Time rewound to a few minutes earlier.
Sylvester strolled along the streets of Exalting Sanctum. By day, the marketplace was lively and bustling, but deep into the night, only the streetlights remained to keep him company.
The quiet atmosphere highlighted the peace and stability of the Luofu.
Yet Sylvester, walking alone, frowned slightly as he pondered in silence.
There was no mistake—this inexplicable sense of urgency meant that something was watching him.
But before obtaining his second exclusive bucket, by copying and enhancing the Lightning-Lord's power, he had already firmly surpassed Jing Yuan in terms of strength.
Not to mention that now, with part of an Aeon's authority in hand, even the strongest among the Emanators dreaming of monitoring him without being exposed would be sheer fantasy.
If that was the case, then the answer was obvious…
With that thought, Sylvester came to a stop and lifted his head to gaze into the depths of space.
An Aeon!
It could only be an Aeon!
If a mere mortal were targeted by the greatest class of beings in the universe, no one would believe he'd still have a way out.
And if he could even perceive that he was being watched, then he should have already withered away under endless terror.
After all, the shadow cast by an Aeon over the universe—even without leaking a single trace of power—was enough to drive a person mad through prolonged psychological pressure alone.
But Sylvester felt not the slightest hint of despair.
On the contrary, he was faintly excited.
He clenched both fists. The power of [Equality] manifested in his palms as clear, mysterious patterns.
He had just been worrying about where to find an Aeon to boost his strength—and now one had come knocking on his door!
So, which one would it be?
Qlipoth of Preservation? He had just interacted with people from the IPC, so that was indeed a possibility.
Or perhaps Nanook of Destruction?
Based on the "future" he knew, Phantylia was preparing to unleash Hoolay during the martial rites. If Nanook learned of the recent changes on the Xianzhou through Phantylia, it wouldn't be strange for THEM to come take a look.
But after thinking it over, Sylvester shook his head, almost completely ruling out those two.
Preservation and Destruction were not Aeons known for patience or for following a "better safe than sorry" philosophy. It was hard to imagine THEM lurking in the shadows like voyeuristic creeps.
Then in that case… could it be Aha?
Picking a fight with a mortal did sound exactly like something THEY would do.
If that were true, then this would be a massive win!
Elation was clearly stronger than Destruction. If he could force Aha to appear, gain THEIR power through [Equality], and stack it with the authority of [One Who Transcends Spacetime]—
With those two combined, looking across the entire universe, perhaps only Nihility could stand as his equal.
"Then how do I make THEM show up? Pull some stunt right here?"
Sylvester glanced around the empty streets and shook his head in frustration.
With no one around, there wasn't even a target to mess with.
"Forget it. I'll just go back and sleep. If it really is Lord Aha spying on me, THEY wouldn't deliberately do anything to hurt people."
He thought to himself: THEY wouldn't be so bored as to draw graffiti on my face while I'm asleep… right?
After mentally slapping such an unambitious label onto Aha, Sylvester couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
He turned to head back.
But just as one foot landed on the ground and the other hadn't yet stepped forward, the presence enveloping him suddenly vanished.
Immediately afterward, from the cosmos not far from the Luofu, a desperate plea for help surged forth.
A Curio… calling out to him?
Sylvester's gaze sharpened.
In an instant, using [Curio Absolute Control], he slipped into the perspective of the one crying for aid.
[Zafkiel's Twelfth Bullet - Yud Bet] was tightly bound by black-and-white threads woven from some strange power. It was stuck half-in, half-out of the chamber, on the verge of being shredded to pieces.
Before the muzzle stood a familiar face—Aventurine—his expression shifting from tension to confusion.
Seeing this, Sylvester's manifested consciousness grew distinctly displeased. Making a man want to shoot but not be able to, or fire halfway only for it to jam, is a great way to cause psychological trauma. The consequences are very serious.
Mm. The consequence here is that he can't save his mother and sister. And if a golden Curio can't be used, wouldn't that make me a merchant selling defective goods?
This kind of malicious, business-disrupting competition by an Aeon absolutely must be sanctioned!
"As the One Who Transcends Spacetime."
Murmuring the incantation in a low voice, Sylvester's consciousness climbed along the black-and-white threads, racing upstream at extreme speed.
Before a single thought could finish, he had already crossed countless star regions, arriving at the source of the threads.
Looking at that black-and-white "substance" that seemed both existent and nonexistent, a flash of insight struck him. "As expected—it's an Aeon!"
And one whose goal was to bring the universe into balance—HooH. There was no mistaking it.
"Good!"
A chance to ascend in a single step without paying any price lay right before him. Even someone as accustomed to gold and purple Curios as Sylvester couldn't help but feel his blood heat up.
He took a deep breath and raised both hands, palms facing the Aeon of Equilibrium. He pressed the tips of his index fingers and thumbs together on both hands, peering through the hollow formed by the four fingers.
"[Equality], activate!"
There were no dazzling beams of light, no overwhelming display of force. Instead, countless profound runes suddenly flooded into his mind—along with power on a scale beyond description!
All of it appeared within him in a single instant, elevating his body into a form capable of bearing such immense strength.
After obtaining HooH's power, Sylvester's true body, far away in Exalting Sanctum, lightly tapped a finger. As black-and-white light alternated, he instantly arrived at this location.
With a casual wave of his hand, he severed the black-and-white threads radiating from HooH.
Just after Aventurine formed the thought Is this gun jammed?, his temple was struck hard at once.
And so, he smoothly stepped onto the measure of time.
Sylvester slowly sat down in the void, even crossing one leg over the other. Leisurely and languid, he spoke.
"you're HooH, right? You might not know this, but on the Luofu, you're supposed to follow the [Commercial Management Act]. What you just did seriously interferes with fair business competition."
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa