CHAPTER 237: TEMPLE

Many newcomers now had their eyes fixed on Carlotta, their expressions clearly filled with astonishment.

"That’s right, this is Miss Carlotta White!"

"I... I actually got to see this legendary figure!"

The newcomers were extremely excited, looking at Carlotta as if wanting to come forward and greet her, yet too afraid to approach.

Their behavior puzzled those who had long stayed within the Central Ruins, unable to leave for an extended period, they couldn’t understand what was going on.

The young man Bob, who had guided them here, couldn’t help but ask, "Miss Lea, do you know this Carlotta White?"

"You don’t know her?"

The girl called Lea instead looked puzzled in return, as if not knowing Carlotta were an unthinkable thing.

Bob awkwardly. "Many of us have stayed in the Central Ruins for a long time and haven’t gone outside in ages. We truly lack knowledge about what’s happened in the outside world."

Hearing Bob’s explanation, Lea could somewhat accept it.

Then, with an expression full of admiration, she began explaining Carlotta’s reputation to Bob.

"You don’t know, Carlotta White is hailed as the world’s number one genius. Her feats are simply endless."

As Lea slowly began speaking, many people nearby couldn’t help gathering closer, listening intently to her stories about Carlotta.

Others who were already familiar with outside events also attracted circles of listeners around them.

When these "well-informed" people began recounting various tales about Carlotta, gasps of shock burst forth uncontrollably. Many listeners broaden their eyes in amazement.

"What? Miss Carlotta White is actually Moon?"

Someone who knew about Moon, upon learning this, felt deeply shaken.

Moon’s reputation was enormous. Being ranked first in Sky Island was enough to make Moon stand out in anyone’s eyes.

So this incredibly mysterious figure had actually been right before their eyes all along?

"What? Even when she was still a peak tier Resonator, could she defeat peak tier Weavers one after another?"

Another person exclaimed in shock, his expression changing repeatedly.

Previously, they had thought the "natives" were frighteningly powerful, unnaturally so, but now, comparing those natives to Carlotta, they suddenly felt the natives weren’t that impressive after all, there was no need to even compare them with Carlotta.

"You’re saying what? One Sword Saint, Xavier, suffered a crushing defeat at Carlotta’s hands?"

Another person gasped.

The title of Number One Sword Saint carried immense prestige, even more awe-inspiring than other Weavers. And yet such a person was no match for Carlotta?

Many instinctively glanced toward Selina, who was the daughter of Sword Saint Xavier.

At this moment, Selina had also heard the various related information. Upon learning of Carlotta’s numerous feats, even she couldn’t help but feel shocked, finding it hard to believe that this young girl had such astonishing accomplishment.

And when she heard that Carlotta had even defeated her father during a public challenge, Selina felt dizzy, barely able to believe what she was hearing.

Her expression kept changing. Eventually, she stepped forward and asked Carlotta, "Are the things they’re saying true?"

Carlotta had also been listening to the people around her praising her, and that feeling was actually quite pleasant.

Hearing Selina’s question, Carlotta naturally understood what aspect she was referring to.

She smiled and said, "Sword Saint Xavier is indeed a man of principles. So I showed him mercy and didn’t kill him. You can rest assured."

Didn’t kill him...

These words rang unpleasantly in Selina’s ears.

Her father, who was invincible and famous throughout the Wendell Empire, known as the Sword Saint, would there come a day when he’d need someone else’s mercy just to preserve his life?

"My father... I remember he wasn’t weak."

Selina murmured softly.

Carlotta acknowledged, "He truly isn’t weak."

"But he’s still lost. He’s lost to you."

"Because I’m stronger."

"..."

Selina’s expression shifted repeatedly. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. She felt that if she continued talking with Carlotta, her mood would become exceptionally painful.

Soon after, someone finally gathered the courage to respectfully step forward and greet Carlotta. In response, Carlotta courteously replied, appearing very down-to-earth.

Seeing this, more people came to pay their respects. Even those who had long remained within the Central Ruins and had just learned of Carlotta’s deeds now came forward one after another, their expressions solemn and respectful.

They fully believed the rumors were true, because not long ago, Carlotta had demonstrated an incredibly high level of combat prowess during her battle against the "natives," leaving everyone dazzled and deeply impressed. That was proof enough.

"With Miss White here, we finally won’t be so passive in this city. Those ’natives’ definitely won’t be able to cause any trouble."

Looking at Carlotta, everyone felt renewed confidence.

Carlotta gently softened, maintaining a calm demeanor, then inquired about the discoveries everyone had made within the city.

With so many people gathered from all corners of the city ruins, she believed they must have found plenty.

Indeed, many immediately began recounting their experiences, including information that caught Carlotta’s attention.

The one who mentioned it was exactly the woman named Lea.

"I discovered a temple. When people don’t enter, nothing happens. But once someone steps inside, the statues in that temple all revive. It was truly terrifying."

Recalling the incident, Lea still looked shaken, as she had nearly died there.

Fortunately, she managed to escape before the statues fully revived. Even so, she had been injured by the aura emitted during their revival.

If even the aura was so terrifying, she couldn’t imagine how fearsome those statues would be once completely awakened.

When the statues revived, they also emitted sounds and spoke words. Lea didn’t understand what they said, but she remembered them and repeated them in a somewhat unrefined, yet understood manner.

It was exactly because of this that Carlotta noticed the matter.

"Did the gods create us with any true meaning? Where are our true selves now?"

Carlotta successfully thought it, and thus she became especially interested in that temple, eager to see what exactly was going on.

Soon after, Carlotta and Amelia left the arena, taking Lea along with them.

Selina followed as well. She wanted to stay close to Carlotta, believing that only by doing so could she gain more experience, and she already held Carlotta in high regard.

Carlotta didn’t object to this.

As for Selina’s two disciples, naturally they could no longer follow.

The group of four moved quickly through the city streets under Lea’s guidance. Luckily, they didn’t encounter anyone along the way and smoothly arrived at a temple.

This temple was located in a corner of the city, which surprised Carlotta somewhat. She had assumed such temples would be located in more prominent areas, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

The temple in the corner looked especially ancient and worn. Vines crawled over its walls, and the floor tiles were cracked in many places, with stubborn weeds sprouting from the crevices.

Inside the temple, one building after another lay in ruins, their visible cracks clearly show their deterioration.

Within some of the buildings, they could see the presence of statues. Even from a distance, these statues exuded an ancient, mysterious aura.

"It’s dangerous here. Are we really going inside?"

Lea stared at the temple ahead, her heart unavoidably filled with apprehension.

Selina, already aware of the situation here, smiled and said, "No need to be so nervous. Isn’t Carlotta here with us?"

Amelia replied, "Don’t just rely on Carlotta for everything. These statues are quite terrifying, their emitted aura alone could injure Resonators. At the very least, none of us could manage that."

Knowing Amelia’s relationship with Carlotta, Selina couldn’t help but tease, "Are you worried about your lover?"

Amelia hadn’t expected Selina to say that, and her face flushed red.

"Don’t worry," Carlotta said, patting Amelia’s hand with a smile. "When it’s time to run, I’ll definitely run."

The atmosphere among them remains very relaxed.

As they spoke, they stepped into the temple.

Just as Lea had said, the moment they entered, terrifying auras began emanating from several buildings within the temple. In some visible halls, they could even see the statues trembling slightly, as if about to revive.

An extremely oppressive presence instantly spread, making everyone feel as if they were about to suffocate.

Lea, being the lowest in rank, turned pale first, looking barely able to hold on, her body began to sway.

Amelia and Selina fared better, though Selina also felt immense pressure, her expression tense and her breathing slightly rapid.

Amelia was in slightly better condition than Selina, but her expression had grown serious.

Carlotta stepped forward, her magic power surging. From her as the center, an incredibly powerful aura radiated outward, directly countering the auras emitted by the statues.

The other three immediately felt the pressure ease significantly and all let out long breaths of relief.

Then, the group entered the first hall.

Inside the hall, there were four statues on each side, and one more statue stood directly ahead. All the statues were trembling now, releasing terrifying auras.

Suddenly, one of the statues on the left actually moved, transforming into a massive figure. In a flash, it appeared beside Carlotta and the other three, then raised its enlarged hand and slammed down.

In response, Carlotta raised her sword. A dazzling sword light erupted instantly, brilliantly intense, slicing the descending hand cleanly in two.

After her strike was blocked, the statue immediately withdrew back to its original pedestal. At the same time, millions of cracks appeared all over its body.

This outcome caused the remaining statues to vibrate even more violently. On both sides, the remaining five statues simultaneously stir into action.

At this moment, the statues seemed to shift from illusion to reality, transforming from stiff statues into majestic, majestic gods. Each appeared so lofty and supreme, looking down upon the vast land, as if no one before they had the right to resist.

The five gods, formed from the statues, raised their hands in unison and forcefully pressed down, as if aiming to crush everything before them, be it mountains and rivers, or life itself.

Carlotta gripped Rose cross, slashing a horizontal arc in front of her. Brilliant sword light erupted violently, directly shattering everything ahead.

The five hands from the statues were all severed. This caused the statues to retreat, returning to their original pedestals, just like the first statue, their bodies now covered in cracks.

This situation caused the central statue to tremble violently.

"Is it you? Gaoh."

From the central statue came an extremely obscure utterance, completely incomprehensible.

Carlotta paused briefly, analyzing the description from her intelligence report before finally determining what language the statue was speaking.

It was the language of World Eight.

World Eight was very distant to Carlotta. Much of the interworld information she had obtained had no connection to World Eight, so she had learned relatively little of this world’s language.

Now that she had recognized the statue’s words, Carlotta couldn’t help but feel puzzled, why did the statue think "Gaoh" had arrived just by seeing her attack? Who even was this Gaoh?

"Is it you?"

"Is it you?"

"Is it you?"

The central statue kept repeating, clearly extremely excited. To it, this question seems immensely important.

Carlotta glanced at her intel, quickly learned a single word on the spot, and then replied, "I’m not."

As her words faded, the central statue instantly fell silent.

Not Gaoh.

The statue was now absolutely certain, because Gaoh was male...

Then, a surge of furious energy emerged from within the statue. It suddenly moved, charging straight toward Carlotta.

In the next instant, Carlotta realized Amelia and the others had disappeared from beside her... no, rather, she had been pulled into some strange space.

This space had no sky, no ground, no boundaries, every direction was filled with a blinding white void, as if nothing at all existed.

And directly ahead in this empty space, a tall young man floated there, his expression icy cold, staring right at her.

"If you’re not Gaoh, why appear before me? I will kill Gaoh. I must defeat Gaoh to prove myself!"

As he spoke, the young man’s demeanor grew increasingly frenzied.