After snapping out of his daze from the handsome man’s question, Yuan laughed a little before speaking, “What a coincidence. I also have a similar question. What the heck is up with all of this reincarnation stuff?”
“Tell me everything you know about it! How else am I supposed to achieve this goal you speak of when I don’t even remember it?!”
The handsome man silently stared at Yuan for a good moment.
“I see… So you don’t remember anything yet. That’s fine. It’s not the first time that you have forgotten about your past, but you will eventually remember everything.”
“However, don’t expect me to spoon feed you everything just because we belong to the same soul. If you want to remember your memories, you will have to defeat me. Why else would I force myself to do the trials in this place?”
“Good! I have always wanted to give you a good beating but never got the chance since you’re always much stronger than me in my dreams!” Yuan said.
The two of them continued fighting again shortly after.
Meanwhile, in the spectators’ room.
“What happened?! Why did it stop working?!” Chu Liuxiang exclaimed when the water suddenly stopped reflecting Yuan and the City Lord right when the City Lord was about to remove his mask.
Unfortunately, nobody there could answer her question.
“I don’t know what happened, but we can only wait until it returns.” Feng Yuxiang said.
Back in the pagoda, Yuan and the handsome man fought each other so viciously that they’d collapsed some of the floors there.
“Hmmm… You’re still lacking. When I was at your level, Spirit Kings were no match for me. However, that shouldn’t be possible. You should be far stronger than me since you’re reincarnated.” The handsome man spoke as he fought.
After pondering for a moment, he continued, “Perhaps you didn’t fully awaken your bloodline? Or maybe you don’t know how to use it? You don’t know anything, do you?”
Yuan frowned when he heard this, and he said, “Why would I know? I don’t know about the reincarnation. I don’t know about my past. I don’t even know my purpose. And you expect me to know about my bloodline? You’re right— I don’t know anything!”
Yuan felt frustrated that he knew nothing about himself even though there’s clearly a lot he should be aware about.
The handsome man smiled when he noticed Yuan’s attack getting fiercer and more powerful due to his frustration.
“Sometimes it’s better to not know anything, because once you learn everything, you will not be the same person.”
“I will decide what kind of person I will become no matter what happened in the past!” Yuan shouted.
“You’re not the first one to say such words, and these people all ended up changing after they recalled their past and purpose.” The handsome man chuckled.
“You’re confused because you don’t know anything. However, once you remember everything, you will understand.”
“You don’t know that!”
Clang!
Yuan swung the Empyrean Overlord with all of his strength.
However, the handsome man blocked it with ease.
“I do— because we are the same person.” He smiled.
“You see, we’re not like the others. When others go through the cycle of reincarnation, they will lose their memories and live a new life with a new identity— they will become someone unrecognizable and walk a unique path that’s different from their past self.”
“However, we’re not like that. Although we sometimes lose our memories and take on a new identity, we will eventually return to our original identity and walk the same path we once walked. This is our destiny— our heavenly fate that I— you started.”
“Heavenly Domain!”
Yuan suddenly released the Heavenly Domain, slowing down the handsome man’s movements.
He then activated Dragon’s Gaze, freezing his movement for a brief moment.
“Heaven Splitting Sword Strike!”
Yuan used this brief moment to gather as much spiritual energy as he could before releasing it, and thanks to his Empyrean Overlord that recently upgraded its unique ability, the Heaven Splitting Sword Strike was more powerful than ever.
BOOM!
The golden light enveloped the handsome man’s figure before blowing a massive hole in the pagoda.
However, once the golden light disappeared, the handsome man was still standing in the same spot, and he didn’t even have a single scratch on his body.
“I-Impossible…” Yuan was left speechless by the results.
The handsome man had eaten his Heaven Splitting Sword Strike head-on and managed to remain unscatched? How is he supposed to defeat such a monster?
“Hahaha!”
The handsome man suddenly burst out laughing.
“You should see the expression on your face right now! You look like someone who just saw a ghost!”
After laughing for a bit, the handsome man looked at Yuan with a calm smile on his face and said, “Don’t worry, you have already passed this trial.”
“W-What?” Yuan’s eyes widened at his words.
“Although I may look unharmed, I had actually died in that attack just now. I merely reconstructed myself. After all, I am made out of spiritual energy.”
And sure enough, a notification that announced the end of his trial appeared the next moment.
<You have killed the City Lord and successfully cleared the first trial>
<You have cleared the trial in less than 6 hours>
“Here’s your reward.” The handsome man suddenly extended his hand that was holding a glowing orb of light.
“What’s that?”
“You were just asking for it not long ago.”
“Y-You don’t mean…”
“That’s right. It’s your memories— your answer. However, it’s only a small fragment of it. If you want the rest, you’ll have to continue challenging the Stairway to Heaven.”
Yuan sighed, “Why are you making things difficult for me— for yourself?”
The handsome man smiled and said, “This is for your own good. And it’s not just you. Everyone that came here before you had to go through the same thing.”
Yuan silently stared at the orb floating above the handsome man’s hand.
“Here. Take it.”
The handsome man suddenly flicked his finger, sending the orb of light straight into Yuan’s forehead, and Yuan’s vision blackened the next moment.