Memories of the Fragment and the Elegy of the Starry Sea

The Gao Family's little mess was already behind them.

The Mengli Squad had received their orders and formed a human radar network around the cave, with their vigilance cranked to the max.

No movement, no matter how slight, would get close.

Han Yuchen himself led the Jade Eyed Fox, which had completely become his little follower, back into the depths of the cave.

The cave was still the same as before, hot and stuffy, with the smell of sulfur in the air.

But the big fellow inside that fissure had changed.

The former frenzy and confusion had completely faded from the Molten Earth Dragon King's lantern-sized eyes. All that remained was an ancient, lucid wisdom.

It saw Han Yuchen.

There was no roar, no pressure.

A mental ripple, like an invisible radio wave, swept directly into Han Yuchen's mind.

The messages came in fragments.

Gratitude... purification... protection... mission...

Was this some kind of guessing game?

Han Yuchen instantly pieced together the truth.

So this huge creature was the local boss. No, the local dragon.

It had originally been a guardian beast, but then got hit by terrible luck. At some unknown time, it had been contaminated by a wisp of Solonsen's shadow power, its brain practically fried as it descended into madness.

Then came an even more fortunate coincidence.

His Soul Fragment had fallen here like a righteous brick from the heavens.

The sacred Starlight power within the fragment had happened to suppress it, while also giving it an ultra-slow purification treatment.

Ten thousand years of constipation, cleared in a single day.

No wonder it was so grateful.

All right, he got it.

Han Yuchen could not be bothered with more nonsense. He sent back a simple, direct reply through Spiritual Power.

My thing. I'm taking it back.

In return, I'll completely cleanse the filth in your bloodline.

A fair trade.

The Molten Earth Dragon King's enormous head slowly nodded.

A low dragon roar echoed through the cave. It was not a threat, but acknowledgment.

Rumble...

Its enormous body slowly sank into the magma beneath the ground and vanished.

The entire cave fell silent in an instant.

All right, the area was cleared.

Han Yuchen took a deep breath and walked over to the Soul Fragment emitting a gentle Starlight.

He sat down cross-legged.

His hands gently covered the fragment.

Come on, baby.

Time to go home.

Buzz—!

The Star Atlas operated at full power!

As if it had heard the summons, the Soul Fragment instantly transformed into a dazzling stream of light, brighter than the most brilliant shooting star!

Whoosh!

The stream of light sank into his glabella.

The next second.

Han Yuchen's body jolted violently.

An indescribably pure force of the soul, hundreds or even thousands of times greater than the power he had absorbed from Solonsen's lousy crystal, poured into his Sea of Consciousness like the starry rivers of an entire universe flowing backward, instantly bursting through it!

Fuck!

This was way too intense!

This was not like drinking fine liquor. This was like pouring industrial alcohol straight down his throat!

That violent yet pure power washed through every inch of his spiritual sea.

The Soul Power bottleneck that had reached level 20 after absorbing the soul ring was battered by that mad surge of power as though it were made of paper.

His Soul Power reserves accumulated frantically, compressed, then accumulated again!

Level 21... Level 22... Level 25...

It only barely stopped before the threshold of level 30!

As long as he absorbed another second soul ring, he could immediately break through and become a level 30 Soul Elder, perhaps even one of a higher level!

Even a rocket could not level someone up this fast!

However, that was merely an appetizer.

He had not even had three seconds to enjoy the soaring Soul Power.

Boom!!!

Memories that did not belong to him—majestic, vast, and filled with endless tragedy—flooded into his mind with brute force, like a flood that had shattered the dams of the universe!

His vision went dark. When it brightened again.

The world had changed.

He "saw" a divine hall beyond description.

The entire hall was formed from flowing Starlight, with countless stars revolving around it like dust.

And he sat upon the throne at the center of that hall.

No, not him.

It was a being with the exact same Divine Soul Origin as his, radiating divine majesty. Wherever its gaze fell, starry rivers were born and extinguished.

The Starlight Ruse King.

I... was that me?

The moment that thought arose, the scene abruptly shifted!

At the end of the universe.

Endless, pure darkness that devoured all light was spreading wildly like cancer cells.

Stars were swallowed. Their light was snuffed out.

An indescribable gigantic shadow, composed entirely of chaos and malice, descended.

Solonsen!

Gasp—

Han Yuchen felt even his soul tremble.

It was not fear, but a bone-deep... hatred originating from the very source of his being!

The war erupted.

The scenes in his memories flickered madly, too quickly for him to grasp any details.

He only "saw" the Starlight Ruse King leading countless warriors incarnated from stars as they charged into that darkness.

It was a cosmic war that could destroy heaven and earth.

Stars exploded one after another like light bulbs being crushed in someone's hand.

Divine realms collapsed like shattered glass.

Countless powerful members of the Stellar God Clan fell into the shadows, becoming cold cosmic dust.

It was too tragic.

At the end of the war was boundless desolation.

The Starlight Ruse King had lost.

Or rather, the order of the entire universe had lost.

In the final scene of those memories.

The Starlight Ruse King, his entire body burning with Starfire, stared at Solonsen as it prepared to devour everything. There was no despair in his eyes, only resolve.

He chose the most brutal method.

To self-destruct his Divine Soul Origin.

To use everything he had to grievously wound his enemy.

Han Yuchen "personally" experienced the agonizing pain of his soul being torn apart, the tragic grandeur of turning everything he was into the most dazzling light!

Boom—!!!!

An unimaginable radiance illuminated the entire dark universe.

Solonsen's core was grievously wounded and sealed by that power.

Meanwhile, the Starlight Ruse King's divine soul shattered into countless fragments and scattered across all the heavens and worlds.

At the end of the memories, only one obsession remained, echoing through the river of time and space.

"When I return..."

"I will surely..."

"Cleanse all shadows..."

Huff—!

Han Yuchen abruptly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He was still sitting cross-legged inside the cave.

But his gaze had changed.

Deep within those black pupils flashed a desolation and sorrow that did not belong to someone his age, as if they had crossed hundreds of millions of years.

Transmigration?

Heh.

So this was the truth.

I was not some lucky transmigrator.

I was the main body that got blown apart, with my Soul Fragments falling into this newbie village and being reborn.

And that thing called Solonsen was the ultimate boss that destroyed my home and killed everyone...

This debt was enormous.

Han Yuchen slowly rose to his feet and clenched his fist.

The flood of memories had brought him a heavy destiny, but also tangible benefits.

Ding.

His consciousness entered the Star Atlas.

The explosive growth of his divine soul power had unlocked more functions within the atlas.

The Dimensional Space, originally only as large as a bedroom, now stretched beyond sight, having expanded at least tenfold! It had become a luxurious, open-plan mansion!

The ratio of time flow inside had also increased.

Cultivating there for one day was equivalent to several days outside.

Now this was the kind of cheat ability a transmigrator should have.

More importantly...

Han Yuchen closed his eyes and sensed carefully.

Deep within his soul, with the return of this fragment, he faintly developed an extremely weak and blurry connection that crossed vast distances.

It was a connection to... the location of the next Soul Fragment.

Though vague, it existed!

Very good.

All the clues had come together.

Find every Soul Fragment, restore the Starlight Ruse King's power, then... return to find Solonsen and grind it to dust.

Han Yuchen walked out of the cave entrance. The sunlight was somewhat dazzling.

He felt the surging Soul Power within him, on the verge of bursting free, along with the mountain-and-sea-like weight of the memories in his mind.

His gaze became firmer than ever before.

It was time to rein in his playful attitude.

From this moment on, every step had to pave the way for his final revenge.

Then...

The first step.

Han Yuchen looked into the distance, a cold curve lifting at the corner of his mouth.

Now, it was time to choose a second soul ring worthy of the name "Starlight" for this body—for me, the Starlight Ruse King.