"Then, did he succeed?" Meng Chao could not help but ask.
At first glance, it sounded like a useless question.
If Saber Jin Wanhao really returned to his youth, then with the powerful realm of the Underground Emperor and his body at the peak of its prime in his twenties or thirties, he would become one of the most terrifying top-class elites in all of Dragon City. Perhaps he would not even become one of them.
There was no way the youthful Jin Wanhao would remain unmoved even though the Vortex had turned the lair upside down and Golden Tooth was about to fall apart.
But A 'Ji, who knew all of Jin Wanhao's secrets and could use Celestial Tyrant's Star Shattering Slash, made Meng Chao think that the research on rejuvenation might not have completely failed.
A 'Ji was conflicted again.
"He succeeded, but he also failed," he said.
"Jin Wanhao's original plan was to develop a super cell activator that could largely increase the functions of his cells. Then, with a unique technique, he could increase the vibrations and rotation of his vitality magnetic field. In the end, he could make his body return to the perfect state of twenty-five years old.
"A human in his twenties or thirties has the strongest cell activity, physical strength, and even vitality. With the fighting experience and spirit energy martial arts he gained from decades of fighting in mountains of corpses, it's enough for Jin Wanhao to become the strongest superhuman in Dragon City in one go!
"Unfortunately, the medicine to rejuvenate youth isn't something that can be created so easily.
"Jin Wanhao wasn't born as a pharmacist. He only obtained some scattered skills and formulas that had been lost in the depths of the Other World for a long time by pure coincidence.
"He couldn't reveal any of these things, or else, the nine great mega corporations would covet them and try to snatch them from him. If things went wrong, the Underground Emperor might even be killed to keep his mouth shut.
"He could only research alone while he searched for companions who shared the same goals and could trust.
"It's naturally impossible for him to find a partner like this overnight. He waited for a total of ten years before Red Brows Su Lun's mother came. She's a genius pharmacist who hates the nine great mega corporations to the core. He used the condition that he would help her destroy Heaven Pharmaceuticals once he was done, and he invited her to join him to expand the underground lab. That's how he managed to speed up his research.
"Unfortunately, Red Brows Su Lun's mother used up all her energy in the fight against Heaven Pharmaceuticals. After helping Jin Wanhao research the secret medicine for a few years, she couldn't withstand the torment of the world, and she passed away in her own way.
"After that, Jin Wanhao went back to the state where he was exploring things on his own. Of course, he made a lot of mistakes and suffered from spirit energy deviation a few times. Fortunately, the damage was rather minor, and he could use his thick spirit energy to temporarily suppress it.
"Until one day a few months ago, when he was conducting research alone in a secret laboratory, he finally couldn't suppress it any longer. The injuries and illnesses that had accumulated for decades, as well as the damage caused by his several Qi Deviation, erupted like a flood and a ferocious beast, causing him to fall into the most dangerous Qi Deviation of his life.
"At that time, he was concocting a potion that was even more violent than Hell's Blood.
"They used nearly one hundred very fierce superbeast materials and high-grade crystals. All of them are the size of a fingernail, and they can blow up an entire house.
"When Jin Wanhao went through spirit energy deviation, he couldn't control himself. He moved his arms and legs, and his spirit flames surged. He overturned and smashed a large number of material storage devices, and the materials inside spilled all over his body.
"The incomplete and semi-finished medicine was mixed in as well. It was crushed by his vitality magnetic field and absorbed into his body.
"Nearly one hundred types of power that are incompatible with each other are rampaging through Jin Wanhao's body, and they're practically tearing apart all of his cells. The situation is incredibly dangerous, and it's even more terrifying than when you drank Hell's Blood.
"Even Jin Wanhao, the Underground Emperor, fainted because of the pain.
"He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he woke up, he noticed that he was still alive. Not only that, to his surprise and delight, he saw that a shocking change had happened to his body. He seemed to have gotten what he wanted by accident, and he regained his youth!
"But …
"But the effect of the formula seems to be a little too strong. It didn't make Saber Jin Wanhao return to the age of twenty-five that he wanted the most. Instead, he returned to when he was eight or nine years old!"
"Ah!"
When Meng Chao and Lu Siya heard this, they cried out at the same time. "Are you going to tell me that you're Jin Wanhao?"
When they blurted this out, they looked at each other at a loss and saw the disbelief on each other's faces.
They were not slow-witted people.
When they noticed that A 'Ji knew the secret tunnel leading to Jin Wanhao's secret chamber and the password to the safe, he even called himself the master of the place, and he could execute Jin Wanhao's unique technique, Celestial Tyrant's Star Shattering Slash, they guessed that the boy had a close relationship with Jin Wanhao.
But regaining his youth was too strange, and it was difficult for them to accept it immediately.
Besides, Meng Chao felt that A 'Ji's presence was completely different from the domineering Underground Emperor in the legends.
In the beginning, when he sneaked up to Meng Chao, the Leprosy Village boy who was a little cunning and loyal did not seem to be putting on a show. Most of the time, he seemed to be showing his true colors.
Even when he executed Celestial Tyrant's Star Shattering Slash and announced his identity, even though he tried his best to put on an ancient and awe-inspiring appearance, he still looked a little out of place.
Of course, this might have something to do with his bruised face and the fact that he was hung upside down.
"I … find it hard to believe."
Meng Chao drew closer and widened his eyes to observe A 'Ji for a long time, but he still could not find the domineering air of the Underground Emperor. "The first time we entered the lair to investigate the clues related to the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise, Big Sis Ya and I came into contact with Saber Jin Wanhao.
"At that time, we didn't see Jin Wanhao's real face. He just stood on a tall building and cast a casual glance at us through a floor-to-ceiling window. That was enough to make me break out in cold sweat, and I nearly suffocate.
"He's such a domineering and peerless hero. Even if he … shrank, he shouldn't look like you."
"That's right," A 'Ji said.
"I don't think I'm Saber Jin Wanhao either."
His words stunned Meng Chao a little.
"If I am, then I am. If I'm not, then I'm not. What do you mean by I don't think I'm Saber Jin Wanhao?" he asked curiously.
"Let me put it this way. Do you think that the you who was three years old, who was still peeing and muddy, and the you who was thirty years old, full of ambition and wanted to do something great, and the you who was seventy or eighty years old, sick all over, slow and dizzy, are the same person? If your souls were swapped, would their thoughts, actions, and free will be the same? "A 'Ji retorted.
This question made Meng Chao sink into deep thought.
Perhaps to others, A 'Ji had asked a question that made no sense.
Regardless of whether he was three years old, thirty years old, eighty years old, or even three hundred years old, he was still "me".
But as someone who had returned from the apocalypse, Meng Chao could keenly sense the subtle differences.
He had been through mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and hell. He had also witnessed Dragon City burning in the demonic flames of the apocalypse and all Earthlings being reduced to powder. With a lot of nightmarish memories, was the him who returned to the past before his national college examination really the same person as the muddle-headed Meng Chao who failed his national college examination?
Meng Chao did not think so.
In his previous life, he was now a harvester at the bottom of the food chain and struggling to move mountains of low-grade monster materials.
At that time, Dragon City was in a perilous situation, and its army was destroyed. It was forced to retreat and defend itself.
At that time, all the ambitions he had before his national college examination were crushed by the cruel reality. He just wanted to live a normal life as a normal person. That was his greatest wish.
In this life, he was at the same age, but he had already reached Heaven Realm and became one of the top fighters of the Golden Era in Dragon City. He had Superstar, controlled the Broken Star Club, intervened in Blue Home, and had the abnormal beast research department, Sky Pillar Corporation, Agricultural University's martial arts course, and other powerful forces behind him. The connections and resources he could mobilize were incredibly shocking. If he used all his strength, he could even invite one or two Deity Realm elites to join him.
He had returned to the past, and even though he was at the same age, his status, strength, and authority were already worlds apart.
Naturally, his personality, worldview, way of thinking, and even the things he sacrificed his life to pursue changed.
In fact, even his appearance had changed, making him look like a completely different person.
He had awakened to supernatural abilities, gone through multiple bloody battles, trained hard in the wild, and even drank a lot of Hell's Blood. Right now, Meng Chao looked as if he was carved out of a Red Radiance Jade and Blue Origin Crystal. He was filled with explosive power and life force. This was something he had never obtained in his previous life even after he trained hard for his entire life.
Meng Chao believed that if his current self ran into his previous self at the same age on the streets, he would definitely not be able to recognize "him".
Similarly, he had gradually forgotten what his previous self had been thinking and pursuing when he was the same age.
Even if he knew, it was not what the current Apocalypse Meng Chao pursued.
Humans were not just made up of flesh and blood.
They were also the sum of their social relationships.
A person's thoughts, personality, and goals had been shaped by everything they had gone through over a long period of time.
When their experiences were changed, and even the long period of time turned into a future that had yet to happen, everything became different.
"So, you're indeed Saber Jin Wanhao who returned to his youth, but do you think that you're not the ambitious and ruthless Underground Emperor who is the master of the lair?"
Meng Chao's mind raced, and he finally understood what A 'Ji meant.
"Big Brother Chao, you understand me!"
A 'Ji looked as if he had changed his expression. He put on the face he had when he first met Meng Chao and said in a slightly aggrieved tone, "I've never lied to you. A' Ji has always been my real name, and Jin Wanhao is a fake name that I — no, that person gave me later on.
"From a bystander's point of view, it's just like you said. Saber Jin Wanhao entered spirit energy deviation, and he returned to his youth by accident.
"But from my point of view, I'm just nine years old. For some reason, when I woke up, I found myself lying in a mysterious underground lab, and I had some strange memories in my head!"
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