Now, the 1000-year period was almost up. Emrys was one of the two people to reach the final stage of the Sage Era Cultivation Tournament.

This tournament had been witnessed by an uncountable number of creatures throughout the Inked Tale Omniverse. Anyone who had ever been a member of Eternal Paradise was able to enter the paradise and witness this tournament.

As the final stage of the Sage Era Cultivation Tournament approached, the anticipation of every being reached its peak. Emrys was one of the finalists destined to battle for the ultimate prize.

His final opponent was unlike any he had faced before. This being was not human, nor any other common race. His opponent was a Chronoth, a member of the fabled race known as Chronoth Race. Just like the Primordial Race, the Chronoth Race was the very first race born in their Eternity. Due to their uniqueness, they are also called the Architects of Time.

The Chronoths were legendary. It was said they were born from the essence of time itself. Each of them came into existence with complete comprehension of the Absolute Rule of Time and Space. Perhaps, this is why they are said to be a race that exists outside linear time. Past, present, and future were but different angles of the same reality to them. With a thought, they could walk backward into what once was, walk forward into what is yet to come, or even rewrite events that had already happened without suffering any backlash.

They can control time in a way no other can ever control. This is also one of the reasons why they have existed until now.

Emrys’s opponent was Vexithar, a Chronoth prodigy revered in his own Eternity as the "Eternal Mirror". Vexithar could fracture a moment into infinite reflections, choose the best outcome, and make it reality for a short period of time.

Emrys, too, was no stranger to the power of time. He held authority over the Nine Absolute Rules. As time is part of the Nine Absolute Rules of Eternity, he can easily manipulate time as well, but his level of authority was still low. Compared to Vexithar, who was born with complete mastery over the Time and Space Rule, Emrys’s grasp of it was limited and clumsy. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Yet, Emrys didn’t falter or retreat when facing Vexithar.

He knew he couldn’t outplay Vexithar in direct temporal manipulation, so he fought differently. He relied on the fusion of his three cultivation paths, his unique comprehension of the skill Absolute Stillness, Disintegration, and other skills.

The battle between them shattered countless temporal layers within the Eternal Paradise. During their battle, they manipulated time at will. Due to their reckless actions during battle, history was destroyed and rebuilt several times, futures collapsed, and moments were frozen mid-breath. The battlefield became a chaotic tangle of nothing but branches of several timelines.

In the end, Emrys relied on his newly gained Omni Skill, Omni Erasure, to erase every action taken by Vexithar for the next thirty seconds. Then he used abilities such as Ecliptic Seal, Light Manipulation, Death Impact, and more within these thirty seconds to defeat Vexithar.

Just like that, Emrys became the winner of the Sage Era Cultivation Tournament and was awarded a fragment of Eternal Dao.

Before he left the Eternal Paradise, Ling Xiaolong came to meet and congratulate him. They talked for a while, and before leaving, Ling Xiaolong told Emrys to be ready. An entity from the reality beyond the Inked Tale Omniverse would descend soon. At that time, the existence of the entire Inked Tale Omniverse would be at risk. He can treat that entity as the final boss of this little game created by Ling Xiaolong. As long as that entity is killed, Emrys will complete the game, and Ling Xiaolong will leave him alone, never interfering in his matter again. Emrys can live his life freely.

When Emrys asked why Ling Xiaolong didn’t simply confront and eliminate that entity when he is so overwhelmingly powerful. Ling Xiaolong responded with a solemn expression. He explained that although he could do anything he wished within the Inked Tale Omniverse, he would not interfere in matters related to the Second Reality.

Even if the Inked Tale Omniverse was on the brink of total annihilation, as long as the threat originated from the Second Reality, he would only sit back and watch. He had already taken a tremendous risk once by interfering when he saved the last remaining seeds of the Primordial Race and the Spiritas Race. He had created Spiritarium as a sanctuary for the Spiritas and had even rescued the fragmented Cosmic World, hiding it in Zone Zero of the Absolute Void to prevent its destruction.

That single act had nearly exposed him to "those people" beyond the boundary of Nothingness. He could not afford to take such a risk again.

Emrys then asked how Ling Xiaolong could be so certain that an entity from the Second Reality would attack. To this, Ling Xiaolong gave a grave answer.

It turned out that the turning point was when Emrys awakened the Timeless Enlightenment Seed and caused it to evolve into a Tree. That singular transformation was sensed by a particular being from the Second Reality. However, that alone would not have been enough to provoke action.

What truly changed everything was the awakening of the second Tree of Origin—the mother of all trees, the foundational core upon which the entire Inked Tale Omniverse was built. That event was a signal cosmic shift that those in the Second Reality could not ignore.

A second Tree of Origin?

Emrys was utterly confused and couldn’t help but ask how and where a second Tree of Origin is awakened. After all, his own Soul Mark was now the Tree of Origin. His Soul Spirit was the Sun of Mysteries.

Emrys had no knowledge of these two entities Ling Xiaolong mentioned, and since they were somehow connected to him, his curiosity only grew stronger.

To his utter shock, Ling Xiaolong didn’t answer with words. Instead, he simply raised his hand and pointed directly toward Emrys’s Soul Space. His finger effortlessly bypassed all the protective layers and barriers, as if they didn’t exist at all, and came to a stop at a colossal tree standing deep within.