129: Chapter 129 The Chosen One?

The Progenitor walked slowly toward the crowd and reached out to grab Night Owl, who was at the very front.

Just as its fingers were about to touch Night Owl's neck, its body suddenly froze.

The Progenitor looked down at its feet, which were turning transparent and slowly fading away.

Then, the effect spread upward—to its ankles, calves, knees, and thighs.

"Is there no time left so soon?"

"So, I truly cannot defeat time after all? Unless... I truly master time and become the Sovereign..."

The Progenitor sighed, and the Superpower symbols around it dimmed one by one.

All the symbols went dark, but one began to glow.

It grew brighter and brighter, as if the energy of all the other symbols had concentrated within it.

Everything around them froze, as if someone had pressed a pause button.

Time stopped.

But time did not stop for two people: The Progenitor and Wang Lin.

Wang Lin watched all of this, his pupils contracting sharply.

He looked at the people around him; they were like statues under a binding spell, trapped in a cage of time, motionless.

The Progenitor looked at him and smiled slightly. "The Destined One, I have finally waited for you."

Wang Lin finally reacted. "The Destined One? I'm the Destined One? Did you mistake me for someone else? I am not any Destined One."

The Progenitor did not answer Wang Lin's question, for it had no time left.

"We are known by humans as The Progenitor. Before the fog descended, we were the masters of this world."

"The fog is destruction, but it is also rebirth. It brought disaster, and it brought the seeds of evolution."

"The Progenitor is divided into two types. One is the 'Bestower,' who can grant power to others, allowing ordinary people to awaken Superpowers."

"The other is the 'Devourer,' who can devour the power of others and make it their own."

"I am a Bestower. And you, you are a Devourer."

"The two of us could be said to be the last of The Progenitor in this world."

Wang Lin was stunned. How could he have become a Devourer?

The reason he could devour was because of his Superpower, Sequence: 0, [Infinite Evolution].

What did that have to do with being a Devourer?

So, Wang Lin spoke up. "Uhh... Big Brother... is there a possibility... that I am not the Devourer you speak of?"

The Progenitor ignored Wang Lin's words, or rather, it had no time left.

"During the time I was sealed, I was constantly comprehending the power of time."

"But the time Superpower is too difficult to control. Even now, I am only a manager of time,"

"I cannot become a controller of time, let alone a master of time."

It sighed.

"The High Priest said that only when a Bestower and a Devourer exist within one person can the world be changed, and my race be saved."

It looked at Wang Lin, as if looking at an old friend it hadn't seen in years. "During the time I was sealed, I sealed my power within this Superpower gemstone."

"Now, I bestow the power of the Bestower upon you."

The Progenitor reached out, pressed its hand against its own chest, and dug the gemstone out from within.

The gemstone pulsed in its palm like a heart. "Go, High Priest, return to the past. Save my race."

The Progenitor pressed the gemstone onto Wang Lin's chest.

Wang Lin's body jolted violently; the gemstone was like a piece of red-hot iron, searing his chest with pain.

His clothes were scorched, and his skin was burned, but the wounds healed immediately.

The gemstone sank into his chest and disappeared into his body.

Wang Lin felt a surge of power pouring out from his chest.

This power was not like the inward-spinning vortex of devouring, but rather like a river flowing outward.

"Is this... the power of Bestowal? ..."

The two forces of devouring and bestowing flowed slowly within Wang Lin's body, then gradually merged.

Eventually, they formed a pattern similar to a Taiji symbol, flowing through his body—each containing the other, inseparable.

Wang Lin's originally zombie-like body also began to revert to his original appearance.

The Progenitor's body began to weather rapidly, its skin turning transparent, like a mist fading away.

"Goodbye... High Priest..."

The only remaining glowing 'time' rune also dimmed.

Time resumed.

The people who had been frozen began to move again; their heartbeats and breathing returned.

The first thing they saw was Wang Lin and The Progenitor standing face-to-face, and then The Progenitor began to slowly disappear.

Finally, it turned into specks of light and vanished into the air...

Night Owl was the first to react. "Wh-what happened...?"

Wang Lin finally realized that time had resumed.

His gaze swept over those who were still bewildered, confused, and waiting for an answer.

Wang Lin definitely couldn't tell the truth, or else he would be captured by various organizations, sliced up, and studied.

He could already imagine the scene that would follow: you take a leg, I take an arm.

There might even be a perverted researcher saying, "Doesn't this have three legs? Our organization will take a loss; we'll just take the shortest leg."

Another researcher in a white lab coat would say, "Why should this leg go to you?"

"This leg can be used for breeding. If used well, we might be able to have countless test subjects."

Thinking of this, Wang Lin couldn't help but shiver.

Rather than that, it would be better to make up an excuse—a simple one that would leave no room for further questioning.

Wang Lin took a deep breath and looked toward the direction where The Progenitor had vanished. "I didn't expect you to be the first person to force me to use my full strength. You can be proud of that."

After saying this, Wang Lin bent over, coughed, forced a mouthful of blood from his throat, and spat it onto the ground.

"To be able to force me, Wang Lin, to this point, you can die without regrets. Rest in peace."

Upon hearing this, everyone's brains began to spin rapidly, automatically filling in the blank space that had been frozen by time.

The scene they imagined was: Wang Lin and The Progenitor fought for three hundred rounds, and finally, Wang Lin used his full strength to defeat The Progenitor.

Night Owl's voice carried unconcealed shock. "So... Wang Lin and The Progenitor were fighting just now?"

"What we saw was just a split second, but they might have already fought hundreds of rounds...?"

"Wang Lin... who exactly are you..."

Lu Zhiyi stared fixedly at Wang Lin. "Could it be... that he has been hiding his strength all along..."

"Is this his true strength? No wonder every time I fought him, he was always able to beat me by one move at the final moment..."

More people began to whisper:

"Impossible... he's just a lunatic who likes to do cosplay... how could he possibly defeat The Progenitor."

"Have you forgotten? He also defeated that LV8 monster under impossible circumstances just a moment ago?"

"I originally thought dealing with that monster was his full strength. I didn't expect his strength to go beyond that. It's too amazing."