The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 885 Time Tribulation (III)

Cainʼs attacks were immensely powerful as he clashed with the temporal echoes. All those entities brought to life by the Time Tribulation were not only extremely powerful, but they could tap into the flow of time and use that to predict his movements. Luckily, he could use The Flow, the Collapsing Space-Time Eye, and Virtual Sight to counter that foretelling skill.

However, it was not only the time echoesʼ ability to gaze into the flow of time that made them extremely dangerous but also their teamwork, as they seemed to share one single mind, all of them displaying nothing short of flawless coordination.

Despite all that, every time Cain clashed with one of the temporal echoes, his smile grew wider. There was more than raw force in his punches, and he took a piece of temporal echoes through the Gluttony Concept, slowly stealing their time essence and engraving it into his body in the form of Law Runes.

Ishmael, the Ten Swords, the Dark Emperor, Prime Minister Razputin, and everybody with a high enough cultivation to gaze into the aurora without falling unconscious were watching the battle between Cain and the temporal echoes.

It was a truly majestic sight, and they could feel how the wonders of the Law of Time manifested at an impossibly high level, which not even Essence Evolution Divine Ascension Masters could understand.

The battle between Cain and the temporal echoes lasted for five hours. While he was full of wounds and blood leaked from the corners of his mouth, Cain smiled. Now, his body was overflowed with time essence, obtained from the one he stole from the echoes and the one the Time Tribulation gave him as a reward for his victory.

Cain clenched his fists as his Collapsing Space-Time Eye glowed with a majestic light. No part of his body benefited more from the Time Tribulation tempering than the third eye, as the improvement in Cainʼs mastery over the Time Law would allow it to express its full potential.

Unfortunately, Cain did not have time to get too happy as the auroraʼs power rose again. It was time for the third phase of the Time Tribulation.

ʼChrono-Warp Barrage.ʼ Those words echoed inside Cainʼs mind as he remembered the description of the phenomenon in the Codex of Infinite Pathways and prepared himself as another wave of temporal force descended from the sky and surrounded him.

”¡BOOM!”

The next second, a sky-blue explosion occurred next to Cain, and while the blastʼs power was not strong enough to severely harm his body, raw power was not the essence behind these attacks but something much more complex to handle.

ʼWhattttt isssss thiiiiiiiis?ʼ Cainʼs thoughts were in complete disarray as the explosion seemed to push his entire existence into a state of extreme time dilation to the point that even his thoughts were affected.

Cainʼs body and mind could not resist the power of the time dilation, but his Collapsing Space-Time Eye remained impervious and began to resist, pushing the rest of his existence back to the correct time flow.

”¡BOOM!”

Unfortunately, before the Collapsing Space-Time Eye could fully counter the power of the time dilation, another sky-blue explosion was triggered, engulfing Cain in its power.

Cainʼs eyes grew bloodshot, and blood leaked from every orifice in his head. It was not that the second blast carried more raw power, but it pushed his mind and body into a state of extreme time compression.

Pushing Cainʼs body and mind from a state of extreme time dilation to extreme time compression carried a devastating effect on his blood vessels and nerves, triggering a disastrous backlash.

The time compression was so intense that Cain could not even form coherent thoughts as he could not put his ideas in order, but once again, the Collapsing Space-Time Eye acted, trying to push his body and mind to the correct time flow.

Cain felt how his mind was already starting to work correctly again when a new sky-blue explosion appeared, engulfing his body and pushing him back to extreme time dilation, generating a new severe backlash that threatened to break every single blood vessel.

There was no reason for the effect of this explosion to be so catastrophic as Cain could use treasures or even his Astral Wave to reinforce his body and protect his mind. However, that path would diminish the tempering level that the Time Tribulation would grant him, and Cain would always choose the most profitable path, no matter how dangerous it could be.

It was easier to adapt to being in a state of time dilation for the second time. Instead of wasting his effort trying to find a logical way out of this state, Cain focused all his power on the Collapsing Space-Time Eye, acting at an instinctive level as he attempted to push his body back to the right time flow.

Cainʼs mind and body were already approaching their goal when a new sky-blue explosion appeared, sending him back to extreme time compression. But while he released a mouthful of blood, a sharp light appeared in his eyes.

ʼThe damage is diminishing.ʼ This time, the damage caused by the backlash was much weaker as his mind and body were already approaching the correct time flow when he was pushed to extreme time compression.

For Cain, it was all about improving since no matter how small the progress, it meant he was advancing, and that was all that mattered!

The sky-blue explosions carried on for several hours, pushing Cain from extreme time dilation to extreme time compression over and over again, wreaking havoc on his entire organs. However, every time, he moved closer and closer to success. He could maintain a serene expression during the last twenty minutes of the Chrono-Warp Barrage.

Cainʼs domain over the Law of Time grew high enough that he managed to return his body and mind to their natural time flow before the next explosion could appear.

The sky-blue waves that had unleashed all those explosions did not simply vanish once the Chrono-Warp Barrage ended, as it changed its nature into a force full of life before flowing into Cainʼs body.

Cainʼs eyes widened as he saw the reaction of the Time Tribulation. According to the Codex of Infinite Pathways, the sky-blue wave would fuse back into the aurora and not in him. ʼIs it because I managed to not only survive but surpass the third phase, or is it something else?ʼ

Although some questions arose in his mind, Cain was more than happy to see this event as it would improve his body and mindʼs ability to attune to the Law of Time, making it much easier for him to decipher its mysteries.

Once every ounce of the sky-blue wave merged into Cainʼs body, the aurora in the sky burst forth once more, and this time, it was much more significant than before.

Cain immediately turned to the sky, and his eyes widened in shock and awe. He had read about this phenomenon in the Codex of Infinite Pathways, but it was still shocking to see how the sky split apart as a massive rift appeared.

The rift in time was gargantuan, covering nearly half of the Crystal Sector!

ʼTemporal Rift Implosion.ʼ In Cainʼs mind echoed the name of the last phase of the Time Tribulation. The goal was to stabilize and close it before it would explode with overwhelming power, unleashing an ocean of destructive time energy, all of which would target the challenger.

While the Temporal Rift Implosion was incredibly dangerous, it was also not necessary to take on. A cultivator of the Essence Evolution Path of Power that faced the Time Tribulation needed to surpass the first three phases and could ignore this last one if they so desired.

Of course, avoiding the Temporal Rift Implosion would diminish the level of tempering the Time Tribulation would leave on you, but many would choose it over the high chance of perishing inside that rift.

Cain glanced at the massive temporal rift for a second before the Collapsing Space-Time Eye glowed with red light, and he flashed to the sky with all his power. He did not just appear in front of the temporal rift but went inside it, intending to stabilize it from within!

As soon as he stood inside that temporal rift, Cain felt every atom of his existence trying to deviate from the normal flow of time. If it were to happen, he would crumble into a cloud of dust and have a horrible death, not leaving a body behind.

Immediately, all the strength of his Essence Evolution Path of Power exploded as he channeled all the energy inside his Essence Star into his Collapsing Space-Time Eye, focusing himself to regain control over his body and mind.

It was hard, but Cain managed to stabilize his existence. He did not waste time and extended his hands, flooding the temporal rift with his Essence Wave, ready to take control of it.