Multiverse Skill System

Page 227

"Has it finally arrived? Hurry up and bring it over."

Yi Shuihan, who was leisurely drinking and replenishing his energy, immediately became excited upon hearing the report from his subordinates. The item they were talking about was no ordinary thing; it could be said to be even more precious than a magic stone. If it weren't for Yi Shuihan's special status and immense strength, he would never have been able to come into contact with it.

"Time Stone, an essential item for crafting Time Converter. It can be said that it is precisely because of the existence of Time Stone that Time Converter can exert its incredible power."

Originally, Yi Shuihan only wanted to research a time converter, but after mentioning it to Fuji, he learned about the existence of the Time Stone from him and immediately focused his attention on it. He had a feeling that the Time Stone might be of great help to him.

"Is this the Time Stone? It's truly an amazing thing."

Inside a complex and well-designed box, a mass of mercury-like substance lay quietly—the Time Stone.

Yi Shuihan possesses a skill related to time, and his affinity for time is much higher than others. Therefore, he can sense the profound aura emanating from the Time Stone. Under the influence of this aura, Yi Shuihan was pleasantly surprised to find that his Time Freeze skill was slowly improving. If he could cultivate under this aura, he might be able to greatly increase its power in no time.

Resisting the temptation to rest immediately, Yi Shuihan gently touched the Time Stone with his hand, but his hand did not touch the Time Stone; instead, it passed straight through him, as if the Time Stone were just an illusion.

"As expected, it's impossible to access it using ordinary methods." Yi Shuihan was no exception; after all, it's normal for something as magical as the Time Stone to have some differences.

According to Fudge, when wizards first discovered the Time Stone, they were also unable to touch it. The last great wizard spent his entire life researching a magic that allowed them to touch it, the Illusory Hand Lock, which is the name of that magic. Currently, there are no more than three people in the entire Unrecognizable Realm who possess this magic.

"How can I get in touch with it?" Yi Shuihan didn't know the Illusionary Hand Lock, nor did he intend to learn it, because it had a major drawback: after learning the Illusionary Hand Lock, no matter what the wizard was like before, the success rate of using any magic would be greatly reduced, making him a wizard who was completely one-sided in his specialties.

Although Yi Shuihan was not a pure wizard, and might have been able to avoid this outcome, he was unwilling to take the risk.

Chapter 576, Crazy Progress

"Since it is the Stone of Time, I can try using the power of time."

Yi Shuihan recalled the state he was in when he released the Time Freeze. In an instant, he entered a magical world where he seemed to have turned into a cloud of mist. The Time Stone was a cloud of mist just like him, but the other party's mist was much more solid, and the difference between the two was enormous.

Suddenly it became clear that the mist he represented might be the power of time within his own body.

As thoughts raced through his mind, the mist represented by Yi Shuihan began to slowly change, transforming into a human figure.

Reach out your hand and approach the mist represented by the Time Stone.

When the two came into complete contact, an extremely vast power instantly enveloped Yi Shuihan.

Images flashed through Yi Shuihan's mind. He seemed to see a river, an endless river with no source and no end.

The river water was not ordinary water, but was composed entirely of that time mist.

"The River of Time?"

There's no reason why, I just know where I am.

In a moment of profound shock, Yi Shuihan also noticed that the River of Time seemed to traverse all worlds; it was tangible yet intangible, ethereal yet existent.

Just as Yi Shuihan was about to look again, in an instant, the entire scene disappeared, and he could no longer even see the mist of time; his vision returned to normal.

"This is……"

Shaking his head, Yi Shuihan was surprised to find that his hand had actually touched the Time Stone.

"Ding, advanced energy detected. Absorbing it will enhance the system. Absorb?"

The system's voice rang out after a long time, causing Yi Shuihan to be slightly startled.

"Don't absorb it for now!"

If absorbing the Time Stone could upgrade him, Yi Shuihan would definitely not hesitate. However, the system's meaning this time was very vague. It said it would enhance the system, but who knows what kind of enhancement it would be?

Moreover, since he could absorb it later anyway, Yi Shuihan planned to study the Time Stone carefully, so he decided to postpone the absorption.

What exactly was that scene we just saw?

Yi Shuihan was about to recall when his expression suddenly changed drastically.

"No, my memory, my memory is fading, what I just saw is becoming more and more blurry."

Faced with this sudden change, Yi Shuihan was at a loss and had no way to deal with it.

It wouldn't be accurate to say his memory has vanished, because he clearly knows what he saw, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't recall it. He has a feeling that the reason he can't remember is because his strength is too low. It's something that only those who are strong enough to know are qualified to know, and he just happened to know it in advance. It seems that this situation is caused by some kind of interference.

"In that case, I'll try again."

Thinking about how he triggered that situation, Yi Shuihan wanted to repeat it again, hoping that he might be able to see those scenes again.

Unfortunately, Yi Shuihan failed.

"call"

Exhaling a breath of stale air, knowing that the matter was beyond saving, Yi Shuihan stopped clinging to it and kept it deep in his heart, waiting until he was strong enough to deal with it later.

"Could this Time Stone be absorbed like a Spirit Stone?"

Holding the Time Stone, Yi Shuihan had this idea pop into his head, and then he put his idea into practice.

I tried to absorb the Time Stone using the same method I usually use to absorb Immortal Stones, but I failed miserably.

"Am I overthinking it? Its only function is to sense its aura and then help with time-stopping cultivation?"

Yi Shuihan was somewhat unwilling to accept that the desired effect had not been achieved.

"If the system can absorb it, there's no reason why I can't!"

Well, Yi Shuihan's mentality has become somewhat unbalanced, and he's comparing himself to the system.

"By the way, wasn't I unable to pick up the Time Stone just now? The Time Stone requires a special method to pick up, so does that mean the method of absorbing it is also different?"

A flash of inspiration brought a new turning point to the situation.

After a while,

Yi Shuihan's lips curved into a beautiful smile. The Time Stone in his hand appeared unchanged, but if viewed through a special perspective, one could see that the mist representing Yi Shuihan was larger than before, while the Time Stone had shrunk slightly.

It was a tiny wisp, even tens of thousands of times smaller than a hair, but this tiny wisp greatly enhanced the power of Yi Shuihan's Time Stop skill, as if he had received a divine initiation.

"Time stands still!"

Without hesitation, he used this ability, instantly enveloping the entire research institute centered on Yi Shuihan, and it continued to expand.

10 li, 20 li, 30 li...

It didn't stop completely until it reached 90 miles.

"It's actually about 10 kilometers faster than before, and the time has also been extended considerably."

Since breaking through to Silver rank, the Time Freeze skill has also undergone a transformation, now covering a radius of 90 miles and the time limit is reduced to half a minute. And now, in just this short while, it has increased by one-eighth. This kind of progress is simply heaven-defying.

"hiss!"

This is an incredible opportunity, an absolutely incredible opportunity! If I could absorb all of this Time Stone, how much would my ability to stop time be enhanced?

Just thinking about it made Yi Shuihan incredibly excited. If he could freeze the entire world in an instant, what a scene that would be! It would be absolutely amazing.

“There isn’t just one Time Stone. Fudge said there are two in the entire magical world. We have to get our hands on the other one too.”

How could I let such a wonderful thing slip away?

At this point, the Stone of Time was as important to him as the origin of the world, and he was determined to obtain it.

"The Time Stone has such a great use, so why don't those reincarnators target it? That's right, they don't have the power of time, so they can't use the Time Stone at all. The Time Converter is not among their targets either. Does that mean the Time Converter will lose its function once it leaves this world?"

Chapter 577, The Protagonist Team Gets Overtaken

Yi Shuihan's guess was actually very close to reality, and he would only find out later why the time converter could only work in this world.

Having obtained the Time Stone, and especially after the crazy improvement in his Time Freeze skill due to absorbing it, Yi Shuihan completely devoted himself to the great cause of absorbing the Time Stone.

That feeling of rapid progress in an instant is a hundred times more addictive than opium.

Even the top six competition was something he wouldn't want to get involved in if it weren't for the issue of cultivation points.

Fortunately, he had the ability to create clones. Yi Shuihan simply created a clone to watch Liu Qiang's competition, while his main body devoted itself to absorbing the Time Stone.

Of course, the remaining piece was also put on the agenda, but it was more difficult to obtain than the first one because it belonged to someone's private collection, unlike the first one which belonged to the Ministry of Magic. Yi Shuihan could easily obtain it under the guise of research.

However, since Yi Shuihan has made up his mind, the second stone will eventually fall into his hands no matter who it is. If the other party is sensible, he will not mind giving them some benefits in exchange for the Time Stone. But if the other party really refuses to hand it over no matter what, then Yi Shuihan will have no choice but to use force to suppress them.

Absorbing the Time Stone was slightly more difficult than Yi Shuihan had anticipated, because to absorb it, one had to enter that magical state, which required intense mental concentration. Even for Yi Shuihan, it was impossible to maintain that state for an extended period.

Yi Shuihan can enter that state for 10 hours out of 24 hours, and it also takes 10 hours to recover. During these 10 hours of recovery, he cannot do anything and needs to sleep to recover; otherwise, there will be no recovery effect.

Therefore, Yi Shuihan spends 10 hours a day absorbing Time Stones, 10 hours sleeping, 3 hours absorbing Spirit Stones, and the last hour dealing with matters, a very tight schedule.

The effects of cultivation were naturally gratifying; otherwise, Yi Shuihan would never have engaged in such a life of asceticism at this time.

Every day, as he felt the time-stopping skill grow stronger, Yi Shuihan was always in a good mood.

A week later, Yi Shuihan's Time Freeze Domain had expanded to a radius of tens of thousands of miles, more than a hundred times larger than before.

This is because the effect of absorbing the same amount of Time Stones becomes weaker as time goes on; otherwise, Yi Shuihan would probably be able to cover the entire planet by now.

Yi Shuihan estimated the progress and found that he could absorb the Time Stone for about a month. After he fully absorbed it, the range of his domain would expand to between 2 and 3 kilometers, though he wasn't entirely sure of the exact amount.

As for the duration, it should eventually reach 3 minutes. Compared to the range, the duration is indeed much more difficult to improve.

……

"Yi, tell us what the final challenge is!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron found Yi Shuihan's clone and somewhat awkwardly made their request.

"I see you guys have other ideas besides wanting to know the content! What, are you feeling pressured by being surpassed?"

Yi Shuihan's clone said with a smile.

Five of the six rounds of the Six-Way Battle have been completed. In the first four rounds, Harry's main team maintained their lead in the overall score thanks to their advantage in the first round and Hermione's strength.

Because they consistently ranked first in total points, they never did the same thing again after that first time they revealed information to Yi Shuihan.

The situation has clearly changed now, because after the fifth level, their total score is no longer first, but second. Although they are only 2 points behind first, it is a substantial difference compared to before.

First and second are always two different concepts, and sometimes people only pay attention to the second and ignore it.

The team that surpassed Hermione's main characters was not the Royal Team, nor Fleur's Team, but Dr. Bosh's Team.

Since falling behind in the first round, the doctor's team has maintained a strong performance since the second round.

The third challenge is a hunt, where each team will face a fire dragon and compete to see which team can withstand the dragon's attacks the longest.

Hermione and her friends took first place again in this round, while the Doctor's team came in second.

The fourth round of the competition focuses on the types of magic mastery. Each team of three members will compete based on the total number of magic types they master, and scores will be awarded according to the number of magic types they master.

In this round, Hermione was dragged down by Harry and Ron, but she still managed to get 3rd place and maintain her first place overall. However, the Doctor took first place and ranked second overall.

The fifth challenge, the one where Dr. Agasa's team completely turned the tide, was a battle where each team engaged in one-on-one combat, with only one person facing off against the other. Although Hermione won every time, Ron and Harry weren't up to the task, resulting in a lower overall team ranking than Dr. Agasa's team, and only slightly better than the High Energy Team and Fleur Team, ultimately placing fourth.

The Doctor's team came in second place in the fifth level, with the Eagle Team coming in first.

However, due to the gap in the previous rounds, the final rankings were: Doctor Team first, Protagonist Team second, Flying Eagle Team on the ground, National Team fourth, High Energy Team fifth, and Hibiscus Team last.

This result made everyone no longer dare to underestimate the three newly established colleges, and even felt it was extremely incredible that they had taught such outstanding students in such a short period of time.

“Yeah! It’s definitely a lot of pressure. At first, we thought that as long as we didn’t come in last place, we would be satisfied with getting into the top three. We didn’t really care about winning the championship, but now…” Harry didn’t finish his sentence, but Yi Shuihan understood his thoughts.

After all, he had been in first place in the total score for the first four rounds. Even if he didn't want to at first, he must have changed his mind later. He was determined to win the championship, which is why he wanted to make up for any mistakes.

"And it's all because of us that Hermione is being dragged down."

Harry said somewhat ashamedly that after all these competitions, he knew perfectly well that the results were basically due to Hermione, and that he and Ron were just there to make up the numbers.

Chapter 578, I Choose All

"Don't say that. I only participated in this competition because of you guys."

Hermione quickly said that although what Harry said was true, she couldn't blame them just because of the competition. Besides, she had been prepared for this situation from the beginning, so she wasn't particularly upset.

Ron remained silent at this point, clearly still possessing some self-awareness.

"The final sixth challenge is actually quite simple: you enter a maze and reach the finish line. The first team to reach the finish line wins. And it's not just a single match victory, but the final victory of all the matches. The teams will enter at different times based on their rankings. The higher-ranked teams will naturally go in first, and the lower-ranked teams will go in later."

In the original novel, the final challenge of the three-way battle was also a maze, but the goal was to find the victory cup within the maze. However, the maze that Yi Shuihan described was completely different.

This maze is not fixed; it changes irregularly every so often. What was once a dead end can become a way out, and vice versa.

You cannot use flying magic when entering the maze; you can only explore it slowly on foot.

In addition, the maze is full of hidden traps and dangers. Triggering a trap may not kill them, but it will greatly delay their time.

To add to the fun, some small props were placed to help participants play the game better, but obtaining these props was entirely based on luck.

After briefly introducing the sixth level to the three children, Yi Shuihan took out three items and said...

"I have three items here for you to choose from. The first is this: a prop detection goggles. As long as you wear these goggles, it will alert you if there are any props within a 10-meter radius."

"The second thing is this map. With it, you can see the entire maze. It updates approximately every 3 hours. By the way, the maze's irregular changes every 2 hours."