The First Master's words echoed through the ruined palace.
"The one who created them."
Nobody moved.
Even Su Chen felt a chill run through his body.
Above them, the merged creature floated silently.
Its body was covered in endless darkness.
One crimson eye.
One blue eye.
And beneath them, a black void where a third eye should have been.
Its presence alone was enough to make the entire First Ruin tremble.
Lin Yanyan tightened her grip on Su Chen's arm.
"Su Chen…"
"I know."
He stared at the creature.
"What exactly did you mean when you said it created them?"
The First Master looked toward the creature.
"I don't know its true name."
His expression was grim.
"During the final battle of the First Dynasty, I discovered that the three beings weren't independent."
Su Chen listened carefully.
"They were fragments."
"Fragments of something much older."
The Sea Sovereign frowned.
"Fragments?"
The First Master nodded.
"Fear. Desire. Erasure."
"They were separated because their combined existence was too dangerous."
Mu Xue's eyes narrowed.
"Then who separated them?"
The First Master looked at Su Chen.
"The person sitting behind them."
The palace suddenly shook.
A fourth presence descended.
There was no explosion.
No overwhelming aura.
Instead, everything became quiet.
Too quiet.
The stars disappeared.
The ruins disappeared.
Even the sound of breathing vanished.
Then a figure appeared behind the merged creature.
A man.
He wore a simple black robe.
His hair was white.
His face looked young, but his eyes were ancient.
He walked forward slowly.
Every step caused the laws of the First Ruin to bend.
The merged creature lowered its head.
"Master."
Su Chen's eyes narrowed.
The white-haired man stopped.
His gaze fell on Su Chen.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he smiled.
"So the Fourth Authority has finally chosen someone."
Su Chen's grip tightened around the sword.
"You know about me."
"I know everything about you."
The man's voice was calm.
"You were born."
"You awakened."
"You inherited the seal."
"You entered the First Ruin."
"And now you stand before me."
Su Chen's expression became cold.
"Then tell me why."
The man smiled.
"Because you are the mistake I have been waiting for."
Lin Yanyan's phoenix flames erupted.
"You don't get to call him a mistake."
The man's gaze shifted toward her.
For the first time, his expression changed.
"Phoenix blood."
Lin Yanyan raised her spear.
"Don't look at me like I'm some specimen."
The man chuckled.
"Still the same."
Su Chen frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"The Phoenix bloodline has always been troublesome."
Lin Yanyan's flames intensified.
"Then you've met my ancestors?"
The man nodded.
"Many times."
The First Master suddenly stepped forward.
"You shouldn't be here."
The white-haired man looked at him.
"You failed to kill me."
The First Master tightened his fists.
"I sealed you."
"And I waited."
The man glanced around the ruined palace.
"Ten thousand years is a long time."
Su Chen stepped forward.
"You're the reason the First Dynasty fell."
The man's smile disappeared.
"No."
He looked toward the First Master.
"He is."
Everyone froze.
The First Master looked stunned.
"What?"
The white-haired man continued.
"The First Dynasty didn't fall because of me."
"It fell because your master refused to accept the truth."
The First Master clenched his fists.
"Don't speak about him."
The man smiled.
"Why?"
"Because you still worship him."
Su Chen immediately noticed something.
The First Master was angry.
Not afraid.
Angry.
"You knew him."
The First Master finally spoke.
"He was the First Emperor."
Su Chen's eyes widened.
"The ruler shown in the projection?"
The First Master nodded.
"Yes."
The white-haired man laughed.
"He wasn't a ruler."
"He was a prisoner."
The words stunned everyone.
Su Chen stared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
The man raised his hand.
The world changed.
A massive image appeared above them.
Su Chen saw the First Dynasty again.
But this time, the scene was different.
The First Emperor wasn't sitting on a throne.
He was chained.
Hundreds of golden chains wrapped around his body.
Behind him stood the same black eye.
The First Emperor struggled.
But the eye was feeding on his power.
Su Chen's expression changed.
The white-haired man spoke.
"He discovered the truth."
"He discovered that cultivation itself wasn't natural."
Mu Xue's face became serious.
"What?"
The man looked at them.
"Someone created the cultivation system."
Silence.
"The realms."
"The laws."
"The Immortal Realm."
"All of it."
The Sea Sovereign stared.
"Who?"
The man smiled.
"Me."
The atmosphere became suffocating.
Su Chen's eyes narrowed.
"You created cultivation?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The man looked at his hand.
"Because existence without purpose is meaningless."
He closed his fingers.
"So I created power."
"I created cultivation."
"I created desire."
"I created fear."
"And eventually…"
His eyes turned cold.
"I created death."
The darkness behind him expanded.
Su Chen's heart sank.
The white-haired woman suddenly appeared inside his consciousness.
Her face was pale.
"Su Chen."
"What?"
"Don't fight him."
Su Chen frowned.
"Why?"
"Because…"
Her voice trembled.
"He isn't a cultivator."
Su Chen looked at the white-haired man.
The woman continued.
"He's the reason cultivation exists."
Su Chen's expression hardened.
The white-haired man looked directly at him.
"Now you understand."
"No."
Su Chen slowly raised his sword.
"I understand enough."
The man's eyebrows rose.
"You still want to fight?"
Su Chen smiled.
"You made one mistake."
"What?"
"You created cultivation."
Golden light spread across Su Chen's body.
"But you didn't create me."
The man's expression became cold.
Su Chen's Fourth Authority erupted.
The golden threads connecting him to Lin Yanyan, Mu Xue, the Sea Sovereign, and the Pavilion Master appeared again.
"I chose who I am."
Lin Yanyan's phoenix flames surged.
"And we choose our own path."
Mu Xue raised her spear.
The Sea Sovereign summoned the ocean.
The Pavilion Master released endless moonlight.
The First Master stepped forward.
For the first time, all six stood together.
The white-haired man stared at them.
Then he laughed.
"You really believe friendship can defeat the creator of cultivation?"
Su Chen shook his head.
"No."
He raised the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
"I don't think we can defeat you."
The man's smile widened.
"But?"
Su Chen's golden eyes became sharp.
"I think you can be surpassed."
The Fourth Authority exploded.
The First Ruin shook violently.
The merged creature roared and charged.
Su Chen moved.
Lin Yanyan followed.
Mu Xue attacked from the left.
The Sea Sovereign unleashed an ocean from the right.
The Pavilion Master covered the sky with moonlight.
The First Master charged directly toward the white-haired man.
BOOM!
The battle began.
The merged creature's fist collided with Su Chen's sword.
The impact shattered the ground.
Su Chen was forced backward.
Lin Yanyan immediately attacked.
Her Phoenix flames wrapped around the creature's arm.
Mu Xue's spear pierced its shoulder.
The Sea Sovereign's waves crashed into its body.
The creature roared.
Its crimson eye released fear.
Its blue eye released desire.
The darkness beneath its body began erasing everything around them.
Su Chen felt his power weakening.
"Don't let it separate us!"
Lin Yanyan shouted.
Su Chen nodded.
The golden threads between them brightened.
The creature tried to erase them.
But the connections remained.
Su Chen suddenly understood.
The Fourth Authority wasn't simply about connection.
It was about choice.
Every bond existed because someone chose it.
That was something the creator couldn't completely control.
Su Chen's eyes brightened.
"Yanyan!"
"I know!"
Their energies merged.
Crimson and gold exploded across the battlefield.
The creature was blasted backward.
At the same time, the First Master struck the white-haired man.
The man blocked with one hand.
BOOM!
The First Master was thrown across the ruins.
"You haven't changed."
The white-haired man looked at him.
"You still rely on brute strength."
The First Master wiped blood from his mouth.
"And you still talk too much."
He charged again.
The man smiled.
Then suddenly—
He stopped.
His eyes moved toward Su Chen.
Something had changed.
The Fourth Authority behind Su Chen had transformed.
The golden symbol was no longer complete.
A new symbol was forming inside it.
The white-haired man's expression changed for the first time.
"No."
Su Chen looked at him.
"What?"
The man's voice became serious.
"You're awakening the Fifth Authority."
The First Master froze.
"The Fifth…"
The white-haired man stared at Su Chen.
"That authority was never supposed to return."
Su Chen raised his sword.
"What is it?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward the sky.
For the first time—
He seemed genuinely afraid.
Then the entire First Ruin shook.
A massive voice echoed from beyond the universe.
"FOUND."
The white-haired man's face went pale.
Su Chen looked upward.
"What was that?"
The man whispered:
"They found you."
"Who?"
The white-haired man looked directly at Su Chen.
"The beings even I cannot control."
The sky shattered.
And something stepped through.