After Leona and the others left, Zhang Ye began playing games with Hainowei.
“This time I'm playing on my own, and they won't help me. I'm going to beat you fair and square!” Hainowei huffed.
Zhang Ye knew that the “they” she referred to were her other hundred and seven clones.
Hearing this, Zhang Ye nodded. “Bring it on, then.”
And then... Hainowei lost twelve games in a row.
By the thirteenth game, Hainowei stared at the board in front of her, her little face scrunched up in distress.
She was going to lose again... but she really wanted to win...
Suddenly, a glint flashed in her eyes.
And just like that, Zhang Ye lost this game.
“Hehehe, I won!” Hainowei crossed her arms and gloated.
Zhang Ye looked at her with a smile. “What happened to playing on your own?”
Hainowei's face instantly stiffened. Like a child caught doing something wrong, she lowered her head and mumbled sheepishly, “How... how did you find out?”
Her communication with her other clones was clearly very covert, conducted through a mental network without causing any fluctuations. How had Zhang Ye found out?
Zhang Ye pointed at the board and laughed. “Everyone plays differently, and everyone has their own style.”
“Your style is usually more aggressive, but in this game, your style was extremely conservative and highly focused on safety. So, I figured another Hainowei—or maybe several—must have helped you.”
Hainowei pouted her lips and muttered, “They are Hainowei, and I am Hainowei too. So... this still counts as winning on my own!”
By the end of her sentence, she looked smug once again.
Zhang Ye couldn't help but chuckle.
As expected, you couldn't reason with a woman, and the same applied to a Water Spirit.
They played games for a long time, until the sky began to grow dark.
Hainowei then urged Zhang Ye to cook, because she wanted to “personally” taste the food he made.
Zhang Ye obliged.
During dinner, Zhang Ye remembered something and asked, “By the way, do you know what's going on with the 【World Wall】?”
Hainowei was taken aback. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I know a little.”
She then popped a piece of Zhang Ye's grilled meat into her mouth, showing a blissful expression before continuing, “Though it's called the World Wall, it isn't actually a wall. It is... a World Snake.”
“A World Snake?” Zhang Ye looked shocked. “What kind of existence is that?”
“I don't know the specifics; only my main body would know. I only know that the World Snake is massive and incredibly powerful.”
“This World Snake is so huge, and who knows how long it has existed. I sense a familiar aura from her. She might be an existence that survived that great disaster. After the disaster, she fell into a deep slumber.”
“The previous earthquake was just one of her heartbeats, and a sign that she is about to wake up.”
Zhang Ye fell into contemplation. Hainowei had mentioned that ancient “great disaster” more than once.
He was incredibly curious about what had triggered that great disaster and what had transpired during it.
But Zhang Ye knew that those things were still far too distant for his current self.
Not to mention anything else, just the World Snake's single heartbeat of life rhythm had caused countless massive disasters in this world. Such an existence belonged to the ancient era. If he wanted to delve into the events of the ancient era, he would need to possess power comparable to this giant snake, wouldn't he?
For an existence that even the System couldn't analyze, the gap in strength was simply too vast.
Since it could analyze a Demigod but not the World Snake, it was enough to prove that the giant snake was an existence above Demigods, perhaps even above gods.
It was too far away...
“By the way, I visited a ruin earlier. It was filled with colossal pyramids, the largest of which was over ten thousand meters tall. Do you know of that ruin?”
“Yes.” Hainowei nodded. “That ruin is a taboo of this world. It was built right on top of the World Snake's head.”
“Ah!” Zhang Ye gasped. “The World Snake's head is underground?”
Hainowei nodded. “In fact, only a tiny fraction of her body is on the surface. Most of her body is deep underground.”
Zhang Ye swallowed hard.
If a tiny fraction exposed on the surface was over ten thousand meters tall, just how massive was this snake...
No wonder it was called the World Snake. A giant snake that spanned across the world—it truly lived up to its name.
“There were many statues in that ruin, and they gave me a very special feeling. Do you know who they represent?” Zhang Ye asked again.
He had too many questions about all of this.
“I don't know.” Hainowei shook her head. “But when I first saw those statues, they also gave me a special feeling. It made me want to get close to them, and it gave me a sense of security.”
“So I originally planned to use that place as my recovery site, but the World Snake chased me away.” At this, she pouted her lips, looking somewhat indignant.
Zhang Ye's lips twitched. “How did she chase you away?”
“She spoke to me.”
“What did she say?”
“Scram.”
Zhang Ye: “...”
Hainowei said, “She is too powerful. That was just a single wisp of divine sense, yet it nearly injured me. If she wanted to, she could have destroyed this clone of mine.”
“So I had no choice but to leave.”
Zhang Ye swallowed hard.
Even someone as strong as the World Water Spirit was nearly killed by a single thought. They were truly fortunate to have made it back alive from that ruin...
No, wait, there was someone who hadn't made it back alive—Gajeel.
His death was still incredibly bizarre to Zhang Ye.
Now, Zhang Ye couldn't help but wonder if the World Snake's divine sense had controlled his little ones and Gajeel, causing Gajeel to be eaten alive by them?
But on second thought, that didn't make sense.
If the World Snake wanted to target everyone, she wouldn't have singled out Gajeel, nor would she have needed to use the mouths of his little ones. But if she was targeting Gajeel specifically, it still made no sense because Gajeel had absolutely no connection to the World Snake.
Furthermore, back then, his little ones had said that Zhang Ye had given the command “himself”...
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
“The original figure behind those statues must have been the World Snake's master. I feel like the World Snake is guarding that place,” Hainowei said suddenly.
Zhang Ye nodded. That was the only explanation that made sense. Ultimately, he waved his hand to dismiss the thoughts. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
“Is it safe for you to stay here?” Zhang Ye asked, looking at Hainowei.
“It's relatively safe,” Hainowei replied. “Although this world is connected to the outside, there are only three Realm Bridge Secret Realm portals. One is at All Souls Academy, one is in the eastern Xuanwu Kingdom, and the last is in the Holy Light Empire.”
“Those who are hunting me can only enter this world through the portal in the Holy Light Empire. However, where that portal opens is extremely far away from here, so they can't find me.”
“The people hunting you... they should be from the Holy See, right?” Zhang Ye asked.
After all, Leona had mentioned earlier that a war between the Holy See and the elemental spirits had occurred a thousand years ago.
Hainowei nodded. “Yes.”
“Just how powerful is the Holy See that they can fight against you World Elemental Spirits?” Zhang Ye asked curiously.
Hainowei shook her head. “I don't know.”
“You don't know?” Zhang Ye was taken aback.
You fought them, and you still don't know?
Hainowei shook her head and said, “I only know they are very formidable, but I don't know just how formidable they are.”
“In fact, the Holy See is much stronger than any of us can imagine, because backing them are the gods.”
“Are you saying there are gods within the Holy See?” Zhang Ye asked in surprise.
“No. Gods cannot descend to the lower planes, but they can borrow the power of the gods. That is how they were able to stand against the ten of us World Elemental Spirits.”
“However... there is indeed an incredibly powerful existence within the Holy See.”
“Her existence is already comparable to a god.”
“Who?” Zhang Ye's curiosity was piqued to the extreme.
“The Pope,” Hainowei said. “To be precise, the current Pope.”
“The previous Pope was no match for us, nor was he the strongest in the Holy See. Even the Twelve Apocalypse Knights of the Holy See were stronger than him.”
“It wasn't until several hundred years after the war began that the current Pope ascended to her position. She demonstrated terrifying power, directly suppressing three elemental spirits. Though the other two were heavily injured, they still managed to escape. Only I fell into their trap...”
At this point, Hainowei lowered her eyes slightly. “Actually, I know her.”
“And she was once my companion.”
“So, I never expected that she would turn against me...”
Seeing that Hainowei was feeling down, Zhang Ye comforted her, “It's all in the past...”
Hainowei shook her head gently. “Not yet. She is still looking for me.”
“She wants to obtain all of my origin, because only then can she truly condense a divinity and become a god.”
Zhang Ye opened his mouth, but no words came out.
No wonder Hainowei had said earlier that obtaining her origin would grant the possibility and qualification to become a god.
“Can't she condense a divinity on her own?”
“She can. And with her strength and talent, although it would be difficult, it would only be a matter of time. But... she clearly doesn't want to wait.” Hainowei shook her head and sighed. “My best friend from the past could turn against me just to become a god. This is why I am unwilling to trust humans again.”
“They disappoint me.”
Zhang Ye looked at her and said softly, “I won't disappoint you.”
Hainowei turned to him, her beautiful eyes clear, and she offered a gentle smile. “I know.”
...
...
Rate on N.U.
