Chapter 552
Chapter 552
"Don’t start by saying something like that..." Luluvi muttered in a tiny voice.
Even so, every word reached Kanzaki Rei’s ears with perfect clarity.
The look in Rei’s eyes was nothing like the sharp focus he displayed in battle, nor was it the usual calm, expressionless indifference he wore.
This time, his gaze was gentle.
"I’m sorry. I made you worry."
Luluvi’s face instantly turned scarlet.
"What are you talking about...? I was never worried about you. Not even once."
"You’re so ridiculously strong. There’s no way anything could happen to you."
"So... who would worry about you?"
"Definitely not me."
Rei gently raised a hand toward Luluvi.
She felt no force pulling on her whatsoever, yet in the next instant, Rei had already appeared right before her.
Seeing Yuna standing nearby, Luluvi immediately realized that Rei had pulled her over to his side.
But throughout the entire process...
She had felt absolutely nothing.
Rei could perceive Luluvi’s Sea of Consciousness.
He could even see through her heart itself.
Yet now...
Her Sea of Consciousness had been completely purified.
When they had parted ways, she had still been half-corrupted.
Now, however, her inner sea was crystal clear, utterly spotless.
But what puzzled Rei even more was...
How had Luluvi reached Level 8?
Yuna possessed the Sage’s inheritance and had been personally nurtured by Yog.
As a Moon Sovereign who held Authority over Knowledge, it was perfectly understandable that Yog could raise an Erudite to Level 8.
After all, pouring knowledge into an Erudite was practically a shortcut to instant advancement.
But Luluvi...
Cough.
It wasn’t that Rei looked down on her.
Luluvi was genuinely talented.
At the very least, back when she was Level 4, she had managed to fight the Level 3 version of himself almost evenly.
Rei had never doubted that she possessed the potential to reach Level 8.
As long as she worked hard enough...
And spent several hundred years doing so.
Well...
That was assuming she had those hundreds of years.
Back then, Luluvi only had thirty years left to live.
Yet after all this time had passed, instead of increasing, her lifespan had actually decreased.
Now she only had one year remaining.
Luluvi...
Rei honestly didn’t know whether he should feel sad for her.
But only one year left to live...
That was simply too pitiful.
Of course, this was an age of chaos.
Very few people lived long lives anymore.
At the same time, though, that also brought one piece of good news.
Now, anyone he wanted to kill was much easier to kill.
The shorter someone’s remaining lifespan was, the shorter the destined death he needed to sever.
Before, someone might have hundreds of years left to live.
Killing them meant cutting through centuries of destiny.
Now things were different.
Kill them once, and they died almost instantly.
Much more efficient.
Luluvi’s eyes gradually became unfocused as Rei’s immense consciousness slowly pressed toward her.
She had only one choice.
To accept it.
At the same time, she experienced everything Rei had gone through over the years.
Rei compressed his experiences, altered numerous details, bundled everything together, and transmitted them directly into her mind.
It was far quicker than explaining everything verbally.
As she absorbed Rei’s memories, countless emotions flashed across Luluvi’s face.
In the end, they condensed into a single sigh.
"So... it looks like things weren’t easy for you either."
He was clearly such a genius.
Far stronger than she was.
Yet he had still endured so much suffering.
If Rei hadn’t been trapped inside that Temporal Ruin, he would probably be even stronger than he was now.
Naturally, the information Rei had sent concealed many details.
Luluvi had no idea that he could simulate alternate timelines.
From her perspective, Rei had only spent one or two years inside the reset timeline.
One or two years during which he couldn’t level up...
In exchange for over ten years of blank time.
It was an obvious waste.
"But these past ten years..."
Luluvi recalled everything she had experienced over the years, her consciousness gradually organizing those memories together.
Then she transmitted them to Rei.
As the memories entered his Sea of Consciousness, Rei immediately noticed the difference.
Compared to the carefully edited version he had given Luluvi...
The memories she sent him were incredibly rough.
It was obvious she hadn’t processed them at all before transmitting them.
She had simply passed them over exactly as they were.
At the same time, she began explaining aloud.
"Not long after I arrived at the World Tree at the center of the world, I met the strongest... Level 9 Archer alive today."
Level 9.
Another Level 9.
Where were all these Level 9s coming from?
The moment that thought appeared in Rei’s mind, the answer arrived as well.
The answer lay within Balance itself.
If a class had not yet produced a Level 9 advancement, then the requirements for advancing from Level 8 to Level 9 would become easier.
But conversely...
Once a class already possessed a Level 9 expert...
The requirements for advancing from Level 8 to Level 9 would become far more difficult.
Theoretically speaking, the most popular classes in the world would almost always have at least one existing Level 9 practitioner.
This knowledge came from Luluvi’s memories.
It was something that the Level 9 Archer herself had told Luluvi.
"When I met her, she was already nearing the end of her life."
"She accepted me as her disciple and taught me archery."
"With a senior like her guiding me, I was able to reach the strength I have today."
Luluvi’s rapid growth was almost entirely thanks to that mentor’s guidance.
It allowed her power to soar.
Having someone lead you...
And training alone...
Were two completely different experiences.
Just then, a rather deep voice interrupted the reunion of the three companions.
"Ahem..."
"Everyone, reunion is certainly something worth celebrating."
"But I assume you didn’t all come here merely to reminisce?"
Huang Minzhi finally spoke.
Only then did the two women snap back to reality and notice the inconspicuous bird-like figure standing beside Rei.
Huh?
There was another person here?
Their attention had been completely focused on Rei.
Neither of them had noticed anyone else at all!
Wait.
Was that even a person?
It looked more like some kind of monster.
Almost instinctively, Luluvi drew her bow.
An arrow was nocked onto the string as a spiraling vortex of wind gathered around the longbow.
Boom!
The whirlwind exploded outward.
Yet in the very same instant, Rei appeared directly in front of Huang Minzhi.
Clang!
With one hand, he effortlessly caught Luluvi’s arrow.
He sighed softly.
"Luluvi, this is the friend who guided me here."
"Huh?"
"He’s your friend?"
"I thought he was just some random monster wandering around. I almost killed him."
Were you serious?
The moment you noticed him, you attacked?
Wasn’t that reaction just a little too fast?
You didn’t even leave room for discussion.
Rei quickly read through the memories Luluvi had experienced.
They, too, involved monsters.
A Ninth-Tier monster had sought out the aging Level 9 Archer.
In the end, the woman who had taught Luluvi faced three Ninth-Tier monsters alone.
At the most critical moment, she created an opening for Luluvi to escape.
So...
The hatred was still there.
It seemed that in this era, everyone carried an irreconcilable grudge against monsters.
Huang Minzhi, however, remained calm.
The sudden attack had not frightened him in the slightest.
Instead, he looked toward Yuna.
"It seems your Seeker of Knowledge doesn’t welcome me very much."
"You already know the answer that lies here, don’t you?"
"Disciple of Yuna."
"In that case, why don’t you explain it instead?"
The moment Yuna heard Huang Minzhi speak, her expression changed.
The warmth and joy on her face vanished beneath a layer of frost.
Even so, she answered calmly.
"Very well."
"I’ll explain."
"Big Brother Rei."
"Big Sister Luluvi."
"This is probably what both of you truly need to know."
"The real way to solve the problem."
Luluvi blinked in confusion.
"Solve what problem?"
Even now, she was still completely bewildered.
She had no idea what she had actually come here to find.
Yuna spoke softly.
"To solve the problem of Balance."
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