https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-505-Dragged-into-the-River-of-Time/12532563/
Chapter 506: Far-reaching Influence
Chapter 506: Far-reaching Influence (End of Chapter)
After his eleventh shuttle, Lin Yuan felt the vast river of time narrowing slightly around him. This sensation intensified over the next hundred years as he thoroughly underwent the transformation brought about by his comprehension of the Chaos Laws.
Within the river of time, Lin Yuan had to curl up, striving to make himself smaller. Otherwise, even if he lay flat, parts of his body would still exceed the limits of the river's accommodation.
This presented a significant risk—at the very least, it could alert the twelfth-tier Ultimates on the shore, and at worst, it might directly provoke a backlash from the river of time, forcing him to make the Ultimate Leap prematurely.
However, when the Heavenly Feather Clan's Ultimate, Tian Yuchen, voluntarily entered the river of time to evade the attack from Taiji Yuanshen, who wielded a twelfth-tier weapon, Lin Yuan lost his patience.
Crouching beneath the river of time, Lin Yuan suddenly reached out with his right hand, extending it onto the shore and grasping Tian Yuchen's ankle, dragging him towards the river.
"I'm just reaching out a hand and haven't stayed out of the river of time for long, so it shouldn't provoke a backlash," Lin Yuan thought to himself. Even ordinary eleventh-tier Perfected beings occasionally leap out of the river of time.
As long as the duration is short, there shouldn't be any major issues.
Even if he were forced to make the Ultimate Leap ahead of schedule, it wouldn't affect Lin Yuan in his current state of perfection, with all aspects at their peak, ready to challenge the twelfth tier at any time.
"What is this?"
Tian Yuchen, who had been standing on the shore pondering how to wage war against the Human Civilization, was suddenly shocked to find himself being pulled towards the river of time.
"No!!!"
Terror etched Tian Yuchen's face as he never expected to face an attack from beneath the river.
On the shore of the river of time, even when twelfth-tier Ultimates clashed, they did so on the shore itself. And these clashes were akin to simple scuffles within the universe, devoid of intricate rule intricacies. Hence, typically, no twelfth-tier Ultimate would engage in a shore-side brawl.
Thus, Tian Yuchen was completely unprepared, and even if he had been cautious, it would have been directed at the other twelfth-tier Ultimates on the shore.
As for beneath the river of time?
They were nothing but insignificant ants and dust, and the most they could do was briefly leap out of the water to gaze up at the Ultimates on the shore.
Splash!
Before Tian Yuchen could react, his right foot, which had been grabbed, made contact with the waters of the river of time.
While the river's waters were extremely gentle and harmless to beings below the twelfth tier, they were the deadliest poison to those who had transcended the river of time.
This was why twelfth-tier Ultimates, standing tall on the shore and looking down upon the river of time, never ventured into it again.
Even the mighty twelfth-tier Ultimates would have their life essence severely eroded if they remained in contact with the river's waters for an extended period, possibly falling back to the eleventh-tier and once again becoming bound by the river of time.
This was something no twelfth-tier Ultimate could ever accept.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
As Tian Yuchen's right foot dipped into the river of time, his spiritual will was shaken. Before he could react, the hand from beneath the river pulled him completely underwater.
In front of the spacetime black hole, the dozen or so twelfth-tier Ultimates who had been fighting against the nine peak powerhouses of the Human Civilization paused in their battle.
They watched as Tian Yuchen struggled with all his might, only to be overwhelmed by the Galaxy Star Master and ultimately forced to flee into the river of time. This turn of events left the over ten twelfth-tier Ultimates speechless.
The fact that the Galaxy Star Master's attack power had reached the threshold of the twelfth tier was already outrageous, but now it seemed that it wasn't merely a matter of reaching the threshold—he could actually injure Tian Yuchen? Otherwise, Tian Yuchen wouldn't have chosen to flee into the river of time.
For a moment, the group of twelfth-tier Ultimates fell silent.
What were they planning to do by coming here together? Gang up on the Galaxy Star Master?
But was the Galaxy Star Master in his current state someone they could take on? With the strength he had just displayed, trying to gang up on him would be no easier than trying to take down a twelfth-tier Ultimate.
Since the birth of this universe, even in the most brutal battles between twelfth-tier Ultimates, there had never been a recorded instance of a twelfth-tier lifeform perishing.
On the Human Civilization's side, Xuanyuan, the peak powerhouse, and the other eight powerhouses also fell silent.
The nine powerhouses had rushed here intending to avenge Lin Yuan, believing that the over ten twelfth-tier Ultimates had locked onto Lin Yuan's coordinate location.
However, the outcome seemed predetermined. Xuanyuan and Xia Qin, the peak powerhouses, had already prepared themselves to make exorbitant demands. With so many twelfth-tier Ultimates ganging up on the Galaxy Star Master, how could they not?
Even if it was just an avatar, it was still a serious breach of the unspoken rules among twelfth-tier beings.
Therefore, if these twelfth-tier Ultimates on the battlefield did not offer a satisfactory compensation to the Human Civilization afterward, Xuanyuan would personally step in and take down the eleventh-tier and tenth-tier lifeforms of the other races.
In Xuanyuan and the other peak powerhouses' predictions, these twelfth-tier Ultimates ganging up on the Galaxy Star Master would likely back down, as they were indeed the ones who had escalated the situation.
However, the development of events took an unexpected turn for Xuanyuan.
The Galaxy Star Master's avatar did not perish but instead dominated the battle against Tian Yuchen of the Heavenly Feather Clan.
This left Xuanyuan feeling somewhat bewildered. They had rushed here to avenge the Galaxy Star Master, who they believed had been killed.
Even if it was just an avatar.
But now, not only had the Galaxy Star Master's avatar not died, but it was also defeating a twelfth-tier Ultimate.
This, instead, put Xuanyuan and Xia Qin, the peak powerhouses, in a difficult position.
"Galaxy Star Master," the Ultimate of the Prison Clan said, his eyes deep with thought as he gazed into the river of time and locked eyes with Tian Yuchen, who stood on the shore.
The other twelfth-tier Ultimates shared a similar sentiment, realizing the gravity of the situation. The Galaxy Star Master was not someone they could take on.
"Hmm?" The Mother Emperor of the Insect Clan's expression changed slightly.
The other twelfth-tier Ultimates mirrored her reaction.
Then, right before the eyes of the group of twelfth-tier Ultimates, Tian Yuchen was dragged into the river of time by a hand that reached out from beneath it.
"What?"
On the shore of the river of time, the twelfth-tier Ultimates stared intently at the vast river, their faces grave.
"That hand?"
"It's the Galaxy Star Master."
"How could the Galaxy Star Master, who is just a lifeform within the river, have the power to drag us twelfth-tier beings into the river here?"
The twelfth-tier Ultimates found it hard to believe. The river of time was the very reflection of life's fundamentals, and to drag a twelfth-tier lifeform within this space required an unbelievably strong life essence.
"Why not?"
"Don't forget that the Galaxy Star Master was just pressing down on Tian Yuchen."
The Ultimate of the Universe Clan spoke up.
As soon as these words left his mouth, the other twelfth-tier Ultimates immediately understood.
That's right.
Even the suppression of an eleventh-tier over a twelfth-tier had occurred.
However, within the confines of the temporal river, Tian Yuchen faced a real possibility of perishing. Yet, Lin Yuan acknowledged the vast gap in their life essences; with nine-tenths of Tian Yuchen's focus on countering the river's erosion, he could still break free from Lin Yuan's grasp.
Though he couldn't completely trap Tian Yuchen, Lin Yuan had achieved his intended goal. The injuries Tian Yuchen sustained were practically irreparable.
Aside from the erosion inflicted by the river, the shattering of two pairs of his wings alone would exact a toll that might never be reversed. For the Heavenly Feather Clan, power was concentrated in the wings that sprouted from their backs, even for Twelfth-Tier beings like Tian Yuchen.
While the shattering of his wings granted a temporary surge in power, it would inevitably lead to a prolonged decline in strength. It was unlikely that Tian Yuchen, as a Twelfth-Tier lifeform, would be able to restore those broken wings for billions and billions of years.
Before that happened, Tian Yuchen would probably never dare to show his face again. With only twenty-two pairs of wings, he would likely be the weakest among Twelfth-Tier lifeforms.
"Hmm?" Lin Yuan noticed that the Twelfth-Tier Ultimates hadn't left their posts along the riverbank. They stood at a considerable distance from the river's edge, warily eyeing the waters below.
"They're all on guard against me," Lin Yuan mused, unsurprised by their caution. His ability to drag Tian Yuchen into the river had relied entirely on the element of surprise. Tian Yuchen had never anticipated an attack from beneath the river's surface.
"But this trick won't work again," Lin Yuan acknowledged. The distance between him and the Ultimates was now too great, and they were prepared for any attempts to pull them into the river. With their superior life essences, they would react instantly and break free from his grasp.
"However, I won't need such tactics anymore," Lin Yuan said, shaking his head. He was on the cusp of reaching the Ultimate stage, and if all went well, he would soon stand alongside those Twelfth-Tier Ultimates on the riverbank, no longer needing to hide beneath the waters and ambush them.
Along the riverbank, the Twelfth-Tier Ultimates discussed Tian Yuchen's injuries. "It's unlikely he'll fully recover before this universe's end," one of them remarked.
"Indeed," another agreed. "The river's erosion is too much for us Twelfth-Tier lifeforms to bear."
"The Heavenly Feather Clan has suffered a heavy loss. This will undoubtedly affect them during the Universal Great Destruction," a third Ultimate added.
For any Twelfth-Tier lifeform, the Universal Great Destruction was a perilous event, akin to a deadly gauntlet. Without reaching the pinnacle of the Path-Achieving realm, the chances of survival were slim, often no more than fifty percent.
In his current state, Tian Yuchen wouldn't be able to bolster his strength before the impending catastrophe, let alone return to his peak condition. The Ultimates estimated that with his weakened state, Tian Yuchen's odds of weathering the Universal Great Destruction were slim, perhaps only two or three out of ten.
The stronger a Path-Achieving lifeform was, the higher their chances of surviving the Universal Great Destruction. Only those at the pinnacle of the realm could be assured of making it through unscathed.
The Twelfth-Tier Ultimates had no desire to engage in mutual destruction. Firstly, it was difficult to truly defeat another Ultimate, rendering such battles pointless. Secondly, even if one emerged victorious, the damage inflicted on oneself would be severe.
In a desperate struggle, both combatants would suffer. This would impact their state and power when facing the Universal Great Destruction, and failure to survive that event meant certain death and annihilation.
(End of Chapter)
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