The Otherworldly Adventures of a Super Naive Girl

342: The World a Hundred Years in the Future

Where did the heart of the elements go? Who took them?

The question was finally answered by a woman who knew Zi Cheng before the latter ascended.
This woman was actually a good person before meeting Zi Cheng, however she quickly changed after their meeting.
She gave Zi Cheng access to her family compound and allowed Zi Cheng to kill her family, who she thought were bullies.

Everyone thought she and Zi Cheng had to be on exceptionally good terms, so there was great deal of shock and surprise when this woman stepped forward and accused Zi Cheng.

The woman in question was a holy sage named Nellie.
Zo remembered he had been standing beside his father when Nellie talked about it.
Her voice had been filled with hatred.

“I don’t know what was going on, but from the day I met her, the desire to stay by her side intensified day after day.
I just had this urge to be friends with her.
I couldn’t recognize who I was anymore.
I couldn’t argue against her.
I felt like I was doing an unforgiveable thing whenever I tried.

She was the only person in my world.
She was my god, my savior. . .  she was everything to me.
No one else was important.
If it was for her, I would have done anything.
I didn’t even feel a shred of sadness when she killed my father and my relatives.
Instead, what I felt was an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude that she was willing to do all this. . .  for me!

It was terrible! What had I become?! It wasn’t me! I loved my family! I loved them! How could I have betrayed them and stole the family sacred treasures for a friend? Then to team up with that outsider and kill them all, the family I loved so much?!”

Nellie’s sobs were so heartbreaking that the four empires each had their respective physicians check her for any traces of manipulation.
Though they couldn’t find anything, it was clear from Nellie’s reaction that she had been controlled and had somehow become Zi Cheng’s puppet.

Nellie’s experience wasn’t unique.
The men who were hypnotized by her also came back to their senses.
It felt like they were remembering a dream when they recalled their fanatical obsession with Zi Cheng, of how happy they were for her when she ascended.

They wanted to die when they thought about all the brain dead-things they did for her.

Everyone agreed Zi Cheng had the ability to make people like her.
The more they liked her, the more devoted and fanatical they became.
She controlled them like a puppeteer, forcing their obedience in all things.
If it weren’t for the chaos from the world collapsing, it was doubtful anyone would have discovered Zi Cheng’s ability.
Those under her manipulation would never have regained their senses.

The truth came rushing out as people began talking.
It was Zi Cheng who took all the elemental hearts! It was Zi Cheng who was destroying the world!

In an instant, the goddess praised by millions became vilified.
All the statues and books idolizing her were destroyed by angry mobs.

Fortunately the kings who were masters of heaven, earth, sun and moon[notes] used all their powers to activate heaven’s secret treasure, the wheel of time.

The divine tool could only be activated by a descendant of the gods, however the process required using all their life energy.

Because the magic of five elementals couldn’t be replenished, the more powerful a soul was, the lower the success rate would be.
Whoever they sent had to be an ordinary person if they wanted the best odds.

Even if there was a chance his soul could be completely destroyed, Zo took the initiative to volunteer to go back to the past and try to change the course of history.

Going back in time through the time tunnel would be dangerous.
The force inside could tear a soul apart.

Zo lived as an ordinary person, under the protection of his father and family for his entire life.
They had even used a precious treasure to prolong his lifespan.
Now it was his turn to protect them.

His relationship with Caesar was good before Zi Cheng became involved.
Both factors together meant he was the most suitable person to attempt the journey.

Before he returned to the past, his father had told him to protect the family by killing Caesar if Caesar was still intoxicated by Zi Cheng.

Zo memorized the locations of all the hearts, which Zi Cheng had gained from her former friends and suitors.
Because there were no more magical elements in the world, the four celestial seal holders used their blood to activate the wheel of time.
The four kings perished, but Zo was successfully sent back.

Zo’s body was destroyed in the crossing so he thought he had failed to live up to everyone’s expectations.
But when he opened his eyes, he found he had returned to the time line, one month before the sea emperor’s tomb would be opened.
It wasn’t too late. . .  He could still bear humanity’s weight on his shoulders.

Zi Cheng didn’t know the number of enemies against her had increased.
First there was Ai Lin, who was constantly watching her and trying to steal things from her.
Now another person from a future was also after her.
How would she feel if she knew?

The novel Ai Lin read only stated that Zi Cheng became a god.
There was nothing about what came after, so Ai Lin didn’t know the survival of the world was tied to the five hearts.

New hearts could form, but they only did so if the old ones were destroyed.
Zi Cheng took the hearts when she ascended, so they weren’t destroyed.
As long as the old hearts existed somewhere, new ones wouldn’t form, and the world’s law would remain fragmented.

So Zi Cheng’s actions doomed all of them.
Ai Lin didn’t know this, but she was inadvertently helping to prevent the world's destruction by stealing Zi Cheng’s advantages.

Where was Zi Cheng currently? Why she was at the auction with Caesar.

She went to find her original team after escaping from the demon commander[notes] She was normally successful, so of course she found them.
Not only that, they had already finished the mission by the time she did.
Even better still, no one blamed her for being absent since it wasn't her fault the got swept away from them by the waves that day.