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--- Chapter 447 ---
Click! Click! Click!
The clicking sounds intensified, and cold air permeated the crypt, causing Ye Ziyun to frown. This temperature is odd. It's not the kind that freezes everything, but more of a cold to keep things at a certain temperature.
Han Yuan crossed his arms and gazed at the mist-covered coffin with an amused expression, "Heh, what a show off."
As the cold air gradually vanished, the first 'City Lord' of the Glory City finally revealed himself to both Han Yuan and Ye Ziyun.
Ye Ziyun froze on the spot, "T-This is..."
"As expected, it's still this path," Han Yuan, on the other hand, commented as if he knew what was going to happen. He can't help it either because his eyes could see through all falsehood.
What lies before them is actually a humanoid mechanical puppet, with a lean, streamlined appearance, consisting of an unknown jet-black metallic body and many adorned green and blue crystals.
The puppet's eyes are like the bluest sapphires, mimicking human eyes, but they look more eerie than anything.
Although faint, or perhaps concealed, Han Yuan could sense spirit energy driving the mechanical puppet's body.
Ultimately, the most interesting object is perhaps the puppet's own heart, which appeared like a pink diamond.
This pink diamond is exceptional, containing a weak yet enduring mortal soul.
"How long have I been asleep?" Another voice came from the puppet's mouth, though a bit digitized.
Click!
"According to the inner clock algorithm, you have slept for exactly 10,000 years, 6 months, 7 days, 32 minutes, and 5 seconds." A monotonous voice echoed from the puppet's own body.
The puppet's mouth trembled slightly, "Ten thousand years, it's been that long..."
The puppet looked around and then spotted both Han Yuan and Ye Ziyun gazing at him weirdly, "So, it's you two who awakened me."
"One of you is the current City Lord of Glory City, also the fated one with the Ice God's Heart."
"As for the other one..."
"Error, error, error, abnormality has been detected. The inner system may collapse if the owner wants to observe the anomaly." The puppet's body let out a warning red light.
"..." Ye Ziyun.
"..." Han Yuan.
"..." The puppet.
"Well, that was something..." Han Yuan commented. "You actually walked on the path of Mechanical Ascension using the Spirit Guidance Tool, which was unheard of in this era."
"The only case I know of is a woman from a very distant future, who couldn't cultivate and decided to pursue this path."
"And from the look of it, you also created an artificial intelligence to keep the puppet's inner system running while your soul is sleeping."
"Quite an ingenious idea, I would say."
The puppet was stunned before chuckling, "Oh, my, to think you could see through my Mechanical God path in one glance."
"You're indeed an anomaly in my vision."
"But this is interesting..."
"Another time traveler, and someone from a much more distant future than mine."
"Well, I wouldn't call myself a time traveler," Han Yuan shrugged. "I am sort of just hopping into the Douluo Plane from my own plane."
"A Plane Wanderer? That's even rarer!" The puppet's eyes glimmered with the ray of fascination. "You're giving me more and more surprises."
"So, why don't you introduce yourself then?" Han Yuan narrowed his eyes because this wasn't the reaction he expected.
"Oh, my, that's right! That's definitely rude of me!" The mechanical puppet laughed in return.
As the puppet placed his hand on the chest and bowed slightly, "My name is Xu Deming, the Orthodox Inheritor of the Sun Moon Empire, as well as the 12th Rank Spirit Guidance Engineer of Mechanical God Path."
Han Yuan's interest piqued: "Xu Deming, Sun Moon Empire, and 12th Rank Spirit Guidance Engineer."
"I see... You're from that era."
"Oh, do you know about my original timeline based on the fractions of information I shared?" Xu Deming put on a stiff, surprised look.
Han Yuan smiled and responded, "Besides the one you spoke earlier, I have guessed some clues based on the technological advancements of the Glory City."
"The plane-crossing arrays, the Spirit Ascension Platform, and finally, the Spirit Guidance Tool that could even threaten a divine being."
"If my guess is right... You, Xu Deming, must be from the unfortunate era after the Spirit Ice Douluo 'Huo Yuhao' ascended to the God's Realm."
"Huo Yuhao, that shameful god, how nostalgic." Xu Deming couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this name. One could say that this figure is the pain and sorrow for his lineage.
Of course, one could say that Huo Yuhao also opened the new path of the modern Spirit Guidance Tool for other Spirit Engineers, though he later ruthlessly shut it away.
"You're not even denying my baseless guess?" Han Yuan gave Xu Deming a meaningful look.
Xu Deming shook his mechanical head, "There is no need to, because that world is far away from me."
"I've tried every method I could have thought of to return 'home,' but then I discovered I wasn't merely stranded, I got lost too far away from it."
"You could guess my initial timeline, but you don't know the exact details, right?"
"You got me there," Han Yuan helplessly raised his hands in defeat. "There are too many timelines and worlds out there. Remembering each one is no different than reaching omniscience."
Xu Deming laughed, "The universe is infinitely expanding, and the theory of the multiverse is not a new thing in the field of Spirit Guidance Tools."
"In fact, I left behind such a legacy in the Glory City, and it seems the current City Lord is the victim of it."
"Victim..." Ye Ziyun put on a bitter look. She couldn't help but think about her future self, Snow Empress.
Xu Deming saw Ye Ziyun's expression and apologized, "Ah, forgive me for being blunt. Calling you a victim must be painful."
"I am truly sorry."
"I am fine, you don't have to apologize, Grand City Lord." Ye Ziyun replied calmly. "At the end of the day, Glory City hasn't completely fallen, and it was thanks to Lord Han."
"Moreover, I've come to accept my own troubles."
"Which led us to another question..." Han Yuan followed. "Why did you decide to found Glory City?"
"And how far have you changed this timeline?"
Xu Deming sighed, "It has come to this, after all."
"I don't really want to answer this because it's embarrassing, but I really don't have a choice, do I?"
"You're too freakishly strong for me to calculate a single path of victory to this point."
"A human shouldn't possess such a strength."
"But I did," Han Yuan answered flatly. "So, stop being sentimental and answer my questions."
Xu Deming's metal mouth twitched as he replied jokingly, "Alright, alright, don't hurry me. You're making my heart race."
"..." Han Yuan.
"..." Ye Ziyun.
You are literally a metal can!
I don't think your heart could race at all!
Xu Deming sat on his coffin and started narrating, "Let's begin from my origins."
"As you said, I came from an era where Spirit Ice Douluo 'Huo Yuhao' had ascended to godhood."
"More precisely, it's 9,000 years after his ascension."
"My lineage always thought we could change the mishaps of our 'Xu' ancestors."
"So, we started developing a time-traveling theory and following time-traveling tools to make it happen."
"But we failed. So miserably at that."
"Not only did we fail to time-travel back into the past, but we furthermore coincidentally walked into the path of no return."
"We developed a plane-crossing array, originally to find a suitable plane for humans of federations to live in, in case the Abyssal Plane fully invaded the Douluo Plane."
"Yet, before that could happen, the project was blocked by God's will."
"God's will? More like Tang's will." Han Yuan commented indifferently.
Xu Deming's eyes widened, "Y-You knew?"
"Just a little." Han Yuan added as if what he had just said was merely a casual remark.
"..." Xu Deming.
Xu Deming sighed, "Later on, I secretly started the project again, but got into an accident where I found myself sent to the past, but not the past I knew."
"I have hopped into an alternative universe of my own, trapped, alone."
"That is the origin of my time travel."