Chapter 1681: Chapter 318: War God Ian!
These failed memories have largely become part of Ianâs current character and instinctsânow, to avoid failure, Ian is perfect from beginning to end. He would never make those âfailed choicesâ; simply following his heart allows him to tread the correct path.
Moreover, Ianâs past choices have helped the current Ian to navigate many extreme possibilities.
For instance, slaughtering the entire world, gathering the power of the Whole Terra to try to break through the Sixth Echelon... Although itâs unclear whether itâs an optimized version of the Deceased Monarch or the Heart of Terra, this path is not feasible.
Another example, the Perpetual Motion Machine is not in the material world, blowing up Terra wonât obtain itâthis is also a very straightforward lesson, at least for now, Ian has set aside the idea of blowing up Terra, sparing the entire planet from disaster.
Finally, thereâs the second prince.
Second Prince Michael has already acquired the Top Seatâs Blood of the Fifth Energy Level... If it wasnât for looking back, Ian really wouldnât have been able to discern it from past events.
But looking back, Michael indeed didnât concern himself with developing power like the Great Prince and Great Princess did. In the past, Ian thought it was the royal strongâs pride or incompetence in handling these affairs. But now it seems Michael must have known he was bound to advance to the Fifth Energy Level first, so heâs not worried at all about who the throne of the emperor would go to.
With this thought, Ian couldnât help but furrow his brow.
Why would Michael betray The Empire and raise a sword against his own father, the Guardian?
Ian turned his head, looking at Yisen Gard, who was in the same state of confusion and bewilderment.
Itâs most likely because of Yisen Gardâs feigned death.
Due to Yisen Gardâs feigned death, the experiments related to the Dark Key fell onto Second Prince Michaelâs daughter... but even that doesnât quite make sense.
Because currently, the Dark Key doesnât seem to have much danger; it can only be said to be the activator and inhibitor of the Thousand-Star Beast.
In critical moments, The Empire can use it to activate the Thousand-Star Beast or suppress it back underground.
No.
With this thought, Ian recalled a key point: the Thousand-Star Beast was awakened by the Calamity of Light.
This suggests that the reason someone incited the Calamity of Light might not be to leave, to go beyond the Star Prison Tianyu, but rather to use the enormous energy of the Calamity of Light to activate some Ancient Creations or the Ancient God of the Spark on Terra!
In addition to this, there are many points in the retrospective memories that can be carefully recalled... but now is not the time to do so.
"Ian..."
At this moment, as Ian raised his head, the returning-to-consciousness Yisen Gard in the cockpit also came to his senses. With a complex, incredulous expression on his face, he looked at Ian: "Have you really gone through that many times?"
Having listened to Kerraithâs teachings on the Path of the Dao, he completely understood the scenes he had just witnessed... If Kerraithâs Eternal Path was merely a concept, and the actual practice had just begun and might not succeed, then Ianâs âReincarnation Ringâ was already perfected beyond perfection!
"Yes. But for me, itâs also my first time actually seeing these memories of past lives."
Ian didnât feel much about it. After all, the biggest difference between his reincarnation and Perpetuity is that reincarnation doesnât require any memory or power. Like having drunk the Soup of Oblivion, he only had an initial obsession and a perfect memory personality module. All subsequent growth and experiences were Ianâs personal âfirst times.â
Perpetuity, however, is different. Kerraithâs goal is to completely possess and be reborn in his past self, to live another life, accumulating more knowledge and power.
Ian could even see through the otherâs ultimate goal: Kerraith wanted to establish a âCentury Empire.â He intended to lead a group of Terraâs most elite Spirit Energy Users and researchers, continuously being reborn at a fixed time period. And when resources were exhausted and bodies decayed, they would undergo rebirth again, continually reincarnating within this fixed time period.
In this way, they would become a force situated at a fixed time point, not venturing into the more distant past or the future beyond, always remaining in a safe time period.
In a sense, the ultimate outcome of Kerraithâs Eternal Ones is to convert themselves into beings existing only on a fixed time axis.
Although they are still far from becoming beings akin to The End on the true time axis, from a macro perspective, the constantly reincarnating Eternal Ones indeed exist only within stage time, with no past and no future.
"...You have truly achieved perfection."
Recalling the scenes he saw, Yisen Gard couldnât help but marvel: "Itâs hard to imagine that history would have developed that way..."
Yisen Gard didnât see as deeply as Ian; he merely followed Ianâs perspective through once without noticing the finer details.
But even so, he could notice that this lifeâs Ian was already much faster compared to those past iterations of Ian.
In Ianâs first life, he conquered the Whole Terra in Terra Year 815, but now itâs Terra Year 775âthereâs a solid forty-year gap.
Forty years? If Ian doesnât conquer Terra in twenty years, he would write his name backwards!
Of course, there are indeed parallel timelines slower than Ianâs first life, but those do not aim for speed but rather for caution. However, Terra is not a place where caution can be pursued.