A chaotic flow of consciousness churned around the two of them, forming a dark purple vortex. Lin Yi's gaze collided with that of his past self on the scorched earth.
"The seventy-fourth time." The voice of the past version of Lin Yi was like metal tempered with ice. The moment his right hand pressed on the hilt of the sword, the star pattern on the scabbard suddenly shone with a ghostly blue light—resonating with the "Starry Sky" sword deep in Lin Yi's soul, making his spine tremble.
He moved, so fast that the air exploded with a sonic boom, and the angle of his sword strike was precise to the millimeter. It was the first move of the "Three Styles of Sky Rift" that Lin Yi had created three years ago when he was surrounded by bandits in the beginner village.
Lin Yi's pupils suddenly contracted.
He had already improved this move seven times, but now he saw the most original flaw in himself—his past self had obviously not undergone subsequent practical training.
He turned and spun around, pressing his left palm to the ground to activate a spacetime rift, intending to drag his opponent into the turbulent flow. However, the rift suddenly closed after only three inches of opening.
The tip of Lin Yi's sword grazed his Adam's apple, drawing a drop of blood: "Don't use such outdated tricks. I know all your unfinished spells."
Cold sweat trickled down my spine and into my collar.
Lin Yi was then shocked to realize that the other party's memory was stuck at a point in time when he had not yet integrated the white beard's inheritance and had not yet received the little girl's blessing.
But that rift closure move just now... He turned his head sharply and saw Chu Yao's projection flashing wildly, with a green warning surging in the data stream: "He shared the computing power of Night Owl's hive!"
It can predict your movements up to 0.3 seconds in advance!
"0.3 seconds is enough to kill." In the past, Lin Yi's sword was already at his heart.
This time, Lin Yi didn't dodge.
He clenched his right fist to meet the sword tip, the power of faith in his palm condensing into a golden shield that burst forth with dazzling light the moment it touched the blade.
A sharp pain spread from his palm, but he laughed: "But you don't know, my pain threshold is now three times higher than before." Taking advantage of the other's slight hesitation, he gripped the other's wrist with his left hand, and the power of spacetime condensed into a silver ring at his fingertips—the "Time Locking Ring" he had created three days ago to fight against the extradimensional swarm.
"When did you...?" For the first time, Lin Yi's pupils flickered.
The moment the silver light of the time-locking ring wrapped around his wrist, he suddenly let out a beast-like roar, and black lines emerged from under his skin, like countless living creatures wriggling beneath it.
The sword that resonated with "Starry Sky" suddenly turned black, and a corrosive liquid seeped from its blade. With a "crack," it broke the time-locking ring.
"Give up." The voice of the past Lin Yi was hoarse, a mixture of two tones. "You can't save Su Qing, you can't stop the Mother Nest, you can't even protect this key—" His gaze swept over Lin Yi's chest, where the pale golden scar rose and fell with the rhythm of battle. "The Labyrinth of Fate has long ago etched you into the list of losers. In every timeline, you will eventually kneel at the feet of Night Owl."
"Chu Yao!" Lin Yi slammed his past self into the turbulent flow of consciousness. As he turned, a burning pain shot through the scar on his chest. "Data comparison results!"
"Synchronizing!" Chu Yao's projection suddenly materialized, her hair tips adorned with tiny particles of light. Her fingertips touched the void between the two, and a pale blue data chain spread like a spiderweb. "He comes from timeline number 99, swallowed by the labyrinth of fate. Three days after obtaining 'Starry Sky,' he was ambushed by Night Owl... Look here!" She zoomed in on a distorted fragment of memory: the past version of Lin Yi's consciousness was being pierced by black tentacles, and Night Owl's face appeared on the tentacles, his mouth stretched to his ears. "This is mental pollution. His independent consciousness has long been covered by the core of the mother nest!"
The turbulence of his consciousness suddenly intensified, and a sharp fragment of memory grazed Lin Yi's cheek, leaving a bloody mark.
He watched as his corrupted "self" rose from the turbulent currents, black lines now covering half his face. He suddenly remembered Whitebeard's dying words: "The real enemy isn't another dimension, it's the 'what if' in your heart."
"Merge." Lin Yi suddenly spoke.
"What?" Chu Yao's data stream briefly paused.
"Use the power of faith to merge with him." Lin Yi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with a surging galaxy. "What has been corrupted is consciousness, not the soul."
I could feel the light still lingering in his soul from three years ago when he saved the little girl in the starting village. He raised his right hand, the power of faith in his palm no longer a simple gold, but mixed with the battle cry of the white-bearded man, the little girl's cheers, and the shouts of everyone he had protected echoing in their consciousness. "This time," he said, "I will prove that 'me' in every timeline can win."
Lin Yi's offensive suddenly stalled.
Black lines crisscrossed his skin, as if resisting some kind of force.
The moment Lin Yi's palm touched his forehead, the two groaned simultaneously—Lin Yi saw countless fragments flash before his eyes: the bronze bracers from the newbie village, the ecstasy of awakening the spacetime rift for the first time, the despair of being ambushed by the night owl... and in the eyes of the past version of Lin Yi, the black mist was fading, revealing the pupils that were gradually becoming clear.
"So... the me of later, I really did it." The voice of the past version of Lin Yi was as soft as a sigh, and the black lines suddenly surged before he finished speaking. "But the Mother Nest won't allow it!" He grabbed Lin Yi's wrist with such force that he almost crushed bones. "Go!"
The key...the key lies deep within the turbulent flow of consciousness. Night Owl's men...have arrived—
\"boom!\"
A blinding blue light suddenly cleaved through the turbulent flow of consciousness.
Lin Yi turned his head and saw a figure in a white coat standing in the thickest part of the fog. The figure was carrying a metal box that was flashing red in its left hand and making a "shush" gesture towards the sky with its right hand.
His glasses reflected the light, obscuring his expression, but they inexplicably reminded Lin Yi of the tattered "Diagram of Fate's Labyrinth" in Aizen's laboratory.
"Mr. Lin," Aizen's voice crackled with static, "Regarding what you just saw, I have a new 'instruction manual.'" He brandished the metal box in his hand. "But for now, let's deal with your immediate problem."
A series of roars echoed from the turbulent flow of consciousness; the Night Owl's advance party had arrived.
When Lin Yi turned around, the past version of Lin Yi was completely shrouded in black mist, with only empty scarlet eyes remaining.
He gripped the hilt of "Starry Sky" tightly, his faith surging within him—this time, he would not allow any version of himself from any timeline to be a loser.
In the blue light that exploded amidst the turbulent flow of consciousness, the indigo-dyed white lab coat fluttered wildly in the air currents.
The metal box he was carrying suddenly beeped, and the lid popped open automatically, revealing a semi-transparent hologram—the three-dimensional structure of the labyrinth of fate, with countless chains of light weaving through it and eventually converging into a shimmering red dot.
"Mr. Lin, the key you requested is at the end of the central hub." Aizen adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses like that of someone observing a precise experiment. "But the condition for triggering the activation mechanism... is a pure believer." He lightly tapped the hologram with his fingertip, and a stream of data appeared around the red dot. "The corruption of the Mother Nest can erode the soul, but it cannot corrupt a belief purely forged by 'protection.'"
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly.
He could hear the low panting of his past self, and the black mist was creeping up the other person's fingertips toward his wrist.
Those words were like a heavy hammer, shattering the last trace of hesitation in his heart—three days ago in the ruins of the Seventh District, he bravely took the acid cannon of the Mother Nest swarm to save thirty-seven civilians. Wasn't the burning heat surging in his chest at that time the purest form of faith?
"Chu Yao, lock onto his soul core." Lin Yi's voice was as steady as a command etched into his bones. He placed his left hand on the back of his past self's neck, and the power of time and space seeped in through his fingertips.
The corrupted "self" suddenly sprang up, its fingernails piercing the back of his hand, black blood mixed with golden-red faith power dripping down: "Don't...don't come any closer!"
The mother nest will... will crush you!
"But you're resisting." Lin Yi stared at the glimmer of clarity in the other person's eyes. The light was so faint, yet it reminded him of the little girl in the torrential rain in the beginner village who had given him the last half of a roasted sweet potato.
He took a deep breath, and the power of faith in his palm suddenly surged—not as an attack, but as a warm embrace, like a mother wrapping a newborn in swaddling clothes.
"This is what Su Qing taught me," Lin Yi murmured. "She said that every light crushed by fate deserves to be rekindled."
The previous version of Lin Yi's body trembled violently.
The black mist surged on his skin like boiling water, but it could never break through the golden light membrane.
Chu Yao's projection suddenly transformed into a data stream and entered the two people's sea of consciousness. The mechanical voice carried an unusual urgency: "Soul pollution detected and being stripped away!"
His level of self-awareness recovery...30%...50%...78%!
"That's enough." Lin Yi bit his tongue, the sweet and metallic taste of blood stimulating his nerves.
He grabbed the other's wrist and infused it with a power of faith carrying his own memories—the morning light of the newbie village, the white-bearded man's smile before his death, and the shouts of the crowd when the Time Legion was founded.
The pupils of the past version of Lin Yi suddenly dilated, and the black mist receded from his body, revealing a pale but clear face beneath: "So... the me of later really did establish the Time-Space Legion..."
"Now, let's go home." Lin Yi's voice was as soft as a sigh.
He opened his arms, and his past self's body suddenly turned into stardust, merging into his chest.
A booming sound came from his sea of consciousness, as if something had been completely filled in—he could clearly sense that the boy who had been chased by bandits and fallen into a mud pit in the newbie village three years ago was overlapping with his current self, planting a more resilient root deep in his soul.
\"bite--\"
Chu Yao's alarm suddenly became shrill.
Lin Yi looked up. The turbulent flow of his consciousness had subsided at some point. A bronze archway appeared in front of him, behind which was a chaotic sea of light.
He touched his chest, where the pale gold scar no longer burned; instead, it pulsed with a warm rhythm—a sign that the integration was complete.
"We've reached the end of the central area." Aizen's voice came from behind. The metal box had disappeared, and he was leaning against the stone wall next to the archway, as if he had known it would come to this. "Go in, Mr. Lin."
What you're looking for has been waiting for you for a long time.
Lin Yi did not turn around.
He gripped the "Starry Sky" tightly, and the moment he stepped through the archway, all his senses were suddenly amplified—in the chaotic sea of light, a key with flowing gold and black colors floated, its surface engraved with runes he had never seen before, each line telling of the roar of creation.
He could hear his own heartbeat resonating with the key, as if responding to some ancient call.
"Finally found it." Lin Yi stretched out his hand, his fingertips only three inches away from the key.
"Too slow."
A sinister whisper exploded from behind.
Lin Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and as he turned around, "Starry Sky" was already unsheathed—Night Owl was standing in the center of the archway at some point, his black cloak stained with dark purple slime, and the core of the Mother Nest on his forehead was emitting an eerie glow.
His mouth stretched to his ears, revealing sharp fangs: "You think you can win by integrating failed products?"
Do you think that getting the key will open the gate to creation?
Lin Yi's sword gleamed with a ghostly blue light.
He could sense that the Night Owl's aura was at least three times stronger than it had been three days ago, and the pulse of the Mother Nest's core resonated with his sea of consciousness—the other party had clearly fused with more of the Zerg's power.
But at this moment his heartbeat was unusually steady, because the key in his palm was burning hot, a pure faith responding to his approach.
"You've got the key..." Night Owl's figure suddenly blurred, appearing beside Lin Yi the next second, his claws tearing through Lin Yi's shoulder armor. "But this doesn't mean victory." His voice carried a maniacal laugh. "When you truly understand the price of the Seven Keys of Creation... you'll kneel before me, begging me to kill you."
The chaotic sea of light suddenly trembled violently.
Lin Yi stared at the swarm of insect phantoms appearing behind Night Owl, then looked at the key that was right in front of him—he could hear the sound of the spacetime rift tearing apart in the distance, and he could feel the members of the Spacetime Legion doing their best to break through the Mother Nest's blockade.
The key in his palm was emitting an increasingly bright light, as if urging him to make his final decision.
"Give it a try." Lin Yi gripped the key in his other hand, and a chaotic light instantly enveloped his entire body.
He gazed at the owl's contorted face, revealing the same smile he had worn three years ago when he first awakened in the starting village. "This time, I'll show you what true victory is."
The runes on the key suddenly lit up.
A distant rumble of a spacetime rift shattering echoed, and in the Night Owl's pupils, seven beams of light of different colors were reflected, rapidly converging from seven different spacetime directions.
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