In the next moment, a cold, damp laugh suddenly rang out, and a shadowy figure cloaked in pitch black slowly emerged from the void.
Simultaneously, the surrounding Time and Space began to collapse and unravel.
A powerful aura swept across the entire world, and most striking of all, a pitch-black bird appeared perched on his shoulder.
The instant all eyes converged upward, everyone's pupils constricted sharply.
"It's it! The Tokitoki Divine Bird!" Champa couldn't help but exclaim, and the other Gods of Destruction wore grave expressions.
"Tou are surprisingly early! Honorable Gods of Destruction!"
The man in black slightly bowed, showing a trace of humility, though a faint smile remained on his face.
"Who are you?" The clown-like God of Destruction spoke in a low tone, dangerous light radiating from his eyes.
"Who am I? I'm afraid I cannot tell you," The man in black replied with a soft laugh, his composure unshaken.
"The last time, it was you in the first Time and Space, wasn't it?"
Jiang Chen suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed firmly on the figure in black high above.
His mind flashed back to the scene in the future Time and Space.
"The honor of being remembered by the future Kaiō of Time is mine!"
"Indeed, it is I!"
The man in black paused for a moment, then spoke with a gentle smile, his eyes now focusing on Jiang Chen.
"Hmph! Just so, you owe me from last time."
Jiang Chen snorted coldly. In the next instant, his aura erupted, and his figure moved.
He had not forgotten everything that had happened in the first Time and Space.
At that moment, he had nearly died. If he hadn't been prepared and only used clones, he surely would have perished.
He was furious at this man.
But until now, he had never been able to track him down. Now that he had, he had no qualms about settling the score.
"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
The aura exploded, and distant space instantly collapsed. The immense power of Time and Space surged. The man in black instinctively stepped back.
"So impatient! You won't make a proper Kaiō of Time yet," He said with a soft sigh, seemingly lamenting for Jiang Chen.
But at that instant of reflection, destructive energy began to spread throughout the surrounding area.
The twelve Gods of Destruction, almost simultaneously, acted for the first time, their target clear: the man in black, or, more accurately, the Tokitoki Divine Bird.
Gods of Destruction rarely cooperate.
Yet faced with the Tokitoki Divine Bird, whose power could destroy twelve universes, none could hold back.
All moved at the same moment.
"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
Terrifying waves of destructive energy swept through, attempting to devour everything.
Yet the surrounding Time and Space collapsed, and the man in black seemed not to exist within this Time and Space.
He didn't even exist in the present.
Even as the destructive energy annihilated layer after layer of Time and Space, it could not touch the black-clad figure, let alone the Tokitoki Divine Bird.
"Oh ho ho! What an honor, twelve Gods of Destruction working together."
A teasing voice rang out. The man in black remained at a distance, gazing at everyone.
The Gods of Destruction' expressions darkened considerably.
All twelve of them together could not even make contact.
"Everyone, leave it to me! His existence doesn't belong to this era; attacks can hardly reach him," Jiang Chen said softly.
Even with just a single action, Jiang Chen could already sense the anomaly of the man in black.
It wasn't a spatial anomaly.
It was a temporal anomaly.
The man in black seemed to exist in the future.
This was why neither Jiang Chen's attack nor the attacks of the twelve Gods of Destruction could leave the slightest mark on him.
Time.
Even the Gods of Destruction could hardly manipulate it. Only the Kaiō and Angels could touch it to some degree.
But even then, it was extremely difficult to launch an attack against an enemy existing in the future.
"Not in this era?" The Gods of Destruction were all shocked.
Though they sensed something unusual about him, none expected that he wasn't present in the current time, or even in this era.
"You?"
The rat-like God of Destruction started to speak, but his words died on his lips. For at that moment, a phantom book appeared in Jiang Chen's hands.
"This is…?" The rat God of Destruction froze.
Other Gods of Destruction looked on, some puzzled, some with pupils shrinking violently.
"The Book of Time! Too bad you can't harness its power, or you might actually have a chance!" The man in black gazed at the Book of Time, his expression briefly serious, then softened into a light smile.
He appeared confidently because he had a solid backup plan.
His own strength was considerable, but against the Gods of Destruction, he had little certainty, let alone against twelve Gods of Destruction and twelve Angels. Even if some Angels were excluded, twelve Gods of Destruction alone were more than enough.
These Gods of Destruction, some of their power was ordinary, but others were no weaker than certain Angels.
If he misstepped, even he could be finished.
His bold appearance relied solely on his control of Time.
As for Jiang Chen's Book of Time, he naturally knew about it.
If Jiang Chen were merely a trainee Kaiō of Time, he would have run far away immediately. But now, Jiang Chen was not.
Even possessing the Book of Time, how much true power could he unleash?
There was absolutely no need for concern.
Confidence still lingered on his face.
The next instant, however, the man in black suddenly widened his eyes.
"Buzz!"
The Book of Time radiated a ripple, instantly spreading in all directions. In the next instant, the surrounding Time and Space that had been flowing froze.
Yes, completely frozen.
Time was forbidden, and Space was brought to a standstill.
"What…?"
The man in black's eyes widened, a look of shock crossing his face.
"Impossible! How could you possibly wield the Book of Time like this?!"
His voice trembled with disbelief; panic began creeping into his expression.
Even though only Time and Space had been frozen, without jumping through them, he instinctively felt an unease spreading through him.
As if to confirm his sense of alarm:
"Clang!"
A phantom tide swept forward again, but this time it wasn't the frozen Time and Space resuming flow. Jiang Chen stepped upon Time and Space itself, traversing past and present, advancing into the future.
At this moment, the man in black truly panicked.
He knew Jiang Chen's power, and if fully unleashed, the consequences were unimaginable.
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395