Let me just ask you first….
Old Man’s voice did not sound amicable as he asked,
You are not related to that Thing inside my disciple right?
Huh?
Wang Hao replied with the irritation back in his voice.
I do not know what you are thinking, but you must realize that I am Fang Lin’s master too, so I always have the best interest for him!
Best interests? Really?
Old Man’s voice turned skeptic after hearing Wang Hao’s defense.
Did I just hear you say that?
Oi oi oi, what are you implying then huh?
Wang Hao replied angrily as he realized what Old Man was pertaining to.
You think I suck as a master?
Of course you suck!
Old Man quickly answered back as he rattled a series of misdeeds that Wang Hao did as Fang Lin’s master.
Kgh….
Wang Hao stayed quiet, as he was not able to offer any rebuttal against Old Man.
Ok, ok, I suck as a master, I get that. But you must know that even I would not be that deranged to place something like that inside Fang Lin.
But you already knew before that Fang Lin had that Thing inside him?
Old Man slowly muttered as he tried to berate Wang Hao.
If you knew that, then why did you not tell Fang Lin about it?
Why should I? It might only do Fang Lin more harm than good if we told him something like that.
Wang Hao replied evasively.
Besides, when I first saw the Thing, I thought that after letting it live for some few years, it will disappear since that’s the way to eliminate that….
That would be the case if Fang Lin had a normal talent. But as you know, Fang Lin was an extremely talented practitioner!
Old Man yelled out as he laid out the facts to Wang Hao.
Do you know how fast Fang Lin had advanced in his cultivation now? It was not so long ago when he was admitted to the Immortal God Sect, and yet look at his abilities now. Just before his breakthrough to the Third Stage, he can already fight Fourth Stage Practitioners! Now that he just broke through, how strong could he be already?
Gulp!
Wang Hao inwardly trembled as he realized the monstrous talent Fang Lin had. Will that disciple of his be able to fight peak Fourth Stage Practitioners now? If he could, then Fang Lin’s talent will just be slightly lower compared to Wang Hao’s elder sister!
If Fang Lin did not meet you and me, he will surely would have not reached this level.
Old Man said with a trace of doting and proudness in his voice.
But he met us, so his potential went off the charts!
And now that talent of his was keeping that Thing alive.
Wang Hao said with annoyance as he was stumped with what to do.
Sigh, I know that Fang Lin time travelled to the future. I am fine with that, since there is no way that we will be affected. But how could you say that this time travel will wake up that Thing?
Wang Hao perked up as he asked Old Man.
I will not inquire about your origin, but I know that you, Old Man, was way older than me. Come now, shower me with your knowledge. After all, you are an extremely erudite person.
Erudite? Hohohoho…
Old Man seemed to be extremely pleased as he received Wang Hao’s compliment.
Wang Hao grinned, realizing that he just managed to find Old Man’s weak point.
Oh come on, you are the one of the wisest being in the Universe, so something like this should be no biggie for you.
Wang Hao did not hold back as he used his exquisite tongue skills to please Old Man(Welp, that sounded wrong).
Old Man, your intelligence should be on par with the Universe Sages, so you can explain to me everything about that Thing!
But after Wang Hao said that, he saw the Old Man smiling ruefully as he replied to Wang Hao.
Oh actually…. I am a member of the Universe Sages!
Old Man then laughed boisterously upon seeing the shocked expression on Wang Hao’s face.
Hahahaha! So what do you think about it? I am really great right?
Great my ass!
Wang Hao angrily replied as he tried to maul Old Man.
You are actually a Universe Sage? No wonder you spout all the knowledge bullshit! Ptooey!
Did you just spit!
Hell yes I did!
Wang Hao seemed to have a nerve in him pricked after Old Man said that he was a Universe Sage.
My memory was still foggy, but I can faintly remember that some of those Universe Sages wanted me dead! Those damn geezers!
Oi oi oi, don’t you lump me in with them.
Old Man said as an annoyed expression appeared in his features.
I was the member of the 12th Universe Sages Council. We at those days were the representation of the perfect balance between knowledge and power. These Universe Sages wanting you dead must have been from the youngest generation! Ptooey! Youngsters these days!
….
….
Oh, what was the current number of the Universe Sages Council right now?
Old Man asked Wang Hao while looking away.
Must be around 100th…
1,532nd.
Wang Hao replied with a triumphant smile on his face.
What the hell? I was asleep for that long?
Old Man clutched his face, realizing how much time he just went through.
Ugh, this sucks…
So you are part of the 12th? Hehehe so you came from the Primordial Era then.
Wang Hao shook his head as he gazed at Old Man in pity.
Much time had already passed after that…
What era is it now anyway?
Old Man stealthily asked Wang Hao.
The Downfall Era.
Wang Hao replied with a solemn tone in his voice.
From what you could hear from the title, you must already realize the situation our Universe was in.
Tsk, so we have reached this point then…
Old Man muttered as he seemed to be shaken by what Wang Hao said.
Out of all the eras I could be freed, the one I got was the Downfall Era? What a bad luck I could have…
But you know that at eras like this, heroes and great practitioners will appear, just like me!
Wang Hao proudly said, showing his arrogance.
For a moment I thought you will mention Fang Lin…..
Old Man seemed to have recovered from his shock as he went back to the topic that he and Wang Hao was talking about.
So about that time travel and the Thing….
Old Man took a deep breath before saying,
I am restricted by my position as a Universe Sage so I could not tell you more about it.
What the hell? That’s just cheating!
Wang Hao muttered as he tried to affect the soul body of Old Man.
Old Man was unfazed as he ignored Wang Hao’s attempts. He tried to make his face look ‘sagely’ as he asked Wang Hao,
What do you know about the Thing?
Well…
Wang Hao pondered for a moment before saying,
What I only know is what the Thing looks like and how it usually incubates on a practitioner. I also know that letting the Thing awaken will be catastrophic, so eliminating it is the number 1 priority.
That’s the basic information that all upper-class families in the Universe have.
Old Man nodded, seemingly satisfied with what Wang Hao said.
As a Universe Sage, I know much more about the Thing. Let’s just say… that it’s not good.
I see.
Wang Hao’s tone then changed as he asked Old Man,
If Fang Lin time travelling can wake up the Thing, does that mean I must do my best to prevent him from doing time travel?
Yes.
Old Man replied gravely. His eyes looked glazed as he said,
As much as possible, we must limit Fang Lin’s movements through the River of Time.
……
……
There was tense silence between the two before Wang Hao said,
So you know that the original Fang Lin was at the future timeline. Does that mean we should not allow him to go back?
I…. do not know.
Old Man replied with uncertainty.
It all depends on how long Fang Lin was exposed to the River of Time. The longer he was exposed to it, the higher the chance that he might wake the Thing up.
Tsk.
Wang Hao looked pissed as he seemed to be stuck on a dead end.
So that’s it? We will just wish that once Fang Lin comes back from the future, he will be fine and the Thing does not awaken?
Well what other options do you have?
Old Man shot back.
Fang Lin’s talent was keeping the Thing alive and if Fang Lin moves more in the River of Time, the Thing might wake up. Tell me then what you plan to do.
……
Wang Hao knew two options to kill the thing. The first option was by letting a few years pass by, and the Thing will die on its own. The second option was by letting the host practitioner kill the Thing inside him/her.
Out of the two options, the first one was the safer and more successful one. The second option was highly dangerous, as most of the time, both the host practitioner and the Thing dies.
Wang Hao, with his common sense, decided to use the first option on Fang Lin. But who would have thought that Fang Lin’s talent will keep the Thing alive! And now, it was on the verge of awakening!
As for the second option, Wang Hao was not willing to make Fang Lin do this option since Fang Lin had a high chance of dying from this option!
In this case, there is only one way that Fang Lin can kill the Thing.
I have to make a new plan to kill the Thing!
Wang Hao declared, as his eyes glowed with determination.
Wang Hao let out a sigh as he visualized his ‘New Plan’ to kill the thing. Old Man just watched from the sides, looking at Wang Hao’s ‘New Plan’. Minutes later. Wang Hao let out a deep breath as he finished his endeavor.
This new plan that I made will surely kill that parasite!
Wang Hao muttered solemnly to himself. Old Man’s eyes then widened as he saw the ‘New Plan’ that Wang Hao made.
Preposterous!
Old Man shouted as he realized Wang Hao’s solution to kill the Thing inside Fang Lin.
I know that this method you just made will surely kill the Thing, but do you think Fang Lin will agree to your method?
Whether he agrees or not, I will still use this method on him.
Wang Hao replied grimly, ignoring the panic on Old Man’s voice.
But still!
Shut up Old Man.
Wang Hao replied with steel on his voice.
You know that this method of mine was the only way left for Fang Lin to survive. If he does not use this method, he will surely die. So I, as his master, must do this!
Old Man paused as he gave Wang Hao a solemn and pitying look. Wang Hao stared back with resolution present in his eyes. Old Man’s voice quivered as he said,
If you use this method on Fang Lin, any semblance of connection you have with him will be gone! Fang Lin will hate you so much that he might loathe your very presence! Do you want that to happen?
Well…
Wang Hao trembled as he tried to calm himself down.
Fang Lin already hates me now, so there is no problem if he hates me more right?
……..
