Beside the Lake of Life—
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu watched nervously as Li Zhexian and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger faced each other from afar.
Da Ming and Er Ming also tightened their fierce expressions.
Time clashing with time.
Perhaps such a thing had never occurred since ancient days.
What would the result be?
None of them could predict it.
"Roar…"
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger let out a low, rumbling growl.
Though it had never once beaten this terrifying youth…
When it came to the power of time, it would never concede.
This power was its race's foundation for ruling the Star Dou Spirit Beasts—
how could it possibly lose to a human?
Swish—!
Its black scorpion tail lashed toward Li Zhexian,
leaving behind a chilling black gash in the air—
a strike at a level seemingly above even spatial force.
Li Zhexian did not even draw his sword.
He simply lifted the sheathed Qinglian Sword and slashed with the scabbard in greeting.
"Qinglian Sword Song, Ninth Form—A Thousand Autumns Depart!"
A hazy sword light rippled out from the sheath.
Around the sword light—
Wind reversed, dust surged backward, and anything the ripples touched
fell into either the rewind of time
or accelerated decay.
Under the stunned gaze of Zhu Zhuqing and the others—
The sword light collided with the scorpion tail.
No explosion.
No violent shockwave.
Just a twisted sphere of light, within which bizarre visions cycled endlessly.
But to Da Ming, Er Ming, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing watching nearby—
what they saw was completely different.
Scene after scene of Li Zhexian and the Evil God Tiger colliding
played simultaneously.
Layer upon layer, endlessly overlapping—
as though all possibilities on the timeline
had been cut open
and projected before them.
Time rewound.
Returning to the very instant of the clash.
Then—
Time rewound again.
While Li Zhexian's sword light radiated a terrifying time-acceleration force.
Past and future intertwined.
Around the man and the beast, snow melted, grass sprouted—
winter turned to spring.
But the next instant—
The sprouts retracted back into seeds.
Meltwater re-froze into brilliant snow.
The chilling sight made the four onlookers pale in horror.
Inside his spiritual sea—
Skydream Ice Worm's tiny eyes flooded with shock.
Inside Li Zhexian's spiritual sea—
The Ice-Silkworm of Ten Thousand Dreams trembled violently.
"Brother Zhexian!"
"If time becomes unstable—!"
"Disaster will break loose!"
"No one can predict what'll happen!"
"Hurry and stop!"
Li Zhexian gripped the hilt tightly, staring unblinking at the twisted sphere.
Inside the sphere…
Fragments of the future appeared:
Scenes of him returning to Heaven Dou City,
of him annihilating armies of the Spirit Hall…
As the images flickered rapidly—
Li Zhexian's eyes gradually froze.
His body trembled faintly.
His face turned pale.
"Brother Zhexian! What did you see?!"
Skydream Ice Worm shouted anxiously:
"A pebble you toss now—
could stir tidal waves in the future!"
"A glimpse of the future is the most dangerous of all!"
"No matter what you saw—"
"You must keep your mind steady!"
Li Zhexian exhaled slowly.
The shock faded from his expression, replaced by calm.
Softly, he said: "I know."
The moment he spoke—
The final scene within the sphere froze.
His expression stiffened again.
Images of his future no longer continued.
Only one possibility remained…
Rustle—
Rustle—
Before he could examine the thought—
The sphere suddenly expanded.
Not like the black holes the Evil God Tiger created—
but a white hole, radiating an aura of the unknown.
Li Zhexian was instantly pulled inside.
"?!!" The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was stunned.
The white hole ignored it?
This anomaly clearly came from the clash of its power with Li Zhexian—
so why was it excluded?
The tiger felt both fear of the unknown and overwhelming curiosity.
Immediately—
It spread its wings and charged at the white hole.
Pop—!
A soft sound rang out.
It was bounced back with several times the force, its four claws scraping deep trenches across the ground.
A flicker of rage and shock crossed its blood-red eyes.
At this point—
It understood.
In this clash of time power between itself and Li Zhexian…
it had lost.
Because its control over time was inferior,
the mysterious white hole rejected its entry.
Precisely because its time manipulation was inferior,
this mysterious white hole rejected its entry.
The ground trembled.
Da Ming, Er Ming, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu all rushed over.
"What is that…?"
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu stared at the blazing white aperture, their pretty faces changing slightly.
Da Ming and Er Ming positioned themselves on either side of the Evil God Tiger, ready to stop it if it tried to flee.
...
Li Zhexian stood in a space of pure white.
He lowered his head—
His hands had not shrunk; his Spirit Power and physical strength remained intact.
"This isn't the Evil God Tiger's death arena."
"A white hole…"
"What does it signify?"
Li Zhexian slowly walked forward. The voice of the Skydream Iceworm rang out in his mind.
"Brother Zhexian, you were reckless this time!"
"This white hole is definitely stranger than the black one! Who knows what's waiting inside?"
Li Zhexian asked calmly:
"Brother Tian Meng, even with your million-year experience you don't recognize this?"
Skydream replied weakly:
"Bro spent most of his life asleep, okay?"
"If someday you take me to the Extreme North, maybe I can act like a walking encyclopedia."
"But a mutation caused by the collision of two powers of time… I doubt anyone can explain that."
Li Zhexian said no more.
He continued walking forward, without direction, without end.
He had no idea how much time passed.
Then—
Ahead, within the white haze—
Came footsteps.
And a cautious, steady voice.
"Brother Tian Meng, what is this place? Why did I suddenly appear here? Even you don't know—hm? I think I hear footsteps ahead…"
Li Zhexian halted.
Skydream Ice Worm burst out in shock and anger:
"Who?!"
"Who dares call themselves Brother Tian Meng in front of me?!"
"Has my reputation grown so big people are impersonating me?!"
"Brother Zhexian, let's beat him up!"
Li Zhexian's eyes narrowed faintly.
He looked around the reversed white-space opposite the black hole.
A guess took shape in his mind.
"If that's the case… then this is interesting."
Fearless, he strode toward the approaching sound.
Tap—
Tap—
Through the hazy brilliance—
Two sets of footsteps grew closer.
Li Zhexian placed his hand on the Qinglian Sword at his waist.
He stepped forward.
The person ahead seemed to sense him and stepped forward as well.
In the next instant—
In Li Zhexian's line of sight—
A youth with short blue hair, clear eyes shimmering with spiritual light, and a jade-green dagger in hand broke through the radiance and appeared before him.
And in the blue-haired youth's eyes—
A handsome boy in flowing white robes emerged from the white glow.
Silver eyes shining like cold stars.
A wine gourd on his left hip.
An ancient sword on his right.
The moment he laid eyes on him, a sharp ache pricked his pupils.
Almost simultaneously—
A shocked voice sounded in his mind:
"Yuhao, be careful!"
"This mysterious boy is insanely powerful!"
The two stared at one another for a long moment—
then cupped their fists at the same time.
"Li Zhexian."
"Huo Yuhao."
...
Author's note:
This won't insert the plot of Soul Land II.
Huo Yuhao will not appear in the main world of SL1, nor influence the primary storyline.
This is only a brief meeting—
A duel between the strongest geniuses separated by ten thousand years.
Readers, rest assured~
...
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PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin