Chapter 610 - 604: Surpassing the Peak of a Previous Life

In a fleeting moment of thought, Ma Ran canceled the Time Stop Domain Field that enveloped the entire Earth.

The journalists, security personnel, and live-stream audience at the venue continued with their previous activities as if nothing had happened, completely unaware of what had transpired.

However, Su Qiangwei immediately looked at Ma Ran, activating the Unity ability, "Just now... you must have felt it, right?"

"The time across the entire Earth was frozen!"

"The other planets in the Solar System were unaffected..."

"Luckily, the pause was short; otherwise... I feel like our ecosystem would have totally collapsed!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Ran nodded slightly, "For now, we don’t need to worry about the other planets, but the changes in the relative positions of the Moon and Earth could trigger tides, tsunamis, and earthquakes. We need to be prepared, and the members of the Guardian Organization can handle these changes."

Not far away, God Gray, Haotian Zhang Qianren, Observer Agostino, Father of Chinese Mecha Li Tang, Emotional Tribulation Jin Yina, and Mediator Giles, including seven Red Lotus Agents, all had pale faces, drenched in cold sweat, looking as if they had narrowly escaped disaster.

All these people felt the mysterious global time anomaly just now.

The difference was...

Some, like Su Qiangwei, could glimpse the orbits of other planets, while others could only sense changes on Earth.

"I’ve already covered the entire Solar System under the Red Lotus Territory."

Ye Fengqing, at some point, had finished the apple in his hand and said this as he casually tossed the core aside.

Bang!

A blazing red flame lotus blossomed on the apple core.

At the same time, the apple core was instantly annihilated in the air, turning into nothingness.

"When facing enemies from the Divine Court, just say these six words: ’Request time pause.’

With that said, Ye Fengqing took a step and vanished without a trace.

Whew...

Everyone present exhaled in unison.

Su Qiangwei fixed her gaze on Ma Ran, with a slight frown, rubbing her smooth, slightly chubby chin, "Are you really okay?"

"Although you’re still the same person, but..."

"You seem a little different from before."

After pondering for a while, the girl finally found a relatively suitable word.

She clenched one fist and struck it against her other hand, "Yes! Compared to before, you’re noticeably more cheerful and sunny!"

Before, Ma Ran always appeared calm and composed, steady and self-assured, always offering guidance to other Academic Society members when they needed help, elegant and well-liked. But as someone who knew him best, Su Qiangwei could vaguely sense a shadow deep within Ma Ran’s heart, as if he was always chasing time, afraid that falling behind would lead to irreversible consequences.

Now Ma Ran...

Actually, he looked just the same as before, both in appearance and temperament.

When Su Qiangwei said this, others just thought she was overthinking.

However, Ma Ran gave her a meaningful look up and down.

This battle-tested friend of his indeed had a strong Sixth Sense!

After acquiring the Ye Fengqing’s Time Stop Domain Field medal, Ma Ran’s overall combat power had surpassed the peak of his previous life, and the pressure and shadows had been significantly dispelled, making his emotions naturally different from before.

Even so, Ma Ran controlled it well, and theoretically, there shouldn’t have been any noticeable changes.

The only explanation would be Su Qiangwei’s Sixth Sense.

But...

It’s her, after all, so it would be easy to talk his way out of it.

After a moment of contemplation, Ma Ran looked at the girl and said leisurely, "Being in the Lord of the Red Lotus’s Time Stop Domain Field, I also had some insights."

"I figured out some issues that were previously unclear, and during this chance, I advanced ’Burning Martial’ to the Twenty-Fourth Rank."

Upon hearing this, Su Qiangwei stared at him blankly for a while, her little face collapsing in utter frustration.

"’Burning Martial’ Twenty-Fourth Rank..."

"I knew it!"

"I shouldn’t have cared about you from the start!"

That Ma Ran...

He’s still the ultimate annoying guy!

With that, the girl’s body was engulfed in flames, like a blazing red lotus, her body shrinking in size.

In the blink of an eye, Su Qiangwei transformed into a Q-version tiny figure, the size of a teacup.

She wielded a long halberd no bigger than a toothpick, bouncing in place like a dried fish, sneakily poking the halberd towards Ma Ran’s ankle before turning and darting out of the hall.

"..."

Ma Ran’s mouth twitched slightly as he shook his head and gathered his thoughts.

The force of the Youwen Text Illusion, combined with the Sword Master badge’s Reverse Creation Secret Realm...

It can be said, where Ma Ran is, there is the stage.

Not to mention these top Extraordinary Ones with the highest essence of Earth civilization in the VIP seats; even the Middle Rank God, Ji, within the [Fake Earth] Secret Realm couldn’t detect a single flaw.

It can be said that, apart from a small number of top Extraordinary Ones like [God] Gray, [Haotian] Zhang Qianren, and [Martial God] Su Qiangwei, others were not even aware that Earth’s time had been paused!

In the livestream, netizens from various countries were eagerly discussing this grand event.

"Oh crap! [Martial God] is actually so cute!"

"So, does this mean Su Qiangwei’s true form is really that small? Is she really human?"

"The one who keeps appearing in front of us is obviously a clone! A clone! Didn’t you see that iconic burning red lotus? It’s definitely a life-preserving technique taught to the ’Spear-Bearer’ by His Majesty Ye Fengqing!"

"Whatever, so cute! AWSL!"

"@Ah Wei, please come out and die."

"Thanks for the invite, I’ve already died once."

"Such an adorable deity in 3D? Whatever, from today onwards, I am Su Hanhan... ahem... I am [Martial God] Master’s hardcore fan!"

"Hey, can you be a bit serious? Surely, I’m not the only one who noticed the weird expressions of the big shots in the VIP seats, right?"

"It’s arguably the pinnacle of human facial expressions, who wouldn’t notice? They all looked as if they’d just witnessed the global populace drop dead, panicking for no reason, especially with His Majesty [Lord of the Red Lotus] present – what are they panicking for?"

"Exactly because Ye Fengqing is there, they’re panicking... Just now, Earth’s time was extracted from the cosmos, and [Prophet] took the opportunity to deduce [Burning Martial] to the twenty-fourth rank. We, who are too weak, couldn’t feel anything, get it?"

"That’s not right! When Ye Fengqing demonstrated the ability earlier, surely the individuals involved couldn’t move, but they could still think, right?"

"I see you don’t understand what it means to hide one’s strength or to play dumb like a wise guy, huh?"

"Does this count as hidden strength, damn it? I’ve learned something new!"

After briefly paying attention to the netizens’ comments, Ma Ran handed this task to the super data lifeform, [Hong], found Wan Haihao and Zhu Hanyi, and instructed them, "The Seven Vortex Swordsmanship Adventure event has concluded successfully."

"The follow-up tasks are left to you two."

The two Sword Master Disciples nodded in agreement one after the other.

Although the guests were of complex backgrounds and held high status, such occasions were not new to either Wan Haihao or Zhu Hanyi, as they’ve experienced many before and are confident in successfully completing the tasks Ma Ran assigned.

After the handover, Ma Ran gave a few more instructions before leaving the venue.

...

In the [Fake Earth] Secret Realm.

"Impossible!"

After exhausting all efforts to defeat the Blazing Red Divine Dragon, Ji attempted to escape while simultaneously splitting off a strand of Divine Thought to gather intelligence through the Profound Light Mirror.

In the Profound Light Mirror, Ji saw the performance of [Lord of the Red Lotus] Ye Fengqing.

Casually manipulating time, commanding the river of time...

This has already surpassed the limits defined by a Middle Rank God!

Yet the facts were undeniable to Ji.

Ji could only conclude that some conspiracy agreement had been reached between Earth, Cangming Star, and the True Demons.

Ji’s expression was so gloomy it could practically drip water, with a gaze sharp and full of remorse.

If Ji hadn’t chosen to come to Earth for revenge, this situation wouldn’t have been encountered, nor would the massive conspiracy be uncovered.

The shadow of death, like a maggot clinging to the bone, enveloped Ji.

"There’s no escape."

After repeated tests, Ji confirmed that with Ji’s ability, escape was impossible and being trapped here alive was inevitable.

Ji believed that once Ye Fengqing, Ma Ran, Lin Qiubai, Zhao Guanlan, and other "masterminds" had free time, they would never allow Ji to continue living.

But Ji was unwilling to die just like that!

Ji was still young, not even ten thousand years old, and hadn’t lived enough yet.

As long as there was the slightest opportunity, Ji would strive to seize it with all Ji’s might!

Ji used Divine Power to push brain cells to overload, thinking with maximum effort, yet couldn’t find any possibility of escaping alive.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a figure appeared before Ji.

Ji reacted swiftly.

Perhaps due to the profound lesson left by [Profound Immortal] Zhao Guanlan previously, Ji immediately distanced Ji over a hundred kilometers from the opponent.

Despite the great distance, under Divine Power Reflection, Ji could still distinctly identify the opponent’s appearance, body, and soul characteristics.

The youth seemed surprisingly handsome, possessing an ethereal aura, with flowing silver hair...

Wearing a black coat with silver trim and a stand-up collar, Hexagram Cloud Battle Boots, and a straight-blade Tang Blade at the waist...

The figure abruptly appearing before Ji was none other than Ma Ran, who acquired the [Time Stop] authority!