Chapter 516: The Three Questions · Advance or Retreat

Rumble—

The golden light on the gate began to gather wildly.

Countless strange and complex law symbols jumped and reformed in the void.

At last, under Aiden and Cheryl’s shocked gazes, they formed a huge line of golden words, filled with endless authority:

"Have you come here to protect the living beings of Earth, or to seek your own ultimate power?"

The first question: right or wrong.

Cheryl looked at the words, and her breath caught.

"Aiden..."

She instinctively wanted to speak, but Aiden raised a hand and stopped her.

Aiden quietly looked at the line of words, his eyes as deep as the endless Abyss.

This question seemed simple, but it was actually a question aimed straight at the heart.

If he answered, "To protect the living beings of Earth," then it would mean taking on endless responsibility. In the future, he might even have to sacrifice himself without question for the greater good.

Such a saint—like answer was noble, but it could not last. More importantly, it went against Aiden’s true nature.

But if he answered, "To seek my own ultimate power," then it would be the same as admitting that he saw Earth’s core as nothing more than a stepping stone. It would make him selfish and greedy.

This gate represented the will of Earth’s Heavenly Law. How could it allow a pure plunderer to enter?

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Aiden stood silently in the void, his mind racing as he searched for a way to break the deadlock.

He thought of Yves from ten thousand years ago.

He thought of the sigh Yves had left in his notes:

"He was not wrong either..."

Back then, Yves must have faced this same question, one that struck directly at the soul.

But Yves had failed. Perhaps he had chosen one of the two paths, and in the end, his spiritual resolve was damaged, leaving behind a regret that lasted for ages.

"Right or wrong?"

"There has never been any absolute right or wrong in this world."

Suddenly, an extremely arrogant smile curved Aiden’s lips.

Not until the thirtieth breath did Aiden suddenly raise his head.

A blinding divine light burst from his double—pupiled eyes!

He did not use his Inner Spirit to send his voice. Instead, he spoke directly, his voice carrying supreme laws as it shook the heavens.

"Earth and I are not separate. If Earth is destroyed, I have no place to exist as a man!"

"If I am weak, Earth has no shield to protect it!"

"I did not come here for one side or the other. I came for coexistence!"

Boom!

His words fell like divine thunder from the highest heavens, shaking the entire core space wildly.

It was not selflessness.

It was not selfishness.

It was coexistence!

He was part of Earth, and Earth was his foundation. The two were already bound together by flesh and blood. How could they be separated?

Cheryl covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and admiration.

The golden words on the gate began to flash violently.

The entire gate fell into a deathly silence.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Those three seconds felt as long as three ages.

Crack!

A clear sound suddenly rang out in the dead silence, like a god’s carving knife cutting into stone.

On the surface of the golden gate, a brilliant golden line slowly stretched out and carved itself into place.

The first golden line was complete!

This meant that Earth’s Heavenly Law had accepted Aiden’s answer!

The question of "right or wrong," which even Yves had not been able to answer perfectly ten thousand years ago, was now perfectly solved by Aiden with one word:

Coexistence.

Whew.

Cheryl let out a long breath, and her hanging heart finally settled.

But there was no joy on Aiden’s face.

Because the golden gate gave no sign that he had passed. It did not open, nor did it show any hint of letting them through.

Instead, the holy pressure grew even heavier, almost crushing the space itself.

There were three questions.

He had only answered the first.

Aiden took a deep breath and forced the restless Force of Laws inside him to calm down.

He waited.

In that terrible pressure, with the answer unknown and life or death uncertain, he waited calmly for the next breath cycle of the laws to arrive.

He waited for the second question.

The one that would be far more destructive.

...

Deep in the heart of Earth, everything was deathly silent.

Only the raging dark—red lava and the Void Storm remained. Under the lingering power of the first golden line, they crawled like tamed beasts.

Cheryl held her breath. She could even hear her own heartbeat pounding like a drum.

Aiden stood with his hands behind his back. His black hair lifted slightly in the windless void. His back was straight like a sword, as if he could hold up this collapsing world at the center of Earth.

Buzz—

All of a sudden, the second breath cycle of the laws arrived.

On the golden gate, the first golden line burst with a light as bright as the blazing sun. Then, countless complex chains of law rushed wildly across the gate.

The once—calm void twisted again. A pressure several times heavier than before came crashing down on Aiden’s shoulders like a mountain and a sea.

Crack, crack, crack—

The void beneath Aiden’s feet shattered inch by inch.

But he did not even frown.

Only the thunder and The Law of Light surrounding him let out sharper, clearer explosions.

The golden light on the gate twisted and surged wildly. In the end, it once again formed a line of ancient divine words, sharp and powerful like iron strokes carved in silver:

"If one day, you have already stepped onto the path of evolution, and you meet a civilization facing the same disaster your world faces now, would you give up your own progress and turn back for them?"

The moment those words appeared, the entire core space seemed to freeze at absolute zero.

Cheryl stared at the scene, her beautiful eyes filled with horror. Even her Inner Spirit seemed to tremble.

This question struck too deeply.

If the first question had tested the "right and wrong" of the present, then the second question was testing the "advance or retreat" of the future.

Aiden stood quietly in the void.

This time, he remained silent even longer than before.

The golden words were reflected in his double—pupiled eyes, while huge waves surged through his mind.

This question was not some empty, distant idea.

It was a real problem that every powerful being had to face after stepping into a higher dimension and completing the leap of life.

When a weak mortal evolves into a god, when a backward civilization rises into a higher—dimensional existence, will they still feel any bond with those who remain in the mud?

Evolution is for survival.

But once evolution is complete, will a god still look down at ants with care?

Would he cut away his own godhood and return to the mud just to save them?

Aiden closed his eyes.

In his mind, he saw the words Yves had left behind:

"All things return to their source."

He also saw the millions of Heavenly Law fragments scattered across countless worlds.

"Yves..."

Aiden silently said the name in his heart, then let out a low sigh.

Yves, the world—shaking genius from ten thousand years ago, had probably fallen at this second question.

Back then, Yves had wanted humanity to evolve too badly. He had wanted too badly to break the chains of the Abyss.

But he had never thought about one thing.

When he truly stood at the peak of the universe, would he still be willing to admit that he was once a weak "human"?

To move forward was the cold and ruthless path of gods.

To turn back was the emotional world of mortals.

Between advance and retreat lay the final line between god and man.

"Aiden..."

Cheryl called his name with concern. She could feel the faint struggle coming from him.

Aiden opened his eyes, but a calm, relieved smile slowly appeared on his lips.

He looked at the golden gate. His voice was calm, yet it carried a Strength that seemed to pierce through the laws and strike the very source.

"Yves has already answered this for me."

Boom!

The chains of law on the gate shook violently.

Aiden stared straight at the gate. Every word fell like a heavy hammer, striking the strings of the Heavenly Law.

"If he had not turned back back then, if he had not scattered the system and those million fragments into the future, how could I be standing here today?"

"He already stepped back. With his divine body, he paved this path of evolution for those who came after him."

"The people before us planted the trees, and we enjoy the shade. Since I have inherited his cause and effect, how could I say I would not step back?"

Aiden took a deep breath.

At that moment, the light and the Law of Space around him boiled completely, turning into a vast phantom that seemed to stand between heaven and earth.

"If I step onto the path of evolution and never look back, then my path will lead only to my own Mirror Abyss."

"Evolution without a way home is nothing but a beautiful form of self—destruction."

"I am willing to step back!"

The final three words exploded through the world at Earth’s core like divine thunder from the highest heavens.

Buzz—!!!

At that moment, the golden gate released a sound unlike anything before.

Hidden within that sound was a faint sense of relief and comfort, as if it had waited ten thousand years for this answer.

Countless streams of golden law light gathered wildly on the surface of the gate, turning into an invisible carving knife.

Crack!

That clear sound rang out once again.

The second bright golden line slowly stretched across the surface of the gate.

At last, it stood beside the first golden line, both of them shining with a holy light that reflected off each other.

The second question—advance or retreat—had been passed!

Cheryl’s pretty face flushed with excitement. She almost cried out in joy.

He had passed two questions in a row!

In ten thousand years, no one had ever achieved such a feat.

But Aiden did not relax at all.

He slowly breathed out, and the Force of Laws inside him did not calm down. Instead, it began to move even more wildly.

Three questions.

He had passed two.

Only the final question remained—

Life and death.

Aiden could clearly feel the ripples of law on the golden gate begin to move again, slowly and heavily.

That slowness carried a weight beyond imagination.

The third question would bring either true destruction...

or true rebirth.

At the same time—

On Earth, in an unknown frozen void.

This place was sealed in ice for countless miles. Even space itself had been frozen into countless mirrors.

A peerless figure sat cross—legged on an ice lotus. Around her was a terrifying cold so powerful that even gods would have to stay away.

She was the legend of the Great Shaw Empire—

Bella.

The moment Aiden awakened the second golden line, this almost godlike being’s long eyelashes trembled slightly.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through endless void and the thick layers of the earth, landing directly before the gate deep in Earth’s core.

Sensing that ancient and heavy wave of law, Bella’s beautiful face, which seemed colder than ice that had not melted for ten thousand years, showed a slight frown.

But she said nothing.

Only deep within her ice—blue eyes, a very deep and complicated look of hope flashed for a moment.

Deep within Earth’s core, in front of the golden gate—

The third cycle of law descended with a roar, carrying the breath of death that could wipe out everything.