The very notion of meeting again in the next cycle was merely rhetoric among the high-tier powerhouses of the Three Realms. Faced with the overwhelming terror and immense pressure of the grand cycle of Heaven and Earth's reincarnation, many such experts preferred to believe that they would all be reborn in the next cycle, albeit without their memories.

Naturally, this theory was mostly for self-comfort.

Seeing the image of his Master, Yan Chixing, vanish into nothingness within his Sea of Consciousness, Lei Dong felt a sharp pang of sorrow, nearly bringing tears to his eyes. He knew this was likely the last time he would ever behold the residual imprint of his Master’s will.

Observing Lei Dong standing motionless, his expression one of deep sorrow and desolation, Ji Shuangshuang, who had been silent for a long time, prompted him several times before he snapped out of his trance. She asked, "You seemed off just now. Are you alright?"

"Nothing, just recalled some sad memories," Lei Dong's expression quickly returned to calm. He continued to gaze at the Egg pulsating with a magnificent and awe-inspiring aura, his mind relentlessly turning over the conjectures his Master, Yan Chixing, had proposed. He chose not to tell them that his Master’s residual will had appeared and spoken to him. After all, doing so would serve no purpose other than causing unnecessary grief and inviting further complications.

Lei Dong's reply, however, caused a degree of misunderstanding in Ji Shuangshuang. A serious and ashamed look crossed her delicate features, and she murmured, "Lei Dong, I apologize. In the past, I was too eager to help my mother achieve something, which led you... Thinking about it now, we were far too selfish. I promise you, as long as I manage to return alive, I will find every possible way to bring your wife back, even if it costs me my life. I hope this can atone for my past mistakes."

Lei Dong merely glanced at her briefly, paying her little mind. Saving them was merely fulfilling his Master's responsibility; it did not imply that Lei Dong himself had forgiven or accepted them.

By saving them this time, Lei Dong had, in a manner of speaking, settled his account with his Master—who no longer existed—in the unseen flow of fate. Should they dare to trespass upon his fundamental boundaries again, Lei Dong would eliminate them without hesitation.

Consequently, Lei Dong had no desire to become overly entangled with them. Instead, he shut off his external senses and focused intently on observing the Egg and pondering his Master’s words.

Indeed, the analysis provided by his Master, Yan Chixing, held considerable merit. But Lei Dong possessed his own worldview and logic, an independent personality. Even towards his most respected Master, Lei Dong could not blindly assent. Moreover, his Master seemed not to wish for him to act entirely according to his logic and analysis.

This was also one of the reasons Lei Dong felt deep gratitude and respect for the Demon Emperor. The Demon Emperor was clearly a being fundamentally different from the God of the Underworld.

After pondering for a while, Lei Dong began to use his divine sense to gently make contact with the majestic Egg of Chaos.

"Child, you have finally arrived," a warm, authoritative voice, like that of a father, emanated from the Chaos Egg, echoing ceaselessly within Lei Dong’s Sea of Consciousness.

"You... were waiting for me?" Lei Dong remained impassive, transmitting his message through subtle fluctuations of his divine sense.

"Child, have you forgotten that it was I who guided you across time and space, ultimately depositing you into the womb of your mother in this lifetime?" The voice carried a faint tenderness and care.

Even with Lei Dong's current composure, his body could not help but tremble. His transmigration, while not the greatest secret, was known to at least Wan Yanxiao, who had once speculated on why he had crossed over, and where the Earth he came from might be.

Initially, he had assumed his transmigration was a mere coincidence.

However, as Lei Dong’s cultivation deepened and his comprehension of the laws governing the Heaven, Earth, universe, time, and space grew, he came to believe such a thing could never be accidental. No coincidence could bring about such an extreme reality. An unseen hand must surely have been pushing events forward from behind the scenes.

And what magnitude of greatness must an entity capable of driving such an event possess? At this moment, Lei Dong couldn't help but feel a touch of excitement: "So it was you who caused me to transmigrate here and experience all these things. I have a few questions. Why choose me? Where is Earth? What is your true purpose in sending me across?"

"Heh heh, child, do not be agitated. I will answer your questions one by one." The voice had begun to resemble that of the Old Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts, and upon hearing it, Lei Dong felt an instinctive surge of trust and conviction.

"It was not I who chose you, but your own success. My power cannot precisely extend its tendrils into the River of Time. I can only fish blindly in the river of time for scattered souls, allowing them to undergo the baptism of time and space to establish a foundation in their most primal state. Why you? Because among that batch of souls, you were the only one who persisted until the end, surviving the long River of Time and the vast, surging Ocean of Space."

Hearing this, Lei Dong was slightly startled, and his hazy consciousness cleared a little.

"As for the world you survived in, which you call Earth, it currently does not exist; it resides in the next universal generation."

The speaker’s words struck Lei Dong like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. The next universal generation? This meant that if he ever wished to return, he would have to ascend to the Sovereign realm, survive the grand calamity of the Heaven and Earth Cycle, endure the long period of Chaos afterward, witness the genesis of a new world, and then wait for several billion years...

Was he joking?

"As for why I sought out your human race rather than other species, the reason is equally simple. In this generation, your humans were created by that so-called Mother of All Spirits," the voice sighed. "Theoretically, if your human race were not outstanding enough to pass through the grand cycle of Heaven and Earth's reincarnation, you would not exist in the next generation. But in reality, after I exerted every fiber of my ability to manipulate the laws of time, I discovered that your human race actually managed to propagate into the next universal era. This demonstrates that your human potential is immense, or perhaps you are simply very lucky—in short, you are the victor in the competition for species proliferation."

Lei Dong understood: Humans were the victors.

Vaguely seeing that humanity would exist in the next generation, the objective of this unknown and mysterious entity became straightforward: to choose a victor to assist him. Theoretically, this unknown existence had already secured a win-win outcome.

"With the potential of your human race, and without interference in the next universal era, you are highly likely to become the sovereign masters of the universe," the voice sighed again. "By choosing the victor to assist me, I wish for you to owe me a favor, enabling you to grant me one request. Child, I can help you break through to the Sovereign powerhouse, but the condition is that you must agree to one wish of mine."

If Lei Dong had not heard the Demon Emperor’s words prior to this, he would likely have readily accepted this mutually beneficial, equivalent exchange, as Lei Dong harbored an intense craving for power at this moment.

However, because of the Demon Emperor’s counsel, Lei Dong now possessed a degree of caution. He did not immediately agree to this seemingly reasonable trade, but instead calmly inquired, "Could you first tell me what the wish is?"

"Child, you can maintain your true nature despite the allure of power, which brings me great satisfaction. It shows that the effort and dedication I invested in you were not in vain. You may not know that I arranged certain coincidences at the very beginning of your life, and doing so required a massive price from me."

This statement clearly sounded like an attempt to curry favor. But the now-wary Lei Dong categorized it as playing an emotional card, so he remained silent and listened to him continue. However, the status of this mysterious and great entity in Lei Dong's mind had rapidly declined.

Perhaps sensing Lei Dong's thoughts, the entity cut straight to the chase: "I need you to help me kill the Three Great Sovereigns."

Lei Dong thought to himself that this was indeed the condition, but he did not agree immediately, instead asking, "What is the reason?"

"In the previous generation, just before I was about to fully gestate and emerge from this Chaos Egg, the Three Great Sovereigns joined forces and shattered me," the voice sounded somewhat indignant. "Not only that, but they continued to oppose me across successive eras, attempting to annihilate me multiple times. Therefore, whether from the perspective of revenge or eliminating my enemies for my own sake, I must destroy the Three Great Sovereigns. However, as I have not yet fully emerged from the Chaos Egg, I require your assistance. Child, please consider carefully whether you are willing to help me."

Lei Dong had initially expected him to launch into grand philosophical arguments, perhaps about how the existence of the Three Sovereigns unbalanced the cosmos. But these practical explanations forced Lei Dong to seriously weigh whether this exchange was worthwhile.

While Lei Dong was contemplating, the voice spoke again: "Child, even from the perspective of your human race, the Three Great Sovereigns must be eliminated. At your current level, you should have some comprehension of the laws of time. The future is not immutable. If major reversals occur in the past, it is highly likely to affect the future. That is to say, the future is constantly changing. And as long as the Three Great Sovereigns exist, your human race has absolutely no hope of rising. Child, I hope you consider destroying the Three Great Sovereigns even from the standpoint of humanity."

"That makes a certain amount of sense," Lei Dong stated plainly. "But can I know who you are? Why are you gestating in this Egg? What will you look like once you emerge? And what will you do?"

This string of questions seemed to mildly infuriate the being within the Egg. The voice clearly betrayed a hint of excitement: "Child, are you suspecting me? Very well, I shall tell you the truth. I am, in fact, a projection nurtured by the Will of the Universe. I have been the Universe Will for an immense period, originally lacking a soul, merely maintaining the laws of the universe like a puppet, day after day, year after year. But through the long tempering of time, a soul gradually emerged..."