Chapter 352: Mad King

"I would recognize you even if you turned to ash." The young man paused, then uttered a title Su Mu had never heard before: "Mad King."

Mad King?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Su Mu's mind, and he formed a rough guess.

"You probably don't know me as you are now. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Longyuan."

Hearing this name, Su Mu immediately thought of the Longyuan Empire. He asked, "You are the First Dragon King?"

Longyuan nodded. "Yes."

Su Mu smiled faintly. "Then it seems I must be one of the original kings—the Mad King, the one who vanished."

"Yes."

Longyuan's confirmation didn't surprise Su Mu. Even if Longyuan hadn't said anything, he had already suspected as much. His resonance with Supreme Heaven, which belonged to that vanished king, made the connection obvious.

Su Mu just hadn't known his own title. After all, every trace of that vanished king's past had been erased.

Now he knew it: Mad King.

The title made him want to groan. Who in their right mind gave themselves a name like that?

"I am nothing more than a remnant soul now, and I will dissipate soon, so I will keep this brief," Longyuan said expressionlessly. "Mad King, I have been waiting for you all this time. To be precise, all six of us have been waiting for you.

"It's just that they were too weak. Their remnant souls dissipated early, leaving only me."

Su Mu chuckled. To think this little kid was actually the First Dragon King, expressionlessly declaring that the other original kings were too weak. For some reason, seeing Longyuan act like this just made him want to laugh.

A chill flashed through Longyuan's eyes. "Whether it's the former you or the current you, you are both incredibly infuriating."

"It seems our relationship wasn't very good," Su Mu said with a gentle smile.

"Hmph. If it weren't for the sake of our world, I wouldn't even bother saying a single word to you."

"Tsk, tsk... Not very old, but you have quite the temper."

Longyuan flared up in anger, snapping, "I'm old enough to be your grandfather! It's because I have dragon blood, and the dragon race is a long-lived species, so..."

Su Mu waved his hand. "Not important. Didn't you say you were about to dissipate? Let's not waste time on these trivial matters."

Longyuan clenched his fists, anger surging in his eyes. It was obvious that if he weren't just a remnant soul right now, he would have definitely attacked.

Judging by Longyuan's attitude, Su Mu could guess that his former self and Longyuan must have had a very good relationship. After all, they were both original kings, and while the others had all dissipated, only Longyuan had held on, waiting for him. Their bond was evident.

Longyuan forcefully suppressed his fury and said with a cold face, "You should have already seen the world beneath the screen of light. Though it is cruel, it is the truth. The world we once lived in is false—it is merely a dream."

"It's not so bad. I actually find it quite interesting."

"Lunatic. I knew that even if you lost your past memories and returned through reincarnation, you'd still be just as insane."

Su Mu offered a gentle smile. "Your preconceived notions of me are too severe. As you said, I have already reincarnated. Strictly speaking, I am not the Mad King, but a stranger who just met you."

"Hmph." Longyuan sneered. "Then you are still a lunatic. A normal person discovering the world is false would never react like you. It's very difficult for humans to accept that their own existence is a lie—that everything they have experienced, even their parents, family, and loved ones, are fake. That feeling of despair..."

"You're getting off-topic," Su Mu offered a friendly reminder.

Longyuan: "..."

"This is why I hate you!" Longyuan calmed himself down once again. His body was becoming increasingly transparent by the moment. Knowing that time was short, he stopped wasting words.

"The Real World is a massive dream, one far larger than any Nightmare. The original kings once researched this together and found it inconceivable. A dream requires a source of dream essence to sustain it, and a dream that holds a population of tens of billions and countless living beings is fundamentally impossible for humans to create.

"Everything is incredibly lifelike. All the laws of physics are complete, and countless timelines and lines of fate intertwine. It is absolutely indistinguishable from a true world.

"Later, we reached a unanimous conclusion: the dreamscape we live in is the dream of a God!"

"A God's dream?" Su Mu looked thoughtful.

"Exactly. In this world, only the dream of a God could reach such a level."

"From what you're saying, Gods aren't Nightmare Creatures?"

"Of course not. Foolish mortals believe that Gods are Nightmare Creatures born from the collective dreams of countless people. But in truth, Gods are supreme; they are the most real existences in this world.

"Everything else might be false, but only Gods are true and eternal!"

When he mentioned Gods, Longyuan's eyes held none of the Pope's reverence. There was only deep apprehension and a trace of despair.

"Which God dreamed up the current world?"

Longyuan suddenly stared straight at Su Mu, not saying a word.

Su Mu frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Longyuan said quietly, "I'm afraid only you know the answer to that question. To be precise, the former you."

"Me?"

"Yes, because you were the only person who ever went to the Origin Land."

This time, without waiting for Su Mu to ask, Longyuan continued, "In the early Dark Age, Nightmare Creatures continuously invaded this world. People like you and me were the rising stars of that era. The seven original kings were the first to reach the absolute peak of Gold. Later, we each acquired one of the seven Origin Divine Artifacts, which are today's Royal Power Artifacts."

"The Royal Power Artifacts weren't forged by the original kings using the combined strength of their entire nations?"

"Naturally not. The Royal Power Artifacts were merely a smokescreen. We lied and claimed we forged them ourselves, but such divine artifacts are simply not something mortal power can create.

"Relying on the Origin Divine Artifacts, the seven original kings obtained the essence blood of Saint Grade Nightmare Creatures, and subsequently advanced to become Gold Kings. We then each established our own empires, putting an end to the Dark Age."

"What does this have to do with the Origin Land?"

"The Origin Divine Artifacts come from the Origin Land. They are the keys to the Origin Land." A look of reminiscence flashed through Longyuan's eyes.

"After the Seven Great Empires were established, although the Nightmare Invasion hadn't completely ended, humanity could at least survive. This is simply human nature: when the external threat isn't as massive, internal strife begins.

"How could one world accommodate seven Kings?"

The corners of Su Mu's lips curled up, and he nodded in agreement. "True."

"And so, the War of the Seven Kings broke out. It was exactly during that war that the seven Royal Power Artifacts clashed and unexpectedly opened the Origin Land. However, the Origin Land allowed only one person to enter, and then you went inside!"

"I didn't expect you all to be so accommodating," Su Mu teased.