259: Chapter 255 Inheritance

Walking up to the tombstone, Song Yang tried to make out the characters on it.

The next moment, a beam of eerie blue light shot out from the "tombstone" without warning, like a cold eye, enveloping him from head to toe.

The scan lasted for over ten seconds, and then the blue light retracted, vanishing into the smooth door.

"Click... clack..."

The dark silver metal door, which Zeus called a "tombstone," suddenly split open, revealing a gap in the middle.

The gap slowly widened to both sides, revealing a deep, wide passageway inside.

The inner walls of the passageway were also made of that same dark silver metal, emitting a soft, mysterious white light that illuminated the interior as bright as day.

"My sensors have completely failed here, Song Yang. Once you go in, you might really have to rely on yourself."

Zeus advised, "Statistically speaking, unknown equals danger. I do not recommend you enter."

Song Yang looked back at the endless darkness behind him and the spaceship that had already turned into scrap metal.

"Staying here means a one hundred percent probability of death."

He no longer hesitated and stepped through that door.

The moment his feet stepped into the passageway, the two doors behind him immediately closed silently at a speed far exceeding when they opened.

"Boom!"

A dull, thunderous sound echoed, as if the entire mountain range shook, completely cutting off the only path of retreat.

Silence returned to the passageway, with only the soft white light faithfully coating every inch of space.

Song Yang tried touching the wall; it felt cold and hard, just like the door outside, with not a single seam to be found.

He walked forward, step by step, along the passageway, which was wide enough to accommodate a heavy truck.

Time seemed to become blurred here again. The surrounding scenery did not change at all; only his own footsteps echoed in the vast, empty passageway, making him feel exceptionally lonely.

He estimated that he had been walking for nearly ten minutes.

The space ahead suddenly opened up. At the end of the passageway was an even more magnificent domed hall.

Just then, countless blue rays of light intertwined and rose from the floor in the center of the hall, rapidly converging into a huge human silhouette.

The light and shadow stabilized. A virtual figure composed of light, over six meters tall, floated silently in mid-air.

It was an old man with white hair, a rugged face, deep eyes, and a burly frame. Even as a mere phantom, he exuded an imposing aura that was awe-inspiring without anger.

He looked down, overlooking Song Yang standing below, just like looking at a child who had trespassed into his territory.

Song Yang stopped and met the gaze of the giant phantom.

After a long while, the old man's lips moved, and an aged voice boomed throughout the hall:

"Little one..."

"A million years... I never thought I would actually wait for a fated person."

"Little one, there is no need to be nervous."

The phantom's lips opened and closed again, the voice softer than before. "To be able to pass the 'tombstone' scan and come here, you are not my enemy."

Song Yang's gaze flickered slightly.

Tombstone.

Zeus had also called that door by the same name.

He finally spoke, "Who are you?"

"Me?"

The huge phantom let out a long sigh. "They all call me 'Gu'."

"I am a lone traveler, someone who has wandered among the sea of stars for a very long time."

"Walking alone in the world, settling scores freely, one will always provoke things that are not so friendly."

Gu seemed to be recounting an old affair unrelated to himself. "There were too many enemies, endless killings. When my life reached its end, I sought out this forgotten planet and built this tomb for myself."

He lowered his head, his gaze composed of light falling upon Song Yang.

"But I am not reconciled."

"My skills, the legacy that made the enemies I slaughtered tremble—if they were to be buried along with these withered bones, wouldn't that be letting those petty scoundrels off too easily?"

Song Yang's heart skipped a beat.

Inheritance.

"So, this is not just a tomb."

Song Yang followed his words, as if confirming his own guess.

"Of course."

The corners of Gu's mouth, the lines outlined by light, seemed to twitch upward, revealing an arc of approval. "This is my dojo, the place of trial where I choose my successor."

"For a million years, you are the first, and the only one, to stand here."

As the voice faded, the hall fell into silence once more.

The soft white light still enveloped everything, and the giant phantom, over six meters tall, floated in mid-air, overlooking Song Yang.

And Song Yang, standing in the giant's shadow, was calculating rapidly in his mind.

Opportunity and danger are always born together.

An old monster who has lived for who knows how many years—the power of his inheritance can be imagined.

But at the same time, the actions of such an existence would never be out of groundless kindness.

He looked at Gu and asked the most critical question:

"Why me?"

Gu's eyes, composed of light, seemed to pierce through a million years of time and land on Song Yang.

"Why you?"

He repeated it, his voice carrying a hint of inexplicable amusement. "Little one, your luck is good enough."

"The Black Wind Canyon will tear apart everything that intrudes—flesh, steel, none are exceptions. For a million years, the wreckage of spaceships that have fallen into it has been heavier than the mountain range beneath your feet."

"To be able to survive in such a place and make your way to my 'tombstone'—this luck alone surpasses everything else."

"I do not need a fool with peerless talent, nor a reckless brute with monstrous combat power; I need someone who is fated."

"Luck is the most important part of surviving."

As the light-giant's voice faded, his arm, composed of light, slowly lifted and pointed to the other side of the hall.

The wall there silently parted, revealing a brand new passageway.

At the end of the passageway was parked a spaceship with a sleek design and a completely silver-white body.

"Now, you have two choices."

"First, walk into that passageway and leave in my 'Wanderer'. It can take you easily through the Black Wind Canyon, to any corner of this star sector, and no one can catch you."

"Second..."

His gaze condensed on Song Yang again.

"Stay and accept my inheritance, but whether you live or die is unknown."

In the hall, there was a deathly silence.

On one side was freedom and a path to life within reach; on the other, an ethereal promise and unseen dangers.

Freedom?

In Song Yang's mind, the faces of his Neighbors from his past life, grim and greedy as they broke down his door, flashed by.

Freedom without power is merely the self-consolation of a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

He had walked out of the endless darkness, not to change locations and continue trembling like an ant in the face of unknown dangers.

What he wanted was the power to hold his fate in his own hands.

"I'll stay."

Song Yang raised his head and met Gu's gaze.

Without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh?"

Gu's eyebrows, those two lines formed by converging light, arched slightly upward, appearing somewhat surprised, yet also as if everything were under control.

"What I can give you might just be a shortcut to death."

"I have thought it through clearly."

Song Yang's tone was very calm. "Without power, no matter where you go, you're just waiting to die in a different place."

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

"Good! A good 'waiting to die in a different place'!"

The giant phantom looked down at him, and for the first time, his eyes revealed genuine appreciation.

"Not being deluded by the path to life before you, understanding that power is fundamental. Little one, you are more interesting than I imagined."

"Welcome to..."

Gu's voice paused.

"My dojo."