Chapter 36: Speculation on Different Time Flow Rates

“Oh, you’re all here!”

Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber entered the shared space and found Zhang Jie from Water Margin, dressed in a Confucian scholar’s robe,

and Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, clad in a classic martial hero’s black attire,

sitting cross-legged on the ground, chatting animatedly.

To be honest, this shared space contained nothing but this endless square.

The Zhang Jies couldn’t even find a single chair.

Since they were still at the martial hero level, unable to conjure objects from nothing, they had no choice but to sit on the ground.

“Zhang Jie, you’re here.”

Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils raised his hand in greeting.

“Mm.”

Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber nodded in response.

“We thought you weren’t coming, and were about to end tonight’s gathering.”

Zhang Jie from Water Margin said casually.

“I’ve been busy going to Zhu Wu’s Linked Mountain Villa!”

Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, who hadn’t appeared in the shared space for several days, awkwardly rubbed his chin.

“So, have you already obtained the Nine Yang Divine Art?”

Hearing this, Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils immediately lit up with excitement.

They were all Zhang Jies—he naturally knew Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’s plan.

The Nine Yang Divine Art was not only an ultimate secret technique in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber world,

but also a top-tier technique in The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world, where martial power utterly overshadowed The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber world.

Whether the Nine Yang Divine Art could be compared to ultra-top-tier techniques like the Northern Darkness Divine Art, the Six Meridians Divine Sword,

and the Sole Sovereign of the Eight Directions and the Six Harmonies Technique in the world of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,

would have to wait until he received the inheritance from Wu Yashu at Leigudrum Mountain for comparison.

Yet even so, once fully cultivated, the Nine Yang Divine Art grants endless internal energy,

boundless strength, invulnerability, immunity to all poisons, and rapid healing—

all of which remain formidable even in The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world, where supreme techniques abound.

“Brother, you’re impressive!”

Zhang Jie from Water Margin also cast an approving glance at Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

In the Water Margin world, the Nine Yang Divine Art alone—by extending lifespan

and allowing one to remain energetic and swift even past eighty—could rightly be called a divine art.

Only Zhang Jie from Water Margin had no such ambition; otherwise, with the techniques he already possessed,

he could easily become a corrupt state advisor in the Water Margin world.

Zhang Jie from Water Margin: trick the emperor, manipulate court politics, suppress ministers, sleep in the imperial bed—heeheehee…

Under the gaze of the two, Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber felt utterly light, as if his bones had lost two taels of weight.

“Hehe! Here you go!”

Having completed his show of prowess, satisfied and content, Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber extended both hands toward Zhang Jie from Water Margin and Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

After an imperceptible moment, the sharing was complete—the process as smooth as ever.

“Excellent, excellent.”

Zhang Jie from Water Margin, carefully studying the Nine Yang Divine Art, nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Zhang Jie from Water Margin nodding and swaying his head, Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils were no longer surprised.

Compared to one who had invested all attribute points into his body,

and another who was originally just an ordinary beggar,

Zhang Jie from Water Margin had received a highly systematic education since childhood,

deeply studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and was more skilled in analyzing martial manuals than they were.

After all, these supreme techniques originated from the classics of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism—

didn’t Huang Shang himself cultivate the Nine Yin Manual simply by editing texts, becoming a peerless master?

Ignoring Zhang Jie from Water Margin, Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils began exchanging information.

“Hey, why haven’t you reached Leigudrum Mountain yet?”

“Isn’t the Song Dynasty better than the late Yuan and early Ming?”

Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber asked, puzzled. According to the time flow in The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,

nearly a month had passed since Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils first entered the shared space—how had he still not reached Leigudrum Mountain?

Even an old woman on a journey would’ve gotten there by now!

He himself had taken only half a month to travel from Wudang to Zhu Wu’s Linked Mountain Villa.

That was even after encountering scattered troops, small bands of Yuan soldiers, and bandits who had seized mountains,

all desperate to “borrow” money from passing civilians and merchant caravans.

Although the world of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils wasn’t a utopia of open doors and lost items,

it was still a relatively prosperous and peaceful period of the Song Dynasty, where travel should have been far easier for him.

As for the differing time flow rates between worlds, the Zhang Jies had no particular thoughts on it.

After all, for them, both world-hopping and differing time flows exceeded their comprehension.

Delving into this issue now was like a frog in a well—wasting time and risking cognitive errors; they could study it later when they became true masters.

Still, the Zhang Jies did have some guesses:

The reason was simply that each world’s time setting differed.

Take the Zhe Tian world—even the ten thousand ancient emperors spanned no more than a million years.

But in a world like Pan Long, reaching the Saint Realm grants immortality—

as long as one isn’t killed, one lives until the universe ends.

It’s clear the creators of each world set different limits on lifespan.

Tang Jia Shao was undoubtedly the most generous one.

Whether in Pan Long, Mang Huang Ji, or Star Evolution—

longevity, even immortality, was no fantasy.

In the Pan Long world, countless gods grew tired of living and sought death themselves.

On the battlefield of the seven high realms and four supreme realms, countless gods died every day.

If a Zhe Tian Emperor learned that a Saint Realm in Pan Long meant immortality, he’d likely envy himself to death.

The eternal life they struggled so hard for in Zhe Tian was nearly ubiquitous in Pan Long.

The differing time flow rates ensured that when the Pan Long Zhang Jie was still a Saint,

the Zhe Tian Zhang Jie hadn’t aged to death and turned to dust.

After all, in stark contrast to the generosity toward lifespan, Tang Jia Shao’s creator was miserly with cultivation realms:

In Zhe Tian, an Emperor over a thousand years old was already considered without future,

while in Pan Long, a Saint who hadn’t become a god after a million years still had a promising future.

Moreover, in the Pan Long world, the peak of personal cultivation was the full mastery of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—

without a Godhood Core, even reaching the end of the universe wouldn’t allow further progress.

In Perfect World, Zhe Tian, and Shen Xu, if you were brilliant enough,

becoming a Heavenly Emperor above Sacrifice Dao, you could storm the highlands,

slay the Primordial Ancestors, and drag up some red-haired monster who’d had a bad night, wasn’t quite dead,

and beat him senseless without issue.

Kill the Ancestor, whose later years are obscure, whether he slept well or not,

“Big Brother, do you think I don’t want to hurry? It’s just that my physical condition won’t allow it!”

Facing Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’s complaint, Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils pointed irritably at his own face.

If a highly skilled martial artist observed closely,

they’d notice a slight discordance on Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’s jade-like face.

It was like a starving, yellow-skinned man who, after receiving sufficient nutrition,

still retained faint traces even after some time.

“Oh, sorry—I didn’t think of that.”

Reminded, Zhang Jie from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber apologized repeatedly.

Because the power shared in the shared space, without subjective guidance, didn’t alter the Zhang Jies’ physical condition,

Zhang Jie from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, originally a beggar, returned to his world still yellow-skinned and emaciated.

Even after spending this time guiding his internal energy to improve his body,

the lingering effects of over a decade of erratic meals as a beggar had not fully vanished.

The result was visible in his face: his skin remained unnaturally sallow, his muscles still underdeveloped.

The aftereffects of a life of begging, where even one full meal was a luxury, had not yet fully faded.

This manifested on his face as Zhang Jie of the Heavenly Dragon still had slightly unnatural waxy-yellow skin and insufficiently plump muscles.

And as everyone knows, the Xiaoyao Sect chooses disciples based on appearance!

In the original novel, even when Wuyazi was utterly desperate, he still despised Xu Zhu’s ugliness.

Zhang Jie from Tianlong had always thought the Xiaoyao Sect’s standards for looks were too high.

After all, even in his later reincarnation as the Power King, Xu Zhu’s face was hardly ugly.

Even though Zhang Jie from Tianlong, confident after sharing, knew his own talent far surpassed that of the young monk Xu Zhu, he still decided to play it safe.

After all, inheriting Wuyazi’s inner strength was an unparalleled opportunity across all three worlds,

and absolutely could not be risked!

“Fine, I forgive you.”

Zhang Jie from Tianlong waved his hand grandly, showing magnanimity and refusing to hold a grudge against Zhang Jie from Yitian.

“Brother!”

Zhang Jie from Yitian put on a dramatic act, tears welling in his eyes.

“Huh? We’re all Zhang Jie—who are you performing for?”

Zhang Jie from Tianlong recoiled in disgust, putting distance between himself and Zhang Jie from Yitian.

At that moment, Zhang Jie from Water Margin, who had been studying the Nine Yang Divine Art, snapped back to awareness.

He frowned. “Enough, stop fooling around.”

“Understood, understood.”

Intimidated by the scholarly aura unintentionally radiating from Zhang Jie from Water Margin, Zhang Jie from Yitian and Zhang Jie from Tianlong readily backed down.

Could he really be quarreling with himself?

The Zhang Jies had merely traveled across the multiverse—they weren’t mentally fractured.