Chapter 257: Changes
Chapter 257: Changes
Fifty years passed in the blink of an eye.
Many major events occurred during this period, with the most prominent being three immortals descending to seal off Wan Lei’s universe in their attempt to hunt someone down. Yet after combing through every inch of the universe, they failed to find their target and instead became laughingstocks.
Ordinary creatures, even Realm Masters and Cosmic Lords, dared not mock them – but Players had no such reservations.
The three immortals’ furious expressions were captured by Players and turned into viral memes.
Notably, the Player community had grown stronger over these decades. The Little Flying Fish Guild saw all four beta-testers break through to Stellar Level from Planetary Level. Their leader Little Flying Fish completed the “Hidden Big Shot” legendary quest, skipping Galactic Level entirely to become a Realm Master.
After Black Blood Realm Master’s death, the Blood Lord Realm remained leaderless until Little Flying Fish’s promotion filled the vacancy, making him one of Wan Lei’s universe’s three great Realm Masters.
Due to his mysterious origins, Wan Lei Lord and the immortals killed Little Flying Fish multiple times.
But being a Player, he simply revived through Rebirth with minimal experience point loss. After repeated failures, Wan Lei Lord and the immortals abandoned their efforts, realizing Players couldn’t be permanently eliminated. The true threat lay in the outer demonic forces behind them.
The three immortals consequently left Wan Lei’s universe to trace these forces through the Players – an investigation lasting fifty years.
While fifty years represented half a mortal lifespan, Cosmic Level beings often slept longer than this. Upon reaching Planetary Level through Class Change, superhumans gained extended lifespans far surpassing ordinary people. Stellar Level doubled this longevity, while Galactic Level practitioners found life itself becoming an abstract concept. Realm Masters became virtually unkillable barring accidents, let alone Cosmic Level entities.
Such matters remained irrelevant to ordinary people, most of whom could never reach max level or access Class Change knowledge. Not everyone possessed Players’ upgrade panels.
Green City.
Wang Yuluo packed her Magic textbooks after an introductory lesson, heading to her office as usual. But an inexplicable sense of forgotten matters drove her to visit a familiar tavern instead.
The Adventurer’s Tavern remained unchanged through the years.
Wang Yuluo and Longmen often came here to reminisce about their childhood companion Ye Chen, though they seldom mentioned him anymore. Today, Wang Yuluo found herself unexpectedly recalling him again.
“You came too.”
She immediately recognized the silhouette upon entering.
“Longmen?”
Wang Yuluo stared at her disheveled friend – hair matted, clothes rumpled.
“I finally know why we never age!”
Dark circles framed Longmen’s eyes, but excitement crackled in his voice.
Their perpetual youth despite being only Level 20+ had caused major controversy and personal struggles. As peers grew old, they’d felt increasingly alien – outsiders in this world.
“Why?”
“Because we’re not from this world!”
Longmen jabbed at empty air repeatedly until an information panel materialized above him, visible only to Wang Yuluo:
Character: Longmen
Level: 23
Wang Yuluo felt as if struck by lightning, her mind flashing through unfamiliar memories like rewinding film – glimpses of life from another world.
……
Emperor Star.
The cathedral had become Emperor Star’s sacred ground.
Since Ye Chen released his Realm Master aura last time, the entire council had learned of this big shot’s existence.
As the Realm Master’s successor, the Angrier family’s crimes were pardoned. Using knowledge taught by Ye Chen, An Lier successfully ascended to Stellar Sorceress, matching the level of Emperor Star’s strongest Interstellar Executor. The matured An Lier returned to Emperor Star’s power center with her mother, restoring her family’s honor. Through Transcendent power and merciless tactics, she became known across the planet as the “Blood Queen.”
“Teacher, I eliminated Councilor Kevin and his entire faction today…”
“I’m leaving.”
The motionless ‘Ye Chen’ who hadn’t changed in fifty years suddenly spoke. This wasn’t the real Ye Chen – the true entity had long abandoned physical form to merge with the real universe. What remained was merely an NPC created half a century earlier.
An Lier froze momentarily before delight lit her face.
“Teacher, you’re awake?”
Having interacted with Ye Chen most closely, she’d long noticed this copy’s imperfections.
“The little girl’s all grown up.”
Ye Chen’s consciousness now controlled the vessel. He turned to behold his long-unseen student, warmth flickering in his gaze. Unlike his mentor Zuo Meng who’d experienced countless worlds, this remained Ye Chen’s first world. Unable to match Zuo Meng’s detachment, he’d chosen to revisit it.
Time’s passage left Ye Chen momentarily dazed.
The child who once sought companions against loneliness had vanished.
“Teacher, these past years…”
“My journey ends here. The road ahead is yours.”
Ye Chen touched An Lier’s forehead with his fingertip.
A spark of light pierced her soul.
His consciousness departed, leaving the NPC body rigid as a marionette…
Real universe.
Core.
“Ten years ahead of schedule.”
Ye Chen awoke. When his eyelids lifted, the Entire World seemed to darken momentarily. Every being across the vast cosmos sensed this shift – from ordinary people to superhumans, across Wan Lei’s universe, Tianqing universe, and all realms within existence.