Chapter 476: Chapter 476

In a forest on the European Continent, a disheveled little cat darted through the forest while a two-meter-long fish floated beside it due to telekinesis.

The kitten carried its prey to a clearing, suspended the fish in the air with telekinesis, and then summoned flames to roast its meal. Unbeknownst to it, its every move was being watched by a group of strange individuals.

“That’s it?” Lu Ran stared at the small dirt-covered cat below, focusing on its undeveloped, clumped nine tails. “It’s so tiny... I can’t bring myself to do it. Manager Ying, you handle the suicide later.”

Manager Ying didn’t respond, its heart aching as it looked at its projection.

“Let’s have Six-Path Flower plant the reincarnation mark first,” It said.

“Fine, fine.” Lu Ran scratched his head and cast an illusion.

Instantly, the kitten roasting fish fell unconscious.

Six-Path Flower appeared on the ground, gazing at the baby Manager Ying lying on its back with its limbs splayed. With a wave of its hand, a unique mark merged into the projection’s body.

“Mark complete," Six-Path Flower stated coolly.

Lifeforms marked by Six-Path Flower’s reincarnation ability would not perish upon death. Instead, their souls would enter the Six-Path reincarnation system, reborn anew based on their karma. The cycle was uncontrollable as animals could reincarnate as humans, and humans as livestock, with the quality of their next life determined by their deeds.

Originally, this was how Six-Path Flower’s reincarnation ability worked. However, with its Limit Breaker talent, it had shattered many restrictions.

Now, marked souls were no longer reincarnated uncontrollably. It could drag them into the Hell Path and judge them itself, deciding their next life.

If it wished, even a good person could be reborn as livestock, while a wicked one might receive a privileged life to continue their tyranny.

“Dark Crow, you’re up.”

After Six-Path Flower finished, Lu Ran turned to Dark Crow. The crow flapped its wings and soared above the baby Manager Ying, uttering a divine decree.

“Immediately restore your past-life memories!”

As Dark Crow spoke, golden runes spread across its body, and its words materialized into ethereal script before dissipating, attempting to merge into the kitten.

However, just as the incantation tried to take effect, an anomaly occurred. Dark Crow’s vision darkened, and it witnessed an inexplicable scene. In the vision, darkness reigned until a violent energy surge erupted from within.

Dark Crow, having just cast the incantation, spat blood and plummeted. It was barely conscious.

“What the fuck?” Lu Ran was dumbfounded.

He immediately summoned Flame Spirit, wrapping Dark Crow in life flames and cradling it.

“Dark Crow? Dark Crow? What happened?”

Dark Crow had tried to influence a weak kitten with an incantation, only to fail and suffer backlash. This was absurd. Manager Ying, Six-Path Flower, and Baby Cloud were equally stunned.

Dark Crow whimpered. “M-my king... I think... my ability is acting up again.”

Lu Ran remained silent as he healed it. Incantations were like a power-level detector. Against weak beings, they were nearly godlike. However, against stronger entities, backlash was almost guaranteed. The kitten itself wasn’t strong enough to cause backlash toward Dark Crow. The only possible source of the backlash was Manager Ying’s past-life memories.

Memories carried weight. The more powerful the memories, the harder they were to retain or awaken in reincarnation.

“Judging by this, its past-life species rank must be at least Low Legendary. No, even Low Legendary memories alone shouldn’t cause backlash.

“Since it didn’t resist, even if its past life was a Low-Legendary, the crow would still be able to use incantations to make it forget or remember things.”

“Its past-life species rank might surpass Low Legendary. Only then could mere memories overwhelm the crow. In that case, let me try. I’ll see if I can dig deeper into its soul for past-life memories.” Six-Path Flower stared at the sleeping kitten, deep in thought.

Manager Ying was shocked. “Huh? Could my past self have been some big shot?”

To be deemed no lower than Low Legendary by Six-Path Flower...

“You kill it. I can’t do it,” Six-Path Flower said to Manager Ying.

Manager Ying stared at its younger self, conflicted. However, since it was just a projection, and Six-Path Flower could reincarnate it even if it died, it steeled itself and cast a deeper hypnosis. The life aura of the kitten roasting fish began to fade.

Simultaneously, Six-Path Flower closed and opened its eyes. A Hell Path space materialized. Although the projection had died, its soul appeared bewildered within the Hell Path, observed by Lu Ran, Six-Path Flower, and the real Manager Ying.

The confused kitten, unaware of its death, bristled defensively at the group.

“Let me see your past-life memories.”

Even as the Hell Path’s master, Six-Path Flower wasn’t sure if it could succeed where Dark Crow failed. If the cat’s past life was too powerful, even it might fail, unless it regained its peak strength.

With a gentle coaxing from Six-Path Flower, the projection closed its eyes. The surroundings shifted, resembling spatial rifts and void zones.

“Is this a projection of past-life memories? Where is this?” Manager Ying gasped.

Before it could process what was going on, the scene changed again. A white kitten appeared. Its tail was twice its body length, it had triangular blue eyes, and it floated through the unknown space.

“Mew~.” The kitten flitted about, leaving Manager Ying stunned.

“Was this my past self? How is it even weaker than I am now?”

Just as it and Lu Ran wondered about the kitten’s identity, it spoke, leaving them speechless.

The kitten suddenly glared at a spatial fluctuation, its expression stern, vigilant, and furious.

Time-law-breaking people, I advise you to cease your advance. Otherwise, as the Timekeeper, I will deliver the final judgment.

Six-Path Flower, who had hoped to see more, felt its power distorted and influenced by the terrifying memories. Although it fared slightly better than Dark Crow, it could only glimpse a fragment before countless shackles seemed to bind it. It knelt, panting, clutching its forehead as the memory scenes vanished.

As Six-Path Flower caught its breath, Manager Ying was dumbfounded. “What... what was that just now?”

“Holy fuck... You...” Lu Ran was equally stunned, staring at Manager Ying in disbelief.

“You... That place just now was unmistakably the time tunnel. You... Manager Ying, you... Your past-life identity was... the Time Dragon’s kin! The most mysterious of the dragon kin, the Timekeeper!”

Manager Ying exploded in shock. “What? What did you say? No way, meow! Really? Then why didn’t the Divine Deer and Squirrel God recognize me? Something must be wrong.”

Lu Ran was equally baffled. “No, it’s probably accurate. The Divine Deer did say the Timekeeper was the most enigmatic. They only knew such a being existed but had never met it, since the Timekeeper was always guarding the time tunnel under the Time Dragon’s orders.

“The time tunnel isn’t located in the Stellar Moon World. Understandably, the other kin weren’t familiar with the Timekeeper.”

Manager Ying was still reeling.

“I thought my past life was at most a local divine beast of Blue Planet. How am I connected to the Time Dragon? How was I colleagues with the Divine Deer and the others...? Damn it! The biggest question is, as the Timekeeper, how did I reincarnate on Blue Planet? How did I die in my past life?”

Lu Ran’s lips twitched. “How would I know? However, from the memory fragment, it seems you were stopping a time traveller. Maybe you were killed by some time traveler during duty? Haven’t many dragon kin died? The Divine Phoenix, the God of Expansion, and the God of the Other Shore are all gone.”

At this moment, Lu Ran and Six-Path Flower recalled the self-proclaimed Time Apostle they had captured and imprisoned. They fell silent. Who would’ve thought the Timekeeper’s reincarnation was someone like Manager Ying?

They had assumed the Time Dragon’s kin would reincarnate as at least a Low Legendary or quasi-Legendary species.

A mere Overlord? Pathetic. No wonder it was killed by a time traveler.

Six-Path Flower glanced at Lu Ran, its stomach churning.

So, Manager Ying is the Timekeeper’s reincarnation? What if the time traveler is actually you, Lu Ran? If so, no matter how you explain it to the Time Dragon, your relationship will be beyond messy.

Manager Ying rubbed its temples.

“So... what now? This revelation is too shocking. I’ve researched many ancient divine beasts of Blue Planet. I even considered the possibility of being a reincarnated fox. However, the Timekeeper? I never imagined that.

“Still, this identity isn’t bad. I’m backed by a powerful figure, with a bunch of strong colleagues. But if I regain my kin status and power, wouldn’t I be condemned to guard the time tunnel forever? How boring.” It widened its eyes.

Six-Path Flower said, “Now I’m doubting the memory fragment’s authenticity. From what I recall, the Divine Dragons chose their kin based on work ethic, not strength. With your attitude, are you really kin material?”

Manager Ying pondered. “So... is there a mistake somewhere?”

“Right or wrong, we can verify it with professionals,” Lu Ran said after some thought.

“You’ve forgotten that the Divine Deer, Squirrel God, and the others’ projections are all on Blue Planet right now. As a weakened, reincarnated Timekeeper, you can explain your situation to them and ask for Legendary resources to restore your power. At the same time, they can verify the authenticity of your identity. As fellow dragon kin, they should have the means, right?”

Manager Ying considered it and found no better alternative.

“Anyway, if you really are the Time Dragon’s kin, don’t forget about me. My request is simple. Just use your colleague status to ask the Divine Deer and Squirrel God to help me hunt a level 100 Low-Legendary local divine beast of Blue Planet. Just ask them to leave the last hit for me.” Lu Ran grinned.