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Glancing at the severed fish torso and tail beside him, then at the fully intact fish now hovering before him, Chu Chengzhou was utterly bewildered.
Good grief—at this rate, he'd never run out of fish to eat!
Shaking his head to dispel the absurd thought, he turned his full attention back to Xiao Guang.
"That's all?"
"Growl~"
Xiao Guang gave a soft, affirming noise.
"Alright then…"
Chu Chengzhou couldn't hide his slight disappointment.
The poor little fish was still dead—its body had merely been restored. True resurrection remained beyond reach.
Through repeated experiments, Chu Chengzhou had now fully grasped the mechanics of Xiao Guang's Time Reversion divine art.
Time Reversion could target either itself or others, reverting the physical state of the subject to a prior point in time.
However, the effect and soul power cost varied significantly depending on the target:
- When used on itself: Xiao Guang could not restore expended soul power.
Energy conservation held true—creation from nothing was impossible, at least for a mere million-year spirit.
For example: if Xiao Guang was gravely wounded, its soul power reduced to half, and it reverted to a full-health state, its injuries would heal—but its soul power would remain at 50%. The cost of casting Time Reversion itself was deducted separately.
- Soul power consumption was dynamic: The further back in time, and the stronger the target, the greater the cost—though a minimum threshold always applied.
More critically, Time Reversion carried a devastating "side effect."
- When used on others:
- If a heavily injured target was reverted to its peak state, it would fully recover, including soul power, with no conservation restrictions.
- But if a healthy target was reverted to a past injured state, it would instantly suffer those injuries—and even lose abilities gained since then.
Imagine a Level 90 quasi-Title Douluo who, just one day ago, had acquired a 100,000-year ninth soul ring and absorbed its matching soul bone to become a true Title Douluo.
If Xiao Guang reverted him to 24 hours prior, he'd:
→ Lose his ninth soul ring and soul bone
→ Revert to Level 90
→ And all progress from that day would vanish.
With this ability alone, Xiao Guang indisputably claimed the title of "Most Terrifying Soul Beast in Existence."
Imagine slaving for years to obtain a 100,000-year ring—only to have it erased by a single cast of Time Reversion. Some might literally die of rage.
Worse still—revert someone all the way back to the day they awakened their martial soul, and decades of cultivation, soul rings, and soul bones would disintegrate into nothing.
They'd retain only their memories—no power, no achievements.
(Though, mercifully, lifespan would reset proportionally—a 60-year-old reverted to age six wouldn't immediately face death by old age.)
Reverted Title Douluo (age 6, losing his first tooth):
"My wife is now elderly… and I have grandchildren!"
---
Yet despite this terrifying offensive potential, Time Reversion had one critical limitation:
It could not reverse death.
Take the poor dismembered fish: Time Reversion could rewind its state—but the moment it reached the exact instant of death, the effect would automatically terminate.
"What a shame…"
Chu Chengzhou sighed inwardly, gently stroking Xiao Guang's horns.
Though Time Reversion was an exceptionally powerful combat/utility divine art, it wasn't the resurrection ability he truly craved.
…Though, come to think of it—could it enable de facto immortality?
At the brink of natural death, simply cast Time Reversion to revert the body to youth. Repeat indefinitely.
As long as one avoided accidental death, eternal life was theoretically possible.
Truly—immortality achieved!
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Noticing it was still early, Chu Chengzhou decided against returning immediately.
He summoned Xiao Qing, his Life Tree spirit, merged into Humanized Spirit State (with himself as core, spirit as support), then mounted Xiao Guang—the newly christened Dragon of Time—and resumed his dual-task:
Scouting for a suitable eighth soul ring target for Ning Rongrong
2. Upgrading Xiao Qing's age in parallel.
Why Xiao Qing—and not Xiao Yin (Space Holy Dragon) or another stronger spirit?
Simple:
If Xiao Guang, upon reaching million-year status, unlocked the game-breaking Time Reversion, then all nine of his spirits would likely gain unique divine arts at that threshold.
Those future abilities might be formidable—but for Chu Chengzhou, their practical value was limited.
Against foes he could already defeat, extra million-year spirits were just icing on the cake.
Against foes he couldn't beat? Even ten million-year spirits wouldn't save him.
But Xiao Qing was different.
As a Life-attribute spirit walking the path of Life Law, its million-year ascension might unlock a resurrection divine art.
Douluo Continent was far harsher than his past life—so much loss, so many regrets:
- His own parents in this life,
- Xiao Wu's mother (his first mother-in-law)
- Ning Rongrong's mother (his second mother-in-law)
- Hu Liena's parents (his fourth father- and mother-in-law)…
Except for Zhu Zhuqing (whose parents lived) and Tang Yuehua (whose parents weren't prematurely lost), nearly all his and his girls' blood relatives had died far too young.
If true resurrection were possible, it would be the greatest blessing imaginable.
…Though, Qian Xunji (his father-in-law) was an exception. Better left dead.
If resurrected, Bibi Dong would immediately pulverize him again.
Even if Bibi Dong could forgive Yu Xiaogang in illusions and reconcile with Qian Renxue, her hatred for Qian Xunji remained unshakable.
Still—if Xiao Qing ultimately failed to unlock resurrection, hope wasn't lost.
In the future, the God Realm's Food God and Nine-Colored Goddess could jointly perform resurrection.
Once Chu Chengzhou ascended to his Chaos Godhood, he could seek their aid—and they'd likely oblige.
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