Evan Yang left the place where the Divine Avatars' souls gathered, ready to depart from the Divine Saint Star. Just then, that strange creature reappeared and laughed, "Didn't expect you to gather so many Divine Avatars' souls so quickly and restore most of their memories."
"I really have to thank you for that. Without your help, I'd still be searching," Evan Yang said. He knew there were so many planets here—if he had to look one by one, who knows how long it would take.
The creature laughed and said, "You're flattering me. But since you're heading to the Ling Void Expanse to search for that crystal coffin, let me warn you—be careful. The Plane Lord is terrifying. Even when all the Gods gathered, they couldn't destroy him, only seal him for now."
"I'll figure something out. Thanks for the heads-up," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Safe travels. Drop by if you get the chance," the creature said with a smile, then sent Evan Yang off.
After leaving the Divine Saint Star, Evan Yang couldn't shake the feeling that something was off—things were going a bit too smoothly.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it. I'll go find Iris Ying and the others, see how much they know about the eastern Ling Void Expanse," Evan Yang thought, deciding to ask Star Lord Chen and the others for help.
Inside the Divine Saint Star, after the five Divine Avatars split up, their memories faded again. All they remembered was protecting humanity—nothing else. That strange creature, who could appear anywhere in the air, watched the Divine Avatars and sneered inwardly, "Pathetic and laughable. If you'd just submitted to my master back then, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
If Evan Yang knew what the creature was thinking, he’d be shocked. What exactly is this thing—does it help the Gods or harm them? Right now, Evan Yang has no idea. Who knows how he'd react when he finally finds out.
"That kid’s got some skill. But actually, it’s perfect—let him go to the Ling Void Expanse and unseal things for my master. That way, my master can wake up early. These idiots," the creature muttered to itself.
By now, Evan Yang had arrived back on Storm God Star and found Iris Ying and Star Lord Chen at the mansion. When they saw Evan return after more than a year away, they were overjoyed and eager to hear what he'd found on the Divine Saint Star.
Evan Yang just said there were Divine Avatars' souls and one strange creature—nothing else.
Divine Avatars' souls—both Iris Ying and Star Lord Chen had heard of those before. But this 'creature' was new to them, so Star Lord Chen asked curiously, "A creature? How come we've never heard of that?"
"Haven't any other top Hunters gone there before?" Evan Yang asked, curious.
"Some have, but all they found were Divine Avatars' souls. Whenever they needed help, they'd go there to seek them out, since humans are their people. But no one's ever mentioned a creature," Star Lord Chen said.
Evan Yang was getting more and more curious about this creature. Before leaving, he wanted to figure out what it really was, so he asked, "Do you know who else has been there? Or, who's the top human leader right now?"
"There are the Twelve Human Grand Commanders. Each one is peak Immortal Sovereign level, but they usually stay in seclusion. Unless humanity faces a huge crisis that even the Divine Avatars can't solve, they won't appear—they're humanity's final line of defense," Star Lord Chen explained.
"So how do I meet them?" Evan Yang asked.
"The Twelve Pegasus Star Systems—but getting inside is extremely difficult," Star Lord Chen replied.
"So how do I get in?" Evan Yang pressed.
"There are two ways: One is to force your way in, and the other is to wait for the meeting that happens every thousand years. At that time, he'll gather some of humanity's top experts to discuss the situation and future moves," Star Lord Chen explained.
"How long until the next thousand-year meeting?" Evan Yang asked.
"Three hundred years left," Star Lord Chen replied.
"Three hundred years? That's way too long. Guess I'll have to force my way in. Tell me how to do it," Evan Yang said.
"Naturally, there are several layers of defenses outside the Twelve Pegasus Star Systems. If you can break through those, you can get inside," Star Lord Chen explained.
Evan Yang got the gist and asked Star Lord Chen to show him where the Twelve Pegasus Star Systems were. Star Lord Chen naturally led Evan over, with Iris Ying following behind.
Outside the Twelve Pegasus Star Systems, there were some powerful guardians and armored corps keeping watch. When Star Lord Chen arrived, he found the person in charge—a white-haired elder.
When the elder heard Evan Yang planned to force his way in, he stared at Evan and said, "Kid, breaking through the Twelve Pegasus Star Systems isn't easy. There are twelve checkpoints, and each one is powered by the strength of the Twelve Human Grand Commanders. Basically, you'll be facing all twelve at once. Are you sure you want to risk your life?"
"I have important business, so no matter what, I need to meet the Twelve Grand Commanders," Evan Yang said.
"Looks like you're pretty stubborn. Well, I won't stop you. Up ahead, there's a three-way intersection. Once you enter, it's all up to your own luck," the elder said.
"Alright, got it. Thanks," Evan Yang said. He turned to say goodbye to Star Lord Chen and Iris Ying, then headed for the intersection and left.
The elder watched Evan Yang's back and wondered aloud, "Is this the guy everyone's been talking about lately—the one who can easily kill strange creatures?"
"That's right, it's him," Star Lord Chen replied.
"He wants to see the Twelve Grand Commanders, and he's in such a hurry. What's he after?" the elder asked suspiciously.
"Probably has something to do with the Divine Saint Star," Star Lord Chen guessed.
"Divine Saint Star? Has he already been there?" the elder asked, curious.
"Yeah, he became a Top Hunter and already went. He even met the Divine Avatar's soul, but I don't know what happened next," Star Lord Chen said.
"A real talent. If he could help us humans fight those strange creatures, that'd be great," the elder sighed.
"Everyone has their own path, but I think he's here to fight those creatures too," Star Lord Chen said, sharing his feeling.
"Oh? Really? If that's the case, that's awesome. If he needs help, I can spare some troops for him," the elder said with a smile.
"If that's so, I'll do everything I can too," Star Lord Chen replied, smiling.
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Evan Yang had no idea what they were talking about. He was already inside the triangular space. As soon as he entered, he saw a statue holding a long spear. When Evan spoke to it, the statue seemed to come alive, turning into a real person.
"Who goes there?" the man shouted.
"I'm Evan Yang. I want to meet the Twelve Grand Commanders, so I've got to break through the checkpoints," Evan Yang replied.
"Oh? You're forcing your way in? Fine, let's see if you can pass my checkpoint first," the man said.
Evan Yang was about to ask who the man was, but he already swung his spear and launched an attack. The spear's arcs seemed sharp enough to slice through space, showing just how terrifying his strength was.
Evan Yang didn't dare let his guard down and faced him head-on every time.
"Your speed's not bad. But if you keep dodging like this, you'll definitely lose," the man laughed, seeing Evan Yang dodge every attack just in time.
Evan Yang realized that in this space, his own energy drained fast while his opponent's drained slowly. If he didn't beat him quickly, he'd lose here. So Evan Yang pulled out the Limitless Spear.
"Nice spear you've got. But I want to see if your weapon is stronger, or if my Soulbreaker Spear wins," the man grinned, as if he'd found a worthy opponent. The two started dueling, spear against spear.
His opponent had a fire attribute. Sometimes flames flared up on his spear, but Evan Yang wasn't about to fall behind. The Limitless Spear often flashed with ice and fire, forcing the flames to scatter. The man was shocked: "Didn't expect you to inherit the ice-fire power. Not bad. But even as an Ice-fire Successor, I won't go easy on you."
So the two of them started fighting fiercely. Evan Yang knew he had to finish this fast, so without hesitation, he flashed behind his opponent. The man instantly stabbed backward with his spear, but when Evan Yang's Limitless Spear met his, Evan unleashed a massive burst of ice.
Crack! The ice from the Limitless Spear instantly froze the Soulbreaker Spear. Then Evan Yang punched out, wind swirling around his fist. The punch was lightning-fast, slamming right into the man's chest like a spinning gust. The man was sent flying, his clothes shredded and blood seeping from scratches on his chest.
Seeing his sorry state, the man actually laughed instead of getting angry. "Not bad! Good moves. I didn't expect you to have wind powers, too. You pass this checkpoint. Go on ahead."
Evan Yang put away the Limitless Spear and smiled. "Thanks for going easy on me, senior."
Then Evan Yang headed down the next tunnel, finishing the first checkpoint. Meanwhile, the man from the first checkpoint opened his eyes on a planet in the Twelve Pegasus Star Systems and muttered, "Humans have someone this strong? Maybe it's time the Twelve became Thirteen."
When a human's strength reaches the peak, they become a member of the Pegasus Star Systems. That's how these twelve top experts were chosen over the years—to guard humanity's final line of defense.
Evan Yang didn't know any of this. He just wanted to clear the checkpoints fast. From the first stage on, he faced all sorts of powerful opponents—water, fire, wind, earth, and more. By the tenth checkpoint, he even ran into a dual-attribute expert: earth and fire.
This was the toughest opponent Evan Yang had faced so far.
"Come on, kid. Making it past nine checkpoints is impressive, but I'm dual-attribute. Do you know what that means?" the man laughed.
"Earth and fire?" Evan Yang asked curiously, seeing the attributes his opponent released.
"That's right. Let's go," the man said, grinning.
Evan Yang had rested enough and was ready to fight. He went all out from the start, battling fiercely. Based on his experience from earlier rounds, he knew he had to finish quickly—dragging it out would only make things worse for him.
The two clashed—sometimes fire against water, sometimes water against earth. Evan Yang used water to counter his opponent most of the time, occasionally boosting his speed and attacks with wind power.
The man was surprised Evan Yang could use both water and wind. He thought to himself, "Turns out he's dual-attribute too. Not bad, not bad."