Chapter 387: An ultimate taboo

Chapter 387: An ultimate taboo

Ethan’s initial goal had always been simple.

Acquire every powerful bloodline in existence.

Only after standing at the peak would he look back and reclaim what he had lost.

His family.

At first he thought once he became powerful enough, he would be able to find his family.

Yet as time passed, something felt wrong.

Every time Ethan tried to trace his family’s whereabouts, something invisible blocked him. It was not a wall. It was not concealment. It was absence. The karmic threads that should have guided him simply vanished, slipping into a dark region where even his divine perception failed.

Was it fate?

That question alone unsettled him.

He had mastered the Law of Fate. He had mastered the Law of Karma. Cause and effect bowed before his will. A single thought from him could unravel destinies woven across epochs.

And yet, the karmic threads tied to his family always led into darkness.

A place where laws lost meaning.

A place where even he could not see.

Was fate resisting him?

Or was this something that existed beyond fate itself?

"Am I walking toward a dead end?"

The thought seized his mind without warning.

Ethan halted mid-flight.

Space trembled as his figure descended onto a barren planet drifting at the edge of a forgotten star system. The planet was lifeless. No atmosphere worth mentioning. No signs of energy veins or ancient ruins.

Perfect.

With a single gesture, Ethan unfolded a barrier that sealed the entire planet. Layers upon layers of isolation stacked together until even cosmic perception could not pierce it.

Only then did he sit down, cross-legged, upon the cracked surface.

He closed his eyes.

For the first time in a long while, Ethan did not cultivate.

He reflected.

From the moment he started his journey.

First transmigration in a world.

The awakening of the system.

His first steps as a martial artist.

Each realm he ascended.

Each law he comprehended.

Each enemy that appeared at the perfect time.

Each inheritance that arrived precisely when he needed it.

Even learning the truth about his past life had come at the correct moment, as if the universe itself had waited until he was strong enough to bear it.

He remembered the revelation clearly.

That his entire journey was not random.

That this life, this world, this power, were all tools crafted to push his past self out of an endless loop of stagnation.

At the time, he had accepted it.

He was growing stronger. That much was undeniable.

Yet no matter how high he climbed, someone stronger always appeared.

Every summit revealed a higher peak.

Every victory exposed a greater battlefield.

Would this ever end?

Would there ever come a moment when everything truly lay under his control?

Or was he merely walking along a path carved by something else?

A path designed so perfectly that deviation itself became impossible.

"Let’s think out of the box."

The thought surfaced naturally.

Then something strange happened.

A sense of discomfort crept into Ethan’s heart.

A feeling he had not experienced in a long time.

He suddenly felt like a puppet.

Like a beautifully crafted marionette dancing upon invisible strings.

What if someone was watching him?

What if his entire journey was nothing more than entertainment for a higher being?

He imagined it vividly.

Some higher beings sitting before an enormous screen, laughing, drinking, gambling on what choice he would make next.

He clenched his fist.

"No. That’s ridiculous."

Yet even as he dismissed the thought, it refused to fade.

"I am nothing more than a talented copycat."

The realization struck him with unexpected force.

Cultivation techniques.

Bloodline evolutions.

Law comprehension.

Were any of these truly his creations?

Or were they just imitations of something that existed before him?

The question grew deeper.

What about the first being?

The one who stood at the origin of all cultivation.

Did that being become powerful through effort?

Or were they born powerful?

And if they were born powerful, where did power itself come from?

Where did cultivation originate?

For the first time in his existence, Ethan placed his hand upon the ultimate taboo.

The origin of everything.

If a god was born from nothing, then what was that nothing?

Where did it exist?

The moment his thoughts crossed that line, agony exploded inside his skull.

Bang.

A sharp pain tore through his consciousness.

Ethan’s body trembled violently.

Even with his genesis-level physique and soul, the pain felt unbearable. It was as if his very existence was rejecting the question he had dared to ask.

His vision blurred.

His mind screamed.

Yet he did not stop thinking.

He knew it.

He was getting closer.

Then, a memory surfaced.

A theory from his past life.

Cantor’s Infinity.

Between the number one and the number two, there existed infinitely many numbers.

An endless sequence.

No matter how much you refined the gap, you would never exhaust it.

Yet all those infinite numbers still fit between one and two.

They would never reach two.

A chill ran through his soul.

Was he inside such a system?

Could he cultivate forever, endlessly refining his power, yet never reach the final point?

Was he trapped between one and two?

No matter how strong he became, would he forever remain less than two?

And if that was the case...

Who stood at two?

Or three?

Were those beings the ones watching him?

Had someone already reached that level and constructed this infinite loop as a cage?

Ethan’s throat went dry.

His breathing quickened.

He realized something terrifying.

Only because of his infinite comprehension was he able to think this far.

No other being in this reality could even conceptualize such a question.

Boom.

His consciousness was violently ripped away.

There was no transition.

No warning.

One moment he existed.

The next, he was nowhere.

Ethan opened his eyes.

He saw nothing.

Yet it was not darkness.

It felt like trying to look behind oneself.

The limitation was not environmental.

It was fundamental.

He could not perceive because perception itself did not apply here.

For the first time, Ethan felt fragile.

His power was gone.

His laws were gone.

His authority meant nothing.

His soul trembled uncontrollably.

Then, two red eyes opened before him.

They were vast.

Larger than worlds.

Larger than realities.

A presence descended.

A voice entered his consciousness.

"Your thoughts have crossed a forbidden line."

"You are prohibited from thinking further."

"Continue, and your existence will be erased."

The voice carried no emotion.

Only absolute finality.

The next instant, Ethan’s consciousness was expelled.

He returned to his body with a violent gasp.

His entire form shook.

Cold sweat drenched him.

His heart pounded wildly.

He felt thirsty.

Desperately thirsty.

It was absurd.

As it was a mortal sensation. But he was an immortal, right? Or was he?

Ethan created a glass of cold water and drank it as if his life depended on it.

Only after several breaths did his hands stop trembling.

He stared at them in silence.

Was he immortal?

Or had he only been pretending to be?

He took a deep breath.

A cold smile slowly formed on his face.

"So I really am in a cage."

"But I am Ethan Hunt."

"No cage binds me forever."

"I will break it."

He stood up.

His eyes hardened.

"I will create something of my own."

"Something you bastards will never be able to predict."

He knew it would not be easy.

Creating a cultivation system from scratch was not something that could be done quickly.

Until then, he would play along.

He would follow their rules.

But only on the surface.

What truly caught his attention was his system.

Unlike everything else, the system felt different.

Detached.

Unbound by the same infinite loop.

If he could create a new cultivation system and integrate it into the system, then even growth within the loop would become meaningless.

He would grow in a way that transcended it.

He did not need to perfect everything immediately.

He only needed one thing.

A lever.

Something that could pull him out of the gap between one and two.

Ethan stepped forward.

He resumed his journey.

He would seize the Throne of Destiny.

And when the time came, he would make a wish that would contradict the superior beings.

And that would be to become invisible to all prying eyes.

Even those who stood at number two.

Even those who watched from beyond.

Would they grant it?

Or would they try to kill him? But wouldn’t that contradict them? The rules did say that any wishes could be granted to the emperor of destiny.

Ethan smiled.

He knew one truth.

Contradictions had to be resolved for powerful beings.