Having already suffered devastating personal losses, Qin Yi absolutely refused to let this exploration end in utter failure. No matter the cost, he was determined to sink his teeth into the Sword and Fairy World and at least come away with something valuable.
Time passed in a silent vigil. A full day had gone by, and Qin Yi remained seated cross-legged before the Realm Gate, his eyes open through the night, never once relaxing his focus.
Then, as dawn broke the next morning, Li Yuanli's voice suddenly echoed inside Qin Yi's mind, sharp and clear.
"My King, I'm in."
Qin Yi's eyes snapped open instantly.
"Good! Excellent! What a vast and magnificent world this is!!!"
Li Yuanli's awed voice resounded in Qin Yi's ears, his tone trembling with barely contained excitement. The moment Qin Yi heard it, his own spirits lifted, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"You made it inside? How is it? Where are you right now? Did anything happen? Any danger?" Qin Yi fired off his questions in quick succession, his pulse pounding in his chest.
He knew that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. This world had already bloodied his nose once; if he couldn't gain something significant from it, he would never be satisfied.
"Unbelievable, Your Majesty, truly unbelievable! If you could see this with your own eyes, you'd be stunned beyond words!"
"There are islands floating in the sky, and countless massive swords, glowing with divine, cold light, each radiating an edge so sharp it feels like they could slice open the heavens themselves! They orbit the floating islands slowly, their presence utterly overwhelming!"
"I can feel it, Your Majesty, if even a sliver of that Sword Aura touched me, I'd be obliterated instantly! It's terrifying!"
Li Yuanli's trembling voice carried through the link, filling Qin Yi with even greater curiosity and longing toward this vast and mystical world.
Having studied the lore of the Legend of Sword and Fairy world, Qin Yi immediately knew what Li Yuanli was describing. That was the Sword Array, the ultimate defense of a major sect, perhaps even the legendary Mount Shu itself.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Yi steadied himself and asked the critical question:
"What I need to know is this, have you been detected? Any signs of disaster or divine retaliation?"
For a long while, Li Yuanli gave no response. Qin Yi's heart leapt into his throat. Ten anxious minutes crawled by before he finally heard Li Yuanli's labored breathing again.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty… We Kings are born with bodies perfectly attuned to the Myriad Realms. Unless we deliberately reveal ourselves or run into an expert whose power vastly exceeds our comprehension, no one will ever notice our presence. We won't draw the fatal attention of the natives of this world."
Qin Yi blinked, startled.
"How do you know that?"
"Your servant just awakened his Life Source Talent," Li Yuanli replied, still catching his breath. "It's called… Memories from the Past!"
"Memories from the Past?" Qin Yi repeated, momentarily stunned. "What does that even mean?"
"As the name implies," Li Yuanli explained, his pride swelling, "I can connect to and draw upon fragments of memories and knowledge left behind by countless Kings and experts who once roamed the cosmos. That's how I learned about the unique, adaptive nature of our Kingly physiology."
Qin Yi was completely taken aback.
"A Life Source Talent that deals with the Past… that's essentially a time-based ability, isn't it?"
"Exactly! A sub-branch of temporal power, tied specifically to the past timeline," Li Yuanli confirmed proudly.
But after a moment, his pride faded, replaced by a sigh of regret. If only this ability had awakened before he'd met Qin Yi, perhaps their positions would be reversed right now. Unfortunately, the order of events in life was everything. Though he could tap into echoes of the past, glimpsing information and events frozen in time, he couldn't change them.
Raising his eyes again, Li Yuanli stared at the long, spiraling stairways of cloud leading up toward the floating islands. The sheer scale of it made him dizzy. The boundless expanse, the breathtaking scenery, the majestic buildings that loomed across the hovering landmass, all of it filled him with burning curiosity and a desperate urge to explore further.
He began ascending the cloud ladder, racing toward the floating island.
"So, you're saying that even if I personally go there, there won't be any problem?" Qin Yi's voice was low, measured, and calculating.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Worlds that are only two to seven levels above our civilization won't pose a direct threat to you," Li Yuanli confirmed. "However… for our citizens, that's another matter entirely. Even the ambient information radiating from this place, just the sheer force of it, could easily shatter their bodies and minds."
Qin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, absorbing this crucial detail.
A moment later, Li Yuanli severed the mental link between them. Communicating across worlds, especially across different realms of existence, consumed an enormous amount of King's Strength. Every single word spoken drained a massive amount of energy. Li Yuanli couldn't afford such a luxury.
Besides, he had far more important matters to attend to at the moment!
Spreading his arms wide, Li Yuanli raised his head toward the floating sanctuary above, his face filled with unbridled excitement and awe.
"Hahahahaha! Otherworld! Your King has arrived!"
"And Qin Yi… to think your cautious nature would end up creating such a grand opportunity for me! Once I grasp the power of this realm and surpass you, "
"...you'll become my subordinate, a king beneath the true king!"
Li Yuanli roared in exhilaration, his whole body trembling with thrill.
The air around him pulsed with vast Spiritual Qi and energy fluctuations so immense that even a sliver of it would be enough to make him stronger, strong enough to eventually crush Qin Yi, that so-called "king" who had treated him as a disposable pawn!
"Haaah!"
Drawing in a deep breath, Li Yuanli stood upon the cloud ladder and began to sprint upward at full speed.
He was safe. He was invisible. He was a King, guided by the whispering knowledge of his Memories from the Past. No matter where he went, this ability would always guide him, revealing mysterious truths drawn from forgotten histories and the lost wisdom of ancient Kings. With such knowledge at his fingertips, his journey would be far smoother and faster. One day, it might even lead him to surpass Qin Yi himself.
That thought alone made Li Yuanli's heart burn with renewed, reckless ambition.
"If I can find a master here… if I can become someone's disciple and learn the power of this world, then I'll rise! I'll become truly strong!"
With renewed determination, Li Yuanli sprinted upward toward the heavens.
But just as he reached the height of his ecstatic planning, a streak of brilliant azure light suddenly shot down from the sky behind him!
At first, it seemed miles away. The next instant, it was directly above him.
"Hey, brat, what did you just shout about an 'Otherworld'?"
A deep, booming voice crashed down from the sky. Li Yuanli froze, his whole body breaking out in a chilling sweat. Slowly, he turned around.
And when he saw what hovered above him, his knees nearly gave out.
A sturdy woman in a long purple robe stood balanced atop a gleaming sword, gazing down at him with a curious expression.
The sword beneath her feet radiated terrifying Sword Qi, surging with a force that could easily slice him apart with a single swing.
Sword Flight! She was using Controlling Sword Flight!
"L–Lady… n-no, miss… I, I was just joking around!" Li Yuanli's legs trembled uncontrollably. Inwardly, he cursed himself a thousand times. Why did I have to yell like an idiot?!
"Hmph. I heard your voice from ten thousand meters away," the woman said, eyeing him with interest. "Didn't expect to see someone like you on the Mount Shu path."
Her gaze swept up and down his figure, and the glint in her eyes gradually brightened.
"Hmm… decent appearance, fair aptitude. The fact that you made it this far means you have both perseverance and luck."
"In that case, from today onward, you shall be my registered disciple!"
Though her voice was rough and grating, the meaning behind her words struck Li Yuanli like a thunderbolt.
A moment ago, he had been in hell for his catastrophic lapse in judgment, now, he'd been yanked into the heavens!
The dramatic highs and lows of life were far too thrilling for Li Yuanli's heart to handle…, but he was already kneeling in humble acceptance.
(End of Chapter)
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