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“Time Scribe?” Zu An repeated, stunned. He had never heard of such a thing before. “What is that?”
“Time Scribes are just like cultivators; it's a special kind of profession. Or perhaps they're a certain being’s disciples,” Mi Li explained.
“What kind of being?” Zu An asked.
Mi Li shook her head. “I can't talk about them. With your current cultivation, it's better if you don’t hear their name.”
Zu An rolled his eyes. He was already used to this. Mi Li always talked in riddles. But he knew that there were some especially powerful beings whose names he couldn't speak randomly. If they sensed it and glanced at him, just that look alone could kill him.
At first, he had still been a bit skeptical of that since he was already quite strong himself, but the Dance Offering to the Universe had called down someone on that level of power, and he'd later met the Necropolis Emperor, proving the truth of the warning.
Mi Li seemed to have almost sensed his dissatisfaction. After some hesitation, she explained, “For example, that Annihilation Beast that brought destruction to this Monster World is actually the disciple of another powerful being. Those two beings are similar in strength.”
Zu An had a serious expression. The Monster World was already so powerful that just some random monsters sent to the Cultivation World had almost destroyed it, and yet their world was slowly defeated by this Annihilation Beast over the course of thousands of years. This world’s civilization was almost completely destroyed, and the only thing left now was this underground city.
And yet, something as terrifying as the Annihilation Beast was only the subordinate and disciple of another being? Just how frightening was its master, then? The being that the Time Scribe followed was around the same strength as well. Did this world have that many ridiculously powerful experts?
Zu An said with a sigh, “I suddenly feel as if living as the local tyrant of the Cultivation World isn’t so bad. Why bother interacting with people this scary?”
“There’s no hiding from them.” Mi Li gave Zu An a complicated look. “The one this Annihilation Beast follows is your enemy. He will find you one day.”
Zu An was stunned. He'd said what he said without much thought, never expecting Mi Li to suddenly deliver such shocking news. He was practically becoming numb as he asked, “What kind of an insignificant person am I? Why would I be the enemy of someone like that?”
That being’s subordinate, the Annihilation Beast… No, even this world that the Annihilation Beast was destroying had countless beings that were more powerful than Zu An already. He couldn't help but feel as if an elephant was treating an ant as an equal. The idea was that absurd.
“You don’t need to worry too much. It's because you are too weak right now that the other side won’t pay attention to you for quite some time.” Mi Li grinned when she saw how Zu An looked as if everything he knew had been toppled.
“Your words of comfort only make me feel worse.” Zu An felt really frustrated.
“Weren’t you the one who continued to ask about this stuff, only to get annoyed when I didn’t tell you about a lot of things? And yet this is your reaction when I do tell you these things.” Mi Li rolled her eyes and sneered.
Zu An was speechless. He quickly said with an apologetic smile, “I was the one didn’t understand master empress’ efforts. I was wrong.”
The palace emissaries glanced at him from the corners of their eyes. Why was that guy showing such a weird expression to empty air? Still, they didn’t blame him for being a bit unstable. He'd almost had his entire race wiped out by the Monster Lord after being accused of killing Manager Pi. He'd no doubt lost his mind a bit out of fear.
Zu An knew they couldn't see Mi Li and didn’t bother explaining anything. He continued to ask Mi Li, “Big sis empress, that being is too far away from me. For now, let’s talk about this Time Scribe that’s a bit closer.”
Mi Li felt a bit of admiration. Zu An was still able to readjust his mindset after hearing such terrifying news and wasn’t too affected. These years of trials and tribulations had created a truly strong will within him.
“This so-called Time Scribe is none other than someone who records things in the history book of time,” Mi Li replied.
“The history book of time?” That term sounded a bit familiar to Zu An. He had seen it before on the internet.
“The history book of time isn’t actually a book. Some say that it has the outer appearance of a book, but it exists everywhere across the various heavens and realms,” Mi Li explained.
Zu An was a bit confused. How could a book like that be everywhere across the cosmos? Didn’t that mean there was such a thing around himself as well? He looked left and right. There was no book at all. He hadn't even been able to sense any book in the Cultivation World, where he managed that world’s authority.
“As the name implies, this books records all manner of history across the different heavens and realms. Once something is written, apart from a select few, everyone inevitably sees it as real history,” Mi Li replied.
Zu An was surprised. “Doesn’t that make it a kind of great prophecy skill?”
Mi Li had a look of contempt as she said, “How could that compare to a great prophecy skill? In the end, the history book of time only records some fake historical events. If someone saw through it, their records would be proven false. Then, what they wrote would forever disappear across the universe. Everyone would recover their original memories, just like what you’ve done this time.”
Zu An began to think to himself. “Judging from what you’re saying, this history book of time seems to only record incorrect history…”
“That’s right. The history book of time is something that is only used when one alters real history for the sake of an objective. That way, everyone across the universe can be convinced to think that the fake event really did happen,” Mi Li replied.
“These Time Scribes really are despicable. Then doesn’t that mean they would easily become public enemies of the entire world, and the target of eradication?” When he remembered what he had just gone through, Zu An was pissed off. If it wasn’t because he just happened to have that mystical tooth that could break through all kinds of skills, he would’ve ended up dying without even knowing how it happened.
“The various realms do indeed loathe Time Scribes, but the one behind those guys is too powerful. Furthermore, the movements of the Time Scribes have always been mysterious, and it’s difficult to guard against them. There aren’t many who can sense their existence, and there are very few who even know about them and how treacherous they can be. Unless absolutely necessary, people aren’t willing to offend them. Otherwise, who knows how they could twist history? No one wants to be enemies of these people.” Mi Li frowned slightly. She was getting a bit of a headache when she thought about these Time Scribes too. She thought for a bit before adding, “Furthermore, these Time Scribes might not necessarily harbor bad motives. That's why the big shots tacitly permit their existence.”
“Altering history isn’t bad enough?” Zu An really couldn't understand what that meant.
Mi Li thought for a bit before giving an example. “There is some scientific knowledge in your memories, so how about this? Imagine that there is a special system that has countless inputs but only one output. If every single condition that is entered is predetermined, then isn’t the output also fixed?”
Zu An nodded. That was true.
“What those Time Scribes are doing is the same as changing some input conditions to see if they can change that singular output,” Mi Li saidcarefully.
Zu An was a bit moved. “Then doesn’t that mean they would have to know what kind of conclusion the output leads to? How could they know if it's good or bad?”
Mi Li shook her head. “That, I don’t know too well. You can look into it yourself later.”
Zu An gave her a long look. “Master empress, I feel as if you're only growing more and more mysterious. Didn’t you say that only a few beings across the universe know about the Time Scribes? And yet you’re actually so familiar with these things.”
“Don’t try to fish more stuff out of me.” Mi Li rolled her eyes. “I already told you that I'm recovering some memories, but there are more memories that I haven’t recovered. I’ve already told you pretty much everything I can. As for the rest, I can't tell you, so it’s useless even if you ask.”
Zu An smiled. “I only know that master empress won’t harm me, and that’s enough. It’s indeed useless to think too much of it right now.”
Mi Li’s expression grew serious. “Don’t trust anyone without holding back at all, and I'm no exception. Otherwise, you’ll die without even knowing how it happened.”
But Zu An had a smile on his face as he replied, “If I couldn’t even trust the closest person at my side, then wouldn’t I become completely alone? That’s just too pitiful. Besides, a single person’s strength will forever be limited. People are still stronger in numbers.”
Mi Li became absentminded when she heard these words that sounded far too familiar. But she quickly said with a sneer, “Do you know how many techniques there are in the world that can allow one to impersonate others? For example, that Myriad Transformations skill you have, and the Time Scribe’s skill that can alter one’s memories.”
“It is indeed a bit risky, but I still want to choose to trust the people around me. It’s just that I need to make sure to keep my eyes open.” Zu An used the chance to add, “For example, you can tell me what kind of limitations those Time Scribes have in changing history. That way, it’ll be easier for me to foil their plans.”
When she heard what he said, Mi Li couldn't help but have a pensive expression. People were stronger in numbers...
In the past, he couldn't do much alone, so it's no wonder that now…
“Of course there are limitations,” Mi Li explained. “For example, it's difficult for a Time Scribe to change a piece of history out of nowhere. Instead, they have to make some rational modifications based on something that really did happen. Otherwise, if someone found out that things didn’t line up, the recorded history would disappear.”