After more than a year, I saw Sylvia Blue again. Her warm and radiant smile, that playful look on her face, bent at the waist, reaching out a hand—I grabbed it, and Sylvia pulled me up from the ground.
Suddenly, a violent aura surged from the opposite side—it was Wraithshade. His wild, tangled black hair flew through the air as he removed his conical hat and slowly drifted toward us.
Earthly Soul looked terrible. There was barely a trace of ghostly energy left in him. I didn’t know what had happened in the Unreal Covenant, but it seemed Sylvia Blue had saved Earthly Soul.
“Where exactly did you come from, little girl?”
There was wariness in Wraithshade’s eyes, a hint of fear at Sylvia Blue’s earlier strike.
“You don’t need to know where I’m from. Why don’t you hurry up and leave?”
Sylvia Blue supported me, pouting, but Wraithshade still didn’t seem intent on leaving. He studied Sylvia Blue carefully. He apparently didn’t know who she was, but the three rulers and senior officers of the Dark Banquet likely did.
What puzzled me most was what Sylvia Blue said about not seeing us for over a year. Time here was supposed to be frozen—when we returned, it should have been as if we’d just left the Living World.
“Only by reaching the fourth layer’s extreme darkness can you enter the Unreal Covenant. But even if you could transform your body into the fourth layer’s extreme darkness, entering the true Unreal is nearly impossible. Where did you come from, little girl?”
“Are you done yet? I told you to leave, or I’ll beat you up.”
As Sylvia Blue spoke, a trace of anger flashed across her face. Wraithshade’s expression grew serious.
“How did you come by such overwhelming power? This strength—beyond all reason—it feels just like the first time I met Tan Tian.”
With a rush, Sylvia Blue struck first—a flash of silver, a slender sword appeared in her hand, and she thrust at Wraithshade, whose eyes widened in shock.
With a boom, the slender sword swept past Wraithshade, not cutting him. I stared in astonishment as cracks appeared in the once-black sky. Wraithshade swallowed hard and slowly drifted backward.
“Interesting little girl—so naïve, yet so strong. I hope next time we meet, you won’t be so naïve.”
Sylvia Blue sheathed her sword, snorted coldly, and landed in front of us.
“Where did Rachel Lan go, Ethan Zhang?”
Sylvia Blue looked around in confusion, and I sat down.
“I’ll tell you slowly.”
After a while, I told Sylvia Blue some things about Rachel Lan. She lowered her head thoughtfully, then smiled.
“So that’s how it is. I’ve heard people say Rachel Lan is pretty formidable. Turns out she had two such powerful people teaching her.”
I quietly watched Sylvia Blue. All my recent unhappiness vanished. Seeing her smile always made me feel at ease. Even Future Ethan Zhang had warned me not to ruin this.
It really was Sylvia Blue who saved Earthly Soul earlier. He’d exhausted all his strength in the Unreal Covenant, and just when he couldn’t hold on any longer, Sylvia Blue arrived.
“By the way, Sylvia, earlier you said it’s been over a year since you saw us. Does that mean time in the Living World passes the same as it does in this darkness?”
“No, it’s different. I just know personally—it’s been more than a year since I last saw you.”
I didn’t press further. Sylvia Blue kept asking me about everything that happened with Rachel Lan in this darkness, and I answered her one by one. Earthly Soul was still resting by the house.
“What Wraithshade said isn’t correct.”
Sylvia Blue turned her head and shot Earthly Soul a glare, as if his words had interrupted our conversation.
“There’s plenty of time, Sylvia. Let me tell you what I felt after entering the Unreal Covenant. Even though I had the key, I still couldn’t withstand the immense darkness inside—I was nearly crushed. Because I wasn’t allowed in. To enter the Unreal Covenant, you must be permitted by the darkness itself. Even if you master the Fourth Darkness, without the darkness’s approval, you’ll be crushed.”
“But Wraithshade, that guy…”
Earthly Soul smiled and shook his head.
“Think about it, Ethan Zhang. The test subjects Wraithshade brought—they’re pure, their physical makeup far surpasses our understanding. They’re formed from darkness greater than pure dark. It means the Dark Banquet has mastered the technique to create artificial souls using the Fourth Darkness. But the technology is immature, so they don’t dare experiment on themselves. Only through repeated trials can they confirm what happens inside the Unreal Covenant and gather real data.”
As he spoke, Earthly Soul got up, moved his hands, and slowly floated into the air.
“Let’s go, we can’t stay here any longer. I have the key inside me—if I get dragged into the Unreal Covenant again, I’ll die for sure.”
With that, the three of us floated up, heading toward the first marker to meet up with Howard and the others.
We moved slowly, chatting and laughing with Sylvia Blue along the way. We had to wait for Earthly Soul to recover.
Finally, after three hours, we arrived at the marked spot and landed. Howard sensed our presence.
“Cousin, you’re not…”
Howard looked at Sylvia Blue, excitement flashing in his eyes.
“What a beautiful little sister.”
I sighed helplessly, but quickly noticed that Grandmaster Mingde and Master Jianyun were still in a catatonic state.
“What’s going on, Howard?”
I looked at the three types of medicinal herbs. Howard put away his smile and shook his head.
“It’s no use, cousin. I mixed the three herbs, but nothing happened. Maybe the proportions or method are wrong.”
“Ethan Zhang, I heard Zhang Hao married two wives.”
I let out a surprised sound and turned to Sylvia Blue, who was grinning playfully. Howard came over.
“Little sister, what’s your name?”
“I’m Sylvia Zhang Hao.”
Howard blinked, smiled, and silently sized up Sylvia. After a while, he sat down. I walked over to the plants and examined them closely—they were exactly the same as the ones I’d seen before. It seemed only Emperor Yan himself could prepare the cure for the Stilled.
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“Let’s go, we’re heading back to the city.”
Earthly Soul said this, and I looked at him in confusion.
“The city should be back to normal now.”
“How do you know?”
Earthly Soul smiled and floated up. I released Spirit Snake, Deathbane Ghost, and Yin Ghost—each carried Howard and the others as we all floated up together.
“They won’t give up on the experiments, and that Ring City is the perfect testing ground.”
We floated toward the city. I was a bit worried about John Chou and the others, but Sylvia Blue had just whispered something in my ear that shocked me. Besides Li Susu, who else could it be?
I glanced at Howard, unable to contain my curiosity.
“Howard, be honest—are you hiding something from your wife…?”
“What are you talking about, Ethan? I would never do something like that.”
Howard looked at me in confusion. But Sylvia Blue came from the future—what she knows has already happened. Her words are never wrong.
I couldn’t keep asking, so we fell silent, staring ahead. Earthly Soul had recovered a lot and started moving faster.
After a few hours, I saw a beam of light from the city. Earthly Soul was right—we finally saw the city again. The seed Basil Bertram gave me was almost out of time; less than ten days left before the thirty-day mark.
I grew anxious. Seeing the familiar city again, Earthly Soul didn’t return with us but landed outside.
“You go on ahead. I’ll stay on the outskirts and take care of some things.”
Earthly Soul gave a mysterious smile and quickly ran off to the left.
“I’ve heard your cooking is delicious. I want some.”
We landed near the city’s edge. I planned to settle Master Jianyun and Grandmaster Mingde at my house. I nodded, and after returning home, Howard helped me put them in the guest room upstairs. After checking on them, the three of us headed straight to the shop.
Nothing had changed on the street—it looked just the same as before. As we walked by, we ran into several acquaintances who greeted us. Howard kept watching Sylvia Blue.
When I opened the shop, a strange smell wafted out. Sylvia Blue pinched her nose.
“Howard, help me clean up.”
I hurried behind the counter, only to discover the plant was gone. I was surprised.
I searched the whole shop but found no clues. Howard watched the shop for me while I took Sylvia Blue out to buy food. She was in an unusually good mood, humming a tune now and then. It sounded familiar, like I’d heard it somewhere before.
After we returned to the shop, I started marinating food. Sylvia Blue watched hungrily, licking her lips every so often.
“Don’t rush. It needs to marinate until tonight to taste right. Go help clean up.”
Sylvia Blue went over to Howard and whispered something to him. Howard blinked in confusion, then smiled.
“That’s a strange question, Sylvia. Let me put it this way: nothing in this world is perfect. I don’t know what your parents were thinking, but I’m sure they loved you very much.”
Sylvia Blue giggled and glanced at me. I smiled and kept grilling food. Suddenly, I sensed something strange—a Deathcurse. I immediately put down what I was doing and stepped outside. Sure enough, Deathcurse, still in the Replicator’s form, approached.
“May I come in, Ethan Zhang?”
I nodded. Deathcurse came in, and I shut the shop door. He sat down, gave Sylvia Blue a puzzled look, then turned a serious gaze on me.
“Our cover’s blown. John Chou and the others’ location—now the Dark Banquet is making moves. A major battle could break out any moment.”
I swallowed hard, my heart tightening. Just then, a hand pressed down on my shoulder.
“It’s alright, Ethan Zhang.”