BOOM!!!
Ji Jue fell backward, only for a hand to catch him.
The crown of his skull had been smashed open with a club, and pungent smoke slowly rose from the crack.
Right in front of him, Fan Gan was drenched in sweat, clutching a strange wooden stick and panting so hard he could barely stand.
Ji Jue's body convulsed. Countless afterimages kept extending from him, as though frames were missing, unable to stabilize.
Until Tai'a operated on its own, activating and forcibly dispelling every time difference to anchor his temporal state.
Back in the present.
He opened his eyes again.
"Fucking hell, it really had to be you." Fan Gan finally breathed a sigh of relief and plopped onto the ground. "You always find some new way to make my vision go black."
Behind Ji Jue, Lulu silently withdrew her hand. As though nothing had happened, she stepped aside, then went back to her snacks while no one was looking.
Munch, munch, munch, munch—little cracking sounds rang out as she shelled sunflower seeds and watched the show.
Ah, why did these seeds taste so good—
"What just—"
Ji Jue was bewildered for a moment, then understood.
He slapped his forehead.
And couldn't help swearing.
Fan Gan's blow to the head had completely scattered all those memories, forcibly beating Ji Jue awake.
It wasn't because he had reached his limit, but because Ji Jue's sheer concentration of natural talent was absurdly high.
He learned too fast. He was already getting used to it!
Getting used to perceiving as Worm, feeling as Worm, even sharing his experiences and immersing himself completely—so much so that, without realizing it, he had drawn too close to shadow sun. His own cravings and desires had surged too high, and one moment of carelessness had nearly