In one corner of the room stood a massive coffin upright before him. In front of the coffin was a gigantic circular stone tablet, its surface covered with ancient patterns that seemed to recount the history of a civilization that had long since disappeared. Among those densely packed symbols, Chen Luo recognized several familiar ones at a glance — Truth-Seers. The surrounding atmosphere was so quiet that there was almost no sound at all. Yet the moment Chen Luo took another step forward, the coffin in front of him suddenly emitted a tiny "click." Click. The coffin door slowly opened. There was no corpse inside; instead, seven Truth-Seers were floating in midair, surrounded by pale blue halos. Each Truth-Seer seemed like an object that did not belong to this world, flickering between reality and illusion, with the light inside constantly flowing as if it were breathing. At the very center of the seven Truth-Seers was something shaped like a memory card. Its surface was transparent, with a stream of blue light slowly flowing inside.
Before Chen Luo could even reach out, the System's familiar voice rang out:
-"Congratulations, Host, you have obtained 「Truth-Seer - Tablet of Truth - Rest」x7 and 「Music Tablet」. Suggested use: insert it into 「Spectrum Headphones - Source of Sound」 to upgrade 「Spectrum Headphones - Source of Sound」 into its complete form."
Chen Luo raised an eyebrow slightly. "Music Tablet?" This was clearly something he had never seen before. He reached out and gathered all the items into his hands, his eyes immediately settling on 「Spectrum Headphones - Source of Sound」. The moment Chen Luo picked it up, a small slot that had never appeared before slowly opened on the lower part of the headphones. Chen Luo stared at the slot for several seconds. Without needing any further reminder from the System, he immediately understood what he had to do.
Click!
The instant the 「Music Tablet」 was inserted, the entire headset immediately began to vibrate. Red light simultaneously illuminated both sides of the headphones, strands of red light running along the surface of the device before rapidly spreading down to his neck and enveloping Chen Luo's entire body. Not only the 「Music Tablet」, but the seven 「Truth-Seer - Tablet of Truth」 were also pulled upward by an invisible force. One after another, they automatically flew around Chen Luo before transforming into blue streaks of light and merging into the equipment. In that instant, Chen Luo's aura also changed. The devices that had originally been scattered across his body were connected one after another, interwoven red and blue lights flowing along his body. From a distance, he now looked exactly like a genuine member of the Black and White Society.
Immediately afterward, a cold electronic voice sounded:
-"Scanning face......User successfully confirmed. Congratulations to the creator of the Spectrum Headphones on logging back into the account."
Chen Luo froze:
- "Creator?"
Before he could think any further, an orange technological beam shot out from the headphones, traveling along the contours of his face as though scanning every cell in his body. Numbers 0 and 1 continuously appeared in the air, revolving around Chen Luo. The orange-yellow light grew increasingly intense, causing Chen Luo to instinctively narrow his eyes. In the next instant, all the 0s and 1s simultaneously dissipated, and Chen Luo disappeared along with them. The space before him was as though someone had pressed a delete button; there was no flash of teleportation, no sensation of falling. In the blink of an eye, everything around him had completely changed.
-"Welcome back to the organization, Creator, Traveler #6676." A technological voice of neither high nor low pitch echoed through the space.
Chen Luo slowly opened his eyes. Before him was a white room so vast that its end could not be seen. There were no walls, no ceiling, and no decorations of any kind, only a pure white ground stretching endlessly into the distance.
Click. Click.
A strange sound came from behind. The footsteps were neither fast nor slow, every step echoing through the empty space. Chen Luo did not turn around immediately. He merely tightened his grip slightly around the Myriad Extremes Divine Sword, his eyes narrowing:
-"So, in the end, it's still you, isn't it, Guardian?"
The footsteps behind him immediately stopped. After several seconds of silence, a low laugh sounded:
-"You're still the same as ever."
Chen Luo turned around. A figure stood not far from him, its entire body covered in black-and-silver mechanical armor, with no distinguishing features that could be used to identify it. Only a pair of pale blue glowing eyes stared directly at Chen Luo.
-"After all these years, you still remember who I am."
The Guardian slowly took a step forward:
-"I truly didn't misjudge you back then."
Chen Luo did not answer immediately. He stared at the other party for a long time. There were far too many questions; this person knew him, and even knew a name that even he himself barely remembered — Traveler #6676. That was clearly not a title he had just received.
-"Then, Traveler #6676..." The Guardian tilted his head slightly. -"Shall we begin the test like we did back then?"
-"Back then?"
A trace of doubt immediately flashed through Chen Luo's mind. But before he could ask anything else, the Guardian had already raised one hand. Hum! The space above instantly began to tremble, and rows of blue rings appeared. Figures emerged from within them: one, two, ten, dozens, hundreds. Truth Phantoms appeared one after another in midair, each figure emanating an aura that immediately made Chen Luo's scalp tingle. Chen Luo had known about the Truth-Seers before, but knowing about them and personally controlling them were two completely different things.
-"For the sake of fairness..." The Guardian raised one finger. -"I will unlock all your skills and repair your equipment."
Whoosh! A beam of light shot from his fingertip. Before Chen Luo could dodge, the beam directly pierced into his body. Boom! A massive wave of energy erupted. In the blink of an eye, Chen Luo's entire body seemed to be reconstructed; the seals buried deep within his equipment opened one after another, and skills that had long been unusable lit up in succession.
Immediately afterward, the System's voice sounded:
-"player has received the Guardian's Blessing. All equipment skills have been temporarily unlocked, while all existing skills have also been refreshed. Your equipment has also been repaired, and all of the above effects will immediately dissipate once the test ends."
Chen Luo looked at his hands. This feeling was far too familiar. It was not the sensation of being granted new power, but rather like he had recovered a portion of the power that had originally belonged to him. The Guardian gave him no more time to think:
-"Begin."
Whoosh! A Truth Phantom instantly disappeared. In the very next second, it appeared before Chen Luo.
Boom! A fist slammed down. Chen Luo tilted his head to evade it, and the ground behind him instantly caved into a deep pit. "So fast." Before Chen Luo could counterattack, three other figures simultaneously appeared from three directions. Boom! Boom! Boom! A barrage of attacks came crashing down one after another. Chen Luo retreated while dodging, then stomped hard on the ground and spun around.
"Clang!" The Myriad Extremes Divine Sword blocked horizontally, and a piercing metallic sound rang out, leaving Chen Luo's arm numb. Immediately afterward, a golden sword light tore through space, instantly sending the Truth Phantom before him flying. Yet it was not over. Dozens of figures behind it had already charged forward simultaneously.
-"So annoying."
Chen Luo gritted his teeth. Boom! A fist grazed past his shoulder. Boom! A beam of energy struck the ground. Boom! One figure directly smashed through his defenses. Chen Luo kept retreating; he could not remain on the defensive forever. In an instant, Chen Luo activated all of his enhancement skills, and the aura surrounding him surged dramatically. The Myriad Extremes Divine Sword trembled as golden light began gathering along its blade.
-"「Ultimate Form - Unseal」!"
Boom! A tremendous force erupted. Golden radiance covered the blade, faintly revealing what seemed to be countless scenes of battles within it. Chen Luo felt exhilarated from head to toe; it had been a long time since he had felt this way. No need to restrain himself, no need to calculate too much, only the need to fight.
-「Fifth Form - Charge」!
Whoosh! Chen Luo's figure disappeared.
-「Seventh Form - Myriad Swords Pierce the Heart」!
Boom boom boom! Thousands of sword lights appeared simultaneously, instantly covering the entire pure-white space. Chen Luo moved through the Truth Phantoms like a bolt of lightning.
-「The.....Form」
-「....」
-「....」