Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Li Chang’an had expected them to say as much and replied immediately, ”But you never told me which faction you belong to. The fact that I could recognize you’re from the Liyang Empire by the symbols engraved on your warship’s hull—doesn’t that prove I have a connection to Li Yang?”

The other party seemed to have anticipated his response and replied just as bluntly, ”The Liyang Empire is one of the two great Empires in the Third Universe. You’re barely an interstellar civilization now, so it’s not surprising you’ve learned of the Liyang Empire’s existence from other sources.”

Li Chang’an smiled. ”Is that so? Not only do I know of the Liyang Empire’s existence, I also know its origins and its founder...”

As he spoke, he began to recount a part of his past, framing it from a different perspective for them.

But after listening, the other party didn’t react as Li Chang’an had expected. Instead, they suddenly fell silent for a long time.

Suddenly, the colossal warship, which had previously relaxed its offensive posture, turned its cannons once more, aiming a muzzle nearly the size of a planet right at Li Chang’an.

Li Chang’an hadn’t expected such a fierce reaction, and his heart sank.

After aiming its cannon at Li Chang’an, a cold voice transmitted from the warship, ”Who exactly are you? How do you know what you just said?”

At first, Li Chang’an didn’t understand why they were reacting so strongly, going so far as to aim such an absurdly large cannon at a small fly like him—he wasn’t even the size of a mosquito in comparison.

But now, after hearing their question, he finally understood.

’The Liyang Empire has existed for who knows how many generations, for who knows how many years. Because its history is so ancient, the details of its birth and development have likely become top-secret information, unknown to the outside world.’

’And now I’ve just revealed some of this information that outsiders shouldn’t know. No wonder they’re so wary.’

Just as he was thinking this, a voice suddenly came from the spacecraft that made his entire body stiffen. ”Chang’an, is that you?”

The speaker’s voice was cold and clear.

But it was still incredibly familiar to Li Chang’an.

Because the person speaking was none other than Leng Yanran, the one who had fought alongside him against the Cultivators of the Immortal Palace!

To be honest, in all the time since the interstellar spacecraft had arrived, Li Chang’an had never felt that the situation was beyond his control. But at this moment, he truly felt that things were starting to slip from his grasp.

Separated by so many years and such an immense distance, Li Chang’an had never imagined he would hear such a familiar, yet distant, voice again.

Taking a deep breath, Li Chang’an forcibly suppressed his complex emotions and asked, ”Are you Leng Yanran? Why have you suddenly appeared here?”

Hearing that Li Chang’an didn’t deny it, there was a distinct silence from within the warship.

After a long pause, Leng Yanran spoke again. ”I haven’t actually come here. In fact, the distance between us can’t even be measured in light-years; you’d have to use parsecs. The reason I’ve suddenly appeared is because your replies triggered a hidden backdoor on this warship. I’m speaking to you through a personality simulation program.”

To be honest, what she said was rather difficult to understand.

Li Chang’an thought for a long time before speaking again. ”So the you I’m talking to right now isn’t the real you? It’s just a simulation created by a program, a backdoor you left behind that I happened to trigger?”

Leng Yanran nodded. ”You can understand it that way!”

Li Chang’an voiced his next doubt. ”So, you went to all this trouble... surely not just to rekindle an old flame with me, right?”

Leng Yanran laughed. ”Heh, if you’re open to it, I wouldn’t be against it. But you’re right. I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths just to rekindle an old romance!”

Li Chang’an spread his hands. ”So? What is it you want from me? Also, how did you know I wasn’t dead?”

The smile vanished from Leng Yanran’s face, her expression turning serious. ”The Liyang Empire has grown to its current scale. You don’t really think we’re unaware of the group in the universe known as ’Reincarnators,’ do you?”

Li Chang’an said nothing.

’A top-tier civilization capable of dominating the universe would, of course, know about the existence of Reincarnators.’

Leng Yanran didn’t expect a direct answer and continued, ”In fact, for us now, tracking the movements of Reincarnators is actually quite simple. Whenever a civilization suddenly experiences exponential growth, it’s most likely because a Reincarnator has appeared on that planet!”

”For a long time, we didn’t interfere with the comings, goings, and development of Reincarnators in the universe.”

”Because Yingying and I discovered that you were very likely a Reincarnator as well. And since our Liyang Empire was built with the support of a mysterious and powerful Reincarnator, our attitude toward them was naturally more gentle and friendly...”

At this point, Leng Yanran’s voice paused. A moment later, her tone shifted abruptly as she continued, ”But that goodwill was limited to the past few tens of thousands of years. In truth, once we discovered a link between the emergence and spread of the Dark Tide and Reincarnators, our attitude toward them changed. Our standard procedure is now either humane elimination or dissuasion.”

’The emergence and spread of the Dark Tide are linked to Reincarnators?’

Li Chang’an’s heart trembled slightly. He felt he was on the verge of discovering something monumental.

Of course, even though his mind was already racing, Li Chang’an maintained a calm and steady expression as he asked, ”Do you have any proof for a claim like that?”

’It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Leng Yanran, but that they had been separated for too long—so long that time could have completely transformed her into a different person. Therefore, even though logic told him she was likely telling the truth, he remained skeptical without seeing concrete evidence.’

Leng Yanran didn’t seem surprised by his reaction and said faintly, ”I have my reasons for saying so. According to data collected by the Federation, worlds where Reincarnators have appeared are 3,775 times more likely to suffer a Dark Tide outbreak than other planets!”

”Although we don’t have definitive proof yet, you should understand better than I do what a probability of over three thousand times means... Even if the appearance and outbreak of the Dark Tide isn’t directly caused by Reincarnators, there must be some kind of unknown connection between the two!”

Hearing this, Li Chang’an stroked his chin and thought for a moment, finally deciding not to argue further.

Leng Yanran continued, ”The reason I installed this program on the ship was to search for any trace of you among the Reincarnators. Because in this vast, starry universe, the only person Yingying and I have ever been able to completely trust, from beginning to end, is you!”

Li Chang’an gave a small smile. ”The power you command now is far beyond anything I can compare to. Isn’t this trust a little too heavy a burden?!”

Leng Yanran smiled as well. ”But you’ve always been like this, haven’t you? We want you to find the connection between Reincarnators and the Dark Tide and eliminate this hidden threat completely. This isn’t just for us; it’s for you, too. The Dark Energy is simply too terrifying and bizarre. If a high-Level planet becomes tainted by this strange Energy, it will turn into a dead wasteland in just a few thousand years. All humans and living creatures on it will perish and transform into new sources of Dark Energy, spreading it further...”

”It’s a plague, a plague sweeping across the entire universe. If it can’t be stopped, I believe we won’t be the only ones it destroys!”

Hearing this, Li Chang’an felt a slight stir in his heart.

After a long moment, he sighed. ”Heh, let’s be realistic. What kind of support can you give me? After all, what you’re asking me to do isn’t some trivial matter we can handle casually!”