Chapter 490: The Laboratory Beyond the World
Chapter 490: The Laboratory Beyond the World
The powerful Arcane Masters had dismantled countless bricks and studied numerous artifacts. They only preserved these items as relics after confirming their worthlessness. But why did these previously normal bricks show new properties after Arcane powers vanished?
Zuo Meng lifted the cracked brick, watching as its contents spilled out.
“Ink?”
He stared blankly, dipping his finger into the black liquid. The brick truly contained nothing but ink.
The great secret of Arcane civilization… was ink?
Bzzzt!!
Static-like interference shook the system that had accompanied Zuo Meng for years. A distant voice echoed in his ears, growing clearer and closer.
“Master!”
“Wake up…”
Master?
Me? Since when do I have disciples? Zuo Meng’s consciousness wavered as broken memories surged forth. All knowledge about the Creator flooded back, including his lost divine authority.
“Reality… I see now.”
His vision transformed completely. The system disappeared, replaced by chains of fundamental rules. Deeper still, a battery-like energy source connected these chains, forming the world’s framework. Finally he understood – this “system” was his own failsafe, created with Creator’s authority before entering this real world. Its tasks had guided him past worldly temptations until he awakened to reclaim his power.
“All this time cursing that ‘idiotic system’… I programmed it myself.”
Zuo Meng chuckled dryly.
“Look! Someone’s up there!”
Shouts came from below. The Snow Wolf Empire had sent new explorers searching for their missing team. Through sheer luck, they’d reached the core and spotted Zuo Meng.
“That face…”
The Founding Ancestor!!
A man gaped at the figure matching the imperial coins’ engraving. Though never officially acknowledged, every citizen knew their empire’s legendary figure – the man who surpassed Sword Saints, their bargaining chip when dealing with interstellar civilizations in this Martial Arts-accepted world.
“How’s the Ancestor here?”
“He hasn’t aged a day from the coin portraits!”
Murmurs spread. Some focused on his apparent immortality – records claimed he’d lived over a millennium, an impossible feat even for Sword Saint-surpassing strong individuals.
Zuo Meng glanced indifferently at the crowd. His ties with Snow Wolf Empire had dissolved long ago. Now awakened, he saw no reason to linger in this constructed reality.
“No need for complicated methods.”
He raised his hand. Spilled ink reversed course like rewinding time – simple manipulation for one regaining divine authority. Having grasped this world’s workings through long observation, only one task remained: retrieving the Second Reality.
The first reality is the Origin Rules.
What would the second reality be?
The ink swirled and gradually formed a square gate before Zuo Meng. Floating mid-air with complete darkness within, its ink-formed frame pulsed with mysterious sustaining energies. The observers below stared in bewilderment – this scene shattered their perception. Their studied “science” claimed neither Martial Arts nor their cherished technology could accomplish such feats.
“Let me see what this Second Reality truly holds.”
Zuo Meng stepped forward and vanished into the ink gate.
“Gone…?”
“Spatial teleportation?!”
The research team panicked. They knew no one would believe their reports. Worse yet, all recording devices had failed during Zuo Meng’s ritual, yet worked perfectly when tapped afterward.
“Could the Arcane civilization… actually be real?”
Someone whispered. No one mocked the question this time. The entire team remained silent, doubt gnawing at their convictions.
Passing through the gate,
Zuo Meng’s body lightened. He reopened his eyes to find himself in an alien laboratory. Bubbling unknown liquids filled glass containers above him. Electromagnetic currents linked to a central screen projecting an incomprehensible pattern –
The World Map.
To ordinary observers, it resembled cosmic photography. But Zuo Meng saw hidden layers – patterns only visible from beyond the world’s boundaries.
“The Second Reality links here?”
Touching the control panel, he froze. Arcane energy – long erased from their world – coursed through the machinery. This laboratory, existing outside worldly laws, preserved forbidden power like a fossil trapped in amber, defying the established rule system.
“Hm?”
As Zuo Meng moved to investigate, he spotted two figures in the shadows.
Corpses.
Clad in Arcane-era garments.
Speaker Baigu and Elder Orlando of academic institutions!
Zuo Meng instantly recognized these legendary figures who’d vanished during the Arcane civilization’s peak. His past searches had proved futile. Yet here they rested in death, preserved in this timeless laboratory.