Chapter 53: [Reboot]!
Once the two administrators departed, the nearly frozen time and space around Jiang Zhe resumed normal flow.
During this period, both parts of Jiang Zhe's soul remained in a state of suspended consciousness. He was unaware of anything that had transpired around him.
But when a new secret technique called "Primal Evolution" suddenly appeared in his mind, he immediately understood—his plan had succeeded.
Someone from the "Administrators" had intervened and resolved the issue with his second soul.
As for the technique itself, it was clearly a gift from the Supreme Rule. After all, the will of the original universe could only grant power up to the True God level—this was something far beyond that.
According to its description, the second soul was born with a fixed lifespan spanning three reincarnation eras.
And within that time, it must complete the cultivation of this secret art, transforming the "inner universe" into a real, fully independent Primal Universe.
Well… a smaller version of a Primal Universe—like a youth edition. But its power benchmarked against the Chaos Lord Realm, the apex level of cultivation where one fully comprehends and fuses all ten fundamental laws into the Law of Chaos.
If the second soul failed to do so before its lifespan ended, then even if its body remained youthful, the soul would decay and perish like a world lord's, leaving behind only a Life Core Crystal—a divine crystal.
This divine crystal would then be seized by the Supreme Rule to create a new Primal Universe.
Jiang Zhe was completely absorbed in the [Primal Evolution] technique, so much so that he didn't even notice the two administrators leaving. It was only when Orianna called out to him that he snapped back to reality.
He looked down at the divine crystal in his hand—no, now it should be called the Life Core Crystal. It radiated with chaotic energy and was etched with dark-gold mysterious runes.
A deep sense of familiarity and resonance surged through him—it was part of him.
If, one day, his true self faced a death crisis, his main consciousness would revive inside this crystal, replacing the sub-consciousness and continuing to live on.
"First things first—cultivate. Raise the level of life."
Jiang Zhe focused his mind, and the Life Core Crystal floated into the air, spinning rapidly.
It began drawing in the surrounding universal origin energy.
Jiang Zhe stared in stunned silence as the energy around him grew thicker and thicker—so dense that it turned into a fog, almost solid enough to be molded into Universe Crystals with a simple grasp.
How was this happening?
Within the crystal, a special inner space had formed—similar to a martial artist's dantian in their lower abdomen.
The universal energy was refined into Genetic Primal Energy, and within that space, it condensed into nine miniature planets… one after another…
And then, all nine planets exploded.
This triggered a storm of primal energy within the space, which eventually collapsed inward and compressed into a miniature star.
First-tier Star Level achieved!
From that point onward, his power-up speed slowed significantly. The Life Core Crystal gradually stopped spinning and ceased absorbing more energy.
Unlike ordinary avatars, the second soul wasn't restricted by the realm of the original body—it could cultivate all the way to the Universe Level, though it would take time.
That said, even upon reaching the Universe Level, its actual combat strength would be far below average.
"Manifest!"
Jiang Zhe commanded in a low voice.
Streams of chaotic mist poured out from the crystal and rapidly coalesced—within moments, a muscular, dark-haired, yellow-skinned young man stood before him.
It was Jiang Zhe.
Identical in appearance to his real body, who still sat cross-legged on the spaceship floor.
"Tsk, tsk... I really do have good raw materials," he chuckled, admiring his duplicate.
The chaos mist flowed again, forming a silver robe that draped over the second soul's body.
Though the second soul had a fixed lifeform shape, being an energy-based lifeform meant it could deconstruct and reassemble itself at will, even shifting forms.
For example:
It could become a ferocious tiger, eyes brimming with killing intent.
Or a thunder dragon, lightning sparking off its scales, cold majesty in its vertical pupils.
Or even a stone, plain and unremarkable, easily ignored.
Jiang Zhe gleefully experimented with his second soul's transformations.
A while later...
"Time to see its true lifeform."
With a spark of curiosity in his eyes, Jiang Zhe said, "Anna, move the ship out of the asteroid belt—find a more open stretch of space."
The ship moved swiftly and stopped a few minutes later. The hatch opened.
At Star Level, one could briefly survive in outer space. Jiang Zhe and his second soul flew out, each hovering in the void by their own means.
"Begin!"
Following Jiang Zhe's order, the second soul shot forward. The silver-robed figure disintegrated instantly, leaving behind only the spinning Life Core Crystal.
In a flash, a torrent of chaotic mist erupted from the crystal, twisting and weaving together to form segments of a silver-white serpentine body.
In just a few breaths, an enormous creature took shape before Jiang Zhe.
Even the legendary Titan Anacondas recorded in Earth's history paled in comparison. Perhaps even the famed Thunder Dragon Emperor of the Pacific Ocean would be smaller.
The second soul's true lifeform was a silver-white serpent over a thousand meters long, with a body thickness of nearly thirty meters.
Its scales, each the size of a basin, were adorned with intricate, ethereal patterns—many resembling the infinity symbol (∞).
Its eyes glowed crimson and cold, devoid of emotion.
What shocked Jiang Zhe the most was its form—head and tail connected in a perfect loop, representing eternal regeneration—a living manifestation of the Ouroboros.
"The Eternal Serpent… Ouroboros!"
Though he had mentally prepared himself, Jiang Zhe was still stunned when the serpent appeared before him.
He hadn't yet begun comprehending the Law of Time, but seeing the surrounding space thicken—like rivers flowing in the void around the serpent—he had a bold realization.
Was that… the embodiment of time?
The silver serpent dissolved once more, the second soul returning to its silver-robed human form and flying back to Jiang Zhe.
They re-entered the ship, but Jiang Zhe's mind was still racing.
The flowing void he had witnessed wasn't just an illusion—it was due to the innate secret art granted to the second soul:
First Innate Secret Art: [Reboot]!
Mark any target or area's state at a specific moment.
Later, you can reboot that target or area back to the recorded state.
Not true time reversal—but overwriting the present with a saved state, like a checkpoint.
After understanding the full explanation of [Reboot], Jiang Zhe couldn't help but want to question the administrators:
"Did you really let such a bug-like ability exist on purpose?"
"Or is it so powerful even you can't resist it?"
At first glance, [Reboot] sounded similar to the Time-Space Control of a Universe Sovereign.
But in some ways, it could be even more terrifying.
Imagine: A human genius captured, enslaved, and later killed by alien races. Not even a Universe Sovereign could resurrect him.
But with [Reboot], if Jiang Zhe had saved the genius's state before the enslavement, he could restore them to that exact moment—body, soul, and all.
He could even use it on himself.
Before battle, he could mark his fully healthy state. If critically injured during the fight, he could instantly reboot and get a second chance.
Those are just basic examples.
[Reboot] has far more potential—its ceiling is absurdly high.
This is no gimmick.
[Reboot] was established as the core ability of the protagonist from the very beginning.
While not strictly part of the Time-Space system, it follows a unique path—one designed just for Jiang Zhe, inspired by the "Virtual Realm" from Snow Eagle Lord.
And finally… well…
Silver serpent, circular form, [Reboot]—you've probably guessed it by now.
Yes, some ideas and settings were borrowed.