Edward and Edward, sitting face to face, both of them were silent.

Finally, Edward, from billions of years ago, broke the silence.

"So you are my answer! That's how things are supposed to be.", he exclaimed.

"That's not how things are supposed to be, that's how we decided to do it.", replied the Edward from the present.

"That means our grand scheme starts right here, right now.", the Edward from the past spoke again.

"No. It has already started, billions of years ago. We are already nearing the final act.", Edward of the present replied.

"Hmm. Now I understand. The final act, huh? Not yet. Almost time, but just not yet. You are just reaching closer to the truth. Look at the Seed of Origin Life.", the Edward from the past said.

Edward of the present checked the seed. As he observed it, it turned into a sapling at a very fast speed, but after that, it's growth halted.

"I see! So the one who speaks from within is not you. There are others!", Edward of the present finally realized something.

"Yes. There are others. As for who they were, you have to find that out yourself. Once you do, the Final Act will truly begin.", said the Edward from the past.

"I won't be impatient. Things will unravel when the time is right. Neither you nor I can understand our true self, can we?". Edward from the present said.

"Well, that's just how we decided to do things.", said the Edward from past.

After this, there was a long silence. Suddenly, Edward from the present decided to ask something.

"Do you still feel regret? For being weak, For losing her?"

"Not anymore. I have successfully managed to send her soul with a programmed reincarnation. She has been born again in your era. As for the others, only they know.", said Edward of the past.

"How many of them are there?", Edward of the present asked.

"The number is a crucial piece of the puzzle. I can't tell you right now.", Edward from the past said.

"Ok then. I won't ask you anymore.", Edward from the present said.

"I'll be taking my leave. Before I go, I just wanna say, don't hold yourself back in this life. Set your true self free, and win. Live without regrets. When the final act starts, don't give up.", Edward from the past said as he slowly disappeared.

" I know. I won't.", Edward murmured. Now, once again, there was only one Edward.

Edward could suddenly hear shattering sounds from within his body. All of a sudden, his muscles and bones became many many times more powerful. Inside his body, one of the nine Physical Essence Spheres exploded, turning into a river of physical essence.

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When a cultivator reaches the Shell Shattering Realm, the physical essence spheres inside their body explodes and turns into a physical essence river, with an incredible amount of physical essence flowing through. With that, cultivators can not only use the physical essence inside their body, they can also release their physical essence out of their body through that river. With this, cultivators can use long-distance attacks and hit opponents without touching them. The physical essence becomes like an extension of their body.

The more physical essence river one has, the higher the level. Currently, only one of Edward's physical essence sphere exploded and turned into an essence river, marking his advancement to the First Level of Shell Shattering Realm.

When the second essence sphere turns into an essence river, he would be at the second level of the Shell Shattering realm. Thus, when all nine essence spheres turn into rivers, one reaches the ninth level of the Shell Shattering realm. At the peak of the Shell Shattering Realm, the nine essence rivers merge into an Essence Sea.

Edward opened his eyes, snapping out of his deep meditation. Robert had already finished his cultivation quite a while ago, and he was sitting nearby. Seeing Edward wake up, he called at him.

"Edward! Why did you take so long?", Robert asked.

"Had something important to do. How long was I meditating for?"

"Five days.", Robert answered.

"Then it's not that long."

"But what can take five days? What kind of cultivation were you doing? Wait. You have broken through to the Shell Shattering Realm already?", Robert was shocked.

"Lucky breakthrough I guess."

"What happened in your meditation?", Robert was wondering what kind of cultivation Edward did in these five days.

"It's a long story.", said Edward.

"But to put it shortly, you know about the First Paragon, don't you?"

"Yes. What about him?"

"He's me, and I'm him. He was my past life, and I am his reincarnation."

"What? You are the reincarnation of the First Paragon? Are you serious?", Robert couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes. That's how things turned out to be. More like it was my intention, in my previous life."

"Wait. This is too much to take.", Robert still couldn't digest the information.

"Don't get so shocked. The cycle of reincarnation is mysterious. I won't be shocked if we found out that you were also some great cultivator in your past life."

Edward wasn't especially happy knowing that he was the First Paragon in his past life. He knew that this is not as simple as it sounded. He also realized that knowing about his past life means carrying burdens of another life with him. He had too many things going on already. Now he is also filled with the regrets and responsibilities of his previous life, which added on to his burdens. Not knowing would've been better than knowing. He realizes that he might have been the First Paragon in his past life, but in this life, he is nothing. In this life, he is just a weak mortal, unable to reach Snow, unable to stand beside her, unable to achieve his dreams, unable to roam free in the world of cultivation. He might be the First Paragon's reincarnation, but he could still see that Snow's fiance, Julian was far more talented than him. To be honest, Julian had already surpassed all the paragons in terms of cultivation speed. Currently, Julian was the most talented cultivator in the history of mankind. Edward being the First Paragon in his past life had just given Edward a standing ground, but overall, he still was at a disadvantage. Julian still seemed to be an unsurpassable wall to him.

Yet, there was also another feeling in his heart. Deep inside, he was thinking that if he could become someone like the First Paragon in his previous life, in this life, he could definitely become even better. He would surpass his past self, along with all the other paragons and great cultivators in history, and even Julian.

"The Heavens Await The Ultimate Paragon", he suddenly murmured. He decided that in this life, he would become the strongest paragon to ever come, he would become the strongest cultivator ever to exist. 

Finally, Edward stood up, and decided to continue his journey. 

Robert's mind was still processing Edward's words, not knowing what to say. He just stood there, shocked and confused.

"Just throw it at the back of your mind. Let's head to the Uncrossable Forest.", said Edward. 

"Alright.", Robert finally calmed himself down.

They slowly left the place and headed towards the Uncrossable Forest. It was the beginning of another adventure.