CHAPTER 1173: CHAPTER 1169: TIME STANDS STILL!

Old Guo smiled and said, "Because this Different Space of mine happens to be above the summit of Phoenix Mountain, which is your good fortune. If you had fought the Black Hole Clan’s chief guardian, Tian Yi, elsewhere, I might not have received news of your injury so quickly or been able to assist you as promptly.

In the realm of fate, there is destiny, Ye Tian, you still have more important tasks, so for now, you are destined not to die! Including this time, your battle with Elder Nan Feng is the same; you cannot die because your war with the Black Hole Clan has yet to end!"

"That seems to be the case! It looks like my luck is really good!"

Ye Tian smiled, and simultaneously, the surgery on his right arm was nearly completed. The mechanical arm was no longer connecting Ye Tian’s veins but was starting to stitch up the wound.

Throughout the entire surgery, no anesthesia was used, nor was there a blood transfusion. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been exhausted long ago, but Ye Tian’s body is strong and his energy abundant, allowing him to barely endure...

After the wound was stitched, Ye Tian withdrew his arm from the ring, despite having thick bandages wrapped around it, he distinctly felt his right arm could already gather strength, as if it had returned to its pre-injury state.

Ye Tian was overjoyed in his heart, exclaiming, "Thank you, Old Guo, now once again I can fight! Honestly, fighting with just my left hand without using my right was quite uncomfortable; I’m not left-handed!"

In Ye Tian’s excitement, Old Guo immediately reminded him, "Ye Tian, don’t get too carried away, even though your right arm’s veins have been connected, you cannot move it within a week, much less fight with others. Only when your right arm heals completely can you continue training!"

"Training?"

Ye Tian was taken aback, but then realized this was precisely what he had hoped for.

He came to this ten-thousand-meter-high Different Space to find methods to defeat the Black Hole Clan because his and his companions’ strength was too weak, with almost no chance of victory against the powerful Black Hole Clan. Only by increasing their strength could they contend with the Black Hole Clan.

Ye Tian hurriedly asked, "Old Guo, what do you think, how long do I need to train before I can confront the elders of the Black Hole Clan?"

Old Guo immediately held up one finger.

"One week?"

Ye Tian guessed, but Old Guo shook his head.

"One week? How can time be that short? Ye Tian, you must be underestimating the laws of the Martial Arts World. Let me tell you, with your current strength, you need at least a year’s training to barely compete with opponents like Elder Nan Feng!"

"A year?"

Ye Tian’s heart sank immediately; he naturally knew the vast disparity in strength between himself and Elder Nan Feng. This gap couldn’t be bridged in a day or two.

So, a year’s training time is quite reasonable, but Ye Tian simply doesn’t have that much time to spare now...

"But Old Guo, the Black Hole Clan is entrenched in South City and has taken the Spirit Vein Stone buried beneath River City. With this, their major plans can be enacted, and perhaps the citizens of South City might all be killed. How can I afford such lengthy training time?"

Ye Tian said with a bitter face, while Old Guo smiled lightly and said, "Concerning this point, you don’t have to worry!"

With that, Old Guo pointed to the clock hanging above his head...

"Clock?"

Ye Tian seemed puzzled, unsure of Old Guo’s meaning.

Old Guo then said, "Ye Tian, with your insight, you should have noticed the time when entering this room, right?"

"Indeed, it was four-fifteen at that time."

Ye Tian nodded, speaking frankly, as he’s been in the underground world for a long time, he’s quite sensitive to his surroundings. Once entering an unfamiliar environment, he’ll check for things around him; if there’s a clock, he’ll confirm the time.

"But now, why is it still four-fifteen? Old Guo, is your clock broken?"

Ye Tian immediately asked in astonishment, because when he entered this room, the time showed "four-fifteen," yet after such a long surgery, why hasn’t the time changed one bit, still "four-fifteen"?

"Hahaha~~~~~~"

Ye Tian’s confusion made Old Guo quite pleased, his face showing a confident expression.

"Ye Tian, this clock of mine isn’t broken. The hands of the clock haven’t moved because the time in this room is essentially stopped!"

"Time is frozen!?"

Ye Tian was suddenly taken aback. He had only seen such things in science fiction novels and never thought he would actually encounter such a situation!

"Old Man Guo, you can’t be joking, right? Did you deliberately break the clock and then say that time in this different space is frozen?"

Ye Tian still didn’t believe it. After all, making time freeze sounded impossible.

However, a calm expression appeared on Old Man Guo’s face as he pulled out a screw and presented it in front of Ye Tian!

"Old Man Guo, what is this?"

Ye Tian was extremely surprised, but Old Man Guo said calmly, "There are some things I don’t want to waste too many words explaining. No matter how much I explain, it won’t be as convincing as the evidence before you, so just witness the miracle of science!"

As he spoke, the screw in Old Man Guo’s hand began to slowly change.

The screw, originally smooth as a mirror, suddenly became rusty, and after a few more seconds, the entire screw was surrounded by rust. Old Man Guo gently dropped the screw onto the ground, and it shattered just like that!

"This... this is..."

Ye Tian couldn’t believe his eyes. Being well-versed in natural science, he naturally understood why a screw would rust and decay; it was the process of iron oxidizing with the moisture in the air.

However, the oxidation process of iron is quite lengthy. A brand new screw would take years, even decades, to rust and decay until it breaks...

But the screw in Old Man Guo’s hand underwent such dramatic changes in just over ten seconds, proving that Old Man Guo could skillfully manipulate time!

"Old Man Guo, this is truly amazing. Being able to manipulate time, does it mean that humans can achieve immortality?"

Ye Tian said excitedly, but Old Man Guo shook his head, saying, "Immortality? How can it be so easy? The technology I currently possess can only change something as small as a screw!

The time stillness in this different space has already consumed enormous energy. If one wants to achieve immortality, I’m afraid the energy required would far exceed this. In the world of science, the principle of equivalent exchange always applies, and achieving true immortality would require paying a quite significant price!"

There was more than what Old Man Guo was saying, so Ye Tian asked again, "Old Man Guo, from what you said, it’s not impossible, but because of the pros and cons, it’s temporarily not feasible, right?"

"..."

Ye Tian’s response caused Old Man Guo to be slightly surprised, and he immediately said, "Ye Tian, your insight is quite sharp. You can grasp so many essentials from a few words! However, there are some matters that you currently have no capability to be concerned with. So, as for immortality, don’t ask any further!"

Old Man Guo emphatically warned, with even a slightly fearful expression on his face, showing that this matter is by no means simple!

According to the cultivation levels in the Martial Arts World, when a Martial Artist reaches a certain level, they can achieve immortality, but to cultivate to that realm often requires success built on countless sacrifices, using other martial artists’ lives as the cost!

It is precisely for this reason that some choose to take shortcuts—for example, the Sima Family, who brought about the destruction of the entire Gujiang City to allow a member of the Sima Family to succeed in becoming immortal... However, this as well requires a significant cost!

Now, what Old Man Guo demonstrated was a method of achieving immortality through scientific means. However, from what Old Man Guo said, it doesn’t seem to be that easy either. It also requires consuming immense energy, and to obtain such massive energy would similarly require a huge cost!

Thus, no matter the path, achieving genuine immortality is contrary to natural law and thereby cursed by the environment, achievable only through sacrifice...

"Ye Tian, the Black Hole Clan people, arrogantly assuming their technology is advanced, think they can manipulate space, yet they didn’t expect that their technology is just so-so. Not only can I manipulate space, but I can also manipulate time, which is much more advanced than the technology of the Black Hole Clan!"

Old Man Guo said confidently, prompting Ye Tian to immediately ask, "Old Man Guo, though the research on the control of different spaces is similar, why do your studies and the Black Hole Clan’s studies seem alike? Did one of you plagiarize the other?"

Ye Tian’s question made Old Man Guo burst into laughter!

"Ye Tian, you’ve got it! I knew you would ask that! In fact, those shameless guys from the Black Hole Clan stole the different space techniques from me, enabling them to control the different spaces freely!"

"Old Man Guo, they stole your technological achievement? So, when did they steal it? Twenty years ago?"

Ye Tian asked again, and Old Man Guo calmly replied, "To be precise, it wasn’t stolen from me but from my predecessor! Controlling time and space is not something that can be done easily. Before me, many predecessors were tirelessly researching it.

The Black Hole Clan’s previous elder stole the different space technology from my predecessors but did not steal the most core technology; they could only imitate poorly. Their research succeeded in terms of space but fell far short concerning time, and ultimately, they even gave up!"