Chapter 697 — Tricked

Liora had made many guesses regarding what lay behind the door.

A vast world. A palace. Perhaps a dark void carved out by a powerful being.

Yet when she stepped through the gate, she discovered that all her guesses had been wrong.

What lay on the other side was none of these. Instead, it was a small room, barely a few meters in both width and height.

Aside from Liora and its four stone walls, the only other thing inside was a small floating book.

It looked ordinary at first glance.

But just like the gate before it, the book held inexplicable mysteries.

The moment her gaze landed on it, a torrent of information flooded Liora’s mind.

She instinctively closed her eyes to digest it. Moments later, when they opened again, a look of realization flashed across her face.

"So that’s how it is..." she muttered.

"As the backup plan left behind by an unknown human civilization, the humans of this universe also possess certain trump cards to deal with unexpected dangers."

"Among them is this place—the Human Realm."

"As long as a human becomes powerful enough, reaches this place, and meets the requirement, they will be able to obtain the Human Emperor’s Book. This is a supreme inheritance enough to create a powerhouse."

"As for what the requirement they need to meet is..." Liora’s eyes narrowed.

"It’s the status of the Human Emperor."

With that thought, Liora couldn’t help but shake her head. Faint disappointment flashed across her eyes.

She knew she had no way to obtain the inheritance for now.

"It seems that I’ll have to summon my Human Emperor Clone to come here."

"After all, it is the clone that possesses the Human Emperor’s status, not me. At best, I can simulate the aura of a Human Emperor."

Liora had discovered that her connection with the clone had been severed the moment she stepped into this place.

Other Awakeners would not have the ability to establish communication between their two bodies and would panic. No one knew what an uncontrollable clone could do.

Fortunately, Liora was far from ordinary.

Part of her consciousness descended into the Cosmic Sea, planning to use the Human Emperor Star to communicate with her clone and order it to come here.

But just then, Liora’s eyes widened in shock.

The Human Emperor’s Book, which had originally been floating without the slightest reaction, seemed to have been stimulated by something.

Its pages began to turn at an astonishing speed.

Then, it transformed into an azure light and rapidly moved toward her.

Once it got close enough, it began to dance around her figure, as though resonating with something deep inside of her.

Liora didn’t understand what was happening at first.

But soon, she discovered something.

The Cosmic Sea within her body suddenly started becoming illusory.

Within moments, it had completely disappeared, whether it was the Law Stars, the worlds, or even the cosmic dust.

It was as though some incredible being had taken action to wipe it out.

That, however, was not the truth. The truth was far more shocking.

Liora could tell that the Cosmic Sea within her had never existed.

It had been fake from the start!

"I see..." she suddenly muttered.

Realization dawned upon her. She lowered her head to look down at herself.

Unbeknownst to her, her appearance had begun to change.

The battle dress she had been wearing all this time had unknowingly vanished. In its place was now a long azure robe exclusive to emperors.

A sword hung from her waist, while her aura had changed along with her appearance, becoming less indifferent and more majestic.

A wry smile appeared on Liora’s face as she witnessed those changes.

"It’s no wonder that I felt my bloodline resonate with the gate."

"I originally doubted how that could be. After all, I have long since shed the identity of a cosmic human, transforming into a Cosmic Sea. There is no human bloodline left in me."

"Now, it seems that ’I’ have successfully tricked myself!"

From the very beginning, the person who had investigated Nova Terra had never been Liora!

It had always been her Human Emperor Clone!

Even the clone itself had been tricked!

As for her real body...

--

"You... Didn’t you go inside?"

A shocked voice rang outside the Human Realm.

The figure abruptly turned around, staring at the person who seemed to have stepped out of the River of Time.

Seeing the shock on the other party’s face and her familiar appearance, Liora was not happy.

"What a pity. You’re not her..." She shook her head, causing the woman’s expression to change.

She didn’t respond. Instead, she turned around and hurriedly fled, using all her strength to escape.

The space around her parted to assist her, as though she were a fish that had returned to the water.

Unfortunately, her struggles proved futile.

Liora calmly stretched out her hand.

Instantly, the surrounding space was smoothed out. The space cracks rapidly healed, and the force enveloping the woman and carrying her away ceased to exist.

She was forcefully brought back to reality.

Before she could make another attempt, Liora waved her hand, enveloping her with demonic energy and bringing her in front of her.

"You’re quite fast," she praised.

"Although you’re merely at Rank 11, even Rank 12 Awakeners would struggle to keep up with your speed."

"I dare to say that the people who can suppress you in this universe can be counted on one hand."

"Unfortunately, you happened to meet me."

Liora gave the unknown woman no time to respond.

"It seems that you are very unwilling to tell me where she is. Since that’s the case..."

"...I can only look for myself."

The moment she finished speaking, Liora raised her hand again, ready to strike at the woman’s head.

Countless runes were woven around her fingertips. She intended to search through the woman’s soul and peer into her memories.

Her opponent’s eyes widened with terror.

She wanted to say something, but found herself unable to move. The world around her seemed to be rejecting her, sealing her in place.

Just as it seemed that her life was over and the woman’s heart was about to collapse, a soft sigh suddenly echoed.

"Please stop..."