216: Ready to depart

"Alright."

Zhang Huaiyuan agreed without hesitation.

Although he didn't quite understand the concept of "time coins," he figured it was only two billion.

In the Star Alliance and the Empire, the cards the Statue of Liberty gave him had no limits; he could swipe hundreds of trillions at will.

"Hmm?"

The Light Figure was stunned for a moment; he had been prepared for the other party to haggle aggressively, and hadn't expected such a prompt agreement.

Immediately, the smile on his face became more sincere.

"Not bad, not bad. I love helping geniuses with potential like you."

As he spoke, he took out a crystal-clear, teardrop-shaped object.

"This is one hundred years."

One hundred years? What did that mean?

Zhang Huaiyuan frowned, a sharp light flashing in his eyes as he activated his ability!

[Droplet of the Sea of Time Type I (Decrypted)]

A specialty of the Time Traveler Association, it seals 100 years of blank time. It can be used for at most one small world to form a time island. It has special encryption and requires a member of the association to decrypt it before use.

Contains Knowledge Rule Level: 5.

"Sealed a hundred years of blank time? A droplet... of the Sea of Time?"

Even though he had seen many powerful ruins, Zhang Huaiyuan was shocked at this moment.

To be able to seal enough time for an entire world was exaggerated enough, but the key was the name... a Droplet of the Sea of Time!

Then what was the concept of the entire Sea of Time?

Zhang Huaiyuan found it hard to imagine.

He realized that this "Time Traveler Association" might be far more terrifying than he had estimated.

It was definitely not inferior to the civilization from which Emperor Luo transformed into an insectoid beast.

"This can turn your world into a time island within a hundred years, independent of the normal Great World. The time of both is synchronized but does not intermingle. Only after the term expires will the time of both automatically merge."

Scholar Buli said indifferently:

"I believe with your vision, you can see the preciousness of this item. Charging you 1 billion time coins isn't excessive, right?"

"Not excessive at all, not excessive at all."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head repeatedly. To sell an item with Level 5 rules for only 2 billion was truly too cheap.

"Scholar Buli, if this is used, will this world be free from threats during these hundred years?"

"Of course."

The Light Figure smiled proudly:

"While many experts can breach a time island, this is a droplet set by me."

"As you know, as a scholar, when a flash of inspiration occurs, it must be put into experimentation immediately. Therefore, the Association once proclaimed to the myriad heavens and realms that the Association's scholars have the right to requisition any place, at any time, and in any location. If anyone dares to interrupt sacred knowledge research, they will be directly erased from the source."

"In other words, anyone who sees this time barrier with my aura will understand that a scholar from the Association is conducting research. They can only wait obediently."

"I see."

Zhang Huaiyuan finally felt at ease.

At the same time, his longing for the "Time Traveler Association" grew even stronger.

With such a powerful force, as long as he could join, he would likely never be threatened again and could conduct his research in peace.

Thinking this, Zhang Huaiyuan's expression became resolute.

"Scholar Buli, allow me to return and give some instructions."

"Go ahead."

After bidding farewell to the Light Figure, Zhang Huaiyuan quickly returned to his original world.

With a thought, his left and right wrists, as well as his ring, lit up simultaneously.

"Just now in the outside world, an elder of the Xuanjian Sect escaped back..."

Zhang Huaiyuan quickly gave a complete narration of what had happened.

"Sir, do you mean you are going to take the assessment for the Time Traveler Association? Can you take me with you?"

The Statue of Liberty was the first to speak.

"No, it's too dangerous."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head.

The outside world was not like here; the Xuanjian Sect, which was a behemoth to them, was nothing more than an ant out there.

Those with abilities a thousand or ten thousand times stronger than his were everywhere; he had no confidence that he could protect them well.

"But I promise you, as soon as I pass the assessment, I will definitely pick you up at the first opportunity. If I don't pass, I will return directly."

Looking at the light screen on his right wrist which had clearly dimmed a bit, Zhang Huaiyuan immediately added.

"Then Sir, please be careful with everything."

The Statue of Liberty's concerned voice rang out.

She was an intelligent lifeform, after all; though she felt a bit lost, she quickly calculated that his decision was the optimal solution and adjusted herself.

Since she couldn't be a help, at the very least, she couldn't be a hindrance.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll leave this place to you all. Also, apologize to Teacher on my behalf."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded and smiled.

"Heh, don't worry, Master."

"Sir, may everything go smoothly."

Asroth and the Intellectual Brain both flickered in response.

"Alright, goodbye."

Zhang Huaiyuan said no more, waved his hand to carefully put away the integrated device, and turned to fly toward the outer heavens.

This was also one of the advantages of intelligent lifeforms.

There was no tug-of-war of life-and-death partings, only the understanding that didn't need to be spoken... On the other side.

"Finished your goodbyes?"

"Yes. Scholar Buli, how should we go? By starship?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was somewhat curious.

"A starship won't do. The Sea of Time is not in the same dimension as this place; we have to ascend dimensions first."

The Light Figure smiled, reached out, and took out a blue translucent card shimmering with crystalline light spots, swiping it through the void.

"Ding. Multi-pass card, 1 use remaining."

"What was that sound?"

Before Zhang Huaiyuan could react.

Suddenly, the endless world layers slowly pulled apart, and a massive cylindrical building of unknown origin descended from within.

About an hour later, the cylindrical building finally came to a complete stop, and a gate shimmering with infinite light and shadow came into view.

"Let's go, kid."

Scholar Buli called out, stepped forward, and swiped the card against the gate again.

"What is this?"

"The Gate of Boundlessness. Of course, I prefer to call it the Dimensional Ascension Elevator."

A trace of heartache flashed across Scholar Buli's face: "It's one of the fastest ways to travel in the myriad heavens and realms, a product created by dozens of top scholars of our Association working together. Aside from being a bit expensive, it has no other flaws."

"This... this is just too incredible."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked with burning eyes at the building, where every inch of design was incredibly beautiful, and followed him inside step by step.

Bang!

The next moment, a layer of seven-colored light flashed on the gate, bouncing him away.

"Unpaid user detected. Please pay ten thousand time coins before boarding the elevator."

"This... Scholar Buli?"

Zhang Huaiyuan rubbed his bumped forehead and looked at the Light Figure in some bewilderment.

*Cough*, "Requesting manual intervention."

Scholar Buli coughed and tapped a few times on the internal screen.

A moment later, a gentle voice sounded:

"Customer service number 0X111623 at your service. Junior Scholar Buli, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I need to bring this potential genius to take the Association's assessment. Could you make an exception..."

"Junior Scholar Buli, can you provide a certificate of ability issued by a relevant institution?"

"This... he just came out of a low-level world and hasn't had time yet, but I guarantee with my status as a scholar that he definitely meets the requirements!"

The Light Figure said with absolute certainty.

"Apologies, Junior Scholar Buli. This does not comply with regulations. You may go to the nearest testing institution to obtain a certificate before returning."

"Fine, fine..."

Scholar Buli frowned and shook his head: "Then put it on my tab."

"Very sorry, Junior Scholar Buli. Your credit limit is negative 35.2 billion time coins, which does not meet the requirements for credit."

That voice remained gentle.

"Do you think I can't pay back the debt? Damn it, I'm going to give you a bad review!"

The Light Figure was immediately embarrassed and annoyed upon hearing this, especially seeing the questioning look from Zhang Huaiyuan beside him. Only then did he reluctantly reach into his pocket.

One minute... two minutes... the expression on his face grew worse and worse, and his other hand also reached into his pocket.

After a long while, he finally fished out a coin-like object labeled with ten thousand.

A look of joy immediately appeared in his eyes, and he shouted loudly:

"Apologize to me!"

...