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"You want to see me?"
Noah looked puzzled, unable to figure out what connection he had with the Celestial Spirit World that would make the Celestial Spirit King single him out instead of his "old friend."
The Celestial Spirit King offered no explanation, but instead opened a massive Star Gate and said, "Powerful human, please come with me."
With that, the Celestial Spirit King stepped into the colossal Star Gate, and the temporary space he'd created for Lucy and himself to meet quickly dimmed, on the verge of collapsing.
Although Noah didn't know the exact location of this temporary space, with the coordinates of both Edolas and Earth Land in his possession, he could return instantly using the Super A-Rank Spatial Magic 'Anima.'
Since he had a way out, Noah naturally wanted to see what the Celestial Spirit King was really up to.
Surrounded by a gentle breeze, Noah strode through the Star Gate.
Beyond the Gate was a massive platform, with the Celestial Spirit King seated on a throne in the center.
Noah's attention was immediately drawn not to the Celestial Spirit King, but to the breathtaking scenery of this world.
The sky was filled with ethereal stars, and below the high platform, natural landscapes of mountains, rivers, and forests were vibrantly colored, like a heavily painted oil painting. Exquisite palaces and houses adorned with constellation patterns were scattered about, and Celestial Spirits of various forms moved through them, chatting and laughing.
This was a fantastical, fairytale-like place—the Celestial Spirit World.
Just as Noah was taking it all in, the Celestial Spirit King's voice came. "Powerful human, now is not the time for sightseeing. The flow of time in the Celestial Spirit World is different from your world."
"One day here equals three months in the human world."
One day in the Celestial Spirit World equals three months in the human world?!
This absurd time difference instantly killed Noah's desire for tourism. He quickly turned to face the figure on the throne. "May I ask what the Celestial Spirit King wishes to tell an outsider like me?"
"You are not an outsider."
The Celestial Spirit King's cryptic statement baffled Noah, then he raised his hand. The vast power of the stars instantly transformed the scene on the platform, revealing a transparent crystal sphere.
As the crystal sphere gently descended, Noah clearly saw what was inside—a dozen interwoven, surging pure white glows. They gave Noah a strangely familiar feeling, though he couldn't truly perceive them through the crystal.
However, the next moment, the Celestial Spirit King struck the crystal sphere with a beam of starlight, shattering it. The pure white glows surged forward and pierced into Noah's body so fast that even Noah couldn't react in time.
But was Noah truly unable to react?
No—he was merely stunned by the influx of new information flooding his mind.
[Ding~ You have multiple Otherworld Wish commissions]
[Yu-Gi-Oh's Path of Friendship · Part Two, Part Three, Reward: "Series Card · Mirror Force," "Monster Reborn" (Expired)]
[Sakata Gintoki of Odd Jobs Gin, urgently needs money to pay off debts, Reward: White Demon's Swordsmanship (Expired)]
[Fleet Admiral Sengoku discovered that one of his best friend's two grandsons is actually the Pirate King's descendant. Torn between his friend's dying wish and his duty as a Marine, Sengoku is troubled and wishes someone could help him resolve this dilemma. Reward: 'Observation Haki,' 'Conqueror's Haki' (Expired)]
[Gourmet Hunter Toriko is very satisfied with the ingredients you provided last time and hopes to encounter ingredients he's never seen before. Reward: 'Gourmet Cells' (Expired)]
[Black Tiger Ah Fu's martial arts have recently reached new heights, but his profound skills lack an audience. Please praise him. Reward: Smooth talk, basic attacks become ultimate moves (Expired)]
...
Noah, who usually remained unfazed even when mountains collapsed before him, had now completely lost his composure, his face a picture of bewilderment.
What... what the hell just happened?!
It had been so long since he'd received an Otherworld Wish that Noah had assumed it simply wasn't time yet. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine these "Otherworld Wishes" had been intercepted!
Order after order of Otherworld Wishes flashed through his mind, and those seemingly powerful rewards would've undoubtedly let his strength skyrocket.
However, seeing that most of the "Wish commissions" were stamped with "Expired" made Noah's mental state collapse.
Damn it! My power!
The thought of all that power he could've gained being cut off ignited a furious rage within Noah that he could no longer suppress. He glared angrily at the Celestial Spirit King. If the other party didn't provide a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't hold back... Wait, could he actually win against the Celestial Spirit King at full power in the Celestial Spirit World?
Win my ass!
Thus, in his extreme anger, Noah somehow managed to calm himself down.
Watching the white-haired youth who'd "flared up for a moment in rage," the Celestial Spirit King let out a hearty laugh. He hadn't seen such an interesting human in ages.
Observing the pure white glows he'd collected merge into Noah's body, the Celestial Spirit King knew he'd found the right person. "Powerful human, you misunderstand. These white glows weren't blocked by me."
Noah was confused but quietly waited for the Celestial Spirit King to continue.
"What blocked these white glows was the World's Will of Earth Land."
"What?!"
About half a year ago, the Celestial Spirit King, as usual, sat on his throne observing Earth Land, incidentally checking how his "old friend" was doing.
Only this time, the Celestial Spirit King suddenly discovered a wisp of white light outside Earth Land trying to enter, but the emergence of a powerful force prevented it from advancing even an inch.
The Celestial Spirit King was all too familiar with that power. Forget a wisp of white light—even he, the Celestial Spirit King, as well as the "Gods" and "Demons," couldn't fully break through that force's interception.
Because that was the World's Will of Earth Land.
The Celestial Spirit King was very curious about what that white light was that it received the same treatment as him. So he personally intervened and captured that wisp of white light.
But apart from pure magical power, the Celestial Spirit King detected nothing, so he sealed the white light in a crystal sphere. The Celestial Spirit King initially thought he'd soon forget about this matter—after all, he'd lived for so long that trivial matters weren't worth remembering.
However, not long after, new white lights appeared outside Earth Land, and they too were blocked by the World's Will.
As time passed, the number of white lights grew, gradually gaining enough power to contend with the World's Will. If this continued, they might one day break through it.
Once the World's Will was damaged, those entities coveting Earth Land would undoubtedly seize the opportunity. The Celestial Spirit King didn't want to see the chaotic era of "Gods" and "Demons" return, so he intervened and sealed those white lights.
And after completing these tasks, the Celestial Spirit King had just returned to the Celestial Spirit World when he heard his "old friend's" bold declaration about changing the Celestial Spirit World's rules through Aries's Gate.
The rest of the story, Noah already knew.
Noah's expression was complicated. He hadn't expected that it was Earth Land's World's Will that had blocked his "Otherworld Wishes."
Noah remembered Roubaul once saying that the World's Will would block entities that could threaten the world, preventing their true forms from descending.
This meant that among those "Otherworld Wishes," there were Wishes from beings equivalent to the Celestial Spirit King and the Eighteen Demon Fighting Gods, which made the World's Will feel threatened, so it simply cut them all off.
Damn World's Will—why are you so meddlesome?!
If it weren't for two Otherworld Wishes not yet expired, Noah would definitely find a way to blast that damn World's Will to pieces.