The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

“That’s right, and it’s very difficult to defend against because you never know when the other party will appear or what form they will take.” Xue Yingsong nodded and said, “Xiao Ling’s ability is related to time. Specifically, it can temporarily slow down the flow of time in a certain area. However, after she stops using her ability, the flow of time in that area will double and return to the original speed.”

Gu Ran understood. This time slowdown ability was not permanent, but temporary. As long as the ability stopped working, time would be accelerated in the area affected by the ability to make up for the time that had fallen behind, allowing objects in that area to maintain their original "old" state.

Although this ability sounds very restrictive and limited, it is still a terrifying ability.

Putting everything else aside, even just developing the ability to freeze enemies like a PowerPoint presentation would be enough to make it one of the strongest support abilities.

Time should not be a capability that humans can tamper with!

Xue Xiling is already very lucky to have such a time-related superpower. So who is Xue Xiling's superior superpower core?

What effects can his superpower achieve?

Gu Ran was instantly filled with intense curiosity.

Xue Yingsong: "I know what you want to ask, but I don't know either... There are very few people in the world with abilities related to time. Even Lanxin University doesn't have many records of them, and these examples are scattered across various historical periods."

Gu Ran asked curiously, "Then how are you so sure that there will be a high-level ability user with a superior ability core who will come to hunt you down? Maybe there aren't any other time-related abilities in this world, and this is the only one?"

Xue Yingsong remained silent for a long time. Finally, he looked up at the sky and said, "I don't know if there are any other related ability users, but I do know that ability users related to time will eventually lose the ability core in their bodies. Just like the inheritance between space ability users is destiny, this is also the destiny of ability users related to time."

“I’m not saying this out of mere speculation or conjecture, nor am I simply believing what’s written in the records; it’s based on my own experience. Do you know why Xiaoling’s mother is no longer here?”

"She was also a time-related ability user, and her ability was basically the same as Xiao Ling's—slowing down the flow of time. But in the end, she..."

Sadness was evident in Xue Yingsong's eyes.

"But her last power core suddenly detached from her on its own."

Gu Ran also fell silent.

The ability core of an ability user automatically detached from the ability user's body; this was the first time he had ever heard of such a situation.

But if it's true, then unless this superhuman has only recently awakened their powers and their heart and superhuman core are not yet fully integrated, they will definitely die.

"Have you found out the cause?" Gu Ran asked.

This situation is absolutely abnormal. The superpower crystal core and the heart are highly fused together, and it has even become part of the heart. How could it automatically detach from the superpower user?

There must have been some kind of situation.

As one of the most outstanding researchers in the Human Alliance, Xue Yingsong will definitely conduct his own research on this. After so many years, he may have some insights.

"At that time, I frantically searched for the whereabouts of that detached supernatural power core, but I searched for a long, long time and still couldn't find it." Xue Yingsong fell into her memories. "I searched for three whole years. During those three years, I froze her and used every means possible to keep her alive."

"But in the end... she still left, leaving me, Xiaoling, forever, because I was never able to find that superpower crystal core. It was as if it had vanished from the world into thin air. Without the superpower crystal core to sustain her, her heart could no longer maintain its vitality."

"Although I continued to search for relevant information and materials afterward, I eventually put the matter aside because I still have Xiaoling, and I must raise her well."

"I hope she can grow up happily, even if she is just an ordinary person. I hope she can find someone she likes, get married, and have her own children, because I... cannot be with her forever."

"But what I didn't expect was that Xiao Ling showed outstanding research talent from a young age. She learns everything very quickly and is also full of interest in related knowledge. I originally thought she was a telekinetic like me."

Looking at Xue Yingsong, who had fallen silent again, Gu Ran said softly, "But I didn't expect that she wasn't a telekinetic, but a time-related ability user like her mother. She's so smart... just because of her simple talent, or perhaps the mind you inherited from her."

Xue Yingsong smiled bitterly: "No, actually Xiaoling's mother was also a very outstanding researcher, and she was the daughter of the president of Lanxin University at the time. I am just an ordinary researcher. Xiaoling can really be said to be a replica of her mother. She not only inherited her mother's talent and appearance, but even... her superpowers seem to have been inherited as well."

While it's possible for ordinary people with superpowers to pass on their abilities to their offspring, the chances are extremely small.

Examples of people who almost completely inherit their parents' superpowers are even rarer.

"When she was six years old, she awakened her superpowers. Everything seemed to happen naturally. She just took a normal nap and suddenly she had superpowers."

Xue Yingsong continued her narration:

"When I saw Xiaoling use an ability that was almost identical to her mother's, I was stunned. At the same time, a terrifying thought came to my mind: the child's ability was almost the same as her mother's, but her mother's ability core had disappeared. Wasn't that too much of a coincidence?"

"At that moment, I almost collapsed. If Xiaoling's mother really died because of Xiaoling, I couldn't even imagine such an outcome... In order to deny my own conjecture, I continued to frantically search for relevant information, but the more I investigated the truth of this matter, the more desperate I became, because I became more and more certain that this conjecture was true."

There were tears welling up in Xue Yingsong's eyes, but he forced them back.

"Those with abilities related to time... actually have their own special inheritances, just like those with abilities related to space. However, those with abilities related to space have developed into a teacher-student inheritance system, while those with abilities related to time cannot emulate those with abilities related to space because the time span is too long, even hundreds of years apart. Furthermore, these individuals with abilities from the same era are not so harmonious with each other."

"Unlike space-based ability users who possess two different levels of ability cores at the same time, time-based ability users have more abilities of varying levels, and the emotional connection between them is not as strong as that between space-based ability users. However, even after investigating to the end, I still cannot determine how much connection Xiaoling's ability core is to her mother."

"Then I slowly gave up. What's the point of finding out the truth? What's the point of confirming it? Maybe the result will only make me more desperate. Xiaoling and scientific research are the only two people and things I care about. I can't accept the pain of losing Xiaoling."

Gu Ran listened quietly without interrupting the poor father's slightly longer narration.

"The turning point was still the Ark Core..." Xue Yingsong's face showed a complicated expression. "To be honest, I thought the Ark Core's help to me had ended there, because I had already reached the pinnacle of the researcher level. The only help the Ark Core could provide was to store some things and record some things, serving as a portable small warehouse and a device for recording secrets."

"Another Ark Core?" Gu Ran asked, somewhat surprised.

Xue Yingsong nodded: "The Ark Core does indeed record many secrets, and the secrets of those with time-related abilities... Although I still can't be completely sure if the record is the correct answer, deep down in my heart..."

"I can still feel that it might really be the answer I've been searching for all these years."

"What is it? Is it convenient to tell me?" Gu Ran asked.

"Do you know about the Celestial Realm?" Xue Yingsong slowly stomped her feet, looking up at the sky. "It's a completely different world from the Abyss, inhabited by a race of winged angels."

Gu Ran was somewhat surprised and fell into thought: "The angel race?"

175. Words that made Gu Ran feel a chill! 4k

"Angels from heaven?"

Gu Ran asked in surprise.

Thanks to the angels' beautiful appearance and their neutral, non-aggressive stance, humans have always had a very good impression of them.

This is reflected in various legends and stories, where angels are always portrayed as positive characters or as objects of human longing for love.

However, in reality, humans know very little about the Celestial Realm and the Angels, even less than they know about the Abyss and the Demons.

Xue Yingsong nodded and said, "Yes, I used to think that the angels in the heavenly realm were closed off and aloof by nature. But in the records of an Ark core, I learned about another situation. It seems that a long, long time ago, there was a passage between the heavenly realm and the human realm. The angels and humans also had contact. However, later, for some reason, the passage was closed. Even if some temporary passages appeared, they no longer had contact with humans."

"Then I learned the real reason... The angels are likely guarding something extremely important, which is why they no longer leave the Celestial Realm and have become xenophobic, unwilling to interact with the human world. No one knows exactly what the angels are guarding, but based on some leaked information..."

"What they are guarding may require these time-related supernatural crystals, because in the records of that Ark core, there was a unique aura of the Angel race at the scene of the death of a time-related supernatural being, although only this one example was recorded - of course, it is also possible that I just discovered this one example."

"However, the fact that it was recorded in the Ark Core is probably not an accident. The angels in the Celestial Realm may indeed be collecting time-related power crystals, and this is likely related to something they have been guarding for countless years."

"Furthermore, they may also possess methods to allow a small number of people to enter the human realm, just like the demons of the abyss. In fact, they also have such methods, but the demons they send in are not strong, so they are not a major concern. However, as for the celestial realm... it is difficult to confirm."

Xue Yingsong sighed and said, "Ever since I learned that it might be related to the Angel Clan, I've been desperately trying to recall the details of the day her mother had the accident. I don't know if my strong feelings made my memory deceive me, or if that really happened..."

"I recall more and more clearly that I really saw that angelic halo at that time. I really wanted to find the angels in heaven to confirm this guess, but I could not find the way to heaven, so I gave up."

"This speculation has been lingering in my mind. As Xiao Ling grows up, her superpower crystal core becomes stronger and stronger, and her superpowers become more and more obvious. In order to prevent her superpower crystal core from growing too fast, I forbade her from using star stones to speed up her cultivation."

Gu Ran remembered what Xue Xiling had said before, that her father had forbidden her from using star stones to speed up her cultivation. He had originally thought it was because Xue Yingsong knew about the pollution of star stones, but now he realized it was because of this.

However, Gu Ran still had some doubts in his mind: Did Xue Yingsong really not know about the Star Stone pollution?

"Starstones are polluted, you know that, right?" Gu Ran asked directly.

Xue Yingsong looked at Gu Ran and nodded: "Of course I know that. I think any researcher who studies star stones should know that. However, the pollution of pure star stones has been reduced to a very low level. As long as the amount is controlled—the amount of star stones absorbed each month is controlled to a certain level—the pollution is not a concern."

Gu Ran asked in confusion, "Why has the pollution of the starstone been reduced to a controllable level? Didn't it cause... well, that kind of berserk mutation more than three hundred years ago? Have the methods improved so much now?"

Xue Yingsong said with some surprise, "It seems that you have a deep impression of your understanding of more than 300 years ago from this trip to the ruins. That's right. More than 300 years ago, the pollution in the star stones was indeed very heavy, making it easier to pollute humans and cause them to lose control of their minds than it is now."

"However, the pollution in the star stone gradually decreased, and the further development of star stone purification technology made the pollution in the pure star stone even less. All of these made the pollution of the star stone controllable, or even negligible."

"As long as you don't absorb large amounts of unrefined raw star stones, the pollution from the star stones won't cause too much harm to humans. And compared to the benefits of absorbing star stones, it's negligible. After all, compared to that little bit of risk, the visible increase in strength is the real deal."

These are things Gu Ran was unaware of. There are no books on the market that contain information about Star Stone pollution. It is estimated that only people like Xue Yingsong are qualified to read them and happen to be interested in studying them.

"Wait a minute, you said the pollution in the starstone gradually decreases on its own?" Gu Ran suddenly asked. "Does that mean the pollution in the starstone isn't constant, but rather changes dynamically over time? What could be the reason for this? Have you figured it out?"

Xue Yingsong nodded slightly, then shook his head slightly: "The pollution of star stones has indeed been changing dynamically over time. Didn't humans use star stones even more than three hundred years ago? But how many star stone pollution incidents have you heard of?"

"Even if there were any, they would certainly be few, or even isolated incidents, far less severe than those that occurred more than three hundred years ago. Moreover, with the development of starstone technology, humans can more and more effectively remove contaminants from starstones. This may also be the reason why later humans reduced the number of contamination incidents."

"I once thought about studying this situation and actually put it into practice. However, as my research deepened, I made a bold conjecture, so bold that I dare not publish it publicly."

Xue Yingsong stopped, his gaze fixed on a ruined building in the distance.

"Don't you think the Star Stone is sentient?"

Gu Ran's pupils suddenly contracted: "What do you mean? Are you saying..."

"No, actually I'm not entirely sure either. It's just a combination of the information I've gathered and some bold guesses. Although I haven't found any evidence yet, this idea keeps lingering in my mind."

Xue Yingsong smiled and said, "Just consider this the wild speculation of an old man. I know that such a guess is very shocking, so I will not ask you to believe me."

“No, I believe you, because I also think there’s a chance your guess is true,” Gu Ran replied.

Xue Yingsong's smile faltered slightly. He looked at Gu Ran seriously, then realized that Gu Ran was actually being earnest.

"Why would you believe me? Actually, I myself have often doubted this conjecture and tried to disprove it."

Why would Gu Ran believe Xue Yingsong?

Because he suddenly remembered the eye of the sea, and the deep water.

Because deep water is also said to have a sense of unity...

Wait!

Gu Ran felt like she had discovered a blind spot.

What is the connection between deep water and star stones?

For a moment, Gu Ran's thoughts drifted away.