My attributes are increasing infinitely Chapter 378: Jian

The chaos of the battlefield didn't halt simply because Ethan had uncovered the truth.

Inverse humans moved with deliberate care, their formations shifting like wary predators. Meanwhile, ordinary cultivators charged forward with thunderous techniques, oblivious to the precariousness of the situation.

Ethan remained isolated from both factions.

For the first time since ascending to the Emperor Realm, he felt a flicker of doubt.

A strange warmth persisted within his body.

It wasn't aggressive or crushing. It was... perfectly balanced.

Inside him, that single evolved cell throbbed gently, resembling a faint heartbeat. It was minuscule compared to the vastness of his cultivation base. However, Ethan instinctively grasped a terrifying reality.

Should that cell continue its expansion.

If his entire physique began to evolve cell by cell...

He would cease to be a standard lifeform. He would transform into something entirely alien.

"Unknown superior being," Ethan muttered under his breath.

The Will of a World rarely employed such ambiguous language. When it did, it signified that the future had strayed from its intended course.

The Creation Lotus drifted softly within him, its petals emitting a subtle glow. It no longer felt like a mere tool or a spiritual treasure.

It felt conscious.

And it felt hungry.

Ethan turned his gaze back toward the conflict.

Through his Eyes of Existence, the inverse humans remained as gray blurs. Yet, new threads now stretched toward them. These specific threads were connected solely to him.

They were connections indicating that these humans were vital cultivation materials.

The lotus pulsed with eagerness in response to those threads.

"These creatures..." Ethan whispered. "They are nothing but sustenance for me."

Normally, such a thought would have filled him with revulsion.

Instead, it felt entirely natural.

That realization terrified him more than anything else.

Another inverse warrior perished, obliterated in a clash with a high-level cultivator. Ethan felt it the moment the life was extinguished. A violent surge of entropy erupted outward; though invisible to most, it was glaringly obvious to his senses.

Space began to warp.

Time itself faltered.

A distant mountain peak shattered for no apparent reason.

"So, slaying them damages this world," Ethan remarked slowly. "But devouring them does not."

The truth finally clicked.

The Creation Lotus didn't just kill the inverse human; it digested them.

It captured the entropy and refined it, converting lethal poison into pure nourishment.

This was a feat no natural being of this universe should be capable of performing.

Ethan’s grip tightened.

"If I let this spread," he mused, "I could stabilize entropy rather than just displacing it."

The consequences were staggering.

He possessed the power to end the war.

Or he might become something far more dangerous than both warring sides combined.

The atmosphere shifted before he could take action.

A presence descended upon the area.

It wasn't a loud arrival. It didn't shatter space or announce its presence with a roar.

Yet, Ethan’s very soul shivered in fear.

His illusory Throne of Destiny trembled at his back. The authority he had recently acquired felt thin and fragile, like a sheet of paper facing a sharp blade.

An entity had entered this reality.

Someone who had no business existing here.

Ethan turned his head slowly.

A handsome young man stood several hundred meters away, clad in simple, unassuming robes. A gentle smile played on his lips, relaxed and inquisitive, as if he were strolling through a marketplace rather than a reality-warping battlefield.

But the truth was revealed to Ethan’s Eyes of Existence.

This man did not rely on laws to stand.

The laws themselves were supported by him.

Every strand of authority curved away from his body, avoiding contact like water parting around a heavy boulder.

"He is completely beyond my level."

Ethan’s breathing grew shallow.

This wasn't mere anxiety.

This was pure instinct.

The kind that screamed a single command: Run.

The young man scanned the surroundings, his eyes shimmering with curiosity.

His focus settled on Ethan.

The smile on his face widened.

"There you are."

Ethan remained motionless.

An attack would lead to death.

Attempting to flee would lead to death.

Even a careless word might hasten his demise.

"Who are you?" Ethan questioned.

His voice remained firm. That alone was a feat of willpower.

The man folded his hands behind his back and drifted closer, his movements effortless. Space yielded to him without the slightest friction.

"You can refer to me as Jian," he replied. "Titles used beyond this realm are... troublesome."

Ethan’s thoughts spun rapidly.

This individual had crossed between realities as easily as stepping over a puddle. That could only mean one thing.

He was either a being with combat power four realms above Ethan’s own, or he was so much more powerful than the Eternal domain itself that the laws simply didn't apply to him.

"Did you come for me?" Ethan asked with visible tension.

Jian gave a small nod. "Naturally. When a person starts siphoning authority from the Throne of Destiny itself, it tends to draw eyes."

Siphoning?

Ethan's brow furrowed. "The Will of the World granted it to me."

Jian let out a soft chuckle. "The Will grants what it can no longer regulate."

Jian’s eyes briefly shifted toward the inverse humans. His expression changed ever so slightly.

"The inverse plane has reached this place as well? It seems the eternal war of existence is drawing very near," he sighed.

His attention snapped back to Ethan.

"And you," he remarked, "are a much rarer find."

Ethan felt completely stripped bare.

It was as if every one of his secrets had been exposed to the light.

"The Creation Lotus," Jian said casually. "A relic designed to plant the seeds of perfection in dying universes. And yet, you are utilizing it to feast upon inverse existence."

He tilted his head curiously. "Do you truly comprehend the path you are beginning to walk?"

Ethan gave a blunt answer. "No."

That honesty seemed to satisfy Jian.

"Good," he said. "Arrogance would have made this encounter tedious."

The conflict surrounding them had slowed to a crawl. Both cultivators and inverse humans felt an invisible weight, forcing them to keep their distance. None had the courage to approach.

Ethan balled his hand into a fist. "If your intention is to kill me," he declared, "then get it over with."

Jian blinked in surprise, then burst into laughter.

"Kill you?" he asked. "Why on earth would I do that?"

He took a step closer until only a few meters separated them.

"You are an anomaly the world never intended," Jian explained. "A creature capable of consuming entropy without shattering causality. Do you have any idea how rare that makes you?"

Ethan stayed quiet.

"You are the ultimate definition of an anomaly." Suddenly, Jian's eyes transformed into a void of abyssal darkness before returning to normal.

"Just as I thought. You possess no alternate versions across any timelines. I wonder if even the inverse plane has a version of you," he mused with genuine interest.

"Then what is it you want?" Ethan demanded.

Jian’s smile turned softer.

"I simply wish to observe."

That response chilled Ethan more than any direct threat could have.

"You will continue to fight this war," Jian stated calmly. "You will devour the inverse beings. You will continue to evolve."

He held up a single finger in warning.

"But there is one line you must not cross."

Ethan’s instincts flared with a sense of impending danger.

"Do not permit the lotus to override your will," Jian warned. "The moment it becomes the master, you stop being a person. You become nothing more than a function."

He turned away, his interest already beginning to wane.

"Oh," Jian added, looking back over his shoulder. "Another visitor is arriving soon. Someone far less patient than I am."

"Who?" Ethan asked urgently.

Jian paused for a moment.

"A hunter," he replied. "From the inverse world."

And then, he was gone.

There was no ripple in the air, no lingering trace.

It was as if he had never been there at all.

The roar of the battlefield returned in a sudden rush.

Explosions, agonized screams, and the sound of tearing space filled the air once more.

Ethan stood in silence.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

A hunter from the inverse world.

Someone powerful enough to traverse realities by choice.

The lotus stirred within him again, seemingly thrilled by the prospect.

"No," Ethan said under his breath. "You don't get to make the choices."

He raised his arm.

A massive portal tore open beneath dozens of inverse warriors simultaneously. They shrieked as they were pulled into his inner realm.

The lotus responded with violent force.

Roots surged out like lethal spears.

This time, Ethan observed the process with intense focus.

As the inverse essence was consumed, more cells within his body began to transform. Slowly. One at a time.

It wasn't an explosive change.

It was a controlled evolution.

His very existence grew more dense, more refined, and more stable.

Entropy flowed into his being and disappeared, leaving behind only pure structure.

Ethan let out a long breath.

"This is the path I will follow," he declared.

He would allow no one—not the world, not the lotus—to seize control of his destiny or his will.