CHAPTER 329: MEETING WITH THE ANCESTOR

"The statue... is alive?"

He didn’t sense any magic or anything unusual from the statue, yet somehow, it managed to awaken without his notice.

His eyes fixed on the magic staff, and he muttered, "That magic staff is really strange. Could it be a legendary item or something?"

He couldn’t even gauge how powerful the staff was, which clearly showed that it was a truly mysterious weapon.

While Nolan was lost in thought, the statue suddenly stood up and straightened its massive body.

Since the ceiling was only ten meters high, its head naturally hit it, shattering the stone above.

The ground trembled violently, and cracks began to spread across the surroundings.

"This is bad! If it collapses, the cave behind it will collapse too!"

The treasure inside was worth tens of billions—maybe even hundreds of billions—of Sharn. Although Nolan was already wealthy, he still loved money.

Quickly, he formed a hand seal, and a magic circle appeared beneath the statue’s feet.

Whoosh!

The giant statue instantly vanished, and Nolan disappeared along with it.

***

About seven kilometers from the cave, a quiet and beautiful stretch of sea lay undisturbed.

Suddenly, a ten-meter-wide magic circle formed in the air. From it, a giant statue emerged, plummeting downward at incredible speed.

Boom!

Its enormous body struck the water and sank. Moments later, Nolan arrived, watching as the statue disappeared beneath the waves.

"Is it dead?" he wondered, frowning.

Boom!

Another explosion rang out as the enormous figure rose from the water and stood upon it.

Earlier, Nolan hadn’t been able to make out its features clearly, but now, bathed in moonlight, he could see it perfectly.

The statue wore a robe carved to fit its form, with a crown resting on its head. Its face appeared aged, radiating a powerful aura of determination.

Although it was only a statue, the details of its human form were so lifelike that it seemed truly alive.

The statue raised its head and stared at Nolan, who wore his demon mask.

"Who are you?" it asked in a thunderous voice. "Did you wake me? But... how is that possible? Only my descendants can do that."

Its eyes narrowed in anger, and a wave of oppressive power pressed against Nolan.

It had no effect. Nolan remained calm, floating in the air, staring at it with indifferent eyes.

"Only your descendants, you say? Did you create the restrictions and traps at the entrance?" he asked flatly.

"Yes, I created them all," it admitted. "Did you destroy them? Then... who are you? How did someone as powerful as you find my resting place?"

Nolan didn’t answer immediately, instead digesting the words carefully.

So, only descendants of the Imperial family can enter the cave? Then how was Belfor able to enter—and even control the system inside in the past? He furrowed his brow.

A sudden suspicion crossed his mind. Could he have hired a Celestial Mage to alter the arrangement? That would make sense. But, as far as I know, there are only seven Celestial Mages, and they all serve my father. Could one of them be responsible?

His expression grew serious. If his guess was correct, that person had committed a grave crime.

The Seven Mages of the Constellations were an elite force under his father. Their loyalty belonged solely to him, and every action they took had to be reported directly.

After all, the Celestial rank was the highest among mages. Even the smallest movement from one of them could shake the entire Empire.

Even if Belfor wanted to hire one, he would have needed strict permission from his father.

Given the old man’s nature, that was impossible—even for Belfor.

Yet that was exactly what made Nolan suspicious—one of the mages might have secretly conspired with Belfor to conceal the Fifth Emperor’s tomb from his father and the imperial palace.

Such an act would be outright treason against both his father and the Empire.

"Why are you silent? Who are you, really? Do you intend to steal my Eterthium Magic Staff?"

The statue’s angry voice rang out again, and the shockwave slammed into Nolan.

Fortunately, an invisible barrier deflected everything with ease.

Nolan stared at the statue with indifference. "If I say no, would you believe me?"

The statue paused, staring at him intently, before raising its magic staff high.

Buzz!

Seven magic circles, each five meters in diameter, appeared above, below, behind, to the right, and to the left of Nolan, glowing with a blinding red light.

Whoosh!

Seven blue fireballs shot from the circles, hurtling straight toward Nolan. His position was locked—there was no escape.

Boom!

They exploded with a deafening roar, sending a shockwave that seemed to split the sea below.

The statue grinned, but before it could react, Nolan appeared behind it and punched it squarely in the back of the head.

Bang!

The massive body flew two kilometers before crashing into a four-meter-high rock, shattering it.

It struggled to rise, but Nolan was already hovering in the air, standing before it.

Surprise flickered across the statue’s face. It quickly stepped back four paces, keeping its distance.

"Who are you, really?" it asked cautiously.

It knew Nolan was strong, but it hadn’t expected him to be this powerful. Nolan could effortlessly dodge even city-destroying magic.

Nolan removed his mask and stared at it with indifference.

"Before I answer your question, there’s something I want to ask. Are you the Fifth Emperor? No... you must be the last consciousness of the Fifth Emperor, right? How did you end up like this?" His voice was deep and steady.

Nolan wasn’t cruel enough to kill or destroy anyone in front of him.

More importantly, rather than destroying the statue, his goal was to uncover the truth about what had happened to the Fifth Emperor—and why his sons had overthrown him.

That history had been carefully covered up by his father, leaving almost no trace for Nolan to find, as if all records had been erased long ago.

At his question, the statue’s expression darkened. Its massive body trembled, as if struggling to contain its anger.

"It’s none of your business," it replied coldly.

"Of course it is." Nolan rolled his eyes. "I am the Sixth Prince of the Great Velmora Empire, Nolan Lorian. Old Man, I am your descendant. Doesn’t that give me the right to know what happened to you?"

The statue froze, staring at him in disbelief.

"You... my descendant? How is that possible? Why didn’t I sense a bloodline connection?"

Nolan lifted his badge and removed the strap that had hidden his bloodline. While in his Singularity of Chaos form, he always concealed it.

Otherwise, his identity could be discovered by his father—or even by Elina. After all, they were twins, and it wasn’t impossible for her to recognize him instantly.

When the statue sensed the synchronization with Nolan, its eyes widened in shock.

"You... you are truly my descendant!"