In the center of the great hall, Barton's aura surged. Horns grew from his forehead, his serpentine scales enlarged, and four sharp claws sprouted from his belly. He had transformed directly from a snake into a true dragon.
A powerful draconic might emanated from Barton, causing the entire space to tremble with his presence.
His level also ascended at an incredible speed, quickly surpassing level one hundred and heading towards one hundred and fifty.
"Ahhhhhh!"
As the power within him grew stronger, Barton could no longer bear it and let out a howl. A dazzling pillar of light erupted from his body, piercing the dome and the earth, soaring straight into the heavens.
All beings across the continent witnessed the brilliant light pillar and sensed the immense power.
Ye Ling stood amidst the blinding light, his lips curving slightly as he saw the humanoid figure suspended in mid-air before him. "It's done..."
At this moment, Barton's cultivation settled at the逍遥仙 (Xiaoyao Xian) realm. He had transformed from a snake into a true dragon, and finally into a human.
As the intense light dissipated, a handsome man clad in armor appeared before Ye Ling and the World-Ending Spirit Fire.
Barton slowly descended and bowed respectfully to Ye Ling. "Thank you, Lord, for your fulfillment. From this day forth, I swear to follow you to the death."
"First, get accustomed to your new strength. I have important matters for you later."
Ye Ling surveyed Barton with satisfaction. He then used his Ink Space to envelop Barton's mother, modifying the program of this virtual world to revert Barton's mother from her undead state back to her human form.
After the World-Ending Spirit Fire had wreaked havoc, Ye Ling no longer needed to hide. Even acting so openly, the Primal Wisdom King could do nothing to him.
Moreover, acting so openly would also benefit his subsequent plans.
"Mother!"
Barton's eyes lit up as he saw his mother awaken, his face filled with excitement.
However, Barton did not immediately rush towards his mother. Instead, he looked at Ye Ling. After Ye Ling nodded, he eagerly stood up and hurried towards his mother.
The World-Ending Spirit Fire, having reverted to a ball of fire, landed on Ye Ling's shoulder. After handing Ye Ling the Void Scepter obtained from the King of Evil Spirits, it looked at Barton and his mother reuniting and asked Ye Ling, "Kid, do you have some scheme in mind by making Barton the Ancestor Emperor of this virtual world?"
"Mm..." Ye Ling nodded slightly, not hiding anything from the World-Ending Spirit Fire. "I suspect this virtual world is a form of existence of our real world."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire was startled. "What are you talking about?"
Ye Ling: "It's just a guess... According to the Primal Underworld King, the Primal Wisdom King once had a great dream. He dreamt of the future and the extinction of the Seven Kings..."
"If I were the Primal Wisdom King, I would never sit idly by. From the moment I woke from that dream, I would begin to scheme for myself, struggling and resisting that predetermined fate at all costs."
"This virtual world might be a creation by the Primal Wisdom King to simulate the real world we inhabit."
Hearing Ye Ling's speculation, the World-Ending Spirit Fire was deeply shocked and said, "If the world we exist in is virtual, then what is real?"
"I don't know," Ye Ling shook his head. "Perhaps Good and Evil knows everything, but they won't tell us. We can only explore it ourselves. So... I plan to treat this virtual world as a role-playing game."
"A role-playing game?"
"Yes... Barton, as the Ancestor Emperor, will play the role of myself in the Primal Chaos. I will play the role of Good and Evil. And the Primal Wisdom King, who rules this virtual world, I will regard him as the 'brain' of the Overseers, and have Barton confront him."
"This, this is too exaggerated... How could Barton possibly be a match for the Primal Wisdom King?"
"Before we reached the Origin Upper Realm, weren't we no different from ants in front of the Overseers?" Ye Ling chuckled.
"Regardless, you're still too insane..." The World-Ending Spirit Fire exclaimed, a tempest of shock churning within its heart. It had never expected Ye Ling to embark on such a scheme!
However, upon closer thought, everything in this virtual world did indeed correspond to the real world!
Ye Ling became the Ancestor Emperor because of Good and Evil, and the robots in this virtual world were like Overseers who maintained the balance of the Primal Chaos.
After processing what Ye Ling had said, the World-Ending Spirit Fire's gaze towards Barton completely changed.
"Kid... How do you plan to play this game?" the World-Ending Spirit Fire asked in a deep voice.
"I will spare no effort to help Barton, guiding him to overthrow the Primal Wisdom King and ascend to the pinnacle of this virtual world," Ye Ling said softly, his eyes gleaming. "I want to see what kind of waves Barton will stir up when he reaches the end!"
"Heh heh, that sounds exciting. The thought of potentially stepping into the perspective of Good and Evil makes me thrilled." The World-Ending Spirit Fire rubbed its hands together, completely invigorated.
Ye Ling chuckled. "World-Ending Spirit Fire, let's go."
"Huh? We're leaving now?" The World-Ending Spirit Fire, which had been full of ambition, was stunned again.
"We've already obtained the Void Scepter. We can go to the Void Swamp ourselves to find the Main God," Ye Ling said with a smile, holding the Void Scepter.
"What about Barton? Didn't you just say we should spare no effort to help him and guide him to deal with the Primal Wisdom King?"
"Do you think Good and Evil has been acting as our nanny?" Ye Ling retorted.
"This..." The World-Ending Spirit Fire couldn't answer. "Then if we leave now, will Barton know his mission?"
"He doesn't need to know," Ye Ling smiled slightly. "Having become the Ancestor Emperor, he has become an anomaly in this virtual world. The Primal Wisdom King will not let Barton go unchecked."
"Under the threat to his survival, Barton will naturally confront the Primal Wisdom King. We only need to save him when he is in a desperate situation. Otherwise, we will let him develop on his own."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire pouted and sighed. "Kid, why do I feel like you've figured out Good and Evil's thoughts completely?"
"It's not entirely accurate. After all, these are just my assumptions... Perhaps this virtual world has no significant connection to the real world, and I might just be playing a self-entertaining game. And Barton might not grow to the extent I envision in the end."
"But these are not things to dwell on now. Let's go, it's time to do our own things. Let Barton play it out himself."
Ye Ling cast a deep look at Barton and disappeared from the spot with the World-Ending Spirit Fire.
Barton, reunited with his mother, was unaware of the conversation between Ye Ling and the World-Ending Spirit Fire. After the initial excitement and emotion, he calmed down and thought of Ye Ling.
"Right, Mother! Everything we have today is thanks to Lord Ye Ling! I'll introduce you to him now!"
Barton said with a smile to his mother, then turned and called out, "Lord, thank you... Lord?"
Barton stared at the empty great hall, completely stunned.
"Lord disappeared?"
However, before Barton could recover from Ye Ling's disappearance, the space in the hall cracked open again, and an aura of extreme danger emanated from it.
"Cheating behavior detected. Initiating virus scan."
A cold voice echoed from the spatial rift. Barton felt a chill shoot up from his feet to the crown of his head, his scalp tingling!
"Mother, it's dangerous here, let's go!"