In the Reforged Reality,
The Continent remained geographically identical to that of the previous Reality, but its history and politics were fundamentally different.
There was no Mythical Era with Mythical Beasts, nor were there any ruling factions aside from The Ruler.
Throughout the Continent's history, The Ruler remained unchanged. The people revered The Ruler as their God—an eternal, unchallengeable, and all-powerful entity.
This belief led to the formation of The Worship, a group that adhered to strict rules and rituals to honour The Ruler.
Some chapters of The Worship became warriors, dedicated to preventing the sacrifices carried out by other factions within their organisation in the name of their Ruler.
In addition to The Worship, there were also Sects. However, these Sects were not for martial artists seeking power or the fulfilment of ambitions.
Instead, they focused on research, cultivating and documenting techniques. Although the purpose of this documentation was unknown, few questioned its necessity.
There were four Sects in total: one dedicated to the body, one to tools, one to beasts, and one to the 'other' arts.
The people of the Continent were dispersed across roughly four hundred sectors.
At the core of The Continent lay Sector 001.
Sector 001 could be likened to the capital of The Continent—and indeed, of all Existence. Here, a single megastructure stood.
It resembled an enormous mansion, with gates towering higher than the tallest mountains in the world.
As for the mansion itself, its size was so immense that it was said no matter where one stood—whether in the Sea beyond The Continent or at the edge of all Existence—they would still be able to see it.
Thus, it was known to the populace as The House.
Inside The House, a lone figure sat upon a singular, great Throne—one that dwarfed even the grandest thrones that could be constructed from all the materials in the world.
The figure was clad in an armour of unknown origin, its radiance brighter than anything else. They simply sat, as they had since the beginning of time.
But then, the House began to rumble. The figure's eyes widened.
"The time has come!" they thought, vanishing swiftly from the Throne.
In the next moment, they appeared in the basement of The House.
The basement was located unimaginably deep within The Continent, far beneath even the Reforged Endless Sea.
It contained only two things: a bowl and a fork.
The individual who had appeared in the basement quickly kowtowed before the bowl and the fork.
They said nothing, remaining in their kowtowed position.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and picked up the bowl.
"At last. 361 meridians at last," a voice spoke as it drank the water.
Hearing this, the individual quickly responded, "Maitreya greets The Ruler!"
"Maitreya... You have served me well," the voice replied. "Thus, it is time. For Unity."
With that, the hand touched Maitreya. Instantly, their flesh and form dissolved, leaving behind only a single meridian.
"All meridians, unify!" The command echoed like thunder.
At once, the remaining 359 meridians, hidden throughout the world, rushed toward The House.
Those who witnessed this event would later call it 'The Unification of Stars,' as the meridians streaked across the sky toward the basement of The House.
In a matter of moments, all the meridians had gathered, merging one by one, including the meridian that was once Maitreya.
Soon, the meridians coalesced into a glowing marble, brimming with incomprehensible amounts of Qi.
"Now come to me," the voice commanded, and the marble drifted towards the speaker, landing gently in their hand.
"The nurturing is done," Ling Xuan remarked as he examined the marble.
After he had reforged Reality, he had realised that while the meridians were functional, they were not perfect. The haste of their creation—completed over just a few days—left gaps. For the meridians to reach true perfection, they needed to 'ferment'—to be nurtured delicately by Qi over a long period of time.
During the reforging, Ling Xuan had already created the 361st meridian, attaining completion, but not true perfection. So, he separated the meridians from his body, keeping only one, and sent the others into the world to be nurtured.
Over the years, individuals discovered the meridians and regarded them as treasures. This did not concern Ling Xuan, whose sole aim was for the meridians to 'ferment.' In fact, the meridians were the very reason for the foundation of the Sects, which had, over time, unearthed a few of them.
And now, it was complete.
The glowing marble represented the perfect meridian, proven by the fact that all the meridians had merged into a stable form.
Without further delay, Ling Xuan devoured the marble.
The marble immediately fused with the meridian that Ling Xuan had kept with himself to be personally nurtured.
The now complete and perfect meridian began to circulate Qi around Ling Xuan's body.
Ling Xuan had finally mastered The Qi Beholder Technique, reaching the pinnacle of The Golden Buddha Pathway.
He could do anything.
He could annihilate all of Existence with a mere thought and recreate everything with another.
He was God.
Now that his ascension was complete, he decided to test his newfound power.
"Disassemble," he thought, and the scenery shifted to nothingness. Everything had been destroyed.
"Reassemble," he commanded, and reality returned to its previous state.
"You've done it, eh?" Urizen's voice echoed in his mind.
"Yeah, but I still can't seem to affect you," Ling Xuan replied.
"Hahahaha! That will take a while," Urizen laughed. "Anyway, now that you've fulfilled your part of the contract, it's time for me to honour mine."
As Urizen spoke, the world around Ling Xuan began to blur. He sensed something descending—something far more powerful than himself.
He knew what it was.
Brahman.
"Been a long time, eh?" Urizen's voice reverberated. Despite his god-like power, everything around him felt dreary, an impossible sensation given his current strength.
"Oh, Carto, there are many things that may seem impossible but aren't," Urizen's voice echoed as Ling Xuan's vision began to blur and fade.
"You wished for a purpose, didn't you, Carto!? Very well! Let's grant you one!"
Ling Xuan's vision went completely blank at that moment. Everything around him disappeared into nothingness, leaving him in utter darkness.
Only a few more words echoed faintly in his mind:
"Goodbye, Carto. It was nice helping you."
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"Ughhh, where am I?" Carto muttered as he opened his eyes.
He found himself sitting on a chair, facing a window, with a cup of tea in front of him. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to use Qi, but instead of Qi, something unexpected occurred.
Water formed on his hands, appearing out of thin air. Yet the source he felt wasn't Qi, but something else—another force, similar yet distinctly different.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Carto realised he was in a large room.
"Who is it?" he asked, surprised by the gruff, hoarse tone of his own voice.
"Sire! It is I, Edmond Fowl! Your apprentice!" a male voice called from the other side.
"Huh!?" Carto exclaimed in confusion, before a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Greetings, Carto Harts, and welcome to your new world! I, Urizen 2.0, also known as Tharmas, am eager to help you!"
"What the hell is going on!?" Carto blurted out.
BOOK 1: The Dragon Continent: Completed.
BOOK 2: The Worlds of Aether: Commences.