Chapter 492 - 257: The Pioneer of Reincarnation

Chapter 492: Chapter 257: The Pioneer of Reincarnation

Faced with Lu Cang’s question, the thing before him chose silence.

Although it remained silent, Lu Cang could feel it trying to activate various abilities in an attempt to escape its current predicament.

However... its soul refused to obey its own commands.

It tried multiple times to break free from Lu Cang’s control.

But to no avail.

Sensing its rebellious thoughts, Lu Cang said coolly, "Silence won’t do you any good."

"You should realize that your very life and death hang on my every whim."

"If you’ve really lived for so long, you shouldn’t want to die."

’This time, it’s a mass of soul that’s come for me, something I can completely suppress. But who knows what will come for me next. I have to figure out why I’m being targeted.’

The entity before him seemed to give up trying.

It spoke in a slightly resigned tone, "To think I would fall into the hands of a mere mortal."

"Perhaps, this is my fated calamity."

"As for my identity, as you can see, I am An Su."

"A Level 9 Death Master."

"Also known nowadays as a Death Priest."

’Level 9.’

’Close to what I guessed.’

To verify the truth of its words, a faint wisp of Core separated from the Void, floated over to An Su, and touched it.

Even though he had it under complete control, Lu Cang remained cautious, guarding against any unexpected tricks it might have up its sleeve.

’After all... a being capable of becoming a Level 9 Reincarnator might also possess a Divine Talent.’

’What if its Divine Talent happens to be a counter to mine?’

’That would be dangerous.’

The Core touched An Su, and in that instant, information about it surfaced in Lu Cang’s mind...

[Remnant Soul of An Su: The damaged soul of a Level 9 Reincarnator, currently separated from its physical body, but still possessing unfathomable power.]

[Creator: An Su — Hidden Knowledge: The pioneer of Reincarnation, currently undergoing the Ritual of Life and Death Ascension.]

[Life and Death Ascension: In nine consecutive cycles of life and death, reach the peak of Level 9 in the Death Master profession under increasingly harsh conditions each time, with each cycle ending in death. Current Status: 8 deaths, 9th life.]

[Life and Death Reincarnation: To die during this ritual and be revived again.]

’A remnant soul?’

’But it really is a Level 9 Reincarnator.’

’This is the first time I’ve ever met a legendary Level 9.’

’I’ve seen quite a few Level 8 powerhouses trying to ascend to Level 9, and I’ve even seen many phantoms of Divine Spirits.’

’Divine Spirits seem to have a strong presence.’

’And they’re surprisingly common.’

’But this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Level 9 Reincarnator.’

’And... what does "pioneer of Reincarnation" mean? Could my own Reincarnation Inheritance be related to it?’

’Life and Death Ascension?’

’Reaching the peak of a Level 9 profession in nine cycles of life and death... this is already its ninth life after dying eight times.’

’Why are there so many "ninth lives" in this world?’

’Seriously, there’s no end to these Reincarnators.’

’Don’t tell me it’s the protagonist of a rebirth novel?’

’Can these rebirth plots stop chasing me?’

’However, this "Life and Death Reincarnation" seems to be a different concept from the Reincarnation I have. My Reincarnation involves being reborn into a new body, but from the looks of its Life and Death Reincarnation...’

’It doesn’t seem to require being reborn.’

’It can just keep going down the same path.’

Lu Cang: "An Su. Are you famous?"

An Su seemed to have calmly accepted its fate and stopped struggling.

Instead, it replied with nonchalant indifference, "In ancient times, there was a dynasty named An Su. Its territory covered the entire world. The very few unconquered planes also called this world the nation of An Su."

"Would you consider that famous?"

Lu Cang frowned. "Never heard of it."

’If it were truly that famous, even though I’m no archaeologist or historian, I should have seen some hints or found some clues in all the books I’ve read.’

’But I’ve never even heard of this so-called ancient dynasty it’s talking about.’

’Even the long-lost Space Magic still has records left behind. If such a vast dynasty truly existed, how could there be no mention of it at all?’

However, upon hearing Lu Cang’s reply...

It just gave a self-deprecating smile. "True. As far back as five thousand years ago, no one remembered this dynasty anymore."

"Dynasties decay, and legends fade."

"Amidst the tides of reality and illusion, only I am truly immortal."

An Su’s voice carried a hint of mocking self-deprecation.

Yet, there was no sense of desolation, only a placid acceptance of the facts.

Lu Cang’s tone was calm as he humbly reminded it, "Senior, your life is in my hands. I wouldn’t call that immortal, would you?"

Hearing Lu Cang’s veiled threat, An Su just smiled mysteriously. "If you truly want to kill me, then give it a try."

Lu Cang: "Oh... no need for that. It’s not like we have some deep-seated hatred for each other, Senior."

’The pioneer of Reincarnation.’

’It’s likely closely related to the Reincarnation Inheritance I received.’

’I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling that killing it might just send it into its next reincarnation. If so, it would completely escape my control.’

’I don’t know if a soul kill could stop it from entering reincarnation.’

’But seeing as it isn’t afraid of death, it’s better not to kill it for now.’

’This old monster has lived for so long and studied Death for so long. Killing it directly might really trigger some kind of deathrattle.’

"What were you planning to do to me just now?" Lu Cang asked.

An Su didn’t shy away from the question at all, just offering a faint smile. "Naturally, I was planning to do the same thing you are."

"Control you, then slowly interrogate you about where you obtained so many pure souls."

"And then, make you work for me."

Lu Cang: "Oh..."

’If I couldn’t control it, I might have fallen into its trap.’

’Final Sense can detect threats in advance. I sensed danger before it even made a move, so I acted first.’

’That’s why I was so certain I could strike before it did.’

"Well, what a coincidence."

"We had the same idea."

An Su gave a cold laugh.

"Still, to fall into the hands of a child... that was truly unexpected."

Lu Cang ignored its sentiment and continued asking, "What do you want with so many souls?"

’The Divine Level Soul Dominator talent, in the end, only grants control over an enemy’s soul; it doesn’t allow me to make them fight directly.’

’If I could do that, there would be no need for Divine Level Necromancy Rebirth to create Undead.’

Lu Cang had initially wanted to kill it immediately.

Refine it into an Undead, thereby gaining a Level 9 Reincarnator for his forces.

However, the mere thought of doing so brought a bad premonition from his Intuition.

’If I obliterate its soul like this, there might be some negative consequences. I’m not sure what would happen... Right now, when I look with my Prophet ability, all I see is a peaceful scene.’

’But it’s a Level 9 Reincarnator, after all. It might have some means to block foresight...’

’If I rashly kill it against my intuition, something bad might really happen.’

’I’d better wait until Future Preview refreshes and take another look.’

Hearing Lu Cang’s question, An Su replied, "Why don’t you listen to what you’re actually asking?"

"What’s the difference between a Death Priest who doesn’t want souls and a piece of trash?"

’That’s true...’

’A Death Priest without good souls is just useless.’

Lu Cang said, "I’m asking what you plan to *do* with them."

An Su didn’t evade Lu Cang’s question, answering matter-of-factly, "Of course... to restore my power to its peak."

Lu Cang: "You’re not at your peak right now?"

An Su sneered. "If I were at my peak, how could you possibly trap me? Do you really think I’m someone a puny Level 4 Death Priest like you can restrain?"

Lu Cang: "Oh, I wouldn’t know about that."

"You said you could defeat War God Kai Jia, but you also said you haven’t recovered your peak strength. So, is the War God someone you can defeat in your current state?"

An Su chuckled. "Give me souls, and I can naturally do it."

"You don’t give me souls, I don’t work for you."

Lu Cang: "What about your physical body?"

An Su scoffed. "This place is far from the mortal world. If not for using my soul to locate it via the Source of Death, I could never have arrived so quickly."

’So, it does have a physical body.’

’It’s just that only its soul came this time, and it walked right into my trap.’

’A Level 9 soul... and I can’t just kill it.’

’This is actually a bit tricky.’

"Kid, you’re full of mysteries yourself."

"Thinking back, when I first saw you, there were a bunch of things about you I couldn’t see clearly. I originally thought they were protections that little thing Kai Jia set up for you, but now it seems they might be your own secrets."

"Falling into your hands now... I suppose you and I have some sort of fate..."

’This thing... it talks a big game.’

’It acts as if it can’t be bothered to argue with me.’

’Putting on a real tough act.’

’But I can’t think of a good way to deal with it right now. What a hassle.’

Lu Cang actually knew quite a few ordinary sealing rituals.

He was even proficient in sealing-type Magic.

’But ordinary seals probably won’t have any effect on a being of this level...’

’And from my perspective, seals are made to be broken. They’re not safe.’

’Sealing a Low Tier being is risky even for a High Tier one, let alone me trying to use a Tier Four or Tier Five seal on a Level 9 Reincarnator.’

’But my promotion for the Death Priest profession isn’t complete yet.’

’I could try making a wish to get a Talent that can handle the current situation.’

’It’s just that I already have a Talent for completely controlling the soul. So... would it be best to control its mind?’

’But abilities related to the Mind are too far removed from Death.’

’If I force a wish like that, there’s no guarantee I’ll get it during my Death Priest promotion.’

’Change my profession to a Psychologist?’

’That seems feasible too.’

’But to completely control its mind... the success rate feels low. After all, even a talent like Soul Dominator has activation conditions.’

’If I could completely control a person’s mind, wouldn’t that be equivalent to completely controlling the entire person?’

’It would be like an advanced version of Soul Dominator.’

’A Talent like that would most likely have some restrictions. If the conditions aren’t met, it wouldn’t solve the current situation either.’

’Besides, I can’t just focus on the present.’

’I also have to consider whether the Talent will be useful in the future.’

’It would be best to acquire a Talent that can solve the current problem while also being highly useful in the future...’

Lu Cang didn’t rush his decision.

Haste leads to mistakes.

No matter how high one’s Spirituality was, one should never rush important decisions.

Lu Cang sat down on the spot and began to contemplate.

’The Talents of different professions, and their effects... they may seem very different, but ultimately, they are quite related.’

’By studying different Talents, I can deduce the degree to which a Divine Talent can warp the Laws.’

’For example... directly controlling another’s soul requires certain conditions to be met. So, directly controlling their mind can’t possibly be unconditional.’

’Besides warping the Laws, Divine Talents are also a manifestation of absolutes.’

’Absolute undetectability, absolute mastery over Restrictions, absolute control over souls...’

’They are a manifestation of something that cannot be countered.’

’At least so far, I’ve never seen a Divine Talent fail. Even against Aertemi, I won by relying on my Talents.’

’The only thing that concerns me is the legendary Divine Authority.’

’The Divine Spirits of this world wield Divine Authority.’

’It also seems to be a manifestation of warping the Rules. I wonder which is stronger, my Divine Talents or Divine Authority?’

’And this An Su before me is a Level 9 Reincarnator.’

’If it’s really as badass as it claims and can go head-to-head with a Divine Spirit, it might have an ability similar to Divine Authority.’

...

About an hour later, Lu Cang finally had his answer.

Lu Cang stood up and once again began to set up the promotion ritual for the Death Priest.