I sat quietly atop a massive stump, gazing out at the vast, endless grasslands in the distance. Behind me loomed a colossal city. As expected, something had gone wrong—I couldn’t return for the time being. The wings on my back trembled slightly. I could feel it now: a tremendous force was rejecting me.
I still can’t determine the true nature of that force. All I can do is wait patiently and see if I can uncover where, within this Realm of Karma, the consciousness of Ethan Zhang originated—and what its purpose is.
By tracing the karmic ties from dreams I once fell into, and exchanging consciousness with the Ethan Zhang born from that karmic anomaly, I once again wielded the power of Karmic Exchange. I placed myself in the distant past, at the moment when this world’s Ethan Zhang encountered Ouyang Meng. Only then was I able to use karma to enter Ouyang Meng’s dream and meet Lan Ruoxi.
But now, something has gone slightly awry. Both I and the Ethan Zhang of this karmic world have been cut off. He’s replaced me as the Ethan Zhang within the illusion, while I’ve taken his place in the dream. I tried to use karmic power to locate the Ethan Zhang in the illusion again, but it was futile. An unknown force blocked every path I could take.
Where I am now is behind this immense city—a boundless grassland. From time to time, the sounds of commotion from within the city reach my ears.
Everyone here lives within a dream. That’s the way of things in this Realm of Karma—reality no longer exists. I understand why this world’s Ethan Zhang did what he did. Perhaps, one day, reality in this karmic world will be restored, and people—and ghosts—will be able to live again.
Within the city behind me, there aren’t just human consciousnesses—there are also countless ghostly minds.
I pressed a finger to my forehead, searching for a solution, but nothing came to me. Beside me sat a multicolored stone—the Nightmare Stone. But it already belonged to me now.
This was left behind after the Nightmare Ghost Sovereign died—this world’s Ethan Zhang acquired it. In the moment of destruction, he dragged every human and ghost from the Yin-Yang World into dreams, allowing them all to survive.
At first, I thought the Ghost Ancestor was responsible. But I was wrong—it wasn’t him. In this karmic world, the Ghost Ancestor never completed resurrection. Only after reviewing everything about this world’s Ethan Zhang did I finally understand.
What destroyed the Yin-Yang World were the weapons hidden in the darkness of the domains ruled by the Emperors Yan and Huang. They obliterated everything in the Yin-Yang World, and the true culprits were the members of the Immortality Society.
With a sudden rush of cold on my back, I instinctively raised my hand. A thunderous crash followed—I caught a fist striking toward me. The ground around us cracked, and the grass instantly turned black, then crumbled to dust.
“It seems it’s still no use, Ethan Zhang. No matter what, I can’t bring you down.”
The voice behind me was sly, but tinged with delight. I turned to look—it was Xu Fu. He grinned wickedly, and in a flash, I vanished from in front of him.
“Karmic Fall...”
With a deafening boom, Xu Fu’s body was instantly torn open with deep wounds. He collapsed to the ground, smoke curling from his body—unable to move.
“You’re not Ethan Zhang—or rather, you’re not the Ethan Zhang of this world.”
I stared at Xu Fu. After a moment, he slowly climbed to his feet and glared at me.
I smiled gently.
“Think whatever you want.”
I spoke, deciding to ignore Xu Fu. The wings on my back unfurled as I slowly rose into the air. With a thought, a section of the city wall below caved in; the vanished stones floated up beneath me, forming a platform in midair. I sat down upon it.
I began to think carefully. Had there been a mistake in any detail when I used the power of karma to enter the Realm of Karma and perform layer upon layer of exchanges? No matter how I pondered, I couldn’t figure it out. At that moment, Xu Fu shouted from below.
“Ethan Zhang, are you having trouble with something? Tell me about it—maybe I can help you figure it out.”
I glared coldly at Xu Fu below. His wounds had nearly healed. Suddenly, Xu Fu leapt up and landed right in front of me.
“Get lost.”
I spat the words with venom. This Ethan Zhang clearly despised Xu Fu—because of him, the Ethan Zhang of this karmic world had lost everything.
“Alright then, if you don’t want to talk, just listen to me. Where exactly did you come from? Your consciousness feels different from the Ethan Zhang I know. That Ethan Zhang wouldn’t be so polite with me—he’d kill me at least once a day.”
I looked at Xu Fu in surprise. He sat before me with a helpless smile.
“You and this Ethan Zhang have different roots. You seem much calmer to me, while the one I knew carried a heavy grudge. No surprise there, really—after all, we failed.”
“What exactly do you want?”
I asked. Xu Fu stood, still smiling, and pointed off into the distance.
“You know, Ethan Zhang, this world has no end. If you tell me what’s really going on with you, maybe I truly can help.”
I stared coldly at Xu Fu, a surge of nameless rage and resentment rising in my chest.
After a long moment, watching Xu Fu’s smiling face, I finally began to speak—about the countless karmic worlds. After a while, Xu Fu’s eyes widened in delight as he listened.
“I knew it—the power you just used felt different. So you’re saying you swapped consciousness with the Ethan Zhang of another karmic world?”
I grunted in response, still glaring furiously at Xu Fu before me.
“Alright, Ethan Zhang. Since you can exchange places with yourself in different worlds, maybe you could try swapping again and again. You might eventually get back to your own karmic world.”
I shook my head.
I’d thought about it before—and even tried—but eventually abandoned the idea. If I’m not careful, I’ll never make it back to my own karmic world. My previous connection with Ouyang Meng’s dream lasted only an instant. After speaking briefly with Lan Ruoxi, I was forcibly dragged back here. If I try exchanging again, I might just end up in yet another karmic world, making things even more complicated.
I understood perfectly why Xu Fu was saying all this—he wanted me to end up this way. It was the chaos he enjoyed.
For now, all I can do is try to communicate with the original Ethan Zhang of this karmic world. Xu Fu kept pestering me, urging me to try, and I glared at him.
“Get down.”
Xu Fu smiled as he walked past me, then fixed me with a cold stare and said:
“Since the karmic worlds are interconnected, maybe we can do it too.”
I immediately laughed.
“That’s impossible for you.”
After a long while, I stood up—defeated. No matter how I tried to communicate with the Ethan Zhang of this karmic world, I couldn’t reach him.
Doubt crept in. I held up the Nightmare Stone, feeling something was off. I stared at it for a while, and suddenly, a surge of multicolored energy burst from the stone, wrapping around me and trying to drag me inside. My body began to twist and distort.
In an instant, a series of thoughts flashed through my mind. I understood everything at once.
“What exactly do you want?”
I roared, and with a thunderous crash, I broke through the mist that enveloped me, traveling far away. When I looked back, the fog was still surging toward me. Inside the mist, I saw a figure—the Ethan Zhang of this karmic world.
“I’ve had enough of everything here. So give me your world, and this one will be yours.”
I shook my head, raised a hand, and yanked the figure of Ethan Zhang out of the colored mist. What I saw was a face twisted by sorrow and unbearable pain.
With a thunderous crash, I slammed Ethan Zhang to the ground.
“Why did you say those things to Lan Ruoxi? You know perfectly well.”
I stared wide-eyed. Clearly, this Ethan Zhang knew exactly what I’d seen. In the process of karmic exchange, the future that awaits me might be the worst of all—far worse than any outcome in the countless karmic worlds.
“Of course I know. Stop trying to prevent it—your power isn’t enough to stop me.”
As I spoke, I let go of Ethan Zhang. In a daze, my consciousness swapped with his—I returned to my original self. Instantly, I saw the way back. I could go home.
“All that awaits you is the worst possible outcome. Nothing else.”
I smiled and shook my head.
“That’s exactly why I want to rewrite everything, isn’t it? You’ve all failed—every Ethan Zhang in every karmic world has failed. In this endless cycle of karma, only the one who hasn’t failed deserves to be called Ethan Zhang. Sorry.”
I spoke, quietly gazing at the Ethan Zhang before me. He spread his wings and lunged at me, eyes blazing with fury. In an instant, I turned to smoke and vanished.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the illusion.
“Back so soon?”
Yujiang looked at me in confusion as Taowu walked over.
“You don’t look well, Ethan Zhang. What happened?”