Li Xiaofei listened intently.
"We’ve known about the Reapers for a long time. They even predate the Four Evil Gods of the Subspace. In fact, there is a theory that they existed even before the birth of the universe. They are the executors of the cycle of reincarnation, ensuring that each universe, one epoch after another, rises and falls under their eye."
"The universe breeds civilizations. The Reapers destroy civilizations. This cycle of birth and destruction resembles a cycle of reincarnation. The Reaper race survives by parasitizing the life and death of the universe, constantly drawing energy from death to sustain and prolong their existence."
"Earth once faced grave peril. Humanity had been annihilated countless times. However, due to the existence of the Four Symbols and One Sword, humanity managed to turn back the tides of destruction multiple times, delaying the date of Earth's annihilation by the Reapers again and again."
"But destruction is ultimately unavoidable. Even with the Four Symbols and One Sword, Earth ended up like many other ancient civilizations, trapped in a great calamity as they fought against these ancient and eternal monsters. It struggled time and again on the line between survival and destruction."
"All kinds of methods were attempted. But the situation grew worse and worse. Thus, humanity banded together under the leadership of Lin Beichen, the One Sword, and utilized the life artifact of the Time Ancestor, one of the twenty-four primordial ancestors of the prehistoric universe. They used time and space as the foundation to perform a fate simulation of Earth's future."
"In the first simulation, Earth was destroyed in the year 2640, and humanity was extinguished. In the second simulation, Earth was destroyed in the year 2840, along with humanity. In the third simulation, Earth and humanity were annihilated in the year 2590. In the fourth simulation: Earth was destroyed in the year 2990, and humanity was extinguished."
"The fifth simulation... The sixth simulation... Countless iterations of evolution ultimately led to only one outcome. the complete destruction of Earth and humanity. Except for a few supreme beings, Earth's humanity faced extinction. The longest time humanity could exist on Earth was until the year 3000. After 3000, humanity would no longer have a future. The future held no path forward."
"Ultimately, it was the Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen, who proposed an audacious plan. The Borrowed Troops Plan. Since the future was already severed, why not seek aid from the past? Thus, at the end of 2023, Heaven put into motion a plan to borrow forces from Earth's 'past.' The population from the past, as well as various geniuses, exceptional individuals, and resources, became targets to be borrowed. These were carefully selected, trained, and then sent to the cosmic battlefield to fight for Earth's survival."
"After the implementation of this plan, the Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen, used the life artifact of the Time Ancestor to perform a final fate simulation. To everyone's delight, the simulation revealed a breakthrough. The extinction of Earth's human civilization was delayed by another 120 years. In other words, Earth would now fall to the Reapers' invasion in the year 3120."
"After this simulation, the Time Ancestor's artifact was destroyed, and even someone as powerful as Lin Beichen could no longer perform fate simulations. But regardless, breaking the 3000-year limit proved that the Borrowed Troops Plan was effective."
"As a result, Heaven established a transit station named Kunlun Heavenly Palace. Kunlun Heavenly Palace was tasked with borrowing forces from the past and devising a scientifically sound and comprehensive plan to fully execute the Borrowed Troops Plan."
"At first, the plan progressed smoothly. With the help of Lin Beichen, the One Sword of the Four Symbols and One Sword, Kunlun Heavenly Palace successfully borrowed forces from 100,000 different dimensional Earths. These 100,000 dimensional Earths were collectively named the Hundred Thousand Worlds. However, the Reapers soon detected this plan."
"In the war that followed, the Reapers carried out countless attacks to sabotage the Borrowed Troops Plan. Our situation grew increasingly dire on the cosmic battlefield. Many powerful individuals perished, buried in the sands of time, awaiting a chance for rebirth. The Borrowed Troops Plan executed by Kunlun Heavenly Palace also suffered significant setbacks. It was then that the organization known as Eden emerged."
"Eden, an organization of schemers, traitors, and conspirators, rose above the Star Council and parasitized Kunlun Heavenly Palace. Their influence grew rapidly, and at one point, they sealed off access to parts of the Ten Thousand Worlds. The Earth you are on, Earth 89876, is one of the sealed worlds."
At this point, Little Aunt paused and asked, "Do you understand?"
Li Xiaofei's eyes glazed over slightly. The sheer volume of information was overwhelming.
“I understand a bit,” Li Xiaofei said after taking a deep breath. “So, does this mean that Earth is completely under Eden’s control?”
“The situation is bad, but it’s not under complete control.” Little Aunt smiled and said, “At the very least, I’m still here.”
Li Xiaofei couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “Little Aunt, who exactly are you? Are you... someone from Kunlun Heavenly Palace?”
“Your intuition is sharp,” she nodded. “But I’m not from Kunlun Heavenly Palace. I’m from Heaven itself. My codename is T-800... I assume you’ve heard of that name before.”
Li Xiaofei froze for a moment. Of course, he had heard of that name. The Terminator.
Wait. If her codename is T-800, did that mean she is actually...
“You don’t need to guess,” she interrupted with a slight shake of her head. “I’m not a robot.”
Li Xiaofei let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m a special envoy from Heaven’s Lingxiao Hall, sent under the order of God General Han Bufei to reopen the great world passageways. But I was ambushed by Eden’s forces on my way here. Although I successfully descended to Earth 89876, I encountered some complications... which is why I was lying low in Liuhe Base City.”
This time, his aunt answered all of Li Xiaofei’s questions. Her explanations cleared up many of the doubts lingering in his mind. Finally, Li Xiaofei understood why there were legends of her slaughtering Saints. To someone like her, Saints were no stronger than ants.
Heaven. Kunlun Heavenly Palace. Eden. Star Council.
These major powers were now firmly etched into Li Xiaofei’s mind.
“Little Aunt, how strong are you right now?” Li Xiaofei asked again.
“Above Great Saint, but not yet at Asteroid Realm,” she replied.
Asteroid Realm? This is a new martial realm term.
Li Xiaofei immediately followed up, “What does Asteroid Realm mean?”
Little Aunt explained, “The Great Saint Realm on Earth is considered the ceiling of what this world can accommodate. However, in the outer cosmic worlds, the classification of strength varies across star systems and dimensions. Later, the Four Symbols and One Sword unified and standardized the names of the various realms. The first tier starts at Star Tier, and based on the energy inherent in a lifeform, it’s further divided into seven sublevels: Meteor, Asteroid, Planet, Star, Neutron Star, Supernova, and Black Hole.”
A row of black lines metaphorically appeared on Li Xiaofei’s forehead. This classification and naming system sounded incredibly casual. It was clear that someone hadn’t put much effort into it and had simply based it on the sizes of celestial bodies.