"What on earth is going on?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Past Ethan Zhang and Future Ethan Zhang were already standing beside me. The Eye of Time loomed before my eyes, radiating a supernatural pressure as he spoke with barely contained fury.
"Don't recklessly freeze time like this. Do you know how much effort it takes to fix just one second of stopped time? And how much work it takes to clean up the fragments of time produced after correction?"
Past Ethan Zhang smiled, casting a fleeting glance at me and Future Ethan Zhang.
"Although we are fundamentally the same person, your methods, temperament, and everything about you truly clash with me! Don't worry, Juchen."
As he spoke, with a sharp whoosh, the crystal-clear sword on Past Ethan Zhang's back shot out, hovering in midair. Immediately, strands of pure, spectral white light twisted into chains, crashing down around us. In an instant, the frozen world lurched back into motion, yet we remained trapped inside a translucent, ghostly barrier pulsing with eerie light.
"You just need to narrow the range of time freeze. This kind of delicate work isn't something you can handle."
Past Ethan Zhang spoke with scorn, shooting Future Ethan Zhang a contemptuous look. Future Ethan Zhang clenched his fists, the air crackling as blue smoke curled up, thickening the suffocating tension.
"Don't waste time arguing over meaningless things."
Juchen spoke, the ferocity draining from his face in an instant—a chilling transformation. His jaw snapped shut, and a cold, unsettling calm swept over him, leaving the air heavy with dread.
"If, as you say, the Immortality Society has only obtained five pieces of Blood Jade, then things aren't urgent yet. The difference between having five and six pieces is like heaven and earth."
I looked at Juchen in confusion. He spoke of five Wraith Fragments and six Wraith Fragments, a difference of just one, but why such a huge disparity?
Past Ethan Zhang glared at Tan Tian, his teeth clenched in barely contained fury. Tan Tian met his gaze with icy indifference before speaking.
Past Ethan Zhang spoke, and Future Ethan Zhang stepped forward.
"Tell us your solution."
I looked at Past Ethan Zhang in shock. Though I didn’t know what tragedies haunted his past, a nameless sorrow clung to him, as if some invisible weight pressed down on his shoulders, saturating the air around us with a suffocating, spectral grief.
"This sword was forged from Starshard Radiance and my own power. I prefer to call it Stellarblade. Now, because of the Eye of Time's reverse correction, Miss Lana Lin's body will worsen further. The real culprit behind all this is Ethan Zhang in this world. So the normal solution would be to return to Miss Lana Lin's past and sever all her ties with Ethan Zhang. Since a dead person, even if reversed by the Eye of Time, wouldn't affect this world, it's the perfect solution. But..."
I stared in disbelief at Past Ethan Zhang, while Future Ethan Zhang just smiled faintly, the tension between them thickening the air with foreboding.
"You may not truly understand people. Humans are emotional creatures. Without emotions, we can't survive—especially when facing separation or the loss of loved ones. Those feelings become even stronger. So I think your solution goes against humanity."
Juchen immediately twisted his head, as if shaking it.
"You all know the tragedies that happened back then. If such horrors return, Ethan Zhang, you should have seen it—the world of the past, no matter how many ghosts you kill, nothing comes back. In the end, you’re left alone with your daughter at that terminal where everything has settled into dust."
Future Ethan Zhang smiled faintly and shook his head.
"Maybe so. My actions were the same as yours, but at that time I could find no solution at all. Have you forgotten?"
Juchen nodded.
"Indeed, I kept taking you back and forth through past and future, searching for a way out, a way for people to survive. But even if you erased this Ethan Zhang, or the Wraithlord, or anything further back, it was all useless. In the end, you chose to kill the future itself, letting that world finally settle into dust. Though the deterioration stopped, all that remained was your daughter, and you as the only ghost."
Once I realized it, a cold, uneasy relief crept into my heart. The two Ethan Zhangs before me radiated terrifying strength. I hadn’t seen their last strike, but Tan Tian’s wary retreat made the oppressive atmosphere even more stifling, as if something terrible lurked just beneath the surface.
"Let’s not bring up these heartbreaking old stories again, Juchen. The reason I mention Starshard Radiance is because its power in this era is fading to the point of vanishing. Aside from Master Eli Lear, no one in this world can repair it. Starshard Radiance has always transcended life, death, and time. Years ago, when the Wraithlord’s Earth Soul escaped from hell, Master Eli Lear used it to complete the powerful Nine-Dragon Ghost Suppression Array and sealed the Wraithlord, trapping his Earth Soul on Mount Boundless. There’s only one way to restore it: have Rachel Lan bring Starshard Radiance to Master Eli Lear’s era. When it’s reborn, swap it with the one forged by Master Eli Lear, then have Rachel Lan return to the present with it. Using the power of the current Heavenly Law, Rachel Lan’s corpse and soul can be rejoined. Only such immense power will suffice."
I stared in disbelief at Past Ethan Zhang, while Future Ethan Zhang just smiled.
"It’s indeed a good plan."
"If you swap out Starshard Radiance, then the Wraithlord..."
But Juchen immediately realized something and changed the subject.
"Are you planning to deal with the Wraithlord?"
Past Ethan Zhang shook his head.
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"If we go all out, this world wouldn’t last a second. We can’t kill the Wraithlord, but we can help seal him. After swapping Starshard Radiance, we’ll secretly seal the Wraithlord without the Taoist Order knowing. Let them think they did it themselves. This way, when the Eye of Time reverse-corrects to over two thousand years ago, nothing abnormal will be found. The two of us can’t go all out, but together, hiding our traces and sealing the Wraithlord behind the Taoist Order’s back is no big deal."
Juchen was still hesitating, lost in thought. Suddenly, Future Ethan Zhang spun around and stared at a spot. In an instant, he moved over, and with a boom, Past Ethan Zhang struck with his fist. I stared in disbelief at Tan Tian, who had appeared out of nowhere, his eyes cold as he raised a hand to catch Future Ethan Zhang’s punch. The air seemed to freeze, the supernatural tension almost suffocating.
But suddenly, Tan Tian’s body swelled rapidly, then with a crack, shattered into pieces. Future Ethan Zhang now gripped a strange, broad-bladed sword, preparing to strike at the chunk of brown corpse jade that had appeared from Tan Tian.
With a hum, a breeze swept past, and Past Ethan Zhang was already at the corpse jade, grabbing the descending sword. The supernatural energy in the air thickened, a chilling sense of dread settling over us.
"Move aside. What are you trying to do? Let me finish off this guy right now. Even if you kill a corpse that’s already transcended life and time, it won’t affect anything."
"I’m not here to fight you."
Tan Tian’s icy voice came through, and he quickly moved to the edge of the bright barrier. I glared at him fiercely. I’d already heard from the Earth Soul about what happened before—it was his intervention that instantly tipped the situation, once favorable to Ethan Zhang and the Wraithlords, toward the Old Hell.
With a gulping sound, Tan Tian raised his hand. A mass of darkened blood floated in the air, nearly a meter in diameter.
Past Ethan Justice glared at Tan Tian, gritting his teeth. Tan Tian met his gaze coldly and then spoke.
"It seems that in the future, I’ll die at your hands. Incredible. I came here on behalf of a certain meddlesome old woman. This is..."
"The Wraithlord’s blood."
Future Ethan Zhang spoke each word slowly and clearly.
"It must be Loraine Locke! Always meddling—capable, yet prefers to stand by and watch."
I didn’t know who they were talking about. Then Past Ethan Zhang took out the Spirit Gourd tied at his waist, unscrewed the cap, and let the Wraithlord’s blood slowly flow in.
"If you want to seal the Wraithlord, his blood is essential as the medium. Without it, the only way is to kill him. But if he dies, everything will descend into chaos. I just want to reclaim what’s mine—I don’t want that guy to come back to life."
As he spoke, Tan Tian turned and his body began to dissolve into mud. But at that moment, Future Ethan Zhang started to laugh.
"You can’t reclaim your feelings, Tan Tian. The only path ahead is to become a cold corpse once more, to rot away in the earth until you’re nothing but bones."
Tan Tian said nothing and soon disappeared. Future Ethan Zhang put away the broad sword. Then Juchen spoke.
"Absolutely no mistakes are allowed. If even the slightest error occurs, it’s all over—especially since you two don’t belong to this world. Except when sealing the Wraithlord, do not use any power. I don’t want any more trouble."
Only now did I realize these two planned to go with me.
"Are you both coming with me?"
Once I realized it, I felt a cold sense of relief. The two Ethan Zhangs before me were terrifyingly strong. I hadn’t seen that last strike, but seeing Tan Tian’s reaction—his wariness, his retreat—made the oppressive atmosphere even heavier.
"I’ll send you back to the time before the Wraithlord’s Earth Soul escaped from hell. I don’t know exactly what year it’ll be, but if we do this, the Eye of Time will easily notice."