Silence filled the cosmic chamber.
The countless galaxies revolving within the crystal platform continued their eternal dance.
Stars were born.
Stars died.
Nebulae expanded.
Ancient rivers of light crossed the endless darkness.
Yet none of it drew attention anymore.
Because Protector Yi's question had frozen everything.
"What exactly did you see inside the Treasure Realm...?"
Han Qing Li unconsciously looked toward Lin Shuan.
Even she could sense something unusual.
Something important.
Something hidden beneath countless layers of mystery.
Lin Shuan remained silent.
His brows furrowed.
His gaze lowered.
For the first time since entering this chamber—
hesitation appeared in his eyes.
The things he had witnessed inside the Treasure Realm...
Even now...
He wasn't certain whether they had truly happened.
Or whether they were merely fragments of a dream.
A dream far older than history itself.
Protector Yi did not rush him.
She stood quietly beneath the stars.
Waiting.
Listening.
Observing.
Not willing to miss even the smallest detail.
Han Qing Li also remained silent.
Although she did not understand most of what Protector Yi had spoken about until now...
She could tell this matter was extremely important.
After a long time—
Lin Shuan finally raised his head.
His voice sounded strangely distant.
"...I died."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Han Qing Li froze.
"...What?"
She stared at him.
Completely confused.
Died?
What did he mean?
If he had died...
Then who was standing before her now?
Lin Shuan ignored her reaction.
His eyes seemed to be looking somewhere beyond the galaxies.
Beyond reality itself.
Back toward that place.
That terrifying place.
"Inside the Treasure Realm..."
"I died."
"My consciousness disappeared."
"My body collapsed."
"I remember darkness."
"Absolute darkness."
His breathing gradually became heavier.
"I thought everything had ended."
"But then..."
His fingers unconsciously clenched.
"My soul was pulled away."
The atmosphere immediately changed.
Protector Yi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Tian Wuchen's expression became serious.
Even Han Qing Li felt a strange chill.
Lin Shuan continued.
"As if something was dragging me."
"Something ancient."
"Something incomprehensible."
"It felt like..."
He paused.
Trying to find the right words.
"...like it wanted to show me something."
The galaxies around them seemed to grow quieter.
Lin Shuan's voice echoed through the chamber.
"It brought me into the depths of the Void."
"The true Void."
"Not the Void Chaos cultivators talk about."
"Not the power we know."
"A place far deeper."
"A place where existence itself seemed meaningless."
Han Qing Li could barely understand.
The more Lin Shuan spoke—
the more confused she became.
Protector Yi, however, understood far more than she revealed.
Her heartbeat had already begun accelerating.
Lin Shuan lowered his head.
"Then..."
"It spoke to me."
Protector Yi's pupils contracted.
"What did it say?"
Lin Shuan answered slowly.
"It told me..."
"...to cultivate the Void."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the stars seemed to stop moving.
Han Qing Li frowned.
Cultivate the Void?
What kind of cultivation path was that?
But Protector Yi's expression changed dramatically.
Because she understood the implications.
Far more than Lin Shuan himself.
Meanwhile—
inside the Dragon Pendant.
Tian Wuchen had become completely motionless.
His golden eyes narrowed.
For the first time—
the ancient Dragon Emperor looked disturbed.
Very disturbed.
Lin Shuan continued.
"After that..."
"Everything changed."
"It was as though I was thrown somewhere else."
"A battlefield."
His voice became heavier.
"A battlefield beyond imagination."
His breathing grew unstable.
As though merely remembering it was painful.
"There were countless worlds."
"Countless universes."
"Countless rulers."
"Countless gods."
Han Qing Li's heart trembled.
Gods?
Again?
She had already heard Protector Yi mention impossible things.
Now Lin Shuan was speaking about gods as though they truly existed.
Lin Shuan continued.
"They were fighting."
"Fighting for the right to rule."
"Fighting for something called Authority."
"Fighting for the Void."
His fists tightened.
His entire body trembled slightly.
"Entire universes were collapsing."
"Stars were being erased."
"Reality itself was breaking apart."
Han Qing Li's face turned pale.
Even imagining such a scene felt impossible.
No cultivator on Xing Luo Planet possessed such power.
Not even legends.
Not even myths.
Yet Lin Shuan spoke with absolute certainty.
As though he had truly seen it.
As though he had truly stood there.
Protector Yi's expression had become increasingly solemn.
Because she knew one thing.
Lin Shuan wasn't lying.
Then—
his breathing suddenly became unstable.
His eyes widened.
Fear appeared.
Pure fear.
The fear of someone remembering a nightmare.
"I saw him."
The moment those words appeared—
Protector Yi stiffened.
Tian Wuchen stiffened.
The galaxies themselves seemed to dim.
Han Qing Li swallowed nervously.
"Who?"
Lin Shuan's lips trembled.
"He..."
"He stood above all of them."
"Above the gods."
"Above the emperors."
"Above everything."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"As though every living thing was nothing more than an ant."
Han Qing Li felt goosebumps.
Protector Yi's breathing slowed.
Lin Shuan continued.
"He was the largest existence I have ever seen."
"The most divine."
"The most terrifying."
"The most ancient."
"I couldn't even understand what I was looking at."
His forehead began sweating.
Then—
he spoke the word.
"The others called him..."
He frowned.
Trying desperately to remember.
Fragments flashed through his mind.
Broken images.
Ancient voices.
A sea of blood.
Endless stars.
And—
a figure.
A figure standing above eternity itself.
"They called him..."
"...the Emperor."
BOOM.
The crystal platform shook.
Han Qing Li jumped.
Protector Yi's eyes widened.
Inside the pendant—
Tian Wuchen's golden pupils contracted violently.
The Emperor.
The title echoed through their minds.
Protector Yi's heart began beating faster.
Could it really be...?
Lin Shuan continued.
"He carried a sword."
The moment he spoke those words—
his entire body stiffened.
Fear appeared.
A fear that came from instinct itself.
As though merely remembering that sword was forbidden.
His soul trembled.
His head suddenly exploded with pain.
"AAAH!"
Lin Shuan grabbed his forehead.
Han Qing Li immediately rushed forward.
"Shuan Hao!"
Protector Yi's expression changed.
Because she knew.
The memory itself carried pressure.
An existence beyond Lin Shuan's current level.
Lin Shuan clenched his teeth.
Fragments continued flashing through his mind.
That sword.
That ancient sword.
The same sword he had once glimpsed through the Golden Eye.
Inside the Lost Divine Region.
The same impossible weapon.
The same terrifying presence.
His breathing became ragged.
Meanwhile—
Protector Yi stood completely frozen.
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
"The Emperor..."
She whispered.
"Could it really be him...?"
Even Tian Wuchen looked shaken.
Because he remembered something.
Months ago—
when Lin Shuan had first awakened.
He had spoken of a golden eye.
A sword.
A forgotten place.
At the time Tian Wuchen had dismissed it.
But now—
those fragments were connecting together.
Slowly.
Terrifyingly.
Inside Protector Yi's heart—
a realization was forming.
"So that's why..."
"That's why I sensed it."
Her eyes slowly narrowed.
No.
There was more.
Much more.
She could still sense something hidden within Lin Shuan.
Something related to that ancient fragrance.
Something impossible.
Something dangerous.
If her guess was correct—
then the situation had become far more serious than she originally imagined.
Her gaze softened.
For a brief moment—
sadness appeared in her eyes.
"Big Sister..."
"If you were here..."
"You would know what to do..."
A trace of moisture appeared in her eyes.
Almost invisible.
Almost hidden.
Yet it was there.
"I will protect him."
"No matter what stands against him."
"No matter who his enemies become."
"They will have to step over me first."
Her resolve silently solidified.
Then—
Protector Yi made a decision.
She needed answers.
Immediately.
She slowly raised her hand.
A crimson light emerged.
Her eyes became deeper.
Ancient.
Mysterious.
Like twin stars observing eternity.
Han Qing Li felt a chill.
Lin Shuan frowned.
The next moment—
Protector Yi looked directly through him.
And everything became transparent.
His meridians.
His blood.
His bones.
His Luo Essence.
Nothing could remain hidden.
Han Qing Li stared in shock.
She had never seen such an ability before.
Protector Yi carefully observed everything.
The flowing Luo Essence.
The spiritual pathways.
Then—
she saw it.
The Frost Divine Heart.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
An extraordinary treasure.
But not what she was searching for.
Her gaze moved deeper.
And suddenly—
she froze.
Golden blood.
Flowing quietly within Lin Shuan's body.
Ancient.
Noble.
Dominating.
A bloodline that should not exist in this era.
Protector Yi immediately remembered.
The Imperial Arena.
The Golden Dragon Smash.
At the time she had already suspected something.
Now—
she finally confirmed it.
Golden Dragon Bloodline.
Her heart trembled.
Because that fact alone was already impossible.
The Golden Dragon Emperor should not exist in the current age.
Yet his bloodline was flowing within Lin Shuan.
Protector Yi continued examining.
Then—
she discovered the Dragon Pendant.
Her eyes immediately focused on it.
A strange expression appeared.
She reached out with her consciousness.
Deeper.
Deeper.
Trying to peer inside.
The resistance was enormous.
Yet she continued.
Meanwhile—
inside the pendant.
Tian Wuchen's expression changed drastically.
He immediately realized.
She had found him.
And worse—
she had sensed something impossible.
His aura instantly surged.
Trying to block her.
Trying to conceal himself.
But it was useless.
Protector Yi's gaze pierced through every barrier.
Every defense.
Every concealment.
Until—
their eyes met.
Silence.
The universe froze.
Time stopped.
Space became motionless.
Han Qing Li disappeared from perception.
Lin Shuan became frozen in place.
The galaxies stopped rotating.
Everything became still.
Then—
golden light exploded.
ROOOAAARRRR—
A dragon's roar echoed through eternity.
The Dragon Pendant shattered with radiance.
A colossal golden figure emerged.
Golden scales.
Golden horns.
Golden eyes.
A supreme emperor among dragons.
Tian Wuchen.
The Golden Dragon Emperor.
The ruler who once stood at the peak of heaven.
Even then—
his expression remained solemn.
Because standing opposite him—
was Protector Yi.
And for the first time—
he could no longer treat her as an ordinary ancient existence.
Tian Wuchen narrowed his eyes.
"You are hiding your power."
Protector Yi remained calm.
Her crimson robes fluttered within the frozen cosmos.
Then—
she spoke.
And when she did—
her voice no longer sounded human.
It sounded ancient.
Primordial.
Like the beginning of existence itself.
"Golden Dragon Emperor."
The words echoed across eternity.
"Did your father never teach you how to respect your elders?"
The moment Tian Wuchen heard the word father—
his entire body shook.
Shock appeared.
Disbelief appeared.
Emotion appeared.
Because very few beings in existence knew his father.
And even fewer dared speak of him so casually.
His eyes locked onto Protector Yi.
Who was she?
How could she know such things?
Was she bluffing?
Or...
Was she truly from an era older than his own?
For the first time—
uncertainty appeared within the Dragon Emperor's heart.
And Protector Yi merely watched him quietly.
As though she already knew the answer.