"Blade Emperor..." A trace of confusion flickered in Ye Chen's eyes before vanishing. The name felt intensely familiar, yet he couldn't place it. However, this golden-haired woman before him seemed to know his true identity.

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" The golden-haired woman looked at Ye Chen, her expression softening. "Eons ago, we were the closest comrades. Though you followed the Ancient War Sovereign, and I was merely a general by his side, we went through life and death together for so many years. Yet you've forgotten everything. The power of time is truly magnificent; it can make one forget all."

"Stop being mysterious. Why have you brought me here?" Ye Chen frowned, staring intently at her.

The golden-haired woman glanced at him and smiled faintly. "You haven't changed at all—still so direct, so aloof. Your fame as the Blade Emperor strikes fear across the Nine Realms; such a demeanor is unique. Those who besieged you didn't even recognize it; they were truly careless..."

Noticing his slight impatience, she chuckled, turned, and gazed upon the magnificent palace. "Come with me. I will take you to see the Ancient War Sovereign."

With a flash, her figure floated ten zhang away, the earth beneath her feet seeming to shrink to mere inches.

Ye Chen followed closely, soon arriving inside the grand, golden palace. Within, he saw long bridges over small streams, surrounded by white jade plazas and meticulously arranged rockeries—a breathtaking scene. The main hall at the deepest end, however, was forged entirely from vast, pure white crystal, smooth and transparent.

"Lord Sovereign, your blade has returned..." The golden-haired woman entered the hall, then stepped aside, turning sideways.

Ye Chen's vision suddenly cleared. Before him stood a golden Dragon Throne, a seat so immense it seemed as tall as heaven and earth. A magnificent aura washed over him, causing cold sweat to bead on his forehead. It felt as though a massive stone had settled upon his heart—this overwhelming pressure was unlike anything Ye Chen had ever witnessed or dared to imagine existed—a person capable of possessing such terrifying might.

Ye Chen looked upon the figure seated on the golden Dragon Throne: a middle-aged man with sharp eyebrows, eyes like boundless stars, a perfectly straight nose, and thin lips like a blade's edge. His cheeks seemed forged by a hammer, radiating a unique masculine dominance and the will to fight, as if the very heavens ought to submit beneath this man's feet!

This aura—one that transcended heaven and earth, proclaiming self-supremacy, disbelieving in gods or ghosts, holding absolute dominion—no one else in the world could possess it.

Ye Chen had encountered many World Supremes before, but compared to this man, their auras were like ants beside an elephant, immeasurably insignificant.

Ye Chen could sense that the mere blinking of the man's eyes could send him spiraling back into oblivion.

As Ye Chen scrutinized the man, the man's slowly moving eyes turned to regard him. In that instant, Ye Chen's mind seemed to go utterly blank, his consciousness hazy, his ears ringing so that he could hear nothing, as if time itself had stopped.

In that state of mental void, he perceived his body suddenly appearing in a white space, where the majestic man approached him. An irresistible, familiar energy emanated from him, akin to an infant's innate reliance on its mother.

"Xiao Dao, you've returned..." The towering man stood before Ye Chen, gazing at him tenderly.

Ye Chen’s consciousness wavered. "Xiao Dao?"

"Yes. After all these years, you don't recognize me?" The magnificent man looked at him with gentle affection, slowly reaching out to place his hand on Ye Chen's head, caressing his black jade-like hair. "I will help you awaken completely now. It is time for you to return..."

From the palm resting on Ye Chen’s crown, a surge of powerful, overwhelming energy suddenly poured forth, flooding Ye Chen's entire brain. Countless memories rushed forth like surging rivers from the depths of his mind. The world before him dissolved into chaos, fragments, indistinct yet sharp faces, and a variety of sounds flashed past his ears at the speed of light...

A long, long time passed before everything ceased. While Ye Chen's consciousness was submerged in these visions of memory, his physical body underwent a rapid transformation. A dense white light erupted from him, intense and dazzling like the midday sun, standing firm in the very center of the hall.

The golden-haired woman stood to the side, watching with a gentle smile.

Rumble~~

A majestic and immense power poured down directly from above Ye Chen’s head. The sharp, piercing sound of a blade rang out, shooting forth violently from above his head and piercing the azure sky. The ruthless, domineering blade aura seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth in two. Flanking the blade's edge were chaotic distortions of time and space, countless ribbons of colored light swirling like silk, unable to approach the sharpness of the blade.

Even held perfectly still, this blade edge would tear the void asunder.

"I traversed the Nine Realms, meeting no equal..."

"I was tempered by the very essence of the Ancient World, the first divine weapon of the Primordial Age..."

"My name is the Blade Emperor..."

Ye Chen’s mind was adrift, murmuring these words. After a long pause, clarity finally returned. He withdrew his gaze; the white space had vanished. The majestic man still sat upon the golden Dragon Throne at the far end of the hall, and he himself still stood below.

His body was no longer the one he possessed before. Following this complete awakening, his physical structure had undergone an earth-shattering change. His strength had instantly returned to the peak of his previous life—and perhaps... even surpassed it!

Ye Chen looked up at the magnificent man, his brow furrowed, an internal struggle evident. Finally, he bowed his head slightly and spoke, "Xiao Dao pays respects to... the War Sovereign."

The magnificent man on the golden Dragon Throne looked down upon him. "Why do you not address me as Master?" The voice sounded as if read from a script, yet it carried an unmatched oppressive might.

Ye Chen felt as if a giant hammer had struck his back; his face paled, and he could not stand fully upright. Biting his lip, he looked up at the magnificent man. "Xiao Dao was born relying on you in my past life; you are effectively my father. Even if you reshaped me for your own purposes, I have no complaint. But in this life, I wish to be a person—a true human being!"

"A person?" The magnificent man looked at him expressionlessly. "Humans are merely one type of animal within the Great Thousand World."

Ye Chen frowned.

He understood the implication of those words. If one is an animal, there will naturally be a master.

"Perhaps..." Ye Chen fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "Humans are animals, but I do not wish for a master. In this life, I will never have one. I am who I am. When you reforged me, you should have considered that after another reincarnation, I might not be entirely 'me.' Although my memories have fully awakened and I recall everything from my past life, this current life holds too many things that my previous existence lacked."

"What things?" The magnificent man looked down at him. "Your status in your past life was how noble. What could you possibly lack?"

"Love, kinship, friendship."

Ye Chen looked up at him. "As your blade, my existence was nothing but battle, battle, and more battle, followed by constant research, practice, and striving toward ever-higher echelons regarding secret arts, combat experience, methods, and techniques."

"That was my entire life, my entire dream, my entire goal," Ye Chen said, meeting his gaze. "When you reforged me, you chose the wrong identity for me. You shouldn't have made me human. You must know that humans are naturally lazy, especially once their needs are met, making them even less inclined toward diligence."

The magnificent man nodded slightly, agreeing completely. "That is true. However, it was all within my expectations. Since you have awakened your memories, you should know why I had you reforged?"

"Of course. It was to elevate my capabilities further. Every experience I've had in this life was orchestrated by you. As the World Origin of the Ancient World, you control the very fortune of this realm. For ease of your performance, you isolated the barriers of the Nine Worlds, preventing their inhabitants from entering, lest the fortune they carry from their own worlds interfere with your portrayal."

"Indeed. Including the Dao of Darkness you comprehended—that was my deduction. As soon as I reforged you, I had an insight, wanting to try a certain method, so I granted you this rebirth experience, giving you everything that occurred in this life, including your emotions and every thought. I calculated precisely, determining a path for you in this life that no one in the prehistoric era had ever walked. Thus, if you had comprehended the Dao on your own, you would undoubtedly have grasped an unprecedentedly powerful Dao. Looking at the intensity of the Dao of Darkness within you, however, it exceeded my expectations."

The magnificent man looked at Ye Chen. "Now that this reforging is successful, I require you to subdue the other Eight Realms. As for the Xuan Realm, I will deal with that entity myself in the end; it is not something you can withstand."

"Do you think I will obey you?" Ye Chen stared at him coldly. If his mental fortitude were not so strong and steadfast, he might have suffered a mental collapse upon hearing the magnificent man’s words.

Imagine: if a person's entire life, every event, was merely a script written by another... The first thought most people would have is, Who am I? What am I? followed by the self-questioning: Are even these thoughts manipulated by the other, pre-planned outcomes?

But Ye Chen did not. He merely stared coldly at the magnificent man.

"Do you think you can choose not to listen to me?" The magnificent man did not answer, posing a counter-question instead.

Ye Chen let out a cold laugh, turning sharply and walking directly toward the hall entrance. His entire being radiated a sharp, wild blade aura. Even the golden-haired woman frowned slightly in apprehension. In this entire Ancient World, the only one who could suppress Ye Chen was likely that magnificent man.

Just as Ye Chen's body was about to cross the threshold of the hall, the independent world within him suddenly opened automatically, and a spaceship floated out. (To be continued)