Chapter 988: Great Mysteries

But the affairs of the world always changed and evolved. A single answer could never resolve every problem forever. The Ruò Iron Clan’s path of evolution also could not fully resolve the evolutionary route for the entire Reaper clan.

When their civilization reached the peak of its glory, the problem of evolution inevitably surfaced. Even cultivating Vital Qi to the utmost limits could not bring them to the ultimate goal of evolution.

They hit a bottleneck, and with it came the pressure of Oblivion. Oblivion beasts began to breed around the Ruò Iron Clan’s territory. Panic quickly spread. In the end, the Ruò Iron Clan’s progenitor forcibly broke through the bottleneck and perished from spontaneous combustion. The clan that had once stood at the height of power began to decline.

They struggled for a long time, but they still could not withstand the merciless tide of Oblivion. In the end, the entire clan perished.

After reading the history of the Ruò Iron Clan, Li Xiaofei could not help but be filled with emotion. It had been a truly remarkable group within the Reaper clan. They had pioneered an extraordinarily powerful cultivation civilization.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

They had come close to breaking the innate shackles of the Reaper race and nearly reached the other shore. But in the end, their efforts had fallen just short.

At the same time, a question surfaced in Li Xiaofei’s mind,

If even the Ruò Iron Clan’s path couldn’t succeed, then is the Reaper race’s evolution destined to be a dead end?

Otherwise, after all this time, after visiting so many evolutionary strongholds and witnessing the histories of so many Reaper clans, histories filled with both evolution and death, he had never seen even a single King-ranked clan come close to seeing the hope of success.

To the Reapers, evolution was like a candle flame. Though its light was alluring, approaching it only led to being burned by its searing heat and ultimately being extinguished completely.

Li Xiaofei continued to peruse the stone slabs and came across a piece of information. According to the records of the Ruò Iron Clan, there had once been a Reaper clan that discovered the answer to evolution. They had ascended from the Evolution Temple and reached the legendary other shore, becoming the envy of all other races.

It seems my earlier guess was wrong. There really was a race that succeeded in evolving,

Li Xiaofei thought in astonishment.

But unfortunately, the Ruò Iron Clan’s records about this successful race were vague. Not even the name of the race was mentioned.

Could this successful race be the lineage of the Ancestor of Wisdom? Could those Reaper clans now residing outside the Evolution Temple be the later successors?

Li Xiaofei fell into deep thought. Perhaps it was possible, but something still didn’t feel quite right to him. In some of the subsequent records, the Ruò Iron Clan mentioned another matter. The Ancestor of Wisdom seemed to have discovered a shortcut, one that could resolve the problems of evolution.

Countless other races, who had yet to find an answer to evolution, were growing restless, trying to follow in the footsteps of the Ancestor of Wisdom. The Ruò Iron Clan had also sent envoys, hoping to gain the Ancestor of Wisdom’s aid. But in the end, a dispute seemed to have arisen within the Ruò Iron Clan. They never got to see the arrival of the Ancestor of Wisdom. When the Oblivion beasts finally arrived like a relentless tide, they completely annihilated this once-glorious King-ranked Reaper clan.

"Shortcut?" Li Xiaofei couldn't make sense of it.

After reading through all of the Ruò Iron Clan’s archived texts, he developed a strong intuition. It felt as though some mysterious force had forcibly erased many key pieces of information from this entire archive hall.

For instance, there was not a single mention of the deity statues that the Ruò Iron Clan had worshipped. None of the records contained even a trace of it. It was a complete blank. That was highly unusual. A race’s belief system, at any point in history, should have been considered a matter of utmost importance. And yet, there was not a single record.

Then there was the matter of the race that had supposedly succeeded in evolving and reaching the other shore. It should have been written in vivid detail, yet it was mentioned only vaguely. All detailed accounts appeared to have been wiped away.

Lastly, the shortcut of the Ancestor of Wisdom was merely glossed over. There had been no thorough explanation.

The Ruò Iron Clan had fallen into internal conflict over this so-called shortcut and was ultimately destroyed. But why had it caused such a dispute?

After finishing every record and archive, Li Xiaofei fell into deep thought. All along his journey through the world of the Evolution Temple, every fortress he encountered had been a place of death.

One could only imagine how much effort and sacrifice the Reaper clans had once poured into their pursuit of evolution, into reaching the distant other shore. But what truly lay at the end of this so-called path of evolution?

Li Xiaofei stepped out of the archive hall and stood atop the highest point of the Central Shrine, looking over the entire city.

What a pity. Such a magnificent and glorious city, Now reduced to nothing but a completely lifeless ruin. If only humans could be relocated here...

The moment that thought arose, Li Xiaofei’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately dismissed it. This place was one of evolution. Had the human race truly succeeded in evolving? Even with his pride in his own species, Li Xiaofei did not dare make such a claim.

If they moved in and failed to discover the final path of evolution, wouldn’t they end up just like the Ruò Iron Clan, and be forced to face the onslaught of Oblivion beasts until they were wiped out?

Staring at the desolate heavens and earth, inhaling the faint sulfur in the air, a trace of confusion rose in Li Xiaofei’s heart. A full year had already passed. And yet, he still hadn’t found a single trace of Si Kongxue and her daughter.

It made Li Xiaofei begin to reflect,

Could my current approach be wrong?

Blindly searching like this may only be a waste of time. Now that my strength has improved, maybe I can return to the Ancestor Court star system, start from the upper echelons of the Reaper, and ideally infiltrate the Ancestor Court itself. If I can find relevant clues there and then return here, the process might be far more efficient.

Li Xiaofei weighed his options carefully. At last, he made up his mind. Just then, the undead bone dragon Ao Ying came closer.

"You stay here." Li Xiaofei instructed Ao Ying to remain behind and guard the city, marking down its coordinates. Then, using the Spatial Point Theft ability, he opened a portal and returned to the outer port of the Ancestor Court star system.

***

It had been three years since the Grand Princess had entered the Holy Ruins with great fanfare. Three years might have passed, but for the Reaper race, it was nothing more than the blink of an eye.

Yet within those three years, the Ancestor Court star system had undergone tremendous change. Foremost among those changes was the rise of the human resistance.

Originally, after the last great commander of the resistance was slain, the human resistance had seemed destined to fade into nothingness. But for some unknown reason, a year and a half ago, several powerful human warriors suddenly emerged, assuming the role of new great commanders. Under their leadership, the resistance surged back into prominence. In just eighteen months, they had seized control of twelve natural planets within the Ancestor Court star system.

It was said that the five newly risen commanders of the resistance were each exceptionally powerful, wielding precious artifacts and sweeping through their enemies.

The Ancestor Court had organized four separate campaigns to eliminate them, dispatching no fewer than twenty-one King-ranked powerhouses, yet each attempt ended in defeat, with heavy casualties and no success.

The rise of the human resistance had stirred great unrest. It was important to note that humans already made up a significant portion of the population in the Ancestor Court star system. If the Primal Faction Reapers were excluded, the number of Wisdom Faction Reapers was less than one-tenth that of the human population.

If the resistance continued to gain momentum, their flames of rebellion could ignite the entire Ancestor Court star system and pose a real threat to the Reapers’ dominion.

As a result, discussions about the progress of the fifth extermination campaign were spreading everywhere. Many Reaper nobles were desperately hoping for the Ancestor Court’s military forces to swiftly crush the human resistance and wipe them out completely. Their human slaves had already begun to stir with unrest.

There had already been hundreds of localized slave uprisings across the tens of thousands of planets in the Ancestor Court star system. Though most were quickly suppressed and eliminated, as long as the resistance remained, they would serve as a beacon, forever igniting the hearts of human slaves with the hope of freedom, and forever driving them to fight back with everything they had.

That day, a young visitor arrived at Port Seven. After passing identity verification at customs, he entered the port and checked into the Traveler’s Hotel.

***

Night fell.

The city burst into color and noise. A grand farewell banquet for the military was underway. Nobles from across the port eagerly gathered to send off the Ruò Iron Clan’s army, which was preparing to depart for the Keren Galaxy to participate in the Fifth Extermination Campaign.

The Ruò Iron Clan was one of the most illustrious great clans within the Ancestor Court star system. It was said that their ancestor had emerged from the Evolution Temple as a supreme being, and was deeply favored by the Two Ancestors. The clan now boasted over a hundred King-ranked powerhouses, and their clan leader was considered one of the most formidable figures in the entire Ancestor Court galaxy.

As a result, the departure of the Ruò Iron Clan’s army attracted widespread attention. The administrator of Port Seven, along with numerous nobles from various factions, all made appearances at the farewell banquet. They hoped to leave a lasting impression on the Ruò Iron Clan’s elite and perhaps secure a favorable connection with this mighty force.

Among the guests was a young man.

So they really are a branch of the Ruò Iron Clan from the Evolution Temple,

he thought.

The young man was none other than Li Xiaofei. After teleporting out from the Evolution Temple, he had begun investigating the changes that had taken place in the Ancestor Court galaxy.

That was how he learned about the rise of the human resistance. He quickly realized that the so-called five great commanders had to be Zhu Zhixun and the rest of the infamous Black Pot Five. What surprised him, though, was that Liu Shaji, known for flaunting his ego, had not made a name for himself.

Has Liu Shaji really become this discreet and clever? Is he hiding in the shadows as a mastermind now?

Li Xiaofei decided to head to one of the resistance-controlled planets and reunite with them. On the way, he passed through Port Seven and happened upon the Ruò Iron Clan’s departure ceremony for the extermination campaign.

His curiosity was piqued as he thought,

Could this Ruò Iron Clan be the same clan I saw in the Evolution Temple world?

That question led him to infiltrate the banquet. Once he took a closer look, he was astonished. They were indeed the same clan. Their appearance and physical features were identical.

The records in the archive mentioned that the Ruò Iron Clan had split over whether or not to follow the Ancestor of Wisdom’s shortcut. Now it seems clear that the faction that had chosen to uphold tradition had perished within the Evolution Temple, while those who chose to follow the Ancestor of Wisdom’s path arrived in the Ancestor Court galaxy and carried on the clan’s legacy of glory.

Li Xiaofei pondered for a moment and quickly pieced together the truth. What surprised him, however, was that although the high-ranking members of the Ruò Iron Clan before him bore a physical resemblance to their ancestors in the Evolution Temple, their cultivation aura was entirely different.

They no longer cultivated Vital Qi. There was no inner energy circulating within their bodies. Like the other Reaper clans, they now relied purely on their powerful physiques, swift reflexes, and raw bodily strength to fight.

As for innate divine abilities, none were visible for the time being.

So... have these Ruò Iron Clan members actually regressed?

Li Xiaofei rubbed his temples.

It was an intriguing discovery. This change likely had something to do with the so-called shortcut introduced by the Ancestor of Wisdom.

The farewell banquet continued. This particular Ruò Iron Clan force being sent to participate in the extermination war numbered only ten thousand, and was led by a Three Pearl King-ranked general.

A Three-Pearl King-ranked Reaper was equivalent to a level ten Reaper. Undoubtedly, he belonged to the upper echelon. Additionally, ten more Two Pearl King-ranked powerhouses would accompany the expedition. It was a force that could not be underestimated.

As Li Xiaofei looked at the Three-Pearl King-ranked Reaper who stood at the center of attention, surrounded and praised by the other nobles like stars circling the moon, a curious idea suddenly formed in his mind.