Seeing Neo's smile, Cole smiled too.

"We might be older, but he is wiser than us," Celestial Worthy muttered with a bitter chuckle.

Cole nodded faintly.

He raised his hand, and this time, the power he released wasn't destructive.

It was gentle.

Sharing.

Neo felt it. Cole's authority, his control over time, his power to reject endings.

A screen appeared in front of Neo's eyes.

It wasn't his.

[Attempting Retry.]

[### Difficulty: ### Legen###]

[#AS@1 focal point: Cole— ColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecoleColecolecolecole]

The screen flickered violently.

Text overlapped itself. Letters twisted. Symbols broke apart.

Then, abruptly, everything snapped into place.

[New focal point chosen: Neo Hargraves]

"...What?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'm the strongest."

Cole grinned.

He tapped the air lightly.

"And this is my power. The power to retry."

Neo couldn't smile.

Because he understood.

'The focal point changed.'

'So I'll retain my memories instead of Cole when time turns back.'

He looked at Cole.

The man who had started everything to protect his wife and unborn child.

The man who had destroyed a world, then buried it with his own hands.

And now—

He was giving up his memories.

He would forget.

Everything he had suffered for.

Everything he had endured.

Seeing Neo's gaze, Cole smiled.

It was a smile full of relief and trust, knowing he was leaving the job in the hands of someone reliable.

"Please, protect them."

Light swallowed Neo's vision.

The world lost weight.

For a brief moment, Neo felt as if he didn't exist at all.

Then—

He was standing in a jungle.

Thick vegetation surrounded him. Ancient trees rose into the sky, their branches interwoven like a living ceiling.

The air was heavy with Qi, raw and unrefined.

A crushing pressure bore down on his shoulders.

It felt like the sky itself was watching, and judging him.

Neo didn't move.

He closed his eyes.

And thought about everything that had happened.

"What a shitty world."

Not one person had been happy.

Mother of Dragons had suffered. Hades had suffered. Ouroboros had suffered. Ultris had suffered. Apollyon had suffered.

So had Celestial Worthy and Cole and everyone in True World.

Not a single one of them had been truly happy.

"There's always another problem. No matter what I fix, someone else is still suffering.

"It's like…"

'Like I'm living in a hell.'

Neo shook the despondent thoughts out of his mind.

He opened his eyes and rose into the air.

Technique Spirits poured out from him in waves. Countless fragments of intent scattered in every direction, sweeping across the land.

He was searching for Dao Emperors.

Because the Daos had once lived inside his body, he could identify them through their Intent.

At least the ones that had been connected to him.

Neo flew rapidly, crossing vast distances in moments.

At the same time, he began to break through.

Heaven existed in this era. So he didn't rush toward the Fourth Realm recklessly.

But there were no Daos here.

No invisible hands waiting to seize his body.

He began his breakthrough.

Ten days passed.

Neo stepped into the Fourth Step.

It was fast, but not instant. Considering he had already been at the peak of the Third Step and possessed knowledge all the way up to the Seventh Step, it was slower than it should have been.

He knew why.

'The lack of Dao slowed my growth.'

'And my Path is unstable without Dao acting as a foundation.'

Still, it was enough.

With the Fourth Step, his perception expanded drastically.

His search radius grew.

He crossed counties.

Then kingdoms.

People existed in this era. Lots of them.

Paths existed too.

Martial Artists were familiar. They were bound by the same limits as before. Third Realm was their ceiling.

Cultivators, however, were different.

They were fewer, and weaker than what Neo had seen in True Blessed Lands.

Their Paths were unstable, and incomplete.

Without Dao, cultivation was far more difficult.

Only a handful managed to persist, and even they struggled to hold onto their progress.

Neo observed it all without interfering.

This wasn't his concern right now.

He continued moving.

Faster.

Farther.

Then—

"There you are."

The children of the Emperor and Empress.

Thirty-three of them.

Neo closed his eyes for a brief moment and extended his perception. Intent brushed against his senses.

These weren't ordinary children.

Among them, he could already sense the ones who would eventually create the Dao of Creation, the Dao of Destruction, the Dao of Fate and Paradox, the Dao of Absolute Transcendence, the Dao of Shadow Beyond the Worlds, the Dao of Elemental, and the Dao of Blood.

His jaw tightened.

"This is good. They're still children, and are weak. They haven't even started cultivating yet."

There was no hesitation in his movements.

He no longer had the luxury of mercy. Not when that mercy would someday threaten the safety of his family, his Cosmos, and everyone born under his watch.

The moment Neo confirmed their presence, he moved.

He had sensed them from the Empire's borders.

In a few minutes, he crossed an unimaginable distance and appeared above the imperial palace itself.

He floated silently in the sky.

Below him stood the palace complex, grand and imposing, layered with formations that were crude by his standards but reinforced by something dangerously powerful.

Neo's eyes locked onto one specific location.

The nearest target was the child who would become the Dao Emperor of Blood.

Neo vanished.

He reappeared beside the child in an instant, sword already in motion. There was no flourish, no hesitation. Just a clean arc aimed at the neck.

His blade never reached its target.

A hand caught it.

"What are you doing to my child?"

The voice was calm, and cold.

Neo's pupils contracted.

He tore himself backward instantly, space warping as he retreated several dozen meters.

His heart pounded.

Before him stood a man dressed in imperial robes.

At first glance, he looked regal.

He was tall, and composed.

His presence carried authority.

Judging from his attire he was a high ranking… no, Neo searched the memory of those around them and found this man was the Emperor.

"Heaven?" Neo asked, realizing this Emperor, the father of the child was the man who would become the Heaven. 'Wait, how did I not sense him until he was next to me? How strong—'

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