Chapter 3013: Upon the Wang Zuo

"My only question now is, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Xia De's tone was already quite impolite, but the old man beneath the tree ignored him entirely.

"You must be curious: since the Bennett family cultivated Paradox Worms for me and accumulated time curses, why did I still distribute tree holes to those families who had lived here for generations?"

He pointed toward the thrones behind him.

"That has to do with me. Only sufficiently powerful beings can become the Guardians of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire here. Ordinary time travel cannot create or attract suitable targets. So, I gave people tree holes; they brought me demons and raised dragon beasts in my stead. As for the Bennett family, they were responsible for the 'Paradox Worms' and the 'Curse-Eroding Tree' projects, ensuring that if no suitable targets for the four elements were found, they could step in at any time."

"Thomas Bennett represented 'Water' this time."

Xia De knew this wasn't the question he should be asking, but he couldn't help but correct him.

"Yes, yes, yes."

The old professor immediately nodded with a smile toward the group standing at the edge of the clearing, then said with some regret:

"Originally, the position of 'Water' was reserved for that dead apostle, Brote. Isn't Death quite close to Water? You surely have a deep understanding of that. It's a pity; if the story here could have been delayed by three or four years, I could have completed Brote's thorough ascension, allowing him to become a true monster under the spiral of Life and Death. He was quite adept at using tree holes and possessed that potential."

"It's a pity that in just one year, the epic of the *Whispering Chapter* was pushed by you from the first stanza to the eighth. This time, it really was fast~ So, after you sent Brote away and took that eyeball, I had no choice but to let Thomas fill in. But looking at it now, didn't he do quite well?"

He sighed, seemingly genuinely regretful that his arrangements hadn't reached perfection.

"Earth, Wind, Water, Fire; Earth, Wind, Water, Fire. For ten thousand years, I have constantly replaced the monsters guarding my secrets. I never expected that in the end, one would be missing. It's like an opera rehearsed countless times, only to have a missing piece appear on opening night. But it doesn't matter; at least the goal has been achieved. You have arrived before me."

"Since they were responsible for guarding your secrets, why did you sit by and watch as we defeated them?"

Xia De followed his train of thought to ask, and the old professor smiled upon hearing this:

"Naturally, it was for the Chosen War. If you couldn't find me, how could I complete the Chosen ritual? Helping you find those secrets was the same thing."

Xia De was almost certain he was lying. In the Outworlder's view, Youke Wude had absolutely no intention of becoming a Chosen.

"Oh, I haven't introduced the Chosen ritual of Time yet, have I?"

The old professor said again:

"A full moon night is required, and this place will suffice. Gather the branches and roots of the World Tree, then transform the power of the Ancient Tree into a seed, allowing time to make it take root and sprout. Let me think, you are still missing the roots, right?"

He flicked his finger, and a rich green light appeared directly before Xia De's eyes. Everyone in the group instinctively wanted to defend themselves, but only a black tree root, as thick as a wrist, fell from the light.

Xia De frowned and reached out to catch it, but the root bypassed his hand and flew toward Emilia. The little elf instinctively wanted to dodge, but the four branches floating beside her and the green leaf in her pocket glowed simultaneously.

The leaf, the branch, and the root merged into light, then darted into the back of the little elf's right hand.

The leaf-patterned design bloomed with light, and beneath it, several emerald lines sprouted, spreading densely over her wrist and up her arm. As Miss Olanode rolled up Emilia's sleeve, her entire right arm was covered in those green lines. The *Elf King's Authority* and the *Flute of Time* seemed to sense the power of the World Tree and emitted a faint glow.

"Very good. The seed has appeared. Next, this little girl of the Moon Creek Clan only needs to complete two things: 'defeat me' and 'make the seed sprout,' and she will be the Chosen of Time."

The old professor said with satisfaction. Xia De looked at him with a dark expression:

"Back to my original question—what exactly are you trying to do?"

The old professor corrected him:

"I have helped you so many times, and even in 1821, I was forced to answer so many questions unrelated to the matters here. If you still have basic manners and know how to respect the elderly, you should be more polite when speaking to me, or at least use honorifics."

"Fine then. What exactly are you trying to do? Preparing one scene after another in Vista City, launching insect swarms and tree people to attack the city tonight, having the 'Clockmaker' lead us into the ancient elf ruins, and finally having us arrive here as the space-time order of this forest nears total collapse—what exactly are you trying to do?"

Xia De finally changed his tone, and the old professor sighed deeply, looking up at the towering tree above his head with his hands behind his back. The faintly glowing tree canopy cast a green hue over his face; as the shadows swayed, the old man was filled with emotion:

"Tens of thousands of years have passed in such a hurry. The collapse of the World Tree, the appearance of the forest, the ancient war, the cycle of countless springs and autumns—it all seems to have happened just yesterday."

"I have stayed here for too long. I can clearly describe the story of every stone born in this forest, the weather when the ancestors of every ant colony arrived, and the rustling whispers of every tree."

"I am a bit tired of this place. Defeat me, and Emilia Senode will inherit the power of the Tree Father and thus control Time; but if I win, I will gain true freedom, shaking off the power that has sealed me since the Second Era. Yes, everything tonight was for this—to break free from the seal and gain freedom."

Regardless of what the others behind him were thinking, Xia De was certain:

"That is still a lie. If you wanted to leave, you could have left long before we all appeared here."

The old professor withdrew his gaze from the canopy and looked at Xia De again. His eyes glowed at this moment; that ancient, verdant green was nearly identical to the glowing tree, a color deeper than Emilia's emerald eyes. It was the color of something older than the world.

"Young man, why must you expose me? Look, haven't we been quite tacit all along? I provided you with guidance and help, and you ran wildly in the direction I pointed out. We've reached the end now; what does it matter if you cooperate with me a little longer?"

He opened his arms with a smile, and his entire body radiated emerald light, after which the light points that made up his body flew toward the giant tree behind the five thrones.

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

The Outworlder, who rarely used foul language, finally uttered something quite uncivilized. Bella, Vanessa, and Miss Olanode were all very surprised; this meant Xia De was truly furious.

The old man, now transformed into light, left only these final words beneath the tree:

"It would be too harsh to let that little elf defeat me alone. So, for the final battle of the Time War, you shall all come together. Defeat me, and I will acknowledge her status; defeat me, and you will know the ultimate secret of this forest. I will not hold back; this is the final trial. If you lose, I will bury you here and let Time bear witness to it all."

As his voice faded, Youke Wude completely merged into the giant tree. Not only the canopy, but the trunk and the roots buried deep beneath the earth began to glow.

The giant tree rose higher, as if to connect heaven and earth; the canopy continued to grow until one could no longer see its edges from the clearing, as if it were about to cover the entire Vista Forest; the ground beneath their feet presented bands of glowing light, and the emerald radiance illuminated the tense faces of everyone present.

When the emerald light, symbolizing Tree and Time, finally illuminated everything in the clearing, black time rifts opened simultaneously before the four giant thrones.

From those four rifts—

Fire erupted before the crimson rune, and the fire demon, Disaster, tore open the rift and arrived in the present from the past;

Before the azure rune, a pitch-black dragon beast squeezed out of the rift amidst a manic dragon roar;

A buzzing sound familiar to everyone came from the earth-yellow rune, and black insects flew out, their shells peeling away to transform into black "insect-men" with insect heads;

As for the giant throne with the sea-blue rune string, Thomas Bennett, five meters tall with limbs stretched several times over and in a state of complete madness, was forcibly pulled back to the present by an invisible force.

The roots of the giant tree emerged from the soil and pierced into the backs of the four monsters, controlling them as they sat upon the four thrones, perfectly merging with their respective seats.

Thus, the light of the four elements—Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire—gathered toward the central, most massive throne along with vast spiritual power and surging elements. Amidst the pure white light where the four-colored spiritual radiance merged with the emerald light projected from the giant tree, the ancient figure matching that throne finally manifested. ===== CHAPTER 3014 =====

The roots of the giant tree drilled out of the mud and pierced into the backs of the four monsters respectively, so they were controlled to sit on the four thrones, as if perfectly integrated with their respective seats.

So the light of the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire gathered toward the most giant throne in the center along with the huge spirit and surging elements. When the four-color spirit light fused with the emerald green light projected from the giant tree, in that pure white light, the old figure that could match the throne truly appeared.