Chapter 472: Perfect Yano

Was Hopkins really that formidable?

Nilly cautiously stepped back half a pace, forcing a dry laugh as she spoke: "Um... Ancestor Viola, if we ran now, would we still make it?"

Viola shook her head. "If it were only Hopkins alone, he wouldn't have been able to trap us on this island for centuries."

Her gaze shifted from Nilly to the massive stone statue. "In order to regain control over the Stone Descendants, Hopkins formed an alliance with Medusa."

"Back then, it was under the joint siege of Hopkins and Queen Medusa that the Ancestor was pushed to the brink. In the end, he chose to destroy his physical body and release his soul, barely managing to sever Queen Medusa's head."

"Then the Ancestor..." Nilly also looked over.

Viola said, "Since then, the Ancestor's soul has been severely wounded. He's still recovering to this day, and I'm not certain when he'll wake up."

Well then.

In other words, their plan to join forces with the Ancestor had completely fallen through.

But then again, this Ancestor was truly fierce.

Surrounded by two Legendaries, and he still managed to take down a Medusa Queen in a counter-kill.

No wonder those Medusas lunged at them like madmen the moment they saw them.

Their Queen had died at the Ancestor's hands.

Nilly thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

Come to think of it, it wasn't actually that surprising that the Ancestor had managed to counter-kill the Queen.

Legendary Stone Descendants were naturally immune to petrification and mental control, which happened to perfectly counter Queen Medusa and Hopkins.

If one of them could produce a new Legendary, then they wouldn't need to fear the Stone-Heart or Hopkins anymore.

But the sight of all those statues, you saw it with your own eyes.

So many clansmen had fallen along the trial's path, too numerous to count.

If that path were easy to walk, the Stone Descendant clan wouldn't have been pushed to the point of seeking help from the outside world.

She steadied herself and decided to ask the question directly: "Ancestor Viola, what exactly does the Legendary Trial entail? Maybe we can find a way to pass it."

Chen Yu showed no intention of holding back. His gaze rested on Nilly and Viola for a moment.

"Unlike ordinary Stone Descendants, Queen Medusa's gaze possesses the power to freeze souls. After her head was severed by the Ancestor, it has remained preserved to this day."

Nilly vaguely guessed where this was going.

"The Legendary Trial is very simple. First, you must face Queen Medusa's severed head directly and receive the curse of a petrified soul."

"Stone Descendants are naturally resistant to petrification. The moment you come into contact with the curse, you won't be petrified instantly, but you won't last long either."

"The longest recorded endurance in history was one Ancestor who held on for seventy days."

"In other words, the trial taker needs to resist the petrification of their soul through sheer willpower within at most seventy days, and find a way to break through to the Stone-Heart in order to cross the threshold of Legendary."

"Ancestor Hailam, back in his day, crossed that threshold by accident after being cursed by Queen Medusa."

Yano still had his eyes closed, but his question cut straight to the core: "Too vague. How exactly does one dissolve the petrification? What conditions are needed? In what form does it manifest? We need concrete methods, not vague feelings."

Viola gently shook her head. "Actually, we're not entirely clear either. But Ancestor Hailam once said that Stone Descendants are born with the Stone-Heart within them."

"The Stone-Heart originates from the soul itself, but it's extremely difficult for us to tap into that potential."

She paused for a moment. "Ancestor Hailam even said that if he were given another chance at the trial, he wouldn't need Medusa's gaze at all. He could dig inward and let the Stone-Heart reveal itself on its own."

"But we can't find that so-called Stone-Heart, so we have no choice but to walk the path the Ancestor walked, borrowing Queen Medusa's gaze for the trial."

"Unfortunately, the difficulty of this path far exceeded everyone's imagination. To this day, the clan has never produced a second Legendary Stone Descendant."

Nilly finally understood completely.

The so-called Legendary Trial was, in plain terms, gambling with your life.

Gambling that you could dig out the Stone-Heart hidden deep within your soul before you were completely turned to stone.

Win the bet, and you step across the threshold of Legendary.

And the number of those statues... it was already evident.

To be honest, she deeply admired those who dared to walk that path.

She knew very well what kind of person she was.

She could grit her teeth and fight for survival on the battlefield, but she didn't have the conviction to stake her life on the table and face a destined end.

In her view, if she actually went up against that Medusa Queen's head, she'd probably end up as a new statue by the roadside.

Admiration was one thing; actually taking the trial was another.

There was no way she was doing that.

Given her personality, if she couldn't find a perfect method to pass, she wouldn't even attempt it.

She shifted her gaze to Yano. "Nephew, do you have a way?"

Yano was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I haven't sensed the Stone-Heart yet. Perhaps my focus isn't deep enough. I need a more profound comprehension of the Great Dao."

Nilly's last shred of hope crumbled as well.

Well then. This was truly a dead end now.

Staying here waiting to die, or going to take the Legendary Trial - the only difference was dying slower or dying faster.

But she had no solution. Maybe His Majesty did?

Even though His Majesty said he wouldn't help, surely giving some advice as a consultant wouldn't count as breaking the agreement, right?

She cleared her throat and said seriously to Viola, "Ancestor Viola, we need to stay here for a night to think things through."

Viola didn't press them. She nodded slightly. "Everyone fears death when facing it. I'm the same. This path isn't mature yet. If it weren't for the last resort, I wouldn't want my people to choose this route either."

She turned and bowed deeply to the surrounding statues. "To those brave ones who dared to walk this path, I offer my highest respects."

Nilly also bowed.

This time, her attitude was noticeably more sincere.

The statues still stood in silent vigil, like endless monuments, watching over every descendant who stepped into the cave.

After leaving the cave, they were arranged to stay in a village deep within the island.

There was almost no light in the Sea Vortex. Only an unchanging gray gloom shrouded the entire island.

The Stone Descendants would light a fire pit in the center of the village. When the fire blazed, it was daytime; when it went out, it was night.

They didn't seem to care whether their day and night synced with the outside world. To the Stone Descendants, time was already just a vague concept. This fixed rhythm had instead become a tradition passed down through generations.

Nilly was assigned a tree house.

This tree house was larger than the average dwellings in the village. The walls were made of whole logs, with gaps stuffed tightly with dried moss. Inside, a soft mat woven from dry grass was laid out, and in the corner sat a clay jug filled with fresh water from some unknown source.

It looked crude, but for Stone Descendants living in this kind of environment, it was probably considered a decent home already.

After all, if they wanted to sleep, they could just stand still anywhere.

The sailors' quiet complaints had already proven that point.

Nilly took a stroll around the village and felt a strange sense of familiarity.

She discovered that the lives of the Stone-Heart family weren't much different from their own clan's past.

Weren't they also just barely clinging to survival, guarding their increasingly diluted bloodline?

They were just luckier, that was all.

As the fire pit went out, signaling the arrival of night, the Stone Descendants gradually returned to their homes.

A Stone Descendant approached and politely reminded her, "Miss Nilly, it's already night. Time to rest."

"Alright, I'll head back now."

There wasn't much to see in this place anyway. She turned and walked toward the tree house arranged for her.

Taking a different route back, she spotted a church-like building, taller than the surrounding tree houses, with a crude stone statue standing on its roof.

She glanced at it casually and saw Damian - the mad Stone Descendant who had returned with them - currently sitting quietly on a bench inside the church.

Many other Stone Descendants were also sitting or lying inside the church. Some whispered softly, some stared blankly at the ceiling. They came in all shapes and forms, but all of them, like Damian, had vacant, hollow gazes.

These were all Stone Descendants whose minds had been affected by Hopkins' spells.

What a pitiful bunch.

Nilly hoped she could find a way to deal with Hopkins soon and free them from their madness.

She turned and walked toward her tree house.

Pushing open the door, the figure sitting in the darkness startled her so much she nearly screamed. It wasn't until she recognized Yano's silhouette that she patted her chest in annoyance.

"You idiot, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Yano sat in the shadows beneath the window, eyes closed. "Contacting the Boss."

Right, she'd almost forgotten. She still needed to ask His Majesty about the Legendary Trial.

She was about to speak when a flash of emerald green shot out from Yano's body with a "pop," landing on the stone floor and bouncing a couple of times like jelly.

"No need to contact me." Chen Yu shook his gel body and said lazily, "I already know everything that happened to you today."

"Huh! Your Majesty, you've been watching all along?"

Nilly's heart skipped a beat, then she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Good thing she hadn't lost her temper on the way here and cursed His Majesty out for not helping. With His Majesty's petty nature, he'd definitely be keeping a mental note of that.

Chen Yu gave her a suspicious look, feeling like she was scheming about something bad, but he didn't press the matter. He just spoke slowly, "Actually, I do have a way to help you pass the trial."

Nilly was stunned, still reeling from her earlier thoughts. "Didn't you say you wouldn't help?"

Chen Yu hopped onto her shoulder and said matter-of-factly, "What I said was that I wouldn't fight directly, not that I'd let you walk into a death trap."

He stated it as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "And I'm about to give you something amazing. Do you know what 'cheating' means?"

"Cheating?" Nilly looked confused. "I don't get it. Boss, every time you solve a problem, it's always with a snap of your fingers."

"Exactly." Chen Yu said, "So it's called cheating."

"Ohhh, so that's what cheating means..." Nilly suddenly felt like she had grasped some profound truth.

Then she thought of something else and blinked. "So, Your Majesty, the method you mentioned... is it...?"

Chen Yu said slowly, "I have a place inside me."

"I can create a simulation that mimics the effect of the petrifying gaze. You can make countless attempts inside it, slowly digging out that so-called Stone-Heart."

"Even if you can't dig it out, it'll still improve your chances of passing the trial when you face Queen Medusa's gaze for real."

Nilly's eyes lit up instantly. "That's perfect! Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started! The future of the Stone Descendants will be saved by me, the great Nilly!"

She was already imagining how the clan's history would describe this - Nilly the great hero bravely facing Queen Medusa's gaze, becoming a Legendary, defeating Hopkins, and changing the family's fate in one stroke...

She was gesticulating excitedly when her peripheral vision caught Yano still standing there, as if waiting for something.

"Wait, Yano seems to have something to ask you."

Chen Yu hopped over to Yano and looked up at him. "Where are you at right now?"

Yano was quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "Boss, I'm so close. I feel like I'm always just one step away."

"I can sense that in my focused state, my body is completely entrusted to some inscrutable consciousness."

"He is me, yet he is not me."

"He's more perfect than me, perfectly mastering everything I know. But at the same time, it's like he has no consciousness at all. Every action originates from the most perfect choice."

"I've tried to seize control of him, to make the focused state my normal state. I succeeded, but only halfway. That final step always eludes me. So I wanted to hear your thoughts."

Chen Yu fell into thought, and the words Tuiris had once spoken surfaced in his mind.

Divinity and humanity were two intertwined veins running through a single tree. Was the "he" Yano spoke of similar to the "divinity" Tuiris had complained about countless times?

He suddenly realized something. It wasn't just gods who possessed divinity.

Humans had it too. It's just that most of the time, humanity dominated everything, while divinity represented the most rational, most fundamental layer of a person.

Many choices appeared random on the surface, but if you dug deeper, everything had already been decided by divinity deep within the subconscious long ago.

And Yano's Great Dao had awakened his divinity, even allowing it to take control of his body and make the most perfect choices.

So then, at that moment, what would happen if humanity took control of divinity once more?

Chen Yu didn't know either.

But perhaps this was one way to grasp the Great Dao. Yano's choice would determine what his Dao would look like in the future.

If Yano chose another path, entrusting everything to divinity, perhaps the Dao he birthed would be different.

More perfect than the current one, closer to some kind of extreme - similar to the Primordial Origin Sword Dao.

But clearly, Yano still preferred being human.

The problem now was that he was in a state of being half human, half divine.

How could this be resolved?

Chen Yu's mind wandered for a long time, then suddenly a thought struck him.

If that perfect "you" always chooses all the most perfect options, then why hasn't it chosen to be conquered by you?

He paused. "To be conquered by you?"

The moment these words were spoken, even in his focused state, Yano's breath hitched.

He was silent for several long seconds before slowly...