“What’s so difficult to understand? I am a master painter. I am more than worthy to judge the pitiful works of some adventurers who probably never spent any time mastering the craft.”

  Jemma waved away his explanation with a scoff. “Are you intending to tell the adventurers you are a reincarnator? No? Well, then how would the adventurers ever know you were a master painter?”

  “Who cares? I am a dungeon core. This is my dungeon. Adventurers challenged my Bosses and puzzles all the time! This is another challenge they need to beat.” Xu Han said.

  “A Boss they can defeat, and a puzzle they can solve are very different from a judging contest.”

  “This is not a judging contest. This is my test.”

  Jemma sighed heavily. “Core, you are all of one year old. To the adventurers, you are a child. How would they even know about your artistic merits? I wouldn’t be surprised if some adventurers try to give you charcoal drawings and pretend they were masterworks.”

  “If they do that, I’ll kill them.”

  Jemma sighed again. “Look, just change the test. Unless you get someone the adventurers will accept as a judge, this is just not going to work.”

  “Maybe I can help with that?”

  The words came from nowhere. Neither Jemma nor Xu Han had spoken, but they both heard the voice. There was someone else in the dungeon core room, someone that even Xu Han did not notice. That should be impossible, but it had happened before, so both Jemma and Xu Han immediately suspected the same thing.

  They were right.

  Unlike their previous guests, there was no portal this time. There was no flash of light, no sense of overpowering power, just a presence that appeared from nowhere. One moment, there was no one. Then, she was there.

  The woman was ancient. Her chocolate skin almost leathery with age, her face weathered and wrinkled, her eyes so cloudy they were almost white. Her hair was as white as snow and tied up in a small bun at the nape of her neck. A simple black hairpin kept the hair in place, and she had worn a simple dark robe that seem to absorb the light in the room. The old woman gave Xu Han the sense that she had left jewellery by the wayside long ago, but she was enhanced, not detracted, by the lack of accessories. She was old, and she was proud of it.

  Like his previous two guests, Xu Han could feel power radiating from her. As Jemma slowly flew behind him, Xu Han greeted her. “Xu Han humbly welcomes the Goddess to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques.”

  The Goddess smiled and with that smile, Xu Han knew he was in the presence of a queen. The dungeon core knew that her mind was wisdom, her heart was kindness, and her soul was love. He knew that life had tried its best to wear her down, and it had failed. Xu Han knew this was not natural, that his feelings was a result of the Goddess’ power, but he did not care. The Goddess before him was that powerful.

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  “Thank you for the welcome, young dungeon core. Or should I really call you that? I get the feeling that you are far older than a newborn.”

  The Goddess’ voice was serene, but Xu Han felt the power behind her words and knew he need to treat her with all due respect. He must tell her the truth.

  “My body is new, but my soul is old. I…died and was reborn as a dungeon core. In a new world, far different from my old one.”

  “Yet you managed to retain your memories,” the Goddess nodded in acknowledgement, “even after taking up residence in a new body. You must be some old monster in the Crimson Lands.”

  “I was,” Xu Han replied respectfully. He was a little surprised that the Goddess knew he was from the Crimson Lands, but did not think much of it. Xu Han did not keep the fact that he was a reincarnator a secret and had told the other dungeon cores about his former homeland when explaining cultivation. It was more than likely the Goddess found out about it that way.

  “Impressive,” The Goddess nodded. “The Heavens of that world are sticklers for rules. What realm were you at? Soul Emperor or Beyond Great Void?”

  Xu Han immediately realized something was wrong. He may have told the cores he was from the Crimson Lands, he may even had mentioned he was a Soul Emperor, but he never explained all the different realms. Beyond Great Void was an alternate path in cultivation, on the same level as Soul Emperor, but how did this Goddess know about that?

  There was only one way. This Goddess not only knew about the Crimson Lands, but she also knew about that world.

  “Who are you?” Xu Han asked softly.

  “Like most gods, I am known by many names, but I am a Goddess of Dream, a Maker of Patterns, and the Patron of Weavers. You may have known me as-”

  “The Dreamweaver!” Xu Han exclaimed.

  “Core?”

  Xu Han heard his dungeon fairy’s whisper and quickly explained. “I know her! She is known as Fu Bai Mei, the Dreamweaver. She is a deity presiding over Dreams and Weaving. It is said that she speaks to weavers in their dreams and guide them on how to create patterns and designs. She is a goddess of the Crimson Lands!”

  “I am known by that name in that world,” the Dreamweaver gave Xu Han a slight bow in acknowledgement, “and you were known as The Crazed Scholar. The Hoarder of Knowledge. And the Thief of Ten Thousand Techniques.”

  A chill went down his soul as Xu Han immediately realized his mistake. He knew this Goddess, so it would make sense that she knew him too. Xu Han was infamous and had been around for ten thousand years in the Crimson Lands. Not only that, Xu Han was still using the same name. He never thought of changing it because there wasn’t a need. That may have been a mistake. However, it was done and it would be more shocking if the Dreamweaver didn’t know who he was. Knowing all this, there was only one thing Xu Han had to ask.

  “Goddess, are you here to kill me?”

  “Wait! What does that mean?” A panicked Jemma quickly shouted as she flew in circles above Xu Han.

  The goddess gave a light chuckle at the fairy’s antics. “Do not worry. Death is not the reason I am here. There are many reasons why The Hoarder of Knowledge should die, but that man is already dead. All I see today is Xu Han, the dungeon core.”

  “Thank you, Goddess.” A relieved Xu Han said. “If I may be so bold, may I ask how fares the Crimson Lands in my absence? I do not know how much time had passed, but I do wonder if the people had forgotten about me and my crimes. Have they recovered the knowledge I had stolen.”

  “Not all,” Dreamweaver said to Xu Han’s disappointment. “However, things are slowly recovering. The name, Xu Han, is now a cautionary tale in the Crimson Lands. A warning to cultivators who goes too far in the pursuit of their Dao, but some good had come out of your actions. Cultivators now know the danger of hoarding knowledge and are now more willing to trade their arts, methods and knowledge of cultivation. Fearful of someone like you appearing again, several sects and families had banded together to build public libraries to spread cultivation techniques to the masses.”

  “Knowledge cannot be lost as long as one person knows it.” Xu Han murmured in both surprise and approval.