The flood of new information made Evan Chu's mind throb with pain—a pain that stabbed straight into his soul, far worse than the agony of soul separation. He couldn't help but let out a groan.
At that moment, the Nascent Soul inside his mind opened its eyes, its face twisted in pain, but soon after, it closed its eyes again.
After a long while, the pain finally faded. Evan Chu withdrew his divine sense from the Timewheel Bracelet and slowly digested the information passed on by Frostbane. It wasn’t complete, but he’d at least learned something about what happened back then.
Evan Chu had no idea what was going on with the Nascent Soul in his mind opening its eyes. He glanced at the Timewheel Bracelet on his wrist and gave a bitter smile. "Hopefully next time I use it, it won’t hurt this much. Venerable Solus—who would've thought you’re not even from this world? That’s honestly kind of shocking."
"Heh, Evan, now that you know, doesn’t it all seem pretty unbelievable? Venerable Solus is actually a soul-body too, and his strength is absolutely terrifying. But because he’s a soul-body, he can’t break through the world’s barrier. If he wants to go home, he has to rely on you guys to help him." Luna spoke up.
"What do you mean by that? Why does he need our help? If that’s the case, then why did he manipulate the Blood Emperor, the Demon Lord, and the others to come after me? Isn’t that totally contradictory?" Evan Chu asked, confused.
"If Venerable Solus wants to leave this world, he has to break through the void. But this void isn’t like the space black holes you guys tear open—it's a barrier, and it was sealed tens of thousands of years ago. To break it, you need someone whose strength surpasses the Saint Martial Realm."
But you guys are missing something crucial for that breakthrough, so you simply can’t do it. If I’m right, Venerable Solus has been stuck in this world for at least tens of thousands of years. He’s got the lay of the land down to a tee, and he knows all about the power of you ancient top-tier experts.
But you all still can’t meet the conditions to shatter the void, so he needs you to fight, develop hatred, and reincarnate. With memories from your past lives, you become super strong. In other words, the dark organization isn’t really trying to kill you—they’re just tempering you." Luna explained.
Evan Chu sucked in a cold breath. Luna’s words were hard to accept, but right now, he couldn’t deny them. He was honestly stunned by Venerable Solus’s patience—how could anyone wait tens of thousands of years?
"If none of us can break through to that realm, then he’s stuck here forever, right? Why doesn’t he just become the ruler of this world?" Evan Chu asked.
"Heh, Evan, you’re underestimating yourself. There’s a reason I picked you. I know better than anyone who Venerable Solus really is. He’s waited tens of thousands of years—did you think I haven’t waited just as long? We’re all waiting for a chance to leave this place." Luna said.
The more Evan Chu listened, the more mystified he felt. "Waiting for that chance? Back then, when Solarion Palace appeared in the sky, couldn’t it have taken you away? Why didn’t you go? Why did you stay?" he asked.
"Because of you. We’re essentially one soul-body now. If I left, your soul would be devastated—maybe you’d turn into an idiot, maybe you’d die outright. No way I’m letting that happen. So I stayed. But I believe it won’t be long before you can take me home yourself." Luna replied.
"I haven’t even broken through to the Saint Martial Realm yet, let alone whatever comes after that. Maybe in a few hundred years, if I’m lucky. Luna, I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you." Evan Chu said helplessly.
"Only you can do it in this world. Once you break into the Saint Martial Realm, your power will skyrocket. When your bloodline fully awakens, you might reach heights you can’t even imagine, and you’ll understand then—because you have this world’s one and only Nascent Soul in your mind.
Some things are pointless for you to know—they’d just mess with your head. You’ve spent half a year fusing Frostbane’s memories. You’d better hurry up and finish fusing the five elements. Don’t bother me unless it’s important. I want to sleep for a bit." Luna said.
Evan Chu had wanted to ask more, but with Luna saying that, he could only give up. He hadn’t even realized he’d spent another half a year in the underground chamber—time was flying by way too fast.
Evan Chu calmed his mind and started slowly trying to fuse the five elements, repeatedly working through their interactions and cycles. Water and fire elements were already fused, and he’d fused metal, wood, and earth as well. Now it was about fusing all five together. It required a kind of harmony—or maybe figuring out the right order to blend them. That was the key to success.
It sounded easy, but in practice it was insanely hard. Evan Chu had failed countless times, never succeeding. The elemental clashes kept injuring him—nothing serious, but the constant failures were maddening.
One day, Evan Chu shouted, "I did it! I finally did it! I can wield all five elements at will now! Does this mean I’ve achieved immortality?"
"Heh, immortality’s still a long way off, but your attack power is way stronger now. If you use the five elements together with Earthsplitter, you might even have Heaven-Cleave’s power. Pretty scary, huh?" Luna said.
"Scary isn’t even the word—it’s so strong I can barely believe it! Luna, with this, there’s probably no one in the Azure Tide Ruins who can beat me, right? Should I go look for the Xuanwu bloodline descendant now, get them to open the Netherworld barrier so I can get the Netherghost Violet Orchid?" Evan Chu asked.
"It’s about time. But let me warn you: you can visit the Phoenix Temple, but don’t go near the Dragon Shrine yet, or you’ll regret it. Wait until you’ve got the Netherghost Violet Orchid and reached the Saint Martial Realm before you even think about it." Luna advised.
Evan Chu didn’t even need to ask—he knew the Dragon Shrine must have real monsters, and with his current strength, he wasn’t their match. The Phoenix Temple probably had similar powerhouses, but thanks to Roxanne Lin, he wouldn’t be harmed there—he might even get their support.
As long as he broke the Netherworld entrance barrier, he could get the Netherghost Violet Orchid—a treasure that would help anyone. No reason to turn it down.
"Got it. I’ll head out now and find the Xuanwu bloodline descendant." Evan Chu said.
"You really should go. You’ve spent another year and more down here." Luna said.
"Another year? Are you kidding me?!" Evan Chu was floored—time was just flying by...