Chapter 446

At this moment, a violent wind descended from the sky, completely wrapping Cao Zhenqingren's body with hope; the crystal‑like brilliant light suddenly exploded, the silver‑white robes slowly fell, and when the dragon transformed into a sword‑axe, immense magical power surged forth!

The shining light turned into a river that rushed toward the purple wizard, and this substantive‑like rainbow river slammed him hard against the wall, leaving him unable to move.

"I made a mistake earlier, treating you as my despair‑stricken self, which caused me to hesitate to strike you, but now I realize you are not me; the moment you lost hope, you ceased to be Cao Zhenqingren."

Cao Zhenqingren gripped the radiant sword‑axe in his hand, watching the stumbling purple wizard rise, and said: "No matter what situation I face now, I will never lose the hope in my heart; I have become the hope of many."

"Hah, don't think changing clothes will make me afraid of you." The purple wizard assumed Cao Zhenqingren's most common combat stance, preparing to counterattack.

"Come on, Showtime has arrived!"

Cao Zhenqingren's body instantly turned into a silver‑white shadow, vanishing as it moved at high speed.

"Huh? Where did he go?" the purple wizard exclaimed in astonishment.

"Bang bang bang!"

The sharp blade shot out swiftly within the galaxy‑like brilliant light flow, the cutting edge tore the air, leaving a faint glow; in an instant the purple wizard's body was enveloped by the speeding silver‑white blade, the white blade light forming a huge net that, with piercing firelight, shrouded his body.

In the blink of an eye, the purple gem on his body burst violently, without him making any other movement; he could not tell where the attack came from, but everywhere was under attack.

The gem on his body had reached the material's limit, so it began to shatter the moment the attack started; purple magic gem fragments scattered in all directions, and he collapsed to the ground amid the explosion.

The purple wizard's waistband also shattered into pieces in that crisp sound, revealing a face identical to Cao Zhenqingren's—or rather, it ought to have been his own face.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking anymore? Seeing yourself lying on the ground, don't you feel a hint of reluctance?" He revealed his body covered in purple cracks; at that moment a pair of purple dragon wings unfurled behind him, like a monster half‑emerged from its cocoon.

"No, it's the finale!"

Cao Zhenqingren watched another version of himself that had become a monster; although his heart still ached with indescribable sorrow, feeling pity for him and defeating him were two different matters.

No matter what form he took, that was never justification for harming an innocent without cause, even if that innocent was himself.

Cao Zhenqingren turned the axe blade of his radiant sword‑axe forward, slapped it with his hand, leapt up, and the radiant sword‑axe spun rapidly in midair; during the spin, the originally normal‑sized radiant sword‑axe in his hand expanded at high speed.

When the spin ended, the radiant sword‑axe's diameter approached ten meters; this enormous red‑bladed axe stood upright like a heaven‑topping, earth‑standing giant blade, capable of cleaving everything blocking the front.

The battle finally reached its end, for no mage could resist an axe as large as a mountain swinging toward oneself; even defensive magic became meaningless.

The purple wizard rose from the ground with a roaring dragon's cry, flapping his rear wings, and actually tried to use his body to attack the ten‑meter‑high axe falling in midair.

However, no miracle occurred in this world; such an action was pointless—almost no specter could withstand the limitless form's ultimate move, and before it they were like mayflies shaking a tree; no matter how hard they resisted, they could not endure its attack.

Cao Zhenqingren swung his arm like a child wielding a huge hammer, and slammed down hard on the purple wizard!

The next instant, the massive blade completely crushed his body; the airborne figure was slammed down to the ground at even greater speed, for its size was on an entirely different scale.

The giant axe struck his chest, pressing the relatively tiny humanoid magic dragon to the ground; the magical power stored within erupted suddenly, followed by a roar from the silver‑white dragon.

"Boom!"

Orange‑yellow firelight, carrying hot smoke and dust, spread outward; the blast's shockwave made the houses on either side of the street sway on the verge of collapse, and in that scorching airflow the only one unharmed and gleaming was Cao Zhenqingren.

Cao Zhenqingren slowly approached Damen Linzi, took a ring from the right side of his waist belt, gently removed the transformation ring from her hand, and replaced it with his own linking magic ring.

"Connect!"

Cao Zhenqingren's magical power flowed through the linking magic ring into Damen Linzi's body, allowing a person who had exhausted their magic to quickly regain consciousness and mobility, making rescue much easier.

……

"It looks like everything has been perfectly resolved; this time we have the best possible ending." Jiang Xia stood on the rooftop where they had arrived, the wind fluttering his cuffs, and at the same time bringing new life to the kingdom situated within the magic stone.

"Well, the Magic Power Circulation System has been abolished by the kingdom; they will likely use something else to communicate instead, perhaps even come to our world to study." Cao Zhenqingren had his hands in his pockets and exhaled lightly.

"That's true, too—the number of mages has suddenly increased, though most of them are unqualified." Jiang Xia turned to look at Cao Zhenqingren and Dimu Li standing behind him, "We should also leave this world; the mastermind behind the scenes has been eliminated."

"Hmm."

Jiang Xia spread his hands, and a vast colorful storm suddenly enveloped the three of them; within that rainbow‑like tornado, their silhouettes gradually faded away.

Damen Linzi watched the heaven‑connecting rainbow storm, lightly waved her hand, and said goodbye.

Cao Zhenqingren, she remembered that name.

"By the way, I think this should be yours." After they had just landed on the already dilapidated altar, Cao Zhenqingren pulled a wizard watch from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Xia, saying, "I saw that Renteng's watch also appeared in your hand; I believe this thing should be the same as that one."

Jiang Xia did not take it right away, but asked Cao Zhenqingren, "Since you saw it, do you also know what happened to Renteng Gongjie after I obtained the watch?"

"Well, his belt and ring have disappeared, so I think if I hand over the watch in my hand to you, I would also lose my mage qualifications." Cao Zhenqingren said with a smile.

He seemed not to care about that at all.

"You really are willing to let your own power disappear—you aren't the mage of hope, are you? If you lose your power, how would you become hope for others?"

"It's not because one has power that they become others' hope, but because they possess the desire to help others, which is why they're called the mage of hope; therefore I believe my power in your hands can exert an even greater effect." Cao Zhenqingren forcibly placed the watch in his hand into Jiang Xia's palm.

At the moment Jiang Xia touched the wizard watch, a strange feeling surged into his chest; this time it seemed he was not only acquiring the wizard's history, but could also alter that history through the watch.

He needed only to move his fingers slightly, and the wizard would vanish from the river of history; even everything that had happened before would be overturned and reborn as an entirely new world, just as Cao Zhenqingren's becoming part of wizard history would be overwritten by a new timeline.

The only difference from when he previously obtained the watch is that Cao Zhenqingren, knowing he would lose his power, still handed it over to him—could the condition simply be that the person involved is willing?

However, Jiang Xia did not tamper with the history inside the wizard watch; he left it unchanged.

"Why hasn't my power disappeared?" Cao Zhenqingren asked puzzledly; after awakening the limitless form he could sense the magic dragon's condition, yet now that he had given away his watch, there was not the slightest change.

"Because I don't want to take what belongs to you; Renteng Gongjie was only because the Chimera phantom ran loose, so I used the watch to absorb it, but you're different—as you said, I believe a mage's power in your hands can exert a greater effect, such as pulling people out of despair." Jiang Xia smiled. "By the way, Xiao Li, I still have something to give you." He pulled from his pocket a notebook wrapped in brown leather, "I've placed all of your belongings inside."

"My belongings?" Dimu Li, though not understanding, still took it.

She gently opened it; on the white paper with blue stripes, neat handwriting clearly recorded each day's activities—this was a diary, and it was her own diary.

"Well, see you next time." After Jiang Xia handed the diary to Dimu Li, he prepared to leave this world.

"Will we meet again?" Dimu Li asked softly, clutching the diary to her chest.

"Of course, if you need help, I'll come over then." Jiang Xia nodded.

After all, Dimu Li's body now contains all of his power, so sensing abnormalities is still possible.

"White mage, where will we meet next time?" Cao Zhenqingren asked, watching Jiang Xia's retreating back; he knew he would leave someday, but didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Hmm? Perhaps another world; if we meet there next time, let's fight together then." Jiang Xia waved his hand, and a gray‑white Aurora Curtain appeared out of thin air before him.

"Another world, huh." Cao Zhenqingren looked at the ripples on that gray‑white wall and spoke with feeling.

"Ah Li, Qingren, how are you two?"

Feeling moved, Cao Zhenqingren suddenly heard a very familiar voice; he turned and saw Daimon Rinji, Nara Shunping, and even uncle Lundao Fan dragging his chubby body over, though he was panting heavily after just a few steps.

"Uncle, you're old, don't run." Cao Zhenqingren ran over to the approaching people and helped Lundao Fan up.

So, what is hope?

For Cao Zhenqingren, it might simply be meeting frequently with A Li, Rinji, Shunping, and uncle, and then pulling those trapped in despair out—nothing more.

So, the mage's story hasn't ended, or rather, the story itself never ends.

……

In a secluded forest, a grayish-white transparent wall suddenly appeared, and a figure slowly stepped out of it; at the moment his foot touched the forest's grass, the vines entwined around the big trees seemed to suddenly come alive.

And like swimming snakes, they wound down from the thick trunks; strangely, this forest is completely unlike normal forests—while ordinary trees may have symbiotic vines, not every big tree is entwined with them, and even more strangely, many fruits wrapped in red skin grew beneath these vines.

Moreover, this is not any fruit found on Earth; the sky here is blue with a greenish tint, and the strangeness doesn't stop there—this forest is eerily silent, with no bird calls, no insect chirps, not even tiny herbivorous reptiles that feed on grass.

It seemed as if no life could survive here.

The wind blew over this vast forest; seen from afar, the trees looked like layers of waves, a deep green sea. When that figure fully descended into the forest, the countless treetops all moved, forming an upward‑surging wave that seemed ready to swallow him whole.

"Just arriving and already such a spectacle—this power is hardly different from Thousand Hands Senju's Forest Descent." Jiang Xia chuckled softly at the tsunami‑like trees.

Such a display could even bind and seal the infinite‑chakra Nine Tails, but he is not the Nine Tails, these layered tree waves are not a Forest Descent, and the writhing, living‑like trees here have another name: the Helheim Forest.

Of course, this name wasn't coined by him; it was defined by the researchers of the World Tree Collective.

As for why the Helheim Forest is now frenziedly attacking him, it's simply a mistake: the forest sensed the near‑world‑shattering power within Jiang Xia's body, and since he arrived via the Aurora Curtain, it assigned him an identity right away.

His identity this time was that of a being able to take human form—an outsider. The Helheim Forest sensed that powerful force had invaded its interior, at first thinking it was one of its own, but closer inspection revealed it wasn't; there was not a trace of Helheim power inside him, so his sheer strength still triggered detection the moment he approached.

It's like you're sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, then you suddenly see a figure appear at your bedside, everything around is pitch black, and your feeling tells you it's a family member, so you temporarily relax and get ready to sleep.

But upon a second look, the guy merely resembles your family but isn't, and he's standing beside you holding a large cleaver, his face flashing with menace—anyone would panic.

The Helheim Forest has self‑awareness; it is an entity that drives Evolution, yet it also has its own rules—whether the challenger is humanity or any other surviving race, one must follow those rules, not simply drop an unknown figure out of thin air.

Gazing at the sky‑blanketing vines and writhing trees, Jiang Xia made a single motion: he plucked a fruit lightly from the vine, quickly put distance between himself and the ever‑moving trees, and while doing so peeled the fruit, tasting its juicy, fragrant flesh.

"Not bad." After eating, Jiang Xia casually tossed the peel aside; there was no trash can, so he just threw it away.

"Well, now it's my turn."

Jiang Xia had stopped, but the sea‑like trees hadn't; they opened a huge mouth made of many vines and bit down hard, engulfing his entire body in the tree sea.

"Pa!"

A crisp snap rang out from the surging tree sea; though the sound wasn't loud, it instantly spread through the entire Helheim Forest, and the writhing tree sea, as if encountering a natural enemy, split apart in an instant, revealing a patch of hastily green grass.

Jiang Xia stood unharmed on the cleared grass, his clothes intact.

"Gaining control is too easy—just resist the Helheim Forest's transformation and you'll gain the ability to command trees and outsiders; no wonder it's called a treasure for promoting Evolution." Jiang Xia sighed.

At that moment, a wooden chair sprouted out of nowhere on the thick trees, and he was sitting on it.

Although gaining control of the Helheim Forest seems simple—just eat the fruit—it's in fact a bait the forest uses to weed out failures; without any preparation, eating the fruit here forcibly transforms one into a mindless monster, and only a rare few who eat it can retain their selves and gain great power here.

This is the key to Evolution, yet also a deadly poison; for Jiang Xia, it's more like a dessert after a meal.

The Helheim Forest's power has been absorbed by him; he is one of those rare individuals, and after eating the fruit he experienced no abnormal reactions—no pain, despair, bodily alteration, or any strange phenomenon like vines wrapping around him.

This shows that he is completely adapted to the Helheim Forest's energy.

And only those who use part of the power of the golden fruit and gradually transform into the outsider Ge Ye Hongtai can reach this extent; outsiders eating the fruit face no problem—not only is there no pain, they even find it delicious.

The opposite of Ge Ye Hongtai is Qu Wen Jiedou, who after eating suffers immensely; at that moment his body is completely wrapped by the Helheim Forest's vines, and in extreme pain he evolves into an overlord through sheer will.

From this we can see the difference in how the two adapt to the Helheim Forest's power.

The fruit here has barely any effect on Jiang Xia; he accepts all kinds of energy, and he is no longer the person influenced by energy attributes. (End of chapter)