I quietly gazed at my own body. In an instant, I was filled with vitality, appearing as if I were twenty-four or twenty-five years old—jeans, a white t-shirt, black sneakers, and short hair. I touched my body—it was substantial, fleshy. The emptiness I once felt inside was gone.
I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling a warm current flowing through my heart. I didn’t know what this change truly meant. The Threefold Soul, once severed, had now become one again. I could sense it—the power within me was unprecedented.
The confidence brought by this immense power, the feeling of being grounded, surged through every corner of my body. I felt omnipotent, as if I could do anything—or perhaps I was still powerless, since even the three of us combined were no match for Justin.
Joy welled up inside me. It had been so long since I felt this way. I lifted my head and looked around—slowly, the apartment building began to appear around me.
I caught a whiff of flowers. Pink cherry blossoms drifted past my forehead. I reached out, and a petal landed on my fingertip. I watched quietly. I was back again in front of the apartment building, surrounded by blooming cherry trees. Everything was as it always had been, unchanged. I clenched my fist.
"Thank you," I said.
As I spoke, I could feel two identical emotions flowing through my heart. They belonged to the Heavenly Soul and the Earthly Soul. But neither interfered with my consciousness, nor did they try to control my body. As the Human Soul, I—Ethan Zhang—was the one in command.
I crouched down, reaching out to touch the solid ground. After the Union of Three Souls, I could sense the limits of my body’s capacity. It was now fully able to contain the power of the Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul. That power was in my hands.
After I stood up, I raised both hands. In my left hand was a wisp of black energy, in my right a wisp of white. The powers of origin and end were slowly blending, without the slightest resistance. The feeling was utterly incredible.
With a thought, a stream of Deathbane Aura surged from the ground like water. That long-lost sensation returned—I could use Deathbane Aura again. At the same time, wisps of ghostly green energy flickered around the Deathbane Aura. It was the power of ghosts.
The strangest sensation now was that my consciousness seemed to permeate the air itself. I could see myself standing in the courtyard, and even every corner of the apartment building. Slowly, I began to float upward.
At that moment, a mass of black flames ignited before me—it was the consciousness of the Earthly Soul.
"Enjoy it while you can, Ethan Zhang."
I let out a cry, reaching out with one hand. The flames danced before my eyes, twining around my hand, and then I felt a sharp pain as the fire burrowed into my body.
My form began to blur—I was about to disappear from the Instinctive Space of coexistence, soon to regain consciousness in the outside world. Yet I was reluctant to let go of this feeling. The fullness I enjoyed lasted only a moment—once again, the sensation of being truly human.
My body had undergone some unpredictable change. I sighed softly, gradually losing consciousness.
With a whoosh, a surge of energy swept past my ear. I opened my eyes—Juchen Realm had one hand gripping my neck, his mouth stretched in a grin, his left hand still raised in the air.
"What’s going on? This sense of physical reality..."
Juchen Realm muttered, and I stared at him coldly.
"What do you think, Juchen Realm? If you’re not willing to sit down and talk, I will..."
A burst of wild laughter rang out as Juchen Realm’s left fist swung toward my head.
Bang! I took the punch squarely, my head snapping back. Yet I felt no pain at all—instead, Juchen Realm’s blow seemed as weak as a child’s.
"Is that all the strength you’ve got?"
I lifted my head in surprise. Juchen Realm tightened his grip around my neck, but I still felt no discomfort at all. I stared at him, stunned.
"I’ll say it again: If you don’t want me to utterly defeat you, then sit down and talk this through."
"No one has any power in the face of time!"
Juchen Realm raised his fist again, preparing to strike. I closed my eyes. With a whoosh, just as his fist neared my cheek, I dodged—and then caught his fist in my hand.
"You’re right, Juchen Realm—no one is truly powerful before time. You just said it yourself: time wants to erase me, so I’ll disappear. But if time really does want to erase me, then it’s my enemy, and I no longer need to obey its rules, do I?"
A creaking sound echoed as Juchen Realm struggled to break free from my grip, still wrestling with me. I held his hand as easily as holding a child’s—he couldn’t escape, and I hadn’t even used my power yet.
"Why? Why can’t I feel anything? What did you do?"
Juchen Realm asked a question. The moment I let go, he whipped backward through the air, stopping mid-flight. He raised both fists behind him, mouth open in a guttural howl. I noticed the vortex behind him was swirling—his power was growing stronger.
"Now I’ll devour your time, leaving you paralyzed—forced to wait for death."
Juchen Realm roared, charging straight at me. I crouched slightly, clenching my right fist and widening my eyes. A sizzling sound echoed—wisps of blue smoke curled from my fist.
With a whoosh, I struck. Juchen Realm was barely three or four meters away when, in an instant, his body flew backward—a massive hole blasted through his chest.
"Impossible. What are you..."
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest of the exciting content!)
Before Juchen Realm could finish speaking, he vanished. Now, for the first time, I saw something I’d never noticed before—white liquid flowing. It was time itself.
I already knew Juchen Realm would appear at my side. I turned my head and lashed out with a punch. Bang—a deafening crash. His entire right arm was pulverized, his body twisted and torn as he plummeted toward the ground.
"Is this what Awakening power feels like?"
I raised my fist. With a thought, I was instantly in front of Juchen Realm. His eyes widened, mouth agape. I grabbed him, and just as he was about to hit the ground—boom—a thunderous crash. The earth split open, revealing a bottomless pit.
"How did you do it—in such a short time?"
"It was John Chou who taught us. Long ago, he stressed the importance of accumulation. Our growth has always been a process of gathering—collecting words and stories, meeting countless people to gain intelligence, and day after day, year after year, storing up strength. Isn’t that what power truly is—this form, this awareness?"
I spoke quietly. Juchen Realm instantly widened the distance between us, his twisted body recovering once again, beginning to swell.
"It’s useless. You’re no longer my match."
I raised my fist, quietly watching Juchen Realm as he burst into laughter.
"Time is everything. From the moment all things are born, they possess time."
"It’s a pity, Juchen Realm. I exist outside of time—because I’ve never changed, not since the day I emerged from that lake."
I bent my body slightly. There was nothing left to say to Juchen Realm. I was going to shatter his manifested form with a single blow. My mind was perfectly clear—I understood exactly what state Juchen Realm was in.
Juchen Realm was composed of countless, densely packed layers of time. I could see it—billions of strata, stacked inside his body. That’s why he was so strong—the most powerful instinct I’ve ever encountered.
And now I knew something else: after the Earthly Soul entered my body, I learned about Hell’s Eye.
"Heh, Ethan Zhang, you’ll be erased by time. There’s no place for you anywhere."
Boom! Juchen Realm charged at me again, but the instant he moved, I was already in front of him.
"What’s faster than time, do you think? What could it be?"
Juchen Realm’s eyes widened. A streak of black energy burst from my fist—boom—his body shattered, splintering inch by inch, peeling away from the outside in.
"It won’t be long, Ethan Zhang. Even if you gain power, it’s meaningless. In the face of time, everything is insignificant."
The cracking sound continued. I raised a finger, controlling the black energy that had just shattered Juchen Realm’s form, drawing it back into my hand.
Juchen Realm vanished completely. I turned and, in an instant, appeared before Yvonne May, reaching out a hand.
"Lady Yvonne May."
I called softly, but Lady Yvonne May stared at me in a daze, clutching her chest, her breath weak.
"How long will you wait before reaching out? If you won’t, then I’ll pull you up myself."