Chronospatial Anomaly

[ Existence's Foremost Calamity has activated.
There are multiple Talents to choose from. They will be listed in order from the highest to the lowest grade. ]

[ Spatiotemporal Harmony (Legendary):
• Endowed with the ability to resonate with and influence the spacetime in an area.
• Highly sensitive to changes in spacetime, especially those related to oneself.
• Spacetime Affinity: +9,900%
• Spacetime manipulation difficulty: -99% ]

[ Cultivation Prodigy (Superior):
• Cultivation difficulty: -90%
• Cultivation speed: +900%
• Daily: 1% chance to enter a state of enlightenment. ]

[ (See More) ]

[ Will you choose one of these Talents or a fixed amount of Attribute Points instead? ]

Despite there 'only' being two Talents worthy enough of note for him to consider, it was clear as day that this Naxsir general would have qualified to be a Heaven's Chosen if he had been born at the right time. But unfortunately for him, he had appeared on the stage many ages too early.

Cultivation Prodigy didn't even earn a single glance from Theodore, yet the other option was far more promising. Exactly like he had hoped and suspected throughout their battle, it was related to spacetime–and there could never be enough Talents of this kind in his possession.

When viewed from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, or even existence itself, spacetime was quite curious. Every world consisted of a spacetime of its own, whilst the Lesser True Void and the True Void were entirely devoid of it.

And yet, it could be argued that underlying the entirety of the Heavenly Dao, there was a consistent spacetime which every lesser kind of spacetime was merely layered on top of. Influencing or even shattering it in specific worlds would become increasingly strenuous the more resilient and evolved a world became, but ultimately, it was still possible to do so.

When it came to the Heavenly Dao's overarching spacetime, though–which played host to all of the Heavenly Court's events–aside from the Heavenly Dao itself, nobody but the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress could influence it in the slightest.

All Talents that didn't reach the Heavenly Dao-grade were subject to the same restrictions. Although Theodore's Regression could allow him to return to a certain point in the past, its low grade ultimately revealed its fatal flaws. Here within the Heavenly Succession's event venue, he was able to go back in time without an issue, as these worlds and the Lesser True Void containing them were separated from the overarching spacetime of the Heavenly Dao.

There were no issues making use of his Talent to manipulate a singular world's spacetime, or even that of a special venue like the one that he was currently in. However, all significantly more powerful figures would be able to track his usage of a Talent like Regression.

Peering into the depths and secrets of spacetime would become commonplace in due time–although it would be restricted to certain areas of the Heavenly Dao, at most.

Spacetime was like a layer cake. The vastest foundation represented the Heavenly Dao's spacetime, whereas the layers above it stood for the countless subordinate spacetimes. The higher a Talent's grade, the more deeply it could cut into this cake from above–and the same applied to personal power past a certain point. Nonetheless, the very foundation was inviolable.

Up until now, Theodore had been unable to manipulate spacetime directly in any way, shape or form. Although his Gravity's Proxy allowed him to game the system a little, Spatiotemporal Harmony opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him!

'That said, Huang Xian managing to secretly manipulate the underlying spacetime of the Heavenly Dao itself to smuggle me in and reverse Theodore's fate, even in the destitute state that he had been in... was extremely impressive.'

Whilst he selected Spatiotemporal Harmony without hesitation, he couldn't help but heave a conflicted sigh. Back then, he hadn't truly understood just how extraordinary the actions of the deceased Heavenly Emperor had been–but over time, it had become crystal clear to him.

Without reaching the Heavenly Dao-grade in a Talent of the same nature as the one that he had just obtained, or becoming as powerful as that benefactor of his, there was simply no way for him to even attempt to achieve something like this.

'But enough about that. Let me inspect my gains.'

Shaking his head, he got rid of his distracting thoughts and closed his eyes, listening inwards. His heart and mind settled down, slowly enabling him to notice his expanded senses. Due to his countless illusory lives, he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with how it felt to be able to have a certain intuitive grasp on spacetime, yet this time around, the connection appeared even more intimate and direct.

Whereas previously, he had felt somewhat separated from the world surrounding him, now, it seemed as if both space and time were welcoming his presence, reaching out to him curiously like newborn creatures encountering someone new, yet dear.

He knew that he didn't have to forcefully bend them to his will and make them carry out his commands. If he wanted to achieve something and needed their help, then all that he would have to do is to convey his intentions to them–and they would be all too happy to assist.

For a while, Theodore found himself lost in this sensation, discovering that what he had thought to already thoroughly understand still had more secrets to present to him. As he tested the waters and transmitted his will to the local spacetime, watching it mend the remaining scars of his clashes with Spitamaneh in mere moments, subconsciously, a relaxed smile stole itself on his lips.

Gradually, he became more curious and emboldened, allowing his perception to spread out and envelop greater and greater areas. As his mind swept past Xie Mei, however, he suddenly halted, his brows furrowing in bewilderment.

Everyone else under his command was fine and appeared no different, but she felt... strange. It was hard to put into words. Almost as if time was whispering important knowledge into his ears, yet he was unable to understand the language it was using.

'The only connections to potential spatiotemporal anomalies that Mei'er should have, are that 'Moon' which her Lunar Echo Talent references, as well as her Reincarnation Talent.'

Her link to whichever figure that she had originally been subservient to should have been cut long ago, but it was not unthinkable for some traces to remain–even if only as future possibilities, and not yet realized.

What was far more likely, though, was that the culprit of this peculiarity was her Reincarnation Talent.

'... I've got to say, I can really be an idiot sometimes! Not long ago, at the beginning of the second round, we all died 20 times. And because it triggered my Regression Talent, then her Reincarnation Talent should also have been activated.'

Feeling the corner of his mouth twitch in both amusement and exasperation, he glanced at her in complete silence for a few more moments before mentally stating the inevitable conclusion that he had come to.

'In other words, there are currently another 20 Mei'ers somewhere out there, freshly reborn. What a headache! Or... Wait a minute...'

Narrowing his eyes, an intrigued glimmer couldn't help but flicker in his gaze.

'Theoretically speaking, does that mean that it's possible to mass-produce Mei'ers...?'

In all honesty, such a 'duplication glitch' shouldn't be working, yet his perception told him that something about Xie Mei was profoundly 'off' when comparing her to her peers. If there was such a loophole, then especially during the Heavenly Succession, all hell could break loose!

'It's doubtful that there were many instances before this when both a Regressor and a Reincarnator died so quickly after each other, and also near each other. Therefore, even if some 'Reincarnation Clones' like these did exist prior to this, they would be statistically irrelevant. However, those 20 deaths from earlier should have highlighted the problem. I doubt the Heavenly Dao or Heavenly Empress would allow me to continuously milk this method dry. What happened in the past, that was an accident. But being greedy for more could spell my doom. Therefore...'

Quickly considering all of his options, he was filled with reluctance and a sense of loss as he made what could only be described as a mental 'bug report'. And, lo and behold, moments later, another notification popped up in his field of view.

[ Your report has been received.
...
Phenomenon termed 'Reincarnation Clones' has been archived.
...
A total of 73 Reincarnation Clones have been detected.
...
Behaviour of simultaneous and near-simultaneous activation of Regression-type and Reincarnation-type Talents–as well as any of a similar nature–has been updated. ]

[ You have made a significant contribution to the Heavenly Dao's continued smooth operations. Great merit will be bestowed.

Rewards:
• Your Follower Xie Mei's current Reincarnation Clones will be retained.
• Upgrade one of your Talents to Transcendent-grade for free. ]

[ Purge of Reincarnation Clones that were created in the past century initiated.
...
Purge completed. ]

[ Thank you for your honesty! ]

Initially, he had merely intended to kill two birds with one stone: On the one hand, he would be able to get rid of every potential enemy who had been fortunate enough to encounter such a ridiculously rare scenario. And on the other hand, he had hoped to protect Xie Mei from any possible issues that could come her way.

Although he had been tempted to exploit this now-patched loophole, he was aware that anyone of insufficient power who dared to interfere with the Heavenly Empress' plans in such major ways would have to pay a certain price. Xie Mei might be innocent in all of this, but he didn't want her to have to unnecessarily suffer, which had been one of the major reasons compelling him to make his report.

Now, from that singular notification, he could tell that he had made the right choice–and an even better one than he had initially anticipated. Getting a small reward was within his expectations, but what he had actually been presented with was simply outrageous!

Not only would those other 20 Xie Meis continue to exist, but he could also save ridiculous amounts of Talent Energy!

'It's likely a combination of two different reasons that led to this result. For one, this 'loophole' had always been intended to be found–in other words, it has not been overlooked, but rather exists by design. Whoever reports it would benefit from the merit that could be obtained. It's pretty much guaranteed that there are also other hidden benefits like this to uncover. But that's not all that there is to it...'

Glancing at that very last line of the notification, he sensed a certain happiness and familiarity deep inside. It was somewhat similar to how he had felt when he had gained a closer connection to spacetime just a short while earlier, but far more fundamental.

'The Heavenly Dao itself is joyful at me being the one who reported this 'bug'. Simply another perk of having been sent over here by Huang Xian himself, I suppose. That fact is my biggest diamond spoon of all, even more influential than my Winter Family background.'

Smirking slightly, he felt a short wave of relief before forcing himself to refocus. He might have promising prospects, but if he didn't manage to successfully actualize his potential to its fullest, then all of the nepotism in the Heavenly Court couldn't save him.

'For now, I should focus on that Talent upgrade reward. I could just choose Coattail Ascension right now, but it's already at Mythical-grade, so wouldn't it be a bit of a waste? It would be ideal if I can find a promising Talent that's at Average- or even Inferior-grade, to maximize the efficiency...'

Very quickly, Theodore discarded the idea of squandering this once in a blue moon opportunity on the Talent whose upgrade he had been saving up for since many decades ago. But what else was there? Was there truly some ideal hidden gem buried amongst the near-infinite dross that he had been picking up since his journey had begun?