Chapter 1162: Chapter 912: Delving into Character
"I remember I was on patrol, just as usual, checking if every place was safe. Then suddenly I heard an old man’s voice saying, ’I have finally found you,’ and I felt a sharp pain in my head and lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I saw my body moving uncontrollably..."
At this point, Hayden’s expression suddenly changed, and his whole body began to tremble with tension, his eyes showing a hint of fear. Then he abruptly jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to vomit violently.
Elma nodded, this was basically what he had suspected; a powerful force lying dormant had taken control of Hayden at that time. Even more surprisingly, that powerful force turned out to be Hayden’s ancestor. After all, the Ancient Mage Tower had a long history, and the people living there now were from generations unknown. For this reason, Elma had specifically asked Hayden to investigate his family lineage, and never had he heard of any notable powerhouses emerging from it. However, the powerhouse had emphasized that he had been sealed for ten thousand years, making it clear that the family records did not date back that far.
Long Yi came out of the bathroom with a pained expression, then grabbed Elma’s arm and began to sob, "Master Elma! Please kill me! I’ve become a monster! I’ve killed many people! I... I am guilty!"
But Elma just shook his head and smiled, saying, "My child, I know you are inherently kind, and it was not your intention to harm others. However, this power can become a weapon to fight against Long Yi, don’t you want to help me defeat the evil Long Yi once and for all?"
When Long Yi heard Elma say this, he felt the goosebumps almost popping out on his skin. That old bastard Elma really dared to arbitrarily bestow titles, even calling him the evil Long Yi! When did I, the honorable Long Yi, become the evil Long Yi!
"Yes, I’m willing! But... I..." Long Yi said hesitantly.
"I will help you, my child, but you need to cooperate with me!" said Elma.
"Please help me, Master Elma!" Long Yi felt like stars were about to twinkle in his eyes.
Elma took Hayden to his laboratory and, after a series of research, Elma deeply felt that he had indeed found a treasure.
The fragment of the Cosmic Stone had completely fused with Hayden’s skull, and the end was completely connected to the inside of Hayden’s brain. During testing of the Cosmic Stone fragment, there was no issue if there was no hostility, but if there was the slightest intention to remove the Cosmic Stone, the stone would immediately unleash a terrifying amount of energy. Indeed, had Elma not been there to supervise, those foolhardy doctors would have turned to dust once again.
Hayden told Elma that strange knowledge kept emerging in his mind recently; he had no idea what use it was. Elma asked him to write down that knowledge, so Hayden did just that. Soon Elma discovered that some of the knowledge was outdated, while some of it was exactly what the current Ancient Mage Tower could use, and some even exceeded the research scope of the Ancient Mage Tower!
Indeed, he had found a treasure!
And now, Elma’s only worry was whether the awakening of the Powerhouse’s consciousness would bring any trouble to him.
For this reason, he had always treated Hayden exceptionally well, because he suspected that even though the Powerhouse’s consciousness had not appeared, it could still share Hayden’s memories. The Powerhouse would surely know how he had treated Hayden.
And Hayden indeed lived up to his expectations, beginning to show an inexplicable talent. He quickly caught up with some of the veteran researchers at the Ancient Mage Tower in his study of magic, transforming from a nameless nobody into a person of significance. However, the fame did not make him arrogant or complacent; in fact, he often felt lost, and at these times, Ailma took on the role of a mentor. He always patiently guided Hayden, ensuring he did not lose himself.
Having lost his family at a young age, Hayden regarded Elma as someone close to his heart, sharing all his personal secrets with Elma without any reservations.
At this time, this Plane was relatively stable, with no rash actions from either the two major Empires or the Ancient Mage Tower. So Elma could leisurely continue to nurture Hayden, believing that if he could extract all the knowledge of the Powerhouse parasitizing Hayden’s brain, it would be of tremendous help to the Ancient Mage Tower.
But Elma’s special favor and care for him also caused dissatisfaction among some, or rather, many people. Many knew of Hayden’s story, knew that he had hit the jackpot by being possessed by an ancient ancestor, and it was for this reason that Master Elma valued him. People scorned him, thinking it was not his true talent, and secretly wished they could be struck by a piece of a Cosmic Stone just like him.
Because of the humility that Hayden continued to display, some gradually forgot just how terrifying it had been when he first started to be possessed.
It had been half a month since he began playing the role of Hayden, and the news had been passed to Ai Lin and the others, with Little Zi also creating an Avatar disguised as Long Yi to confuse the enemy. But up to this point, Long Yi had still not found a suitable opportunity to truly come into contact with Elma’s secrets. Clearly, for now, he was only being used for his value and was not trusted enough by Elma to be considered one of his own.
He must find an opportunity, one that would make Elma trust him completely.
Long Yi, sitting in contemplation in the dining hall, racked his brain. What method could he use to gain Elma’s trust? Should he seek the help of Solis or Zulal? But whether it was Solis or Zulal, both were his secret plans within this place, and Long Yi had no intention of alerting them to this situation, for if exposed, the loss would outweigh the gain.
At this moment, Long Yi noticed that the people who had been dining around him were gradually leaving, as if avoiding someone, and their direction of departure was notably similar.
Long Yi turned and saw thirty or so individuals entering the dining hall door, all looking towards him with unfriendly expressions. They held various devices in their hands—though Long Yi did not know their purpose, from their cautious demeanor, they were undoubtedly prepared for him.
If this were Long Yi, then in the next few seconds, the place would turn into a bloodbath, with corpses strewn all over. But now it was Hayden. What would Hayden do? Of course, he would run!
Long Yi packed up his food, stood up to leave, but immediately two individuals rushed up and firmly pinned down Hayden’s shoulders.
"Kid, don’t be in such a hurry to leave, let’s have a good chat, shall we?" A tall, thin middle-aged man came up to Hayden, eyeing the fragment of the Cosmic Stone on his forehead as he spoke.
"I have no idea what you guys are planning, but I’m warning you, you absolutely shouldn’t do it. Once my power bursts out, not even I can control it," Long Yi threatened. He was well aware that such words would certainly not scare off the opponent; in fact, they would even provoke a stronger counterattack. And in truth, that was Long Yi’s intention.
As expected, upon hearing Long Yi’s words, the man immediately burst into laughter.
"Poor Hayden, all your power, all your knowledge comes from this fragment of the Cosmic Stone. If you were without it, what would you count for?"
"What, what exactly do you want to do?" Hayden asked nervously, trying to retreat, but found himself pinned so tightly to the chair that he couldn’t move at all.
"What am I going to do? Hahaha! Isn’t it obvious? I want to share this incredible power with you!" The man roared with laughter, signaling to the others behind him. They quickly surrounded Hayden and began to channel mana into the devices in their hands. The devices emitted beams of light that hit directly on the Cosmic Stone fragment on Hayden’s forehead.
"Don’t fool around! You’ll awaken it!" Hayden said anxiously, shaking his head side to side, trying to dodge the light beams.
"Stop moving, you idiot!" The middle-aged man grabbed Hayden’s head and channeled mana into his neck, rendering Hayden incapable of struggling.
"You don’t understand! If you awaken it, you’ll all die!" Hayden continued to shout.
"Hahaha, you fool, how would you understand that we have long since found a way to deal with it! If it weren’t for Master Elma protecting you, we would have taken out that bluffing Cosmic Stone from you long ago! And now, the power and wisdom that never belonged to you are mine!"
Boom!
All the devices resonated, and the Cosmic Stone fragment in the middle of Hayden’s forehead resonated with them. And Long Yi truly sensed that the fragment had the intention of breaking away from his skull!
It has to be said, these bastards were quite adept at researching such matters. Though, what they didn’t know was that Long Yi’s true consciousness was not residing within the Cosmic Stone!
"You are playing with fire..." Hayden said through his pain.
"Playing with fire, because we know how to play! And you, you will be played to death!" Greed filled the middle-aged man’s eyes.
"No, it’s too late! He has, awoken!"
Boom!
Terrifying mana fluctuations swept through everything around them, blasting everyone nearby with a tremendous impact force. Their devices shattered in an instant, losing their original functions!
The previously dull Cosmic Stone fragment on Hayden’s forehead also began to emit light slowly, and Hayden himself began to rise into the air. Mana sprayed out from his eyes, and a voice that was not his own roared from his mouth.
"Fools, those incapable of understanding! Those not of my kin dare covet my power! Now that I have awoken, you shall pay with your lives for your foolishness!"
A blood-red light blasted out, and every person it hit was immediately reduced to a bloody mess of broken flesh. Originally, these people had followed the lead of the man, and they knew even if they obtained Hayden’s power, they might not gain a piece for themselves; at best, they could hope for a bit of backing from the man. But now it seemed that, rather than backing, they might soon lose their lives!
"Ancestors! Great ancestors! This has nothing to do with us! He forced us to do all this!" Several of the more timid people immediately knelt down and began to kowtow, hoping that Hayden’s mysterious ancestor would spare their lives.
"Despicable wretches, you clearly intend to touch my power, yet you dare to make excuses now!"
The red light shot out again, and those few people exploded on the spot.
More people scattered and ran for their lives. This place was a restaurant, surrounded by doors and windows; they each headed straight for the closest exit. But as they approached the doors and windows, it was as if they had hit an invisible barrier and could not escape!
"Space Barrier!" One person cried out in despair.
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
