I Am Your Natural Enemy

With the Old Celestial Master here, performing the ritual in the fully established Dharma Altar, and willing to ascend in this condition, there would be no obstacles whatsoever.

At the Old Celestial Master’s command, time itself seemed to freeze.

Even the waves rolling back were forcefully suppressed.

This was not merely the power of the Old Celestial Master himself but, as the contemporary Celestial Master Zhang, the sixty-fourth of the Zhang lineage, his Perfect ascension represented not just himself but the perfection of the title Celestial Master Zhang.

The sixty-fourth generation marked perfection.

In the sky, the Cloud Sea churned, the golden palaces emerged abruptly, and amidst the celestial music playing, heavenly maidens danced as a beam of golden light fell from the Cloud Sea to the feet of the Old Celestial Master.

The majestic and solemn Southern Heavenly Gate slowly opened to welcome the Old Celestial Master’s ascension.

The divine might of the Celestial Court materialized, summoned by the Old Celestial Master utilizing his ascension.

With the authority of the Celestial Court combined with his ritual initiation, he forcefully withstood the retracting waves of the present moment.

The Old Celestial Master sliced his middle finger, writing a line of characters on his Magic Sword and casting it into the divine might of the Celestial Court.

That line of characters became imprinted there, within the apparition.

The next moment, the Old Celestial Master gave a bow and loudly recited a holy name.

”Supreme Taiyi Savior Heavenly Master.”

With the utterance of that holy name, he descended back to earth.

He had wanted to find out who or what force was responsible. Unfortunately, that person was already dead, mingled within the waves that rolled back, and out of his sight.

He could only record this piece of information.

Taking advantage of his ascension to summon the Celestial Court, he then logged the information there.

Because the Old Celestial Master was certain that the waves could not disturb the Celestial Court.

The next moment, as the tide continued to surge, the Old Celestial Master gazed at the apparition of the Celestial Court, his face filled with profound emotion.

”Who would have thought, I would get to experience it in advance.”

「...」

Little Mustache suddenly inhaled sharply, his eyes filled with fear as he returned to the high-speed train station.

Dead again.

This time, I don’t even know who killed me.

I know some beings are indeed out of reach. Peering into their lives establishes a connection, and some powerful entities can kill me through my photographs via this connection.

Last time, I was killed by the Mountain Lord, just like that.

This time, just looking at Wen Yan triggered such a power. I knew something was very wrong with Wen Yan.

The lightning was so terrifying! And I realized that in less than three seconds after peering at Wen Yan, the lightning had struck.

Such a rapid response, capable of unleashing such immense power... I’d never even heard of such a thing.

Looking at Wen Yan is no longer an option, but I’ve already obtained the information I wanted.

Running off into that park to select a pair of eyes for a blind Zombie is indeed very much in line with Wen Yan’s usual actions; nothing out of the ordinary.

Wen Yan has sheltered Zombies before. And as a Disciple of Fuyu Mountain, taking in a Zombie isn’t something one could find fault with.

If the Doll Master’s case had nothing to do with Wen Yan, then it might have just been an accident.

After all, in this world, there isn’t just one Wen Yan. There are also all sorts of strange things and peculiar Professionals that no one could fully explain.

Little Mustache repeated his actions from the previous loop, but this time he didn’t spy on Wen Yan, and everything settled down.

Meanwhile, Wen Yan was unaware that within one day, he had entered the fourth loop.

Lacking the Temporary Ability for Cloud Sync and without constant synchronicity, his memory, linked to his Beast Nemesis title, was still from the previous cycle.

He proceeded with his prior choices, going to the park to pick up a pair of prosthetic eyes before heading home.

Back at home, the Black Box Feng Yao had made for him was ready.

Wen Yan entered the phone number and various filtering criteria.

After a momentary lag, a marker appeared on the map.

The person was already in Guanzhong County.

He contemplated for a moment and checked the timestamp he had recorded that morning.

He fed the timestamp to the Black Box, which gave him a location: Central Plains County City High-Speed Rail Station.

Wen Yan’s eyes lit up. There were many cameras at high-speed rail stations!

He gave the Black Box a command to save all videos of this person at the Central Plains County City High-Speed Rail Station.

Especially around the time he provided—he wanted all videos, all records, preserved in the highest resolution.

He needed to know what difference, if any, occurred at the moment of Little Mustache’s rewind.

This was crucial.

Furthermore, Wen Yan speculated that the rewind had to have limitations. It couldn’t be without constraints.

If its advantages stretch too far into the absurd, then there will definitely be noticeable drawbacks.

I am most aware of this fact.

The Doll Master is like this, and so am I.

I feel that my biggest advantage has never been my fixed abilities or strength, but the prompt.

This is the biggest edge of the Natural Enemy Profession, followed by Temporary Abilities, and lastly, fixed abilities.

When facing new enemies, I almost never encounter situations where Temporary Abilities alone can carry me. I have to gather information, make choices, or rely on stronger allies or teammates.

An ability as outlandish as rewinding has to have restrictions.

After receiving the Black Box and confirming Little Mustache’s presence in Guanzhong County, he then began to ponder whether to have another look at him.

Just a casual, distant look.

Last time, I was desperate for an advantage and only took a peek because I knew Little Mustache would definitely rewind to save the Doll Master.

But now, without a compelling reason to rewind, will Little Mustache notice if I take that peek?

Wen Yan, looking at the feedback from the Black Box, mulled over this and considered that he was already gathering more and more information.

Meanwhile, the time had come for the Old Celestial Master to start the ritual and suppress the Cloud Sea.

When the Old Celestial Master unleashed his full power and his spiritual awareness surged to its absolute limit, he detected something. Something within the Celestial Court—something he himself had left there.

The Magic Sword took flight, accompanied by falling thunder that suppressed the Cloud Sea. When the thunder struck the Magic Sword, a line of text began to emerge—the message he had left in the Celestial Court.

After completing the suppression, the Old Celestial Master looked at the Magic Sword and made a call to the General Director.

”There’s a matter I’d like to discuss with you,” he said.

”Coincidentally, I, too, have something that’s been troubling me for a long time and would like to discuss it with you,” the General Director replied.