Chapter 77 - 75: Is It Me?

In his previous life, Ding Huan was carried over by an old scavenger, but this life he followed the old scavenger over, leaning on a cane. The place the old scavenger walked to wasn't far, just a short twenty minutes, and the old scavenger stopped outside a private workshop. The workshop was crudely labeled with a paint pen, reading "Mutant Material Purchasing." The old man rang the doorbell, but after a long wait, no one came to open the door. The old man knocked more forcefully on the door, still, no one came. Ding Huan's psychic abilities scanned inside, and even though his range was limited, he could barely sense that there was no one in the yard. "Eh, why is there no one here today?" the old scavenger muttered to himself, frowning. After saying that, he turned to Ding Huan, "We'll wait here for a bit, someone from their side is bound to come over." Ding Huan said helplessly, "Even if we wait until next year, there's no chance of someone coming over." "How would you know that?" the old scavenger looked at Ding Huan, puzzled. Ding Huan replied indifferently, "Because everyone inside is dead." At this moment, Ding Huan had understood what was going on, this was the territory of the Washing Blade Association. The business here was clearly illicit, dealing nearly always in transactions without capital. Don't look at how in his past life the old scavenger sold him for a thousand Alliance Coins. However, a high-quality Genetic Affinity Body was worth at least a million Alliance Coins. The Washing Blade Association got rid of the old scavenger with a thousand Alliance Coins and then sold him for a million, or even more. "Hmph, do you know who they are? This place is the turf of the Washing Blade Association, and if their people heard you, you'd be dead," the old scavenger huffed, his tone becoming stern. Obviously, in his eyes, Ding Huan was just a little Karami, hardly comparable to the middle-aged woman who gave him a box of food. Ding Huan chuckled and threw away the stick in his hand, saying, "Because I was the one who killed them. Do you think I wouldn't know? Not only do I know this, but I also know that you were the one who brought me here to sell to them, because I am a Genetic Affinity Body." He had not expected that by doing away with the Washing Blade Association of Luoh River, he would so soon have changed history. Would he still need to go find the Luoh River branch of the Genetic Alliance? Ding Huan immediately shook his head; he had no need to search. Back then, he appeared among the Genetic Alliance's fleet departing Earth because he was an excellent test subject, and the Luoh River branch sent him to the headquarters. Now, because of him, many things had changed. He couldn't keep thinking the same way as before. "You..." the old scavenger stared at Ding Huan in shock. But he found the leather scroll in his hand had unconsciously flown up and landed in Ding Huan's palm. "That's my stuff..." the old man hurried forward to snatch it back, but after just one step, he immediately stopped. He remembered what Ding Huan had just said — the Washing Blade Association had been killed by Ding Huan. Was he going up to seek death? Once the leather scroll reached Ding Huan's possession, he was even more certain that it was made of the same material as the one he had obtained before. "Speak, where did this scroll come from?" Ding Huan's words carried a killing intent. The old scavenger shivered and hastily replied, "I found it on the roots of the Ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Cypress Tree..." "Hmph, can't you come up with a more believable lie?" Ding Huan scoffed. Ding Huan did know about this tree, which was inside Luoh River City, specifically located behind the mountain pack of Luoh River Shangwu University. When Ding Huan was very young, the school had taken them to see this tree. Not only Ding Huan's school, but practically any school in Luoh River would visit this tree. It was a world heritage site, not because it was precious, but because it was historically significant. Experts had estimated that this tree was at least ten thousand years old. Moreover, this ancient tree was quite strange. Fifty years ago, this ancient tree's circumference was at most sixty meters. In just a few decades, it had reached nearly a hundred meters. It was for this reason that the tree was listed as a world heritage. The Ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Cypress Tree was definitely an ancient tree; whether it was more than ten thousand years old Ding Huan didn't know. What he was sure of was that it was impossible for a leather scroll to appear in the roots of the ancient tree. The old scavenger said hurriedly, "It really was found on the roots of the Ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Cypress Tree, I can take you there to see." Seeing that the old man didn't quite seem to be lying, Ding Huan hesitated and then said, "Okay, let's go." To get to the Ten-thousand-year-old Cypress, Ding Huan didn't need the old man to show the way. Ding Huan thought the old man walked too slowly and directly called for a car. The street, now devoid of its past bustle, allowed taxis to drive extremely fast. In less than half an hour, Ding Huan and the old scavenger arrived at the back of the Heluo Shangwu University. Ding Huan hadn't arrived in front of the ancient tree but he was certain that the tree had grown thicker. Right now, the Ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Cypress' circumference had definitely surpassed a hundred meters. He had divine will, so he was confident he wasn't mistaken. When he left the school, the circumference of the ancient tree had not yet reached a hundred meters. Parts of the ancient tree's roots were like an irregular net, crossing above the ground, encompassing hundreds of square meters. The roots were denser than before, covering an even larger area. "It's this place. When I came here to rest, the scroll was on the tree roots..." the old man hurried to the Ten-thousand-year-old Cypress Tree and began explaining immediately upon arriving. During his explanation, he also pointed to the gaps between several protruding roots, indicating where the scroll had appeared. Ding Huan looked over and saw what seemed to be a grave marker. The scavenger had only gotten halfway through his sentence when a look of surprise and delight flashed across his eyes, and he abruptly reached out towards the spot he had just indicated. From a distance, Ding Huan really saw something resembling a leather scroll at the location the old man pointed to, inscribed with what appeared to be a Cultivation Method. Ding Huan didn't move; this must be the gene Cultivation Technique referred to in the scroll. It was too eerie, too peculiar. Before Ding Huan could figure out what was happening, he saw the item in the old man's hand suddenly vanish as if melting away like snow and ice. Immediately after, the old man made a series of choking sounds and then collapsed to the ground, lifeless. So powerful! Ding Huan inhaled sharply, instinctively retreating two steps. This poison was just too fierce. He could now be certain that the leather scroll in his hand and the sudden appearance of this false Cultivation Technique were deliberately set up by someone as a contingency. That person had the scavenger deliver him to the Genetic Alliance, then waited for the scavenger to return and killed him to silence him. In this process, the biggest beneficiary was him, Ding Huan. He had been saved, regained his sight, and left Earth. Ding Huan suddenly thought, could it be that this person had foreseen that, many years later, during Earth's third cycle, he would be saved at the Genetic Alliance and then follow them from Earth to the Changyi Continent? If so, that person was truly terrifying. Because if the Genetic Beasts continued to ravage unchecked, humankind on Earth might face extinction. In his last life, he had left Earth, and he knew nothing of what happened after. But why would someone save him? And why spend so much effort to predict Ding Huan's circumstances after so many years? That wasn't all; how had he so coincidentally come into possession of the Memory Scroll left by the other party? To say that the Memory Scroll was against the heavens was no exaggeration. Looking at the dead scavenger on the ground, Ding Huan felt increasingly uneasy. He suddenly thought of a reason that he himself found difficult to consider, which was that the leather scroll might actually have been left there by himself. Could it be that in the Ancient Era, he had been a supreme Immortal God, knowing that he would die and that many years later, such a calamity would strike? Because he knew all this, he would have spent such tremendous effort to arrange these things, all just to save his own life. Otherwise, it made no sense. Who would go through so much trouble for someone completely unrelated? Only oneself would possibly expend so much effort to calculate everything for oneself. If that were indeed the case, then his former self must have been someone utterly ruthless and cold-blooded. The more Ding Huan thought, the more his scalp tingled; it wasn't an impossibility but rather too possible. Consider the authors of mythological novels like Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West—assuming his conjecture was correct, and if these authors were indeed the reincarnations of powerful beings from the era of Immortal Gods. Merely drawing on the vague memories etched in their minds, they had penned these novels that seemed as though they truly occurred during the time of Immortal Gods. Why then couldn't he have been a former great power? In those novels, there were many mighty beings from the age of Immortal Gods who could foresee the past and future. If his suspicion was correct, which one of those great beings could he be the reincarnation of? After a long while, Ding Huan finally calmed down. He looked at the scavenger's corpse, somewhat reluctant to believe his own conjecture was true. If everything was indeed as he had surmised, then his previous personality was definitely not something he now appreciated. The scavenger before him, though selfish, could be considered his savior in a way. And yet, such a person had been silenced within such schemes. Ding Huan sighed, sending a Fireball from his hand that reduced the scavenger to ashes. He didn't dare approach the tree; it was too mysterious. Whether or not these arrangements were his own doing was merely his speculation. With his current strength, it was best to keep his distance. As Ding Huan was preparing to retreat, the edge of his Divine Will detected two figures, a man and a woman. The woman, he recognized; it was Luo Xinwei, whom he had harbored a secret crush on for many years. It was normal for Luo Xinwei to appear here; she was the instructor at Heluo Shangwu University. "Is it you? Ding Xiao... Ding Huan?" Luo Xinwei had also seen Ding Huan and called out with some excitement. The man beside Luo Xinwei was tall and handsome. Ding Huan was about 1.8 meters tall, and this guy was a head taller than him. The chance encounter with Luo Xinwei brought no joy to Ding Huan. He simply nodded, greeted casually, and turned to leave. Today's events had been too bizarre; he intended to go back and study the leather scroll he carried. Whether to come back to investigate this mysterious Ancient Cypress Tree was something he needed to contemplate. "Wait, Ding Huan, did you really teach Fang Chong and the others?" Luo Xinwei hurriedly followed him, her voice, full of excitement, reaching him before she did. "Oh, it was mostly Mr. Geng who taught them. I just tagged along," replied Ding Huan, not wanting to waste words with this woman and quickly left. "So you're Ding Huan?" The tall man behind Luo Xinwei spoke up.