Chapter 45

  Adam made his way toward his sect's audience stand. The air was thick with noise—cheering, gambling, shouting—the usual chaos of excited spectators. People were placing bets, laughing, and waving flags, caught up in the high of the tournament.

  As Adam reached the stand, he was immediately approached by none other than Wang Baole, his impossible rolls of fat bouncing with every enthusiastic step.

  “Congratulations, Senior, on surviving the match!” he said, beaming.

  “Just got lucky,” Adam replied with a small shrug.

  Wang Baole's expression shifted slightly. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Senior Sister Mu and Brother Li— But at least you and my sworn brother Xiaoyan pulled through.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said quietly.

  Wang Baole tilted his head. “You know— I thought you’d be more down about it.”

  “It is a death battle,” Adam replied calmly. “The moment I stepped onto that stage, I knew some people weren’t going to make it out.”

  Wang Baole stared for a moment, then nodded admiringly. “What a steady mindset you have, Senior. I should also tell you— I made a fortune betting on you two.”

  Adam chuckled. “I wouldn’t blame you for taking the opportunity. I’d be more disappointed if you didn’t.”

  He gave Wang Baole a sideways glance. “You bet everything because you believed in us, didn’t you?”

  Wang Baole placed a hand over his heart. “Senior truly sees through people.”

  He gave a low bow. “I’ll be off now—but know this, I’ll be betting on you and Xiaoyan again.”

  Adam smiled faintly. “Go ahead—and be sure to bet that I only win third place. That’s what I’m aiming for. And Xiaoyan is aiming for 2nd place.”

  Wang Baole blinked. “Third and second— got it, Senior.”

  Adam suddenly felt it—a series of gazes cutting through the noise of the crowd. Not the casual attention of spectators, but something sharper. More intentional.

  It was the kind of scrutiny that tried to carve him open—one gaze trying to memorize every part of him, another trying to unravel what he was entirely.

  One of those gazes belonged to the Princess.

  Their eyes met.

  She tilted her head slightly, curiosity dancing behind her eyes, and rested her chin delicately on her hand—like she had just found something fascinating she couldn't quite explain.

  Adam broke the eye contact and turned his attention elsewhere, specifically toward Bo Jin and the others, brushing off the strange weight of the stares pressing down on him.

  He found the group not far off and walked over.

  The moment they saw him, the mood turned.

  Like with Wang Baole, they congratulated him, but this group added a layer of dramatic sympathy—as if Adam had lost the love of his life.

  Zhou Ren leaned in. “Adam, you do realize the Princess is staring at you like she’s got laser vision, right?”

  Bo Jin whistled. “Oh boy. She’s locked on, and she’s not even being subtle about it.” He shook his head, half in disbelief, half in amusement.

  Han Feng groaned. “Why do girls like her always end up looking at you? It’s always the intense ones. Always.”

  Adam shrugged. “I dunno.”

  Han Feng turned to the girls. “Any of you understand this?”

  He looked at Mei Lan, Aria, Xiaomei, Shen Xinyi, and Lian Hua.

  Lian Hua answered first. “No clue. She doesn’t think like the rest of us. Whatever’s going on in her head, we’re not equipped to explain it.”

  Shen Xinyi added with a grin, “But one thing’s for sure—she’s going to make this tournament a lot more— colorful.”

  After a bit more chatting, Adam told them he was heading back to rest.

  As he turned to leave and stepped toward the hall, he paused.

  A second gaze.

  He glanced back—locking eyes with a man he hadn’t noticed before. The stranger stood motionless among the crowd, wearing a neutral, unreadable smile.

  He didn’t fit in. Not just in dress, but in presence. He looked entirely out of place— and yet no one else seemed to notice him at all.

  It was like he was invisible to everyone but Adam.

  [This is— concerning.]

  [He wouldn’t try something with so many Soul Transformation realm experts around— right?]

  Adam shook it off and entered the hallway toward the inner quarters.

  He walked.

  And walked.

  And kept walking.

  [Wait— something’s wrong.]

  [This hallway wasn’t this long before.]

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He picked up his pace. Still, the corridor stretched endlessly—no turns, no doors, just the same corridor repeating forever.

  [No. No, no, no—this is a looping space!]

  [I’m stuck inside a looping room!]

  Panic tried to set in, but Adam forced himself to stay alert. He scanned the area.

  Then a voice echoed from the walls, smooth and eerily calm:

  “Oh, don’t be so scared. How can you act like that—after locking eyes so confidently earlier?”

  From the wall ahead, the same man with a neutral smile stepped forward—through the surface, like the wall was made of water.

  But it wasn’t phasing.

  [No— this isn’t phasing. This is something else entirely.]

  Adam didn’t panic.

  [If he wanted to do something to me, he could’ve already done it. There’s no point in being paranoid now.]

  Adam straightened his back and looked the man in the eye.

  “—Who are you?”

  “Do you want to know?”

  Adam blinked, caught off guard by the question.

  “Y— yeah?”

  “Curious, I see.”

  The man tilted his head upward slightly, as if admiring an imaginary sky.

  “I’m known by many names—Heaven’s Foreguard Saint, Saint of the Coming Light, The Divine Turtle That Sees Tomorrow.”

  He paused, then grinned.

  “And my personal favorite— Shield Daddy.”

  Adam’s expression twisted into pure confusion.

  “—Huh?”

  “You can call me that if you want.”

  “what? No–!”

  The man nodded solemnly. “My wife used to call me that. She was an otherworlder.”

  He looked directly at Adam, eyes twinkling.

  “same as you.”

  Then, with exaggerated finger quotes, he added, “She was what your people might call— a ‘ tomboy ’...And ‘milf who is freaky as hell’.”

  [It’s our first time meeting— and why the hell are you saying all this?] Adam thought, mentally facepalming.

  [And a tomboy and a milf…. He…. Is lucky i guess]

  The man let out a wistful sigh. “Ah— just thinking about her makes me errg—anyway, let’s get back to the conversation.”

  He straightened. “You can call me Mr.Turtle.”

  “——Right,” Adam muttered. “Why are you here?”

  Mr. Turtle gave him a deadpan stare. “What a stupid fucking question, Adam. Did your brain not interpret any of the titles I just gave you?”

  Adam shrugged. “Even with all that, I still think it’s a pretty valid question.”

  “Ehh—wrong.” He wagged a finger. “Ask the right question.”

  Adam sighed.

  [Okay— based on what he said, all his titles suggest some kind of prophetic or divination ability.]

  So he asked, “What did you divine that made you interested in this event— or in me?”

  Mr. Turtle gave an approving nod. “Better. But let’s clear something up—you're confusing future sight with divination. Do you know the difference?”

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “Is it that future sight lets you look further ahead?”

  “Hmm, you’re half right,” Mr. Turtle said. “Divination shows you the highest probable outcome. But it’s volatile—easily changed. Future sight, on the other hand, shows the absolute future. Concrete. Fixed. But— I can only use it a few times every hundred years. It messes with fate too much.”

  He added, almost offhandedly, “And I’m not allowed to reveal what I see directly, either.”

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “So then— what did you see?”

  Mr. Turtle's voice dropped a tone, as if reciting something already written on the wind:

  “I’ve seen lively scenes unfold,

  Laughter dancing in the air,

  Guests soon to arrive like drifting petals.

  Among them, some bring fortunes my way,

  As spring winds carry quiet blessings.”

  “And what does all of this have to do with me?” Adam asked.

  “Nothing,” Mr.Turtle replied casually.

  “N— nothing?”

  “Yeah. You’re an otherworlder. A three-dantian user. You’ve displayed affinity with the elements of metal, light, and— death. And not just that—you have grade nine synchronization with all of them.”

  “And??”

  “Do you really not understand how fascinating that makes you?”

  Mr.Turtle’s gaze deepened.

  “Not only that, you have a thread connecting you to something. Or— someone above.”

  Adam stiffened at the weight of that sentence.

  “Don’t worry,” Mr.Turtle added, his tone soft. “I’m not going to do anything to you. You already have a fabulous future ahead.”

  He paused, then added, “I told you this— just because.”

  Adam took a breath. “Okay. Then what I’m going to do is believe that I still have a little control over my own life— and leave it at that.”

  “Good mentality. You’ll absolutely need it. After all, the path you’re walking—only relentlessly stubborn people can walk it.”

  Mr.Turtle’s eyes grew distant.

  “And you remind me of someone I once knew. Same path. Same stubborn will. Even when the world itself stood against him.”

  He looked momentarily sad as he said it.

  “Well, let’s end this conversation here. I’ve got the rest of the tournament to watch.”

  “Wait—I’ve got at least two questions for you.”

  “Shoot your shot. Was that the phrase she used? Can’t quite remember.”

  “That’s the one. First question—you’re a death element user like me, right? I sensed some kind of resonance between us.”

  “Oh, good observation. Here’s a fun fact: unlike most elements, rare elements—like death,life space and all—can be learned after reaching mid Soul Transformation Realm. You can go without learning them, but it’s always beneficial. People who show aptitude for rare elements often have higher breakthrough potential. In some paths, it’s even considered necessary.”

  “Okay— next question. How did you phase through that wall?”

  “You’re wrong. I didn’t phase through it. I walked through it.”

  “That’s not very helpful.”

  “I walked through it on a higher dimension.”

  Adam was stunned.

  “Explaining it to you will be faster.”

  Mr.Turtle extended his hand, a small point appearing above his palm. It seemed to stretch infinitely and remain still at the same time.

  “This is a point. A Zeroth-dimensional structure.”

  Mr. Turtle raised his other hand. A perfect sphere hovered above his palm, glowing faintly.

  He flicked his fingers, and both objects floated away—slowly drifting into the corridor behind him.

  Adam watched. The sphere grew smaller and smaller as it receded into the distance—just as expected.

  But the dot… didn’t.

  It didn’t shrink. It didn’t warp. It stayed the exact same size, whether it was an inch from Adam’s nose or a hundred meters down the corridor.

  “This,” Mr. Turtle said, gesturing at the dot, “is a true zeroth-dimensional structure. It has no height. No width. Just a single, absolute coordinate. That’s why it doesn’t scale. You can’t get closer or farther from something that only exists in a single direction.”

  The dot expanded into a thin, glowing line. Which seemed to forever expand on both ends.

  “This is a line—the simplest one-dimensional structure.”

  The line shifted into a square.

  “A square. It has length and breadth.”

  “Now we’ll make it visual,” he said, and summoned a thin sheet of paper alongside it.

  “Both of these are two-dimensional in essence. But only one is cheating.” He flicked the paper. “This has thickness. It pretends to be 2D, but it still lives in a 3D world.”

  He turned the sheet sideways, and Adam could still see its narrow edge—barely, but enough.

  Then Turtle slowly rotated the glowing square-structure 90°.

  It vanished.

  Not faded. Not cloaked. It just wasn’t there.

  Adam blinked. “Did you—”

  “Look slightly to the side,” Turtle said.

  Adam shifted his perspective… and there it was again, just outside his line of sight.

  “True two-dimensional beings don’t have depth,” Turtle said. “Turn them the wrong way, and to you—they no longer exist. But to them, you’re the one who disappeared.”

  A cold sweat formed at the base of Adam’s neck.

  Then, with a flick of his finger, the square expanded into a cube.

  The cube rotated normally at first, its edges sharp and clear. Adam relaxed slightly - this at least made sense. Then Turtle smirked. "Watch closely now."

  With a flick of his finger, the cube began rotating along an impossible axis. Its edges stretched and warped unnaturally, like a reflection in a funhouse mirror. The geometry made Adam's stomach lurch - it was as if the cube was simultaneously turning inside out while remaining solid.

  "This..." Adam's voice caught as his brain struggled to reconcile what he was seeing. "This isn't possible."

  "Not in your three dimensions," Turtle agreed. "But add just one more..."

  The distorted cube suddenly unfolded, its surfaces peeling back to reveal a glowing, hyperdimensional structure.

  “A true tesseract!”

  “Is that what you call this? It has a nice ring to it.”

  The tesseract pulsed with eerie light, its edges connecting in ways that defied logic:

  - Some surfaces appeared to exist in two places at once

  - Shadows cast on the floor showed cubes within cubes

  - Certain angles vanished entirely when viewed straight on, only to reappear when Adam tilted his head

  Adam's eyes burned. His vision blurred as his mind desperately tried to flatten the impossible shape into familiar 3D space. A sharp pain lanced through his temples.

  "You're fighting it," Turtle observed. "Your brain is screaming that this can't exist. But it does - you're just seeing a 3D slice of a 4D shape, like a flatlander trying to comprehend your world."

  As Adam watched, horrified and fascinated:

  1) A corner of the tesseract drifted "closer" in an unknowable direction, growing impossibly larger without changing its apparent position

  2) Its edges passed through each other without intersecting

  3) The structure's shadows morphed between shapes that couldn't logically connect

  Then - with a sound like shattering glass - the vision collapsed. Adam stumbled back, his nose bleeding freely now. The hallway spun around him.

  Turtle caught his shoulder. "Breathe. That reaction means you almost comprehended it." He wiped the blood away with a sleeve. "Most cultivators vomit their first time.”

  “You 3D beings can’t completely comprehend it yet. But become a 4D being like me, and maybe then— you’ll understand. To do that, you’ll need to comprehend the Dao of Space first.”

  “Now that the questions are finished. I am leaving for the tournament.”

  Mr.Turtle turned, walking toward the wall.

  “Wait—let me out of this lo—”

  As Adam reached out and touched Turtle’s shoulder, his vision immediately warped.

  The hallway vanished.

  In its place was a vast black void, infinite and still—yet filled with impossible, shifting shapes that defied comprehension. The geometry around him bent and twisted in ways that made his mind reel, as if reality itself had fractured into abstract concepts.

  Then he felt them.

  Gazes. Immense, crushing presences that burst forth from the void around him—bearing down on him with enough pressure to pulverize him in an instant. His chest tightened. His breath caught.

  He would have died.

  But he didn’t—only because Turtle was shielding him.

  Turtle sighed beside him.

  “Why did you do that?” he said calmly. “Look what you’ve done. Now you’ve attracted the interest of others, too.”

  Adam gritted his teeth. “No— you’re faster than that. If you wanted to disappear, you could’ve done it before I even blinked. You let this happen. Or— maybe this was supposed to happen.”

  Turtle smirked. “Maybe. Maybe not. That’s up to your interpretation.”

  He turned his gaze upward and wiggled a single finger side to side.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t look at me like that.”

  The oppressive gazes held for another breath—then withdrew, one by one, vanishing into the unknowable dark.

  Turtle looked back at Adam and said gently, “Go rest. You’re going to need it.”

  Then he suddenly pointed off into the void. “Oh hey—what’s that?”

  Adam instinctively turned to look in the direction Turtle was pointing.

  “What? What”

  He glanced back—

  But Turtle was gone.

  And before he could react, reality twisted again. The black void melted away, and in the blink of an eye, Adam found himself flat on his back… in his room.

  The familiar ceiling stared down at him, indifferent as ever.

  He let out a groan.

  “Using my spells against me huh.”

  “Too much. This is just… too much.”