Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2052 Entrust

A few minutes later-beside the corridor gate

Zooo~

Holak grabbed the edge of the portal firmly with both hands, braced his feet, shoved his head inside, and slowly started looking around with clear curiosity. Then he carefully pulled his head back out again. ”Haaaaaah~” He took a long, deep breath, filling his lungs completely, steadying himself, then pushed his head in again as if he simply couldnʼt resist checking once more.

The other side was the true definition of darkness. Not ordinary darkness, but a deep, suffocating void where absolutely nothing could be seen with the naked eye. No light, no shapes, no movement-just endless blackness. But anyone strong enough could clearly feel massive clusters of energy moving around the gate-huge, predatory presences, circling slowly-like hungry sharks that had smelled blood and were calmly gathering before the feast.

There were hundreds of them.

Every few seconds, one would drift extremely close to the corridor, its presence pressing against the space itself, find Holak staring straight into its ”eye” with a strange, unsettling smile-as if he were looking at a floating sandwich instead of a cosmic predator-then it would slowly retreat, and another would take its place, repeating the same silent exchange. ”Hey, what are you doing?” a voice came from behind.

Holak didnʼt care. He didnʼt even turn around. He simply lifted one hand lazily and gestured for whoever was behind him to go away.

Unfortunately for him, the person behind him didnʼt leave easily. ”Holak, pull your head out of there, or Iʼll kick your ass and send you to swim with them.” ”What?!” Holak spun around violently with an angry expression- which instantly froze... and then turned into a dumb, sheepish grin. ”Ahehehe-sorry, boss. Your voice sounds different from the other side.” He scratched his head awkwardly, still half-embarrassed. ”Heh~” Robin let out a small, amused laugh. ”Donʼt worry. The gate will expand again to the same size, and those things will start coming through once more, just like before. Letʼs just hope youʼve recovered enough of your strength by then!” ”Really?!” Holak jumped in surprise, his eyes lighting up. He had truly thought he was about to return to an era of boredom and empty waiting. ”Really.” Robin nodded calmly. ”By the way...”

He pointed at him a few times, his expression turning thoughtful. ”Have you refined a planet yet?” ”Me? No, why?” Holak was confused by the sudden question and tilted his head. ”The human lifespan limit is 100,000 years, and Iʼm still young-only about 8,000 years old. Iʼve got a long time before I bind myself to a weakness like that!”

Robin smiled slightly, but he didnʼt mock Holak for this shocking statement. In truth, most humans would say the same thing.

That was exactly why most planetary emperors and great warriors looked old, even though they could refine planets from a very young age. Even the youngest of them usually looked middle-aged, carrying the weight of their choices on their bodies and souls.

They delayed refining a planet for as long as possible.

They delayed creating a massive, fatal weakness that their enemies could exploit whenever they wished.

That was also precisely why most planetary emperors-or anyone who had lived for a very long time-did not train both internal energy and soul force together, even though it was easy for them to do so and perfectly within their capability.

Simply because refining a planet after oneʼs soul power becomes large is extremely dangerous due to uncontrollable expansion. And losing that planet would collapse their soul domain by half in an instant.

The greater the size, the greater the fall.

Instead of a minor spiritual injury, the consequences could reach death itself if the owner possessed immense soul power and lost that refined planet. Delaying refinement until advanced ages, and the deep-rooted fear of training soul force to higher and higher levels... are only a part of the many negatives that come with the dream of immortality achieved through planetary refinement-a dream that promises eternity, yet demands terrifying risks and irreversible consequences. ”Itʼs good that you havenʼt bound yourself to anything yet. That means Iʼve come with a truly good proposal.” Robin struck the ground beneath him with his foot, his presence calm and confident. ”This very planet has an affinity with a minor law that follows the Resonant Waves Path, and the planetʼs gift itself also belongs to the Resonant Waves Path... That same minor law is precisely what caused the earthquakes, the salinity, and the long-term instability on the planetʼs surface.” ”...In the near future, Iʼll begin burying several nascent space beast cores deep within the planetʼs interior to reinforce it from the inside out. The planet will expand, its structure will stabilize, and the planetʼs soul will absorb far more energy than before. And if it has a good owner-someone capable of guiding it properly the atmosphere will regulate itself and become suitable for long-term human habitation...”

Then he raised his hand and gently patted Holakʼs elbow. ”Planet Donara will be perfect for you.” ”...” Holak stared deeply into Robinʼs eyes, his expression heavy with disbelief and shock. ”Youʼre giving me a planet that contains a corridor of this importance so I can refine it for myself?” ”Haha, whoʼs more suitable than my personal guard to protect a place like this?” Robin laughed calmly. ”Just make sure it doesnʼt get destroyed. Thatʼs all I ask.” ”Done.” Holak nodded firmly, his voice filled with resolve.

This planet-the leaderʼs gift-would not be destroyed unless it was over his dead body!! ...Wait.

If the planet were destroyed by one of the beastsʼ attacks, he might actually die too.

Suddenly, his look toward Robin shifted from pure gratitude to a raised eyebrow filled with awkward suspicion. ”Thereʼs something else I want to give you.” Robin ignored Holakʼs look completely, extended his hand to his left until it vanished into empty space, then slowly pulled something out-a small wooden box no bigger than the size of a palm-and handed it to Holak. ”This is your responsibility now.” ”What is this?” Holak took the box and opened it immediately. ”...”

After a few seconds of staring inside in silence, he looked back at Robin with gratitude and shining, excited eyes. ”How did you know I needed a metal tooth-cleaning stick?”

Then he slapped his thigh with his free hand and looked away dramatically. ”All wooden ones snap, and all bone ones break-I didnʼt know what I was goi-” ”Hey!” Robin snapped his fingers sharply, cutting him off. ”Thatʼs planetary displacement equipment-seventh grade.” ””

Holak froze mid-sentence, his expression stiffening as his brain processed the words. He slowly looked back at Robin. ”Th- did you say seventh grade?!” ”Yes. If you pull out the hammer and nail, theyʼll expand to their true size.”

Robin nodded calmly. ”They canʼt be stored in a space ring, and of course storing them in vaults isnʼt safe either, so the bearer must keep them on their body at all times-especially since this equipment will be used frequently and continuously...”

Then he showed a faint, meaningful smile. ”I had two choices to carry this responsibility: you or Theo. But since heʼs unavailable and tied up with other duties, Iʼm placing the full responsibility on your shoulders.”

Baf

Holak snapped the box shut instantly and stuffed it forcefully under his pants, staring straight into Robinʼs eyes as he did so. ”So what exactly do you want me to do with this troublemaker?” ”Youʼll build my empire, of course.” Robin showed a wide, confident smile, then stared at Holak sharply while maintaining it-until the smile itself began to look almost aggressive and domineering. ”Oh, and by the way-donʼt bring that box back to me until youʼve washed it properly.”