Chapter 1906: The Countdown
Death Coffin Dimension:
Future Reverence opened his eyes as soon as he sensed his past self's death. He sighed to himself. Calling the latter a waste? That would be untrue. He knew that his Lord had many ambassadors, and none were as capable as this version of himself. In terms of vision, strategic planning, and devotion, he was truly among the best. The only flaw was his weak cultivation, but that could have been rectified over time.
"I can't believe Wang Wei truly beat the odds," Future Reverence thought as he watched his body slowly dissipating. How much advantage was stacked against him? Cultivation, information, environment, and even time — Death Reverence had all these advantages, yet Wang Wei still found or created a way to win.
Future Reverence tried to summon the last bit of Death Reverence's [Existence] to glean some information about how the latter had lost. Unfortunately, Wang Wei's formation had isolated everything. More importantly, Death Reverence died by annihilating his [Existence], and with his connection to the Beyonder severed, not a trace of him could be retrieved.
"He was right — this Wang Wei is different," Future Reverence sighed. He knew how challenging it would have been to not only achieve victory but also secure such a complete victory that left no information behind. His expression suddenly turned somber: "However, his winning streak ends now."
Future Reverence closed his eyes, clasping his hands. He then prayed in an unknown language: "Lord, I beseech thee: please grant me the power to be my own anchor so that I continue your bidding." A pair of eyes suddenly appeared in Future Reverence's spiritual realm, and he immediately knelt in the highest reverence.
"Granted!"
"Thank you, Lord. May you achieve detachment from the world and spread your path to all infinity and beyond."
Future Reverence opened his eyes, and as expected, his body stopped dissipating. He smiled briefly before reaching out to summon back Death Reverence's [Authority]. Now that he was the one in charge of this mission, he needed to stack the deck to ensure he didn't fall like his predecessor.
"Only 68%? Okay, now, I can really call you a waste," Future Reverence uttered with gritted teeth. While this was still a majority, it's not the same as the previous dominance. Now, all the little mice with a small percentage of [Authority] can work together to resist his power.
His gaze shifted to the Lesser Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array, weighing the pros and cons of rushing into it. However, as his gaze shifted to the Primordial Sword Dao Array beside it, he immediately abandoned this idea. In his current injured state, that sword was not just dangerous, but threatening to his life.
"I can't give him more time, so let's speed up things," Future Reverence thought. With a single thought, he used his [Authority] to reverse the expanding characteristic of this timeline. Instead, the entire micro-multiverse began to shrink, and, more importantly, the destroyed area turned into the purest World Force, aiding Future Reverence in accelerating his healing.
"No one took the bait?" Future Reverence frowned. He hoped that, besides Wang Wei, one of the other people with [Authority] would try to stop the process or even use their power to peep at what he was doing. That way, he could catch them and retrieve the [Authority]. Unfortunately, these people were either both smarter and too selfish to fall for such a trap.
"Well, it doesn't matter. In about 20 Yuan Epoch, all of this nonsense will come to an end," Future Reverence thought. As soon as he regains his peak strength, he will no longer play around; he'll take the most ruthless, direct approach to get the job done.
Lesser Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle, Headquarters:
"I'm sorry I couldn't convince him to lend you his power," Maitreya sighed.
"It's fine. Anyway, things never reached that point," Wang Wei calmly replied. No one owed him anything, not even his parents. His deal with the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint was strictly business: Wang Wei provided him with an array, and in return, he could use his sword to strengthen the Lesser Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle.
"Regardless, I'm glad you survived another Time Nexus," Maitreya smiled.
"Unfortunately, it's not over."
"What? But Death Reverence is dead? What else could threaten you?"
"I don't know yet," Wang Wei said. He had an idea of what was going on, but he desperately hoped he was wrong.
"Could it be?"
"I'm afraid so."
"But, how can he exist without an anchor?" Maitreya frowned.
"We're dealing with a servant of a Third Step Powerhouse. Regular logic doesn't apply to them."
"...Do you have a plan?"
"I had one, but it's not reliable," Wang Wei shook his head. The duchess was nowhere in sight, and he started to wonder whether she had betrayed him.
"Well, you know you can contact me if you need anything."
"I will."
Wang Wei ended the communication; he then shifted his focus to Ai: "What's the result?"
"It's as you predicted. Most of the [Authority] returned to someone else — someone of the same origin as Death Reverence."
"The power of [Authority] shouldn't allow Future Reverence to remain alive after his anchor died, right?"
"No," Ai replied. "At best, he could prolong the inevitable by a few hours. The only remaining explanation is the Beyonder's power."
Wang Wei squinted, "The fact that he could contact his Lord is proof that there is a hidden connection to the outside despite the seal in this timeline. Any chance you could find it?"
"I can try, but the chances of success are not high."
Wang Wei grunted. "Do it anyway. How is Kong's situation?"
"Unknown."
"Still can't find his location? Where was the last place we detected him? Give me the coordinates, and I'll try myself."
"As you wish," Ai nodded. "Sir, there is something else."
"Why do I have the feeling you're going to give me some bad news?"
"..."
Wang Wei exhaled, "What is it?"
"The universe is shrinking."
Wang Wei was silent.
"Someone is using their authority to grind this timeline into the purest World Source."
Wang Wei grunted softly. "Does he want to recuperate faster, or worse, improve his already terrifying strength?" No matter the truth, it doesn't bode well for Wang Wei. However, the former was significantly better than the latter.
"Could you stop the process?"
"No, but I could delay it by a small margin," Ai responded.
"What if you had Siwangji and Suiji's help?" Wang Wei didn't mention the duchess even though she had 1% of the [Authority].
"Still can't stop it, but the delay would increase by a wide margin."
Numerous thoughts flashed in Wang Wei's mind.
"Do you want me to execute the delay?"
"Yes — wait — can you intercept some of the World Source?"
"That's feasible."
Wang Wei hesitated briefly, "Intercept as much as possible. Then, secretly inject them into the River of Time."
"Sir, are you sure this is wise? We haven't heard much of the duchess, and she might be —"
"Since I chose her as my partner, I should trust her."
"Very well."
Time continues to flow like the eternal river it is: 27 yuan epochs have passed, and Future Reverence has finally returned to his peak form. The 7-yuan-epoch caused by losing a decent portion of World Source was annoying, but it was still within the acceptable range of error. After opening his eyes, Future Reverence did not immediately rush to capture Wang Wei. No, instead, he began to plan for the worst-case scenario.
He had to learn from his predecessor's fate. Although Future Reverence didn't think that he would lose — after all, he understood better than anyone how terrifying his strength was — he couldn't take the risk. He was the last ambassador left in this timeline, and if something were to happen to him, his Lord's mission would truly be a failure, and that was unacceptable. He — or any other ambassadors — can die, but the mission must succeed.
Numerous names of people he deemed a variable appeared before him, in order of threat: Wang Wei, Primordial Heaven Sword Saint, Chaos Demon Gods, Suiji, Erudite Duchess, Trinity Venerable, and Star Manifestation.
"Who is most likely to cause the worst-case scenario?" Future Reverence thought. The greatest physical threat remains the [Sword-Saber Dao Source] in the Sword Saint's hands. However, Wang Wei's intelligence and planning truly make him the greatest variable and threat.
"It's been so long, so he should have already planned something for our battle. But, is it truly a threat?" A part of him still wanted to dismiss or reduce Wang Wei's threat. After all, it's one thing to plot and scheme against a Primordial Chaos Saint, but something entirely different to do to a Tribunal Lord. However, he remembered what had happened in the Chaos Origin Realm; he remembered how his predecessor had died, even though he had taken this mission seriously and had not let his guard down.