MTLNOVEL Chapter 193: The Theory of Relativity
Chapter 193: The Theory of Relativity
The fog was getting thicker.
Xu Lian could barely make out the faces of Shui Yingyue, Ye Beining, and Xiang Chengxing beside him. He could only see their vague outlines.
“The boats are coming soon. Prepare for battle,” Shui Yingyue warned.
Xu Lian tried to summon the Sword of Destruction, but found that he couldn’t open his spatial bag. He then took out a pill from his pocket and examined it, only to find that it had lost its spiritual essence, turning into a lifeless lump.
“It seems that we’re already within the borders of the Hundred Boats Secret Realm. All the weapons, pills, and other things we’ve brought with us are being suppressed. Even the older experts can’t enter this place,” he thought.
His main concern was that other teams might use the treasures to attack him during the battle. Now that he was sure that no one could use such items, he felt more at ease.
Silently, boats began to appear on the River of the Netherworld, sailing through the thick fog.
“Let’s go!” Ye Beining shouted.
The four of them activated the Four Symbols Battle Tactics and clashed with several nearby teams, all vying for the closest boat.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
The Azure Dragon took the lead and engaged in head-to-head combat.
Vermilion Bird and White Tiger flanked from the sides, launching surprise attacks.
Black Tortoise stabilized their formation.
The geniuses from the surrounding teams were all strong, no weaker than the four of them individually. However, without a coordinated fighting technique, they couldn’t fight as a cohesive unit. They were like scattered sand, unable to withstand the Four Symbols Battle Tactics.
The four of them moved like a war machine, quickly crushing the surrounding teams.
“Board the boat!” Ye Beining ordered like a captain. The area around them had been cleared, making it the perfect time to get on the boat.
The four leaped onto a small boat, continuously maintaining the Four Symbols Battle Tactics to prevent sneak attacks from the geniuses on the shore.
The formidable teamwork of the four made the other teams cautious. No one dared to challenge them for the boat.
The four were thrilled. Things had gone even smoother than they had expected!
Of course, this was largely due to the power of the Four Symbols Battle Tactics.
Without it, they wouldn’t have been able to defeat the surrounding teams so easily.
Ye Beining turned to Shui Yingyue and said, “Sister Shui, your Shui Family’s Four Symbols Battle Tactics are truly impressive. The two billion Spirit Stones were well spent.”
He mentioned two billion spirit stones so casually… Xu Lian couldn’t help but feel jealous.
Xiang Chengxing sighed, “The Shui Family is renowned for its group combat techniques. The Four Symbols Battle Tactics is just the beginning.
Above it, there are the Six Harmonies Combat Technique, the Seven Stars Combat Technique, the Eight Desolations Combat Technique, the Nine Glories Combat Technique, the Ten Saints Combat Technique, and even the legendary Three Hundred and Sixty Zhou Heaven Immortal Slaying Combat Technique. When performed by three hundred and sixty top-tier experts, it can slay immortals above and demons below, unmatched in the world.”
Xu Lian’s eyes widened. He hadn’t realized that the Shui Family of Yunzhou Prefecture was so formidable. With their group combat techniques, even the top forces in the world had to be careful.
Shui Yingyue replied, “Gathering three hundred and sixty top experts is no easy task. The Zhou Heaven Immortal Killing Technique has been dormant for who knows how many years.”
Xu Lian, Ye Beining, and Xiang Chengxing exchanged uncomfortable glances. From her tone, it seemed that while the Water Family might struggle to gather enough experts for the Zhou Heaven Immortal Slaying Combat Technique, they could still muster enough for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars Combat Technique and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Combat Technique.
“What is this?” Xu Lian noticed that the boat beneath their feet was made of paper, which was quite eerie.
He tried to bend the edge of the boat with his hand, but he found it incredibly hard, impossible to break.
It was a shame that he couldn’t use the Sword of Destruction. Otherwise, he would have liked to cut off a piece of the boat to study and uncover the secrets of the River of the Netherworld’s paper boats.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
The fights between the other teams gradually died down. The stronger teams secured their boats, while the weaker ones suffered heavy casualties.
“I thought there was no danger?” Xu Lian asked puzzled, as he glanced at Shui Yingyue.
Shui Yingyue explained, “There’s some danger when you compete for the boats, but once you enter the Hundred Boats Secret Realm, you really can’t die.”
Alright… Xu Lian realized that he had been misled again, but the outcome was still good-they had successfully secured a boat.
A hundred paper boats drifted along the River of the Netherworld.
The fog was getting thicker, as if they were sailing into a primordial, chaotic realm.
Suddenly, Xu Lian noticed figures walking along the riverbank.
These couldn’t be the geniuses left on the shore. The boat had traveled a long way, far from the altar, and these figures were moving in orderly formations, unlike the scattered geniuses.
“Who are these people?” Xu Lian reached out to touch Shui Yingyue beside him, but found nothing as if she were far away.
After a moment, Shui Yingyue’s voice echoed from the distance, “Paper people. They’re said to be the ghost soldiers who patrol the River of the Netherworld.”
Xu Lian fell silent, not wanting to attract the attention of these paper people and risk something unpredictable.
One hundred paper boats carried three to four hundred geniuses, silently drifting forward.
Originally, a hundred boats could carry four hundred geniuses, but some teams had lost members and replaced them, so the number was now around three to four hundred.
Time passed – perhaps an hour, perhaps more.
The fog began to thin.
Xu Lian, Ye Beining, Shui Yingyue, and Xiang Chengxing could see each other again. However, the boats and geniuses that had been following them were nowhere to be seen.
After a while, their paper boat stopped.
The three of them jumped out of the boat and onto the shore.
Xu Lian followed suit… and stepped ashore as well.
The paper boat continued to sail, gradually drifting away, its final destination unknown.
“Is this the Hundred Boat Secret Realm?” Xu Lian asked.
Shui Yingyue replied, “It should be.”
What did she mean by “should be”…? Xu Lian was speechless for a moment, but then he realized that it made sense. After all, this was everyone’s first time entering the Hundred Boat Secret Realm, and Shui Yingyue couldn’t possibly know everything.
Ye Beining chimed in, “Why don’t you try to injure yourself and see if the wound heals? That way, we can confirm if this is indeed the Hundred Boats Secret Realm.”
Xu Lian raised his right hand, forming a sword-like gesture with his fingers, and lightly slashed his left palm. Blood immediately gushed out…
Ye Beining burst into laughter, his previously gloomy mood from being overshadowed by Xu Lian now completely lifted. “You actually believed it!”
Xu Lian’s expression darkened. “So this isn’t the Hundred Boat Secret Realm? Or can people still die here?”
Shui Yingyue quickly explained, “This is supposed to be the Hundred Boats Secret Realm. You can still get injured here, but you definitely cannot die. I can guarantee that. I wasn’t lying to you. If someone dies here, they’ll disappear immediately and be resurrected outside.”
Xu Lian felt reassured.
The four of them moved away from the River of the Netherworld and began walking aimlessly.
Hadn’t anyone who came to the Hundred Boat Secret Realm a thousand years ago drawn a map?
Xu Lian had already asked Shui Yingyue this question. The Hundred Boats Secret Realm was vast and boundless, and those who entered it appeared in different locations randomly. Maps drawn by predecessors weren’t very useful.
“Look over there. There seems to be a village,” Xiang Chengxing pointed out.
The other three followed his gaze and could vaguely make out the shape of a village in the distance.
Perhaps it was too far away, or perhaps the lingering fog obscured their vision, but they couldn’t see it clearly.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The four of them sprinted toward the direction of the village.
An hour passed.
Two hours.
Three hours…
With their Grandmaster-level cultivation, they should have been able to cover tens of thousands of miles in that time. However, they had only narrowed the distance slightly. The village was clearly visible now, but they still hadn’t reached it.
“Is this a ghost wall?” Xu Lian wondered, remembering a similar experience during the chaos in Pingyan County.
Shui Yingyue shook her head. “This is not a ghost wall. We’re not staying in the same place; we’re getting closer to the village, just very slowly.”
Xu Lian asked, “Why is that?”
Shui Yingyue explained, “According to the notes left by the predecessors of our Shui Family who came to the Hundred Boat Secret Realm a thousand years ago, there are two theories. The first is the Divine Kingdom Theory. This is the Divine Kingdom. Every blade of grass, every tree, every person, and every object here is incomparable to the outside world. The village may look close, but in reality it’s incredibly far away. That’s why it’s taking us so long to reach it.”
“The second theory is that we’re oppressed by the laws of the Divine Kingdom, which makes us weaker. In the outside world we’re Great Grandmasters, but here in the Divine Kingdom we’re no different from ordinary people. Our sprinting speed, which seems fast to us, is actually just the speed of an ordinary person running in the Divine Kingdom.”
The Theory of Relativity… Xu Lian couldn’t help but think of a certain wild-haired, tongue-tied old man – Einstein.
Wasn’t this the theory of relativity?
In the Divine Kingdom, everything was stronger than in the outside world, so the four of them had become weaker by comparison!
It had to be said that geniuses from the major factions had their advantages. They could easily access the notes and records left by their predecessors. If Xu Lian had come here alone, it would have taken him a long time to figure out this principle. Now, thanks to Shui Yingyue, he understood it immediately.
Shui Yingyue was crossing the river by stepping on the stones laid by her predecessors, and Xu Lian was crossing the river by stepping on Shui Yingyue… When he thought about it, it sounded a bit strange.
Full of energy, Ye Beining urged them to hurry. “Let’s go. We have to make the most of our time. The Hundred Boats Secret Realm is only open for one year.”
A year wasn’t enough? Xu Lian activated the movement technique of the Sacred Spirit Record and easily kept up.
One hour passed.
Two hours.
Three hours…
They were getting closer and closer to the village, finally arriving at its entrance.
They saw a group of children playing. Each child was radiant, even their hair was radiant. Truly, they were people from the legendary Divine Kingdom-utterly miraculous.