Chapter 256 - 169: Past Connection (Part 2)

Even a man like him had faced so many moments where he could barely hang on, so many times he wanted to give up... He stood there in a daze, looking at the calm and composed Paige Summers across from him. ’I should have known all along,’ he thought, ’just how incredibly strong-willed this woman is!’

For every training method he proposed along the way, she always did more and pushed herself harder than any of the other team members. While they were groaning in misery and on the verge of collapse, she would carry on with a smile, not even batting an eye. And in every battle, she was always the first to charge into the fray...

A dejected look unwittingly crept into his eyes.

’A woman like her... am I even worthy of her?’

He stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought, the joy he’d felt just moments before at the prospect of meeting a master who had reached the Innate Realm completely forgotten.

The man from the inner room strolled out. He gave Paige Summers a single glance and shook his head with regret. His interest, instead, was captured by Zephyr Mercer, whose eyes were vacant and unfocused.

"You, come with me."

He patted Zephyr Mercer on the shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie. Zephyr quickly offered a respectful bow, and the man gestured for him to follow, leading him into the inner room.

When Paige Summers opened her eyes, her heart was filled with joy.

A superpower promotion was its own reward. It was like studying hard for an entire semester and acing the final exams to move up to the next grade—the ultimate validation of her hard work. And this was no ordinary academic pursuit; it was a matter of life and death.

She smiled at Ben, who was watching over her. "Thank you. I feel safe with you here." Ben couldn’t speak or make complex facial expressions like a normal human, but he trusted and depended on her more than anyone else—unconditionally. Paige had always treated him as an equal, returning his trust and reliance in kind.

Ben clearly enjoyed this sort of interaction. He arched his brows and his eyes curved slightly in her direction. The action was quite difficult for him, as his facial muscles were still rather stiff, but it was more than enough to show that he was very happy.

Paige Summers stood in the main room. She knew Zephyr Mercer and the man were inside the other room; their breathing was steady, and though there were no voices, she had the good sense not to disturb them. She began searching her memories again, looking for any trace of that voice.

Before her search yielded any results, there was a stir from the inner room, and soon the two men walked out, one after the other.

The man in the lead was the master planter.

The moment she saw his face, Paige Summers’s expression froze!

The face wasn’t one she personally recognized, yet it was seared deep into her memory—a memory that belonged not to her, but to this body’s previous owner.

In the mind of that girl, he was, after her father and grandfather, the person who had treated her best—the one she was closest to and trusted the most. And in the memories she had reviewed, the man with this face had indeed lived up to that trust, saving her life at a moment of peril, at the cost of his own!

Even so, the body’s previous owner had still fallen from a cliff, while he had died a violent death on the spot.

Hugo Perry... While saving her, his abdomen had been pierced clean through, his organs spilling onto the ground. Not even a Superpower User specializing in healing could possibly have brought him back from that!

And yet, the man standing before her now was unmistakably him, though his entire demeanor seemed completely different.

’Resurrection?’

All the information flashed through Paige Summers’s mind. The original Hugo Perry was merely a low-level superpower user who had been doomed to die. Yet now, after nearly two years, he was not only alive upon their reunion but was very likely a Cultivator.

It made no sense.

’Unless... he’s a transmigrator, too!’

The theory clicked into place in Paige Summers’s mind. Her eyes, which had been frozen wide, darted back to life. She rushed forward, her face a mask of joyous surprise. "Big Brother Perry! You’re alive!"

"You two know each other?"

"Who are you?"

The two questions were asked at almost the same time.

The man frowned. Zephyr Mercer couldn’t help but look back and forth between them and repeat, "Paige Summers, you know Mr. Rhodes?"

’So his surname is Rhodes...’ Paige Summers thought, but her face showed only confusion. "Mr. Rhodes? No, no, that’s Hugo Perry! Big Brother Perry! We grew up together, of course I know him!"

"Huh?!"

Zephyr Mercer was utterly astonished, but the other man’s body went rigid.

Paige Summers didn’t miss his reaction and breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, so he’s not so cunning as to be flawless.’ Dropping her feigned expression, she fixed her eyes on him and said to Zephyr Mercer, "Could you please step outside and wait for a moment? I have a few things I’d like to say to Big... Brother... Perry."

Soon, only the two of them remained in the main room, with Ben perceptively standing guard at the door.

Paige Summers didn’t bother beating around the bush. She spoke bluntly, "I know you’re not Hugo Perry. So, let’s hear it. What’s your name, and where did you transmigrate from?"

A flicker of emotion crossed the man’s indifferent eyes. He paused for a long moment before saying, "I am indeed not the person you know. I come from under the banner of the Mount Longpeak Sect in Aethelgard. When my Primordial Spirit arrived in this plane, he had just breathed his last. I, Rhonda Rhodes, do not stoop to acts of possession. I am merely borrowing his body."

’Just as I thought...’ Paige Summers sized the man up and down. She didn’t think he was lying.

For one, there was no reason for him to lie. For another, the man’s entire bearing was otherworldly. The original Hugo Perry had been good-looking enough, but with this new aura, even a set of ordinary clothes on him seemed like the robes of a transcendent master. ’That makes sense,’ she thought. ’Mount Longpeak and the like... it sounds like a Cultivation Sect. Don’t those people dedicate their lives to the pursuit of immortality? It’s natural they wouldn’t care for worldly matters, so it’s not surprising they can produce someone with the bearing of an Immortal.’

Under her sharp gaze, Rhonda Rhodes remained perfectly calm, showing no sign of discomfort. He projected an air that said, ’Stare all you want.’ When she had finally looked her fill, he spoke in a leisurely tone. "You... you are not from Aethelgard, I presume."

Paige Summers nodded, unwilling to elaborate on the era she came from. "That’s right. There are no Cultivators where I’m from."

Rhonda Rhodes’s eyebrow twitched. "And yet, you know the term ’Cultivation’."

"I read about it in novels. Or, I suppose you might call them storybooks where you’re from?"

Rhonda Rhodes clearly understood her meaning and didn’t press the issue. Instead, he said bluntly, "Very well. Now that we have a clear understanding, there’s no need to feign familiarity. Why did you seek me out? For the sake of our past connection, I will help if I can. If not, you may take your leave."