Alm and Bruno widened their eyes at the question. Suddenly, Kakarotto’s demeanor and aura changed completely. He became cold and expressionless, and a chilling presence radiated from him. It was a radical transformation. Alm and Bruno had been pretending to be naive fools the entire time. They shifted their energy and now revealed their true nature.
Seeing this change, the young Ancestral Devil was even more shocked. His eyes trembled as if he got the confirmation he was looking for. But before he could say anything, a presence made itself known behind him.
It was the Lord of the Wind, who appeared from behind, staring straight at Kakarotto. Ignoring the young man in front of him, he said, "Everything in this library is open to you, except for the techniques. You can read anything else."
The old man explained that, unlike other clans, and due to its origin, the disciples here loved collecting books. It didn’t matter if they were useful or valuable; all information was worth preserving.
The books had gone through a strict filtering process. Some contained fragments of history, secrets, and mysteries from various clans, recorded by the disciples in journals or notebooks.
Overall, that collection gathered information ranging from mere gossip to secrets that were no longer secret there.
However, that was in the past. Nowadays, they rarely added new books. Still, the old man was being quite generous, allowing a stranger into their library and letting him read practically anything.
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"This young man also likes to read; he will serve and accompany you," the old man added.
Alm and Bruno nodded, and as they noticed the vast library was empty, they sighed. As the clan grew, fewer and fewer disciples showed any interest in reading the texts or gathering information.
"You and this young disciple are the only ones of this generation who took any interest in the texts here. The clan’s disciples only cared about cultivation and power. They coveted powerful techniques and treasures, not boring old stories," the old man said, making it clear that he, too, saw little value in wasting time on it.
He gave one more glance at that "useless king." Why would he be so interested in their ancient scrolls? However, the old man didn’t bother to dig deeper. Nothing that this "king without a kingdom" could do now concerned him. He had already fulfilled his part, repaying his debt to the old King by saving this guy.
Then Kakarotto pulled something out, and the old man’s eyes widened.
"Remember this? You signed it with your soul. Tell that girl to come see me," Bruno remarked casually.
The old man huffed; it was the marriage contract he had been forced to sign by King Vulke. That little bastard had no sense of property, still caring about such nonsense. He simply turned away without responding and left. He had no intention of seeing or speaking to him again.
Bruno smiled. Now, with just the two of them left, Kakarotto turned to the young Ancestral Devil. A mental message reached him.
’Master... it’s me, Maelik. I’ve been searching for you and waiting...’ His words were accompanied by clear emotion in his eyes.
Alm and Bruno took a deep breath and used their souls to scan the entire library area. There was absolutely no one there; in fact, no one seemed to care about the books. They nodded and moved toward the back of the library.
"I’m glad you’re okay. I had some issues and couldn’t come quickly," Bruno spoke calmly to Maelik. "How long has it been? And where are the others?"
The young man took a deep breath and replied, regretfully, "It’s been a little over 12,000 years. As for the others... I’ve lived in all the empires and spent almost 8,000 years searching for you or anyone else. I never found anyone…"
Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened. Liumi hadn’t been sure of the time and mentioned it was around ten thousand. Now they knew exactly, but how hadn’t he found anyone?
"I heard a rumor about an exceptional woman who spread inscriptions in this empire, and it spread everywhere. That was two generations ago," Bruno said quickly.
Maelik nodded. "Yes, I thought it was Ruri, too. But at that time, I was in the Empire New Order. Unfortunately, the news took a while to reach me. When I heard, I came as fast as I could, but… she had already been killed by King Vulke."
Alm and Bruno grew serious, and a murderous intent surged from them. So it was true that the woman had been killed… if it really was Ruri, they would completely crush this empire, leaving no trace of that king’s history behind.
’But they all came together... how did he not find them?’ Bruno thought after calming down.
Alm spoke, ’The only difference between him and the others who came is his divine soul.’
Bruno recalled this now. Maelik possessed that divine soul, but unlike Kaiyka, who was a missionary, or Coltia, who had been a former immortal cultivator, Maelik was like a newborn child given a tank. He didn’t know how to use even 0.1% of that power, let alone his variant spiritual root; his divine soul was impossible to harness.
Alm and Bruno had even ignored the fact that he had it. For this reason, during that mission in the dream world, they decided to take only Kaiyka and Coltia; since Maelik wouldn’t contribute much, it was better for him to train with Ruri’s group.
"Wait. You said you were in another empire? But you’re a young man of this clan. How have you lived until now?" Bruno asked, confused.
Maelik then explained. He had been born as an Ancestral Devil 12,000 years ago in the Empire Natural Harmony. When he opened his eyes, there were only two messages on the green screen:
[Main Mission: Master the Anima Cultivation and free the Nine Star Tree.]
[Seek out the missionary and support them with all your might.]
After that, he ventured out until he found a city, where he learned about the local cultivation and the world. He focused on cultivation and waited... until a thousand years passed, and he died; nothing extraordinary, he just died of old age.
Alm and Bruno were already aware of this while studying Anima cultivation. People in that world had a relatively short lifespan. A True Emperor, which is the sixth level, just below a Divine Inquisitor, lived at most three thousand years.
That’s why everyone who reaches the level of Divine Inquisitor must ascend and go to the outer world, where they begin common Qi cultivation to live ten times longer.
Maelik then explained that when he opened his eyes again, he was reborn as an Ancestral Devil once more. Though confused, he quickly realized that he could reincarnate. This time, he cultivated faster and easier.
And so, he lived and died again. In his third incarnation, he was born in the Empire of New Order and reached the True Saint level. After that, he realized Alm and Bruno were facing problems, so he decided to live among the empires, gathering information and knowledge, waiting for them to make contact.
"This is my seventh incarnation, Master. I did my best across all the empires to find the others, but with no success. However, I went through every place I knew had old books and knowledge. I studied everything, and in this library, I’ve read every work," Maelik concluded slowly.
Alm and Bruno exchanged tense glances, both thinking of one possibility. ’Wait... could it be that only Maelik, because of his divine soul, can remember who he was in his past lives? Did Heaven’s Will just reincarnate everyone here like common people?’ Bruno murmured.
Alm took a deep breath, also concerned. ’It’s possible... The system warned us to choose wisely who to bring with us. And we know Heaven’s Will is running out of power to help us. We brought thousands of people on this mission... maybe it’s our fault.’
Bruno nodded, realizing this was the only explanation. A divine soul could retain memories more easily, while the others, without Heaven’s Will’s support, just reincarnated like ordinary people.
’We’ve learned that even without memories, people can still retain much of what they experienced before. It’s clear they stood out in the three empires with their skills. Now... it’s almost certain that woman was Ruri. As for Buman and Minnan, they must be people we know too; that’s why we feel that connection to them,’ Bruno reflected.
Alm turned to Maelik: "Have you ever been killed by someone?"
"Yes, in my fifth incarnation, I reached the level of True Emperor, and to access certain knowledge, I had to teach a war... they were very bloodthirsty and prejudiced, so it wasn’t bad for the people. I fought many times, but in that particular instance, I died from my injuries after defeating many enemies."
Alm sighed in relief. That meant that even if someone was killed, they would still reincarnate as if nothing had happened. He turned back to Maelik. "How many did you kill?"
"I killed all the True Emperors, Master. I died in the end, but I completed my goal. I devastated the Empire of Nine Secrets, and because of the instability I caused, King Vulke managed to establish his empire and stabilize things. If I had survived, maybe I could’ve found that woman..." Maelik answered bluntly.
Bruno was surprised. "Wait, you’ve lived in all the empires. Were you able to learn their techniques and methods?"
"Yes, I have knowledge of the best techniques from each one. I can easily create all kinds of laws that the three empires study."
Maelik stated this without showing any emotion, and as Alm and Bruno looked into his eyes, they noticed he had an incredibly well-refined Dao Heart. Alm huffed, realizing that this kid had grown up quickly.
He wasn’t as talented as the others in the group, but knowledge — just knowledge — could take him further where raw talent failed. With enough knowledge and effort, he became wise and insightful, which also strengthened his Dao Heart.
There were countless paths to the top. This clan was one of the most knowledgeable among the three empires. Having knowledge and knowing how to use it was the key to success. Unfortunately, no one was using that treasure correctly.
"Well done," Alm and Bruno said, looking at him with genuine satisfaction. Only Maelik could truly help them in this mission; the others were facing serious problems.
Maelik smiled, a bit embarrassed. Then, Alm and Bruno had an idea. "Everyone must be without their memories, so I need to test if I can unlock them easily in the current conditions."
They explained their theory, and Maelik nodded. Soon, Kakarotto stepped forward, reached out, and touched the Ancestral Devil’s head.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes; using Maelik’s Origin Law, they were able to do it with ease.
Bruno thought quietly: ’Hmm... without the array and Qi to help, it’s more complicated. The person must trust us and accept having their soul manipulated. With even the slightest resistance, we wouldn’t be able to do it.’
’He can handle it now; let’s unlock everything,’ Alm said coldly.
Bruno jumped, startled. ’Wait! You’re going to open all the memories? That’s crazy! Even we don’t know what we lived through before our lives on Earth.’
’This is our chance to find out what really happened. Don’t overthink it; he probably lived and died as a nobody several times. Besides, he’s mature enough to handle anything now. There’s not much that could affect him negatively anymore. His Dao Heart should be as firm as Ruri’s,’ Alm responded, coldly.
Bruno considered Alm’s words. They needed to test this since they’d likely have to do it with the people in their group. It seemed that becoming an immortal meant their past lives were all interconnected. Maelik did, indeed, seem mature enough for this.
The two came to an agreement. Then, they unlocked all of his memories, allowing them to flow into his mental sea.
They sealed the memories in runes, only releasing the most recent life at first. That way, Maelik could unlock them life by life and remember slowly. Receiving the knowledge of a dozen lives all at once seemed insane.
When Maelik opened his eyes, strange ripples ran through his aura. His heart started racing, and another personality mixed with his, shaking him.
"You’re remembering when you were a slave in that coastal city, used to be refined into demon metal," Bruno said gently. Maelik looked at him, a little confused.
"You didn’t see it happen, but you didn’t die completely there. Before your soul could be destroyed, I saved everyone in the city and then took you with me; all to reincarnate you into your last life as Maelik. So, everyone there was saved, and it all turned out fine. Don’t dwell on the past."
Maelik was stunned by this information. He vividly remembered the pain, fear, and despair of having his soul slowly refined.
"I left all your memories in your mental sea. Go through them little by little, but remember: you don’t know what happened afterward, so it’s not worth overthinking it. Things might’ve turned out well, or maybe not. But what’s left behind is already gone. Keep your head up and live for the future."
Maelik took a deep breath... a few seconds later, his eyes gleamed. "Y-yes, master," he said quickly. "I’m fine, I can handle it."
Alm and Bruno nodded, even more satisfied. His aura quickly stabilized. Maelik’s Dao Heart was indeed strong, and this wouldn’t be an issue. That was the key to enduring; once everyone was ready, this could be the gateway to immortality.
Bruno spoke calmly: "Great, I have a lot to figure out. But you’ve helped me a lot, and now I won’t need to waste months or years researching. Give me everything you’ve studied during this time."