# 974
Chapter 975: Time God
"By the way, there's something I want to ask you."
Lin Qiye seemed to have remembered something and explained Jialan's situation to Wang Mian.
"You want to accelerate her godhood and awakening process?" Wang Mian's brow furrowed slightly. After contemplating for a moment, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't help you with this."
"Aren't you the agent of the Time God?"
"There is more than one Time God in this world." Wang Mian explained, "The scope of the law of time is too deep and vast for a single deity to fully control. The Time Gods of various pantheons in the world have divided the law of time among themselves. Each one specializes in a different domain of time.
The Time God I serve is Chronos from Greek mythology. His domain of time is more specialized in time reversal—that is my Chrono Outlaw ability. As for other aspects like time pause, deceleration, and acceleration, while I can use them, they are merely superficial.
What Jialan needs now is a law specialized in time acceleration. Neither I nor Chronos can provide that."
"So I need to seek out other Time Gods?" Lin Qiye's brow furrowed. "Which Time God possesses such power?"
"I don't know, but I can help you investigate. I'll notify you when I have results."
"Thank you." Lin Qiye nodded slightly.
Hazy mist swirled through the ruins of the city. Before they knew it, the two had arrived at a dilapidated intersection.
Under the dim sky, the roads of this gray intersection stretched in different directions, vanishing into the swirling fog. As far as one could see, there was no end—only endless mystery and the unknown.
The moment they stepped into the center, as if sensing something, they stopped simultaneously.
The air fell into sudden silence.
Lin Qiye stood on the crosswalk, his face showing bewilderment. He first turned to glance at the left-turn road shrouded in mist, hesitated briefly, then looked toward the road turning right...
"The one on the left is here for me."
Wang Mian's eyes fixed on the left road as he spoke slowly.
"The one on the right must be here for me." Lin Qiye recalled what Yuanshi Zhenren had said, answering.
"I'll inquire about your matter while I'm at it." Wang Mian took a step forward, calmly walking toward the left road, his figure gradually fading into the mist. "See you in Great Xia."
"Mm."
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and turned to walk into the right road.
Two figures—one in gray, one in red—departed from each other at the misty intersection, heading in different directions before vanishing without a trace.
...
Wang Mian walked through the mist for a long while.
The streets on both sides had been abandoned for a century, deathly silent. The rotting branches would crumble to bits at the slightest touch of wind, dancing ghost-like through the air.
Clack—!
As Wang Mian's foot crossed the crosswalk, the dancing debris of branches suddenly froze in mid-air, like black specks embedded in the gray sky, eternally suspended.
Even the wind and mist凝固 at that instant.
Time pause.
Wang Mian's footsteps halted briefly, but he quickly ignored the anomaly around him, wrapped in his gray cloak, walking forward naturally.
This time pause was not his doing.
In the misty street ahead, an old man in black stood quietly beneath an abandoned traffic light, hands resting on a cane, eyes closed, as if asleep.
Wang Mian saw him and stopped.
"Why did you make me walk so far?" he said with a hint of resignation.
The old man's eyes slowly opened.
A magnificent river of time flowed within his eyes, intertwining into a circle with no beginning or end. Endless time and vicissitudes surged forth in that instant. Suddenly, time on this street rapidly rewound!
The flying debris of branches rolled back into the soil, forming a rotting tree, then regenerated visibly. Ten seconds later, it had once again become a towering cherry blossom tree.
The weathered marks on the surfaces of the abandoned buildings on both sides rapidly faded. Under the reversal of time, those dusty, dilapidated storefronts regained their luster. Broken signboards flew back to their places above the doors. A brand-new, vibrant Japanese commercial street reappeared before Wang Mian's eyes.
Pink cherry blossoms fell like rain. On the崭新的 street, two old men stood across an intersection, gazing at each other from afar.
"Your Great Xia's representative is on the other side. I don't want to be too close to him." The old man gazed at Wang Mian and spoke slowly.
"The great primordial god of Greek mythology, the Time God Chronos, is afraid of Great Xia's representative?"
"It's not fear—it's mutual respect." The old man said calmly. "Did you bring the item?"
"Yes."
Wang Mian took out from his怀 the piece of Shaku Nendo Magatama with a broken corner, opening his palm. "Is this it?"
"It is." The old man's gaze swept over the magatama and gave a slight nod.
"You came quickly. The moment I brought it out, you appeared."
"Now that it has left Takamagahara, its aura can naturally be sensed by me." The old man paused. "As for the speed of time—fast or slow—it's meaningless to me."
Wang Mian clutched the magatama in his hand, silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I have a request."
Upon hearing these words, the old man's eyes narrowed slightly. He said nothing.
"I want a portion of the law of time."
"You want to become a god?" The old man's brow furrowed slightly. "A mortal attempting to become the Time God... you certainly have courage."
"I have a reason I must become a god."
The old man stared into Wang Mian's eyes. After a moment, he shook his head.
"Impossible. The law of time in this world has already been divided and merged by the gods. There is no extra law of time to give you..."
Hearing these words, Wang Mian's brow furrowed tightly.
"Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless when I die, my law returns to the heavens and earth. If you have the ability to seize it from the other Time Gods' claims, then you could naturally replace me and become the Time God." The old man said unhurriedly.
Wang Mian froze. A bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Theoretically speaking, this path could work. Since there was no extra law in the world, one could simply wait for Chronos to die and then inherit his law. However, this possibility approached Infinity close to zero.
Chronos was a primordial god of Greek mythology. How could he possibly die so easily? In this world, the number of beings capable of even battling him was few and far between, let alone killing him.
And even if he truly died, the time law he left behind would inevitably spark a scramble among Time Gods of other pantheons. How could Wang Mian, merely a Human Apex, possibly wrest that thread of time law from among the gods?