Chapter 502: The Truth Behind the Universal Emperor

The Truth Behind the Universal Emperor

"Why does my strength matter if I just want information? Surely just telling me what kind of enemy the Universal Emperor is would help aid me. I just want to understand the reason for whatever it is that’s happening."

Victor’s voice carried through the spiritual realm, his frustration now mixed with genuine confusion.

The anger that had consumed him earlier had mostly subsided. What remained was a stubborn need for answers.

He stood with his black hair falling loosely around his face, golden eyes fixed on the first incarnation. His sharp features were still tense, but there was no longer any intention to lash out.

Victor couldn’t understand it.

If they were simply discussing information, then why did his current strength matter?

He wasn’t asking to fight the Universal Emperor.

He wasn’t demanding that they reveal every secret hidden within the deepest layers of his existence.

He only wanted to understand what kind of enemy they were dealing with.

Why was the Universal Emperor so dangerous?

Why did every incarnation treat its name with such seriousness?

And, most importantly—

Why had that being called him its rebellious prodigal son?

Those questions had been gnawing at Victor ever since the battle.

The first incarnation remained silent for a brief moment.

The spiritual realm around him was eerily calm. There was no wind, yet Victor’s hair shifted faintly as though the space itself were breathing.

Then the first incarnation answered.

"If you don’t have the sufficient strength and I tell you the truth about the Universal Emperor, you will be destroyed."

Victor’s pupils contracted.

The first incarnation’s voice remained calm.

"Any deeper knowledge you gain about the Universal Emperor without sufficient strength will cause direct harm to your current form."

Victor’s expression changed.

He had expected another vague excuse.

Instead, this was something completely different.

Knowledge itself could hurt him?

The first incarnation continued.

"Now that we know that the Universal Emperor is working in this timeline and this world, we cannot allow you to die."

Victor’s eyebrows furrowed.

"Not until you defeat the portion of the Universal Emperor that has once again encroached upon this world."

The words settled heavily into the spiritual realm.

Victor lowered his gaze for a moment.

So that was the reason.

Their unwillingness to tell him wasn’t simply because they wanted to keep secrets from him.

There was an actual danger involved.

If the Universal Emperor’s existence was powerful enough that merely learning too much about it could damage his current form, then Victor’s current strength really was insufficient.

Still, that didn’t mean he was satisfied.

If anything, it made him even more determined.

He raised his head again.

"Then tell me how much strength do I need for you to tell me anything?"

There was an edge of impatience in his voice.

Victor was getting tired of secrets.

Every answer seemed to create three more questions.

And what irritated him the most was that the people keeping those answers from him were technically different versions of himself.

Who else could possibly be more trustworthy?

Who else could understand him better?

The first incarnation looked at Victor for a few moments.

Then he answered.

"The peak strength of Demon Lord Anos barely passes the required strength to even learn our relation to the Universal Emperor."

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

His former peak.

The strength he had possessed when he stood at the summit of the demonic world.

Even that was barely enough to learn the most basic truth?

The first incarnation continued.

"If you want to learn the whole truth, then you’ll need to be at least at the top thirty among the incarnations."

Victor’s expression froze for a heartbeat.

Top thirty?

Among all of his incarnations?

The number sounded deceptively simple.

But Victor already understood that it wasn’t.

These weren’t ordinary cultivators.

Every incarnation represented a version of himself that had survived a different world, a different era, perhaps even a completely different set of laws.

If he needed to reach the top thirty among them, then the requirement was obviously monstrous.

Victor tilted his head slightly.

"How strong is that?"

There was no hesitation in the question.

He wanted an actual measurement.

Something he could understand.

The first incarnation answered immediately.

"You need to be able to solo two fully grown Golden Dragons, to be among the top thirty in strength among the incarnations."

Victor went silent.

"You need to be able to solo two fully grown Golden Dragons."

The words repeated themselves inside his mind.

Two.

Not one.

Two.

"That’s how strong you need to be."

Victor’s jaw tightened.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

The spiritual realm remained quiet.

Then—

A faint smile appeared on his face.

It was not his usual relaxed smile.

It was sharper.

More dangerous.

The corners of his mouth rose slowly as his golden eyes began to shine with renewed excitement.

Among Dragons, Golden Dragons were among the highest tiers of existence.

They weren’t creatures that ordinary cultivators could casually challenge.

A fully grown Golden Dragon possessed a terrifying combination of physical strength, durability, spiritual power, and innate abilities.

Even Victor’s former self knew exactly how difficult such an opponent was.

Back when he had reached his peak as Demon Lord Anos, Victor could probably have defeated one Golden Dragon alone.

Probably.

But even then, victory had never been guaranteed.

If he had fought a Golden Dragon at that time, there was still a considerable chance that he would lose.

Seven times out of ten, he would have been defeated.

That was how powerful a Golden Dragon was.

And now the first incarnation was casually telling him that he needed enough strength to defeat two of them alone.

Victor’s blood began to boil.

The disappointment from the previous battle faded from his mind.

The frustration he had felt toward Eddy became distant.

Even the irritation caused by having his battle interrupted was pushed aside.

A new thought had occupied his mind.

Strength.

More strength.

A goal had finally been placed before him.