light in their vision, finally dissolving into that vast expanse of darkness and starlight.
Just like the handwritten words engraved beside the relic...

"The path to the universe begins with a single step."