Extra 5: Are We Going to Hug the Edamame

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Being the World Lord was a painful thing.

When Ye Shu rose from a hopeless darkness, only an instant had passed since the System’s demise—so brief that even the tick of time itself had not had a chance to move.

Yet the Profound Heaven Continent had already experienced ten thousand ages.

That was the sorrow of being the World Lord.

From the moment Ye Shu attained immortality, time had already lost all meaning to him.

Ye Shu slowly raised his hand. Suspended above his right palm was a sphere shimmering with flowing light. Within it lay drifting clouds, grasslands, streams, a little wooden house hung with wind chimes, and Lin Qingxue’s innocent, adorable smile.

Even if eternity were to flow across Ye Shu’s body,

he still loved this world deeply. He loved this foolish yet tsundere beauty, and all the people he held dear.

From the moment Ye Shu destroyed the System and learned the truth of the world from it, he knew that peaceful days would not last long. The future awaiting him would only grow more dangerous and terrifying.

He did not know whether he would survive.

So he made a decision—to accelerate time within the Profound Heaven Continent.

As the World Lord, he possessed such power.

Within the parallel line,

only the passage of time in the parallel line itself was real. The time flowing through the various universes could be twisted and manipulated at will, including any matter within them. None of the changes occurring inside would have any effect on the parallel line.

This was an attack from a higher dimension against a lower one.

Within the parallel line, a world was simply a world. The passage and development of time within it were meaningless to the parallel line. Energy could not be created from nothing. The flow of time inside a world was essentially like air circulating within a balloon: whether the air moved quickly or slowly had no effect whatsoever on the world outside, because the total amount of air never changed. The balloon would never grow larger or smaller.

Therefore, within the parallel line, it was impossible to become stronger by entering a world and altering the flow of time.

Its only purpose was to allow the World Lord to experience, in the span of a brief instant, everything that others could never experience in an entire lifetime. Then, amid that enormous disconnect, he would be drawn toward the genuine parallel line and step into that true unknown.

Nothing remained unchanged forever.

Eternity was a terrifying thing, because everything would change beneath the measure of time. It made people indifferent and numb, until they began to regard everything they had once cherished as nothing more than scenery by the roadside.

A beautiful flower was breathtaking the first time one saw it.

The second time, it was merely nice.

By the third, it was just a flower.

That was why Ye Shu had not stretched the flow of time too far. He had only taken a brief taste of it—enough to experience a complete lifetime without leaving any regrets, but not so much that he would completely lose his passion for life.

He glanced at the world in his hand.

Lin Qingxue was sitting atop a huge boulder, gazing up at the starry sky. She seemed to be searching for which star was him. Apparently, in her eyes, Ye Shu’s ascension meant that he had become a twinkling star.

Ye Shu watched her for a while and could not help smiling.

In the parallel line, every second was precious beyond measure, yet he still could not stop himself from looking toward that silly girl, pausing for every one of her gestures and expressions.

Of everyone, Lin Qingxue was still the one he loved most.

This was everything he had sworn to protect.

Ye Shu withdrew his gaze and lowered the sphere in his hand.

He raised his left hand again. Resting in his palm were six dim, lusterless beads. Within them, the worlds were shrouded in hazy gray mist, already empty and desolate. At the center of the mist, one could faintly make out several little girls curled into balls, their eyes tightly shut as they silently drifted at the heart of their worlds.

These were the worlds that had been plundered by the System.

Their luck had been completely harvested, but the worlds themselves had not yet vanished. So Xiaobai’s sisters were actually still alive—they had merely fallen into a deeper slumber than even she had.

But Ye Shu did not return their luck just yet.

The parallel line was not safe.

The System was not merely a single system, but a vast race. For the time being, he still needed this power to protect himself. Only after confirming that he was safe could he allow Xiaobai and her sisters to reunite.

“Ohhh, so that’s how it is.”

“I was wondering why you suddenly became so sentimental. So this is the reason.”

“Are these my sisters?”

Suddenly, a little head poked out from behind his shoulder. Curious, Xiaobai leaned toward the six miniature worlds and examined them closely with her large eyes, making a sound of realization.

Ye Shu: “???”

He abruptly turned his head, only to collide face-first with Xiaobai, who had somehow appeared on his shoulder.

Their eyes met, and the air instantly became awkward.

“Wait, where did you come from, you little menace?” Ye Shu stared at Xiaobai in shock, completely dumbfounded.

This had to be a joke!!!

“Hey, hey, hey, how rude.”

Seeing his stunned expression, Xiaobai curled her lips disdainfully.

“I’m the Heavenly Dao, you know. The Heavenly Dao! Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to appear here? I can go wherever I want! Besides, in terms of seniority, aren’t you the newcomer here?”

Xiaobai blinked her big eyes and looked at him proudly.

“Do you know this place better than I do?”

“Uh… no.”

Ye Shu hesitated before shaking his head.

“Then don’t you still have to rely on me?” Xiaobai folded her arms over her chest and raised her chin, looking extremely smug. “Hmph, without my intelligence, could you have defeated the System by yourself? Without me, could you have won back the hearts of all those female protagonists?”

“This Heavenly Dao is your greatest cheat, all right?”

“Information is the foundation of intelligence!”

Xiaobai spoke with absolute conviction, acting as though the world could not function without her. Ye Shu could only stare at her speechlessly.

In fact, if he had not been drained of fifteen years of cultivation at the very beginning,

he would have cleared everything in one swift run.

There would have been no need for the System’s female protagonists at all.

Still, he sighed, then affectionately rubbed Xiaobai’s little head and smiled.

“All right, Your Excellency Heavenly Dao. Then please show me the way.”

“Uh…”

At once, Xiaobai awkwardly scratched her head.

“Actually… actually, I don’t know where this is either.”

“……………”

Ye Shu, who had been filled with lofty ambition, was instantly rendered speechless.

Fine. He really could not place his hopes in this unreliable creature after all.

“Then let’s charge upward.”

After a moment of thought, Ye Shu decided to leave this place first.

“No problem!”

Standing on his shoulder, Xiaobai excitedly pointed in some random direction. Then she faced the thickest darkness above them—apart from the World Tree—and shouted loudly:

“Go, Ye Shu! Go, Ye Shu!”