"This Milky Way..."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor was shaken.
Just by observing the first timeline, he saw Lin Yuan stepping into the thirteenth rank.
And even the scene of founding the Seventh Ancient Kingdom.
As he continued delving into the timeline, the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor felt a subtle tremor in his spirit and immediately stopped watching.
As the first of the Ancestors, his strength was above that of the Liyang Ancestor. He could see more timelines, and see farther.
His perception of the timelines themselves was also sharper, and he vaguely sensed that the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign’s future was far too terrifying—far beyond what he could peer into.
"This timeline..."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor collected his thoughts. A single timeline meant nothing.
Perhaps he was just unlucky and happened to see the timeline where the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign reached his greatest potential.
A single timeline couldn’t represent true potential. Since the founding of the Six Ancient Kingdoms, countless Heavenly Sovereigns had tried to reach the thirteenth rank. Theoretically, they all had the potential to become Ancestors.
And yet, after so many endless years—
Only the six of them had succeeded.
The future was full of too many variables. Becoming an Ancestor in a single timeline? The probability was far too low.
Soon—
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor quickly examined hundreds, then thousands of timelines.
"How is this possible?"
He was stunned. In every one of the hundreds and thousands of timelines he observed, the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign stepped into the thirteenth rank. It was completely irrational.
In any given instant in the future, countless new timelines would be born. Each of those would branch further, endlessly. Even time beings, in their intricate planning and manipulation, could never guarantee that a specific event would occur with certainty.
There were always factors that could alter the outcome, not to mention the interference of other time beings.
But this Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign?
At least from the timelines he had seen, Lin Yuan stepped into the thirteenth rank every time. The only difference was when.
In simple terms, the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign’s breakthrough to the thirteenth rank couldn’t be stopped.
At least, not in any timeline the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor had seen.
"Is it talent? Or an external force?" His thoughts expanded, leaning more toward external force.
With talent alone, how could one be guaranteed to reach the thirteenth rank? The strongest talent he’d ever seen was the Yuanlong, born at the dawn of the Source World.
That Yuanlong truly had the potential to step into the thirteenth rank. But after the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor achieved the thirteenth rank, all timelines where the Yuanlong succeeded were essentially severed.
Because the moment the Yuanlong broke through first, he would have been doomed.
This proved that no matter how great the talent, it couldn't guarantee success—because of interference from others, especially the targeted suppression from time beings. For those below the thirteenth rank, such suppression was catastrophic.
Time beings could see every timeline of your possible actions—they could cut off all your paths before you even made a move.
But facing Lin Yuan—
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor felt powerless.
Because he couldn’t stop him.
Trying to forcefully stop him would only delay Lin Yuan’s breakthrough.
And the price for doing that would be revenge once Lin Yuan reached the thirteenth rank. At that point, the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor would suffer immensely—even fleeing this dimension might not spare him from being hunted down.
"Maybe it's because I’m not strong enough, and didn’t see enough timelines to find one where Milky Way is stopped. But it doesn’t matter anymore—this Milky Way must not be provoked."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor thought silently. Judging from Lin Yuan’s countless timeline developments, he absolutely could not become an enemy.
While the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor was lost in thought—
Below, the top-tier and strongest Heavenly Sovereigns of the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom were feeling extremely uneasy. The Ancestor’s silence clearly meant disappointment. He didn’t even want to speak to them.
And understandably so.
The Ancestor had poured his efforts into nurturing them, and in the end, they were still crushed by the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign of the Liyang Kingdom.
Worse yet, the Liyang Ancestor barely ever interfered with his descendants, essentially letting them grow on their own—and yet they still had someone like Lin Yuan.
Compared to that, they had truly let their Ancestor down.
"Ancestor."
Fuxu Heavenly Sovereign spoke solemnly, gaze firm. "I will train in a forbidden supreme legacy. That Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign... I may not be a match now, but after training in the forbidden path, I’ll challenge him again. I won’t let the Ancient Kingdom suffer such shame again."
So-called forbidden supreme legacies were similar to the Liyang Kingdom’s Heart of the Sun—techniques that pushed certain aspects of one’s being toward the thirteenth rank, resulting in a massive power surge.
But they were called "forbidden" because the side effects were immense. Heart of the Sun required sacrificing most of one’s sanity, and other forbidden legacies had even heavier costs.
Because of this, few Heavenly Sovereigns ever cultivated such paths. Even if the power boost far exceeded other legacies, no one at the top would take the risk.
After all, once one reached the peak of the Heavenly Sovereign level, they stood at the top of their Ancient Kingdom. They had hopes of reaching Ancestor status—why risk it all for temporary power?
Especially some forbidden legacies—once you began, the hidden dangers could never be removed, directly affecting that final breakthrough.
But now, facing the Ancestor’s disappointment and their Kingdom's humiliation, Fuxu Heavenly Sovereign felt he had to act.
Even though being crushed by Lin Yuan in the treasure land wasn’t his fault—any other top Heavenly Sovereign would have met the same fate—
He still couldn’t let it go. Even if it cost him dearly, he would try to restore the Ancestor’s honor.
"Ancestor, I’ll train in a forbidden supreme legacy as well. If Fuxu fails, I’ll go."
"Ancestor, I’ll also seek out a forbidden legacy. I refuse to believe that with our Grand Ancient Void Kingdom’s heritage, we can’t rival a single Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign."
None of them were confident they could defeat Lin Yuan even after training in a forbidden legacy, but at least the gap would close. If one couldn’t do it, then two. If two couldn’t, then three.
The Grand Ancient Void Kingdom had deep reserves—if necessary, they’d overwhelm Lin Yuan with sheer numbers.
The blood of the other top Sovereigns was also stirred. As the first Ancient Kingdom, with the first time being as their Ancestor, how could they accept being outdone by Milky Way?
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor looked down at his sons and descendants, now indignant and vying to challenge Lin Yuan again. His mouth twitched slightly.
"That’s really unnecessary," the Ancestor said. "That Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign's strength is far beyond yours. So what if he’s stronger? There’s no shame in it."
In the timelines he’d seen, even he himself struggled to resist Lin Yuan after he stepped into the thirteenth rank—and was ultimately defeated.
If even he, the Ancestor, would fall, how could he possibly feel ashamed of his descendants losing?
"Huh?"
The top Sovereigns were dumbfounded. The Ancestor was being... reasonable? Not only did he not scold them for losing, he wasn’t even trying to regain face?
Since when was the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor so mild-mannered? He’d always been domineering—when had he ever said, "We lost, so be it," and accepted defeat so calmly?
"Ancestor, we..."
Fuxu and the others were completely confused.
"This matter ends here." The Ancestor shook his head and swept his gaze across them. "As for the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign—never provoke him again. Remember, never. In any form. And don’t even think of revenge. Otherwise..."
The Ancestor's eyes turned cold as he looked around. "I’ll personally punish you."
The Heavenly Sovereigns all trembled at his words and hurriedly replied, "We understand, Ancestor."
As the Ancestor of the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom, to go so far as to personally threaten punishment against his own descendants for the sake of an outsider—this was beyond belief.
But no one dared to defy him. His word was law.
"Alright, you may all go."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor had no more interest in guiding them. His attention was now fully on Milky Way’s future timelines—contemplating how best to deal with this future Ancestor.
"Liyang..."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor contacted the Liyang Ancestor. Lin Yuan was technically his descendant. Though the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor knew from the timelines that Lin Yuan’s rise had nothing to do with the Liyang Ancestor—even without him, Lin Yuan’s future wouldn’t change.
Still, among the six Ancestors, the one with the closest relationship to Lin Yuan was the Liyang Ancestor.
"Void Ancestor," the Liyang Ancestor responded, smiling. "What brings you here?"
"That Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign of yours—do you know about him?" the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor asked.
"Of course." The Liyang Ancestor nodded. He could see Lin Yuan’s future timelines, and so could the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor—probably even more clearly than he could.
"This is the first time I’ve seen a future so close to certainty," the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor said with a sigh.
Only time beings of their level could understand how impossible that kind of future was.
"From this moment forward, every timeline will be altered because of Milky Way," the Liyang Ancestor nodded.
Ever since the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign appeared in this Source World, the timelines had begun to shift—his presence would influence them all.
"By the way, I’m planning to visit the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign. You don’t mind, do you?" the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor asked with a smile.
Having seen the timelines, he of course had no intention of opposing Lin Yuan.
What made thirteenth-rank time beings powerful? Strength? Power?
No.
It was choice.
By observing countless future timelines, they could always make the decision most favorable to themselves—that was the true strength of a thirteenth-rank being.
And facing someone like Lin Yuan, becoming his enemy was the worst possible decision. None of those endings turned out well.
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor knew exactly what to do.
"Of course I don’t mind," the Liyang Ancestor said, shaking his head. In truth, even if he did mind, it wouldn’t matter. With Lin Yuan’s strength, he would inevitably meet the other Ancestors—there was no stopping it.
"Good, good."
The Grand Ancient Void Ancestor nodded.
And if the Liyang Ancestor had minded, well, he’d just meet with Lin Yuan in secret. With his abilities, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Time passed.
Several months later—
Outside the Liyang Kingdom's capital, five figures silently descended.
These five were none other than the five other Ancestors. After the Liyang and Grand Ancient Void Ancestors observed Lin Yuan’s timelines, the remaining four also followed suit and conducted their own analyses.
That led to this moment—five Ancestors arriving together to visit the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign.
As for why they all came today—
According to the future timelines, today was the most ideal time. Lin Yuan would be in a good mood, and it would be the most advantageous moment to deepen ties with him.
"Void Ancestor, you’re here too." The Xuanyin Ancestor, a tall woman with flowing white hair and deep eyes, smiled as she looked at the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor.
"Xuanyin, not just Void Ancestor—we’re all here."
The Barbarian Wild Ancestor, a burly man, grinned. "I saw from the timelines that Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign will step into the thirteenth rank within the next million to ten million years."
"If we don’t visit now, it won’t be the same once he breaks through."
The Grand Ling Ancestor nodded. "It’s a good thing our world can produce a new Ancestor."
"It’s more than just a new Ancestor." The Thunder Ancestor shook his head. "From what I saw, the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign will walk very far on the thirteenth-rank path—he might even reach the level of Time Lord."
A Time Lord was a peak thirteenth-rank being, already beginning to collapse their own timelines and attempt the breakthrough to the fourteenth rank—a perfect time being.
"It’s only because he’s still a Heavenly Sovereign that we can observe his future. Once he breaks through, it’ll be nearly impossible," the Xuanyin Ancestor added.
The other Ancestors nodded in agreement.
Directly peering into the future of a time being was nearly impossible. At most, one could deduce their intentions by analyzing massive numbers of timelines.
But once the Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign broke through, based on the potential shown in those timelines, even those indirect deductions would become futile.
"It’s about time. Let’s go in," the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor said quietly, looking toward the distant capital.
Milky Way Royal Palace.
Lin Yuan ended his seclusion, having gained new insights into the space-time fusion rule. His mood was quite good.
Just then—
The Liyang Ancestor’s voice sounded: "Milky Way, the other five want to visit you. Will you see them?"
"The other five..." Lin Yuan was startled. Only the other five Ancestors would be addressed this way.
"Should I see them?" he asked.
"You should. It’s a good thing," the Liyang Ancestor replied.
"Alright."
Lin Yuan nodded.
Soon—
He met the five Ancestors in the palace.
"Greetings, Ancestors."
Lin Yuan was slightly reserved. These were time beings—especially the Grand Ancient Void Ancestor, one of the most powerful among them.
"A character like you emerging in this world—I’ve been meaning to meet you," the Barbarian Wild Ancestor said with a broad smile. "But I didn’t want to disturb you, Milky Way."
"Milky Way, no need to be formal with us. We’re all peers—treat us as equals."
...
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