‘It’s warm.’
Zayden suddenly felt his surroundings again.
His eyes were closed, though he did not know when he had closed them.
He felt a soothing sensation throughout his body.
He no longer felt any pain.
He felt refreshed, as if he had just taken a bath, and rich heaven and earth energy flowed into his body.
He finally opened his eyes.
What he saw was… countless stars.
He blinked a few times.
He still saw a sky filled with stars.
He turned to the side.
He still saw countless stars.
He looked below and instinctively moved his body into a sitting position.
He was actually in the middle of space!
He was simply floating in space, where he could see countless stars in every direction.
‘Is this the afterlife?’ Zayden thought.
“It’s not.”
Suddenly, a male voice resounded, making Zayden instantly turn toward the source of the voice.
He was stunned to see that there was actually someone standing behind him.
The figure was obviously a man.
He was tall.
Although the figure was exuding light, making him look like a sacred being, Zayden could see that he wore a grand golden-white robe.
The man also had long golden hair.
Zayden could not see the man’s face because it was covered in blinding light, but there was one thing that instantly caught his attention.
‘Those are dragon horns?’
He could see the horns, and their shape made him realize that these were horns unique to dragons.
Although there were no dragons living in the Eastern Region of the World, many people knew what dragons looked like, as well as what they looked like in their human forms, even if most of them had never seen a dragon directly.
The figure in front of him was undoubtedly a dragon in human form.
This was not the first time Zayden had met a dragon in human form.
But at this moment, he knew that the dragon in front of him was much different from any dragon he had ever met.
Even his horns looked much grander.
Combined with the aura the figure was exuding, Zayden felt as if he wanted to prostrate himself.
It was as if he were standing before a higher-level being, and he, a mere mortal, needed to bow down before him.
The man did not say anything after his two words.
Although Zayden could not see the man’s face, he just felt that the man seemed to be observing him.
After gathering his courage, he finally opened his lips.
“Who are you?”
The man did not answer instantly.
Instead, after a few moments of silence, the man said something else that did not answer his question.
Zayden felt confused, but then the man asked a question that made him widen his eyes.
“Kid, do you want great power?”
That question instantly brought Zayden back to his initial intent and reminded him why he had not given up on reaching the mysterious light.
He needed great power to protect his family.
He needed great power to take revenge.
He needed great power to live!
He did not need to think anymore.
“I want it. I want great power!”
Zayden answered firmly.
“Even though you have to fight against the heavens itself?” the man asked again.
Zayden’s heart trembled.
To fight the heavens?
“Once you receive my knowledge and power, there is no way back. You will endure many hardships. Even the heavens will target you. You might face difficult challenges outside of your league. You might face many situations of life and death in the future,” the man continued.
There was a slight pause.
“You will keep fighting until you reach a level where you can say that not even the heavens can do anything to you. Are you up for this challenge? If you cannot endure the fate that awaits you after receiving my power, then you will die.”
There was another pause.
“Also, you will have to destroy your current cultivation and start over again. You will cultivate using a new cultivation method. But I assure you, this cultivation method is much better than your current one.”
Zayden’s chest felt cold.
Destroy his cultivation and start over again?
Could he really do that at this time?
“Once again. Are you ready to face that kind of life? Are you ready to put your life on the line for the future struggle?” the man asked for the last time.
Zayden couldn’t help but lower his head and clench his fist.
That kind of future sounded so terrifying.
Even he had to fight the heavens?
The natural power that maintained the balance of the world and all things?
He was only a small character compared to the entire world.
Could he really fight against something like that?
He did not even know what kind of dragon he was facing for the dragon to dare say such a thing.
There were many uncertainties.
He became slightly hesitant.
But then, the moment he remembered the faces of those traitors, he became angry.
Those mocking faces.
Those smiling faces.
Those bastards who were already playing with his life.
Especially Devron!
He wanted to destroy them all!
Moreover, he still had his family.
He needed to return to them.
He wanted to meet his wife and daughter.
He needed to protect them.
He gritted his teeth, and his eyes were filled with determination.
He lifted his head and looked at the dragon.
“I’m ready. I’m ready to face everything in the future as long as I can gain greater power. There are still many things that I need to do.”
Zayden said.
“Moreover, I will be dead anyway if I don’t do anything. I might as well die while trying than die while cowering in hesitation.”
After saying that, Zayden couldn’t help but feel that the man was slightly smiling.
He just felt it.
The man nodded.
“Good spirit. Then—”
“Wait, before we go on, could you tell me who you are? To be honest, I’m quite worried because I don’t know your identity. I should know the identity of the person who is going to give me power, right?”
Zayden cut off the man’s words.
The man nodded.
“You are right. It would not be good for our relationship if you don’t know me at all. Well, I’m the artifact spirit of the spear that you touched before you lost consciousness.”
Zayden widened his eyes.
“You are the artifact spirit of the mysterious spear? Then—”
Zayden looked at his surroundings.
He had thought that his consciousness had been brought to some unknown place by this mysterious figure, but to think that this figure was actually an artifact spirit?
Then where was he right now?
“This is the special subspace inside the spear. Well, more or less, the concept is similar to a storage ring, but it’s much more complex. You will understand what I mean later,” the man said.
Zayden was shocked.
This was a subspace like a storage ring?
He looked at his surroundings once again.
What he saw were countless stars.
It really felt like he was in the middle of space.
So how could this be a subspace like a storage ring?
This made him think what kind of spear he had touched.
“Once you accept my knowledge and, in the future, lift the spear and officially become its owner, you will learn more about me. Although you will never know everything about me or the spear’s origins, as time passes, you will learn more about it.”
The man said.
Zayden released a deep breath and nodded.
“I see, but is it really okay for me to receive your knowledge and power despite being a swordmaster? I have never trained myself in spearmanship.”
“I knew it the moment I saw you. But you can just start over again. You can learn it here, just like your new cultivation,” the man replied.
“Moreover, you have me to guide you. Under my guidance, even a pig could become a spearmaster. And I’m not joking.”
There was pride in his voice.
Zayden raised his eyebrows.
He just couldn’t help but imagine a pig wielding a spear, but he quickly brushed off the strange image.
Then he took a deep breath before releasing it once again.
His eyes looked determined.
“I’m ready to receive your power.”
“Good,” the man said.