While thousands of cultivators from the Tianxia Continent were mesmerized by the surreal beauty of the Secret Domain and the sensational breakthrough of Ye Fang, miles away from this mystical realm, a different kind of conceptual storm was raging within the most secure, secret chamber of the Sanmiao City Palace.
The chamber was crafted entirely from ancient, unyielding stone, its walls reinforced with layers of 'Defensive Arrays' to ensure that not a single echo of the conversation within could escape. In the center of the room sat a massive cultivation mat, upon which the city's most powerful and venerable cultivator, Elder Wang Shen, had just emerged from deep meditation. Standing directly before him, in a state of profound anxiety and bewilderment, was his son, the current City Lord of Sanmiao City, Wang Long.
Breaking the silence of the palace, Wang Long approached his father, suppressing his agitation as he began to speak.
"Father... a question has been gnawing at me since last night, preventing any rest." Wang Long said, locking eyes with the deep, experienced gaze of Elder Wang Shen. "When we first met that boy, Ye Fang, and you felt his aura for the first time... why did you suddenly remark, 'Is your Master at the Third Step of cultivation?' and why did you speculate his stage to be that of a 'Mythical Reaper Soul'? What exactly did you see in that boy that compelled you to make such an audacious claim?"
Elder Wang Shen slowly stroked his long white beard. His eyes shimmered with the weight of centuries of experience and a profound secret. He let out a cold sigh, fixing his gaze upon his son as he began to speak in a grave tone.
"Long'er... you perceive the external world of cultivation, but my eyes possess the ability to peer within the spirit." Wang Shen's voice reverberated against the chamber walls. "I claimed so because when that boy entered our palace, I projected a fraction of my consciousness to perform a 'Soul Search' upon him... and what I witnessed shattered my composure to the core."
"What did you see in his soul, Father?" Wang Long asked, consumed by curiosity.
Wang Shen's eyes narrowed, as if reliving the haunting vision. "When I attempted to penetrate his consciousness, I found neither ordinary meridians nor the flow of common Qi. At the deepest center of his mind, I beheld two vast, boundless, and opposing forces—on one side, a radiant white energy of Light, and directly opposite, a horrifying, obsidian energy of Darkness! And according to ancient cultivation texts, the coexistence of such Light and Darkness within a soul... is the hallmark of the first stage of the 'Second Step' of cultivation!"
Wang Long stood frozen, paralyzed by the revelation. His jaw hung open in shock.
Wang Shen continued, "You know that I am currently at the 'Star Shattering Stage,' considered one of the most formidable levels in this barren territory. But witnessing the balance of Light and Darkness within that boy's consciousness, I am one hundred percent certain that he is absolutely not at the 'Qi Refining' stage! Whatever act he may be performing, in reality, he is at the 'Light and Dark Manifestation' stage of the Second Step of cultivation! And according to the laws of cultivation... I am currently an entire stage below him!"
As Elder Wang Shen uttered these words, the air in the secret chamber grew heavy and suffocating.
Upon hearing that the mysterious boy could be a grand warrior of the Second Step, Wang Long's foundation seemed to crumble beneath him. He retreated two steps in disbelief, beads of sweat breaking out upon his forehead.
"You... you are a stage below him, Father?!" Wang Long stammered, his voice trembling. "But if what you say is true, it means he is at the level of 'Light and Dark Manifestation'! By the Heavens... in this entire barren region, merely crossing the 'First Step' is considered a legend, and that boy is sitting directly on the Second Step? Is a grand warrior of 'Light and Dark Manifestation' truly wandering our Sanmiao City as a mere boy who lost his memory? Is this even possible, Father?!"
Elder Wang Shen placed a firm hand upon his son's trembling shoulder. His grip possessed the iron resolve of centuries.
"I am not just convinced; I have absolute faith in my centuries of cultivation, Long'er! My eyes may deceive me, but my 'Soul Search' never lies." A sharp glint flashed in Wang Shen's eyes. "In the cultivation world, no grand warrior hides their power without reason. Now, only two possibilities remain—either the boy has truly lost all his memory due to some great war or accident and is unaware of his own boundless power... or he has entered our city under a false identity with a sinister intent. And if that is the case... he poses a catastrophic threat to our very existence!"
Hearing the word 'threat' from his father's lips, Wang Long's heart hammered against his ribs. He cried out in alarm.
"Father! If you have even the slightest suspicion that he could be a monumental threat to our city or the entire continent... then why did you send my two daughters—Wang Mei and Wang Ling—with him into that terrifying Secret Domain?!" Wang Long's voice was laced with the fear and fury of a helpless father. "Why did you not stop them? If he harms my daughters there, I will never forgive myself!"
Elder Wang Shen smiled slightly at his son's terror, but the smile held the deep, cold diplomacy of an experienced politician. He stepped closer to Wang Long and spoke in a stern, commanding tone.
"You dare question me, Long'er? Have you forgotten that you are the City Lord of this city?" Wang Shen scolded sharply. "It was you who allowed him to enter our Combat Arena two days ago and pitted him against our finest warriors! Was a veil drawn over your eyes while watching the battle? Did you not notice how bizarre the entire affair was?"
Wang Long remained silent, his gaze lowered. He had no answer.
Wang Shen reminded him, "Did you not realize how a mere, ragged cultivator—claiming to be at the 'Qi Refining' stage—was defeating 'Foundation Establishment' and even 'Golden Core' cultivators so easily and without inflicting any serious injury? Moreover, how could that boy stand toe-to-toe with a powerhouse like Yan Kai Long... who possesses three grand divine powers: the White Dragon Marshall Soul, the Blue Dragon Body, and the Thunder Dragon Veins? Can a common Qi Refining boy achieve this? Never!"
Wang Long inclined his head in silent agreement. He remembered how Ye Fang had neutralized every attack on the battlefield without a hint of fear.
Staring out the carved palace window toward the peaks of Hao Huo Mountain, which pierced the clouds, Wang Shen said in a deep voice, "I believe his memory is indeed gone, which, at this moment, could be both a boon and a curse for us. And yes, when those two were fighting the other day, I was in deep 'Spiritual Circulation' within my secret chamber. I was not physically present, but I could clearly perceive every vibration and that boundless pressure within the field through my consciousness!"
He took a deep breath. "However, until that moment, I could not comprehend where such a terrifying, ancient pressure was originating. The energy erupting during their clash was not that of a common human cultivator. That is why, when I performed the 'Soul Search' later, I found all my answers—that the boy is, in truth, a grand warrior of the 'Light and Dark Manifestation' stage, whose memories currently lie dormant."
While Elder Wang Shen sought to quell Wang Long's anxiety and fear by patting his shoulder, saying, "I sent your daughters with him because if the boy has truly lost his memory, then their presence and aid in these times of crisis will ensure his loyalty to Sanmiao City. And if he is truly a hidden Sovereign, this favor shall remain with us forever. This is the politics of cultivation, my child. Here, one must use their mind far more than their brawn."
Within the secret chamber of Sanmiao City, the discourse regarding Ye Fang—a whirlwind of diplomacy and suspicion—raged on. Elder Wang Shen, fueled by an unwavering faith in his own cultivation and 'Soul Search' technique, remained absolutely convinced that Ye Fang was at the 'Light and Dark Manifestation' stage of the Second Step of cultivation.
However... this assumption was catastrophically incorrect!
Elder Wang Shen, despite being considered one of the most sagacious cultivators in the history of the Jiangsu and Tianxia continents, had been utterly deceived. What his 'Soul Search' had revealed was indeed factual, but the cause was not what he believed.
The reason Elder Wang Shen sensed that Light and Darkness within Ye Fang's consciousness, and the reason he was led into this illusion, was due to Ye Fang possessing the most ancient, rare, and ruthless cultivation physique in the universe—the **God-Demon Physique!**
This was no 'Light and Dark Manifestation' stage. His body simultaneously contained the infinite, cold, sacred energy of 'God' and the intensely violent, destructive, obsidian energy of 'Demon.'
Since the cultivators of the Tianxia Continent had never even heard of a mythical and divine existence like the 'God-Demon Physique' in their entire lives, Elder Wang Shen's limited knowledge misinterpreted that boundless God-Demon energy as the 'Light and Dark Manifestation' stage of the Second Step. He believed the boy was an ancient warrior who had lost his memory, whereas in reality, Ye Fang was merely a transmigrator cultivator.
In that secret chamber of ancient stone, Wang Long's suspicion remained unsettled even after hearing his father. A question gnawed at his mind, one that contradicted the fundamental laws of cultivation.
Wang Long clasped his hands and bowed respectfully before his father, asking with utmost sincerity, "Father... your diplomacy and foresight are unparalleled. You have explained well that the boy is a Second Step 'Light and Dark Manifestation' warrior who has lost his memory. But I am plagued by another dilemma that is eating away at me from within."
Elder Wang Shen arched his white brows, looking at his son.
Wang Long continued, "Father, you just stated that you are at the 'Star Shattering' stage of the Second Step, a full step above the boy's 'Light and Dark Manifestation.' If you are superior to him in strength, then when you performed the 'Soul Search' on Ye Fang yesterday, what happened to you? And why did you declare that his Master possesses the 'Mythical Reaper Soul' of the Third Step? How did you become so firmly convinced? And... you mentioned yesterday that you entered a 'Sacred Realm' exactly 300 years ago. Is your conviction tied to that ancient event?"
As soon as Wang Long uttered the words 'Sacred Realm' and 'a secret from 300 years ago,' the air in the chamber turned biting cold.
The lines on Elder Wang Shen's face tightened. A primordial dread and a tremor, which Wang Long had never seen in his entire life, flickered in his eyes. He took a heavy, labored breath, as if pulling the wheels of time back by three centuries.
Gazing out of the window, he began to speak in a grave, somber voice, "Long'er... the answer to the question you seek lies behind a horrifying history and a long-forgotten tale of the cultivation world..."
Wang Shen closed his eyes and whispered, "It was exactly 300 years ago, during my youth, when I crossed the boundaries of this barren territory and entered that mythical Sacred Realm. What I witnessed there, what I felt, and the way I experienced a mere fraction of the boundless spiritual power of the Third Step warriors... because of that, yesterday, the moment that counter-blast erupted from the boy's soul, my own soul instantly recognized that it was not the defense of a common cultivator."
He turned to Wang Long, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Sit, Long'er. Today, I shall reveal the greatest secret of my life—a truth I have shared with no one on this continent. What transpired within that Sacred Realm, and why I am one hundred percent certain that Ye Fang's Master is at the Third Step... this story will confront you with an entirely new and terrifying reality of cultivation."