I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

After all, as the imperial physician of the palace, he had seen too many cases of battle-hardened officers and generals who shamelessly drank a bottle of liquor before surgery and said that anesthesia was not needed, but then cried like a 200-pound child when the knife was actually used on the operating table.

But no one expected that during the entire operation, let alone rolling on the ground in pain, the patient did not even frown - he just silently watched his blood vessels being torn, the broken ends being peeled off from the nerve sheath, and then sutured together.

"Well, maybe, probably, about nineteen..." A large ferret on the windowsill nearby shook its furry tail. "Anyway, that's what's registered on the obelisk at Starry University."

According to standard procedures, such a major operation must have a guardian or relative present, but no one knows what happened... Dean Snow Ferret, who the imperial physician had come into contact with during his student days, actually became the relative of this patient.

He became more and more curious about the true identity of this junior fellow named Last, on whom he had just performed surgery.

He was actually involved with both princesses and Dean Yin at the same time.

"In short, just treat him as if he's really nineteen and that's it."

Dean Yin threatened fiercely, "Don't ask if you don't need to know. And remember not to talk nonsense after you leave. Of course, if you're not afraid of retaliation from a certain scheming little princess, then you can do whatever you want."

Last's identity and origins were directly linked to the secrets of the Night World, and held the highest level of confidentiality. Even in the entire modern world, no more than five people knew the truth. Dean Yin certainly couldn't tell the imperial physician the truth.

Last's real age remains a mystery to this day, and even he himself is not sure.

"understand."

"Although I have already graduated from Starry University, as the saying goes, a teacher is a father for life. I will definitely listen carefully to Dean Yin's teachings."

The imperial physician nodded and bowed, and it was obvious that he had been bullied by Dean Yin many times when he was a student.

"I've never seen you so manipulative and slick before in the academy. As expected, becoming a royal physician and being close to that old man Aaron is not going to bring good things." Dean Yin flicked his tail and said, "If there's nothing else to do, I'll dismiss the court."

"learn."

The imperial physician packed up his equipment and prepared to leave, but before leaving, he couldn't help but look back at the black-haired boy who was resting quietly on the hospital bed.

The so-called "pain" is a stimulating nerve impulse evolved by higher organisms in order to seek benefits and avoid harm and stay away from danger. It is an instinct engraved deep in human genes.

Therefore, everyone is born delicate and afraid of pain.

It’s just that some people have suffered more and faced pain more often, so they are accustomed to pain... It’s not that they are not afraid of pain, but that they can endure it better.

It is hard to imagine what kind of experience this young man, who is only "19 years old" in the eyes of Dean Yin, has gone through to allow him to remain calm when faced with the physiological instinct of having his nerve endings pulled.

If the imperial physician had not personally cut open the other person's body and sewed up every inch of tendons, blood vessels and organs... then he might have guessed that the other person was a robot.

A machine with a human appearance.

……

Only after the imperial physician left the school hospital did Dean Yin jump out of the window and land on the bedside table next to Last's bed.

"You guy..."

Dean Yin sighed, but didn't know what to say: "You always get yourself so bruised and battered. It feels like the school hospital is almost becoming your home."

Its tail rested on Luster's shoulder in boredom. "I've been here for so long that my dried fish has become stained with the smell of disinfectant. I've lost my appetite. When you're discharged from the hospital, remember to treat me to a big meal to make it up to me."

Lying on the hospital bed, Last ignored Dean Yin's complaints.

He just closed his eyes slightly, and after a long time, he spoke softly again: "Where is Axia? How is she?"

According to her last memory in the night world, Akxia should have successfully left the night world and returned to the current time node, which is the correct history.

However, that was just my guess after all. No one could be sure whether the Night World would cause any more trouble like it did with Queen Helen.

"Well, Xiao Xia has also returned safely."

"Her physical condition is much better than when you returned, with her blood vessels and organs shattered and hanging on for her last breath... She was just a little weak from sleeping for so long, and she was discharged smoothly after a few days of recuperation."

Dean Yin stood at the head of the bed like a cat, licking his paws with his tongue. "She and Little Tina came to see you several times, but you were undergoing nerve repair surgery at the time, so I kept them out."

"As for her identity, we have already investigated it and have some clues."

"Although the night world is mysterious, it certainly doesn't go awry for no reason. The reason Xiao Xia suddenly gained the identity of Queen Helen after entering the Sixth Epoch's Historical Echoes... there must be a reason behind it."

"According to my speculation, the relationship between Xiao Xia and Queen Helen is not some vague thing like a past life or reincarnation."

"It's because they are one person."

"That Queen Helen—that was Xiao Xia's former identity in the Sixth Epoch, before she lost her memories and powers."

Dean Yin shook his tail. "The blood of the Old God of Death indeed flows within Xiao Xia's body. She is the perfect vessel created by that Old God of Death, and she lived in the world as Queen Helen as early as the Sixth Epoch."

"However, in real history, the Sixth Epoch ended before that old God of Death could even find the opportunity to revive."

"And Xiao Xia fell back into the abyss, entering a long slumber and self-sealing until the end of the Sixth Epoch... The Seventh Epoch, which is the era we live in now, was opened up."

"Little Xia was discovered and adopted by the old principal while exploring a certain ruin... Now it seems that the ruins where she was found might be the Paradise Royal City from the Sixth Epoch, the location of the Nether Abyss, where Little Xia sealed herself and slept."

Dean Yin paused. "Although we've speculated in the past, for example, that the Gravekeepers survive into the modern era, those were merely speculations, never truly confirmed."

"And Xiao Xia is the first person we've confirmed to have truly transcended that 'Pale Age,' living from the old era reflected in the night world to the present day."

At this point, a hint of seriousness flashed across Dean Yin's ruby-like eyes.

This is an unprecedented discovery and can even be regarded as a milestone in Starry University's exploration of the night world.

It was through this discovery that Starry University was able to truly confirm that the many historical reflections reflected in the night world were not illusions occurring in another time and space, but were truly connected to the world they lived in and the present world.

This is a true history that has been passed down to this day, and Akxia is a historical witness who has experienced both the Sixth and Seventh Ages, and has historical research value beyond imagination.

"It's a pity that Xiao Xia seems to have lost most of her power and almost all of her memories during that slumber that spanned an entire era."

As he spoke, Dean Yin couldn't help but shook his head with some regret.

"Not only has her power faded with time, but she has also long forgotten everything she experienced in the Sixth Epoch... If not for this, we might have been able to learn some secrets in advance."

"For example, what exactly will the Sixth Epoch Civilization end like, and what will the final catastrophe that epoch ultimately face be like?"

Dean Yin shook his head for a long time, then suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke again:

"By the way, Xiao Xia asked me to tell you..."

"After you recover from your injuries and are discharged from the hospital—"

"She wants to meet you again there."

Dean Yin couldn't help but wag his tail in confusion as he spoke. "Yes, she was talking about 'there'... I wasn't paying attention because you were in surgery, so I don't know what place Xiao Xia was talking about."

The little ferret retrieved the smart terminal from its secondary dimension, curled it up with its tail, and unlocked it with its claw marks before opening the chat app to send a message: "I'll go ask for you..."

"No, Dean Yin, that's not necessary."

However, the little ferret's actions were stopped by Rast with a gentle voice.

He looked at the map application that appeared on the touch screen of the smart terminal in his hand. "I roughly know where Akxia is talking about."

The Sixth Age and the Seventh Age in which we live today.

An entire era, a time span of thousands or even tens of thousands of years, can indeed change many things.

It was enough to bring about the downfall of a once prosperous kingdom, reducing it to ruins covered in dust... It was also enough to make the once sincere, passionate, and brilliant ideals fade into oblivion, until they degenerated into an incomparably hideous, ugly, and distorted form.

However, there are always some things that will not change.

Last's gaze fell on a corner of the map application.

He had discovered this as early as the Sixth Epoch, although the place names had already undergone many iterations with the changes in civilization and the passage of time.

However, many of the real world's landforms and contours still vaguely resemble those of the Sixth Epoch, such as the Broken Coast and the Endless Sea...

Another example is the cliff shrouded in the pale golden sunset on the outskirts of the former Paradise City.

Even though the paradise has been destroyed and the royal city has returned to dust, the mountain still stands there quietly, no matter how times change and how the world changes.

"On that cliff..."

Last's mumbling was so soft that even Dean Yin beside him didn't hear it.

"Once again, I write the story between the caged bird and the boy, you and I..."

"The final, fairytale ending?"

Chapter 179: Rust, Long Time No See (Two in One)

Based on the comparison made by Last on the map.

That paradise from the old times was located in the territory of the present Granville Empire, about 400 kilometers away from the imperial capital, in a place called Cuifeng Territory.

The capital city at that time has now been replaced by an entire lush and quiet forest.

There is no one living within a radius of dozens of miles except for a few hunters and herbalists living near the mountains. There is no trace of the prosperous royal city of the past.

Only the towering mountains bear witness to the existence of the underworld kingdom of the Sixth Epoch.

……

When Last arrived at the border of Cuifeng Territory from Fanxing University by high-speed train, and then spent more than an hour traveling to the foot of the mountains next to the ruins of the paradise, it was almost dusk.

Through the lush forest, you can vaguely see a winding and rugged path leading straight to the top of the mountain.

This is the path that nearby hunters and herbalists take when they go up the mountain. As people walk on it so often, it becomes a road.

However, with the rapid development of industry and technology in the Western Continent, professions such as hunters and herbalists have become less common, so this trail has become semi-abandoned and covered in lush and overgrown weeds. It is unknown how long it will take for a new visitor to arrive.

When he reached halfway up the mountain, Last suddenly stopped.

He raised his eyes slightly and looked at the sky above his head, which was hidden by the lush branches and leaves, and only a corner of the blue sky could be seen.

"If I remember correctly, there should also be laws like the Personal Privacy Protection Act in the Granville Empire."

He spoke calmly to the empty, dim sky, somewhere seemingly empty.

"So, Dean Yin, please stay here and wait for me. Please don't follow me anymore."

Rast's words echoed among the empty mountains, but the empty sky remained silent, without any response.

Seeing this, Last couldn't help but sigh softly, and a mysterious silver-white hue suddenly flowed in his dark eyes.

Then he stretched out his hand and grasped it in the air.

As Laster moved, the next moment, a distorted halo of light began to spread out little by little in the direction of his hand.

Suddenly, a clear crack appeared in the seemingly empty air...

Inside the crack, a ferret was lying on the sofa, leisurely eating dried fish, looking at the torn space in confusion, staring at Last.

"You damn thing! Isn't this Barbarossa's gorilla's insulating claw? No...is it 'Silent Disqualification'?"

"You've learned so much secretly that you can even destroy my spatial folding?"

"And how did you find me hiding in the secondary dimension? Just relying on that little Ishtar's 'Prying Eyes'?"

Dean Yin and his little dried fish were all shocked, their faces full of disbelief.

Originally, although he had witnessed Rast's heroic battle in the night world through Ophelia's light screen live broadcast...but at that time, Rast had achieved his victory by using external forces including the "Holy Grenade", "Zenith Sword", and the Star Cup of the God of Death.

With the help of these external objects, Rast can certainly compete with the legend for a short time, but that is an unsustainable means after all. For example, the Star Cup of the God of Death and the home bonus within the Abyss... After the end of the historical echoes, they will no longer exist and cannot be regarded as the power that truly belongs to Rast himself.

Subconsciously, Dean Yin still regarded Last as the student who was only at the second level when he first entered the Star University. Although he had an amazing character and unlimited potential... he was still just a newbie in the extraordinary field and could be manipulated at will.

But Dean Yin's idea was slapped in the face. "Space folding" and "secondary dimension", which were abilities that could be used to attack by reducing dimensions in the past, were now broken by Last.

It was not until this moment that Dean Yin suddenly realized that the black-haired and black-eyed boy in front of him was no longer the newbie who allowed himself to be manipulated at will.

Just as Dean Yin had witnessed on the live broadcast screen, as the heir to the legendary Shore Keeper, Last, who had already broken through to the fifth level and possessed the Night Blade of the "Fool's Library," was still a long way from true legendary status...

But in the realm below legend, Last has already matured, and is gradually realizing his previous potential, truly embarking on a legendary path of his own.

Before Dean Yin had time to recover from the shock and emotion of "my son Rast has grown up", he felt as if a hand was strangling the back of his neck.

The hand was long and bony, and it pulled it out from the folded and hidden secondary dimension and lifted it into the air.

"As the Head of the Institute for Magical Creatures."

"Dean Yin, you don't want the students to know that you're actually a perverted ferret who likes to hide in the secondary dimension and spy on and stalk the students, right?"

Rast's calm voice sounded like the whisper of a devil to Dean Yin at this moment.

"You've changed, little Luster..."

"You were obviously not like this before. Back then you were so little and so cute, not at all as cold and heartless as you are now."

"Do you know how hurtful that kind of talk is to a ferret?"

Dean Yin cried softly, curled up his big furry tail and wiped away his non-existent tears.

"As a professor at the academy and your teacher, I simply feel the need to observe the emotional issues between my two students..."

"Just like those parents who secretly read their adolescent children's diaries, even though I followed you and Xiao Xia and spied on you, I was actually doing it for your own good. These actions are proof that I love you."