Chapter 43: Five Years Later
"It's been over forty minutes here. How long was it for you over there? Did you gain anything?"
Lin Muyang sat down beside Franklin, chewing on some unknown fruit. When he noticed Franklin's gaze fixed on it, he refused immediately,
"This Cloudshade Fruit can help a Grand Ascension-stage cultivator slightly increase their cultivation. For you, it would be a potent elixir. And besides, it belongs to me and your mom. Considering all that, you can't eat it. Now, tell me—did you gain anything from this trip?"
Having his thoughts read aloud made Franklin's face flush red. He quickly averted his gaze.
"I spent forty-eight hours over there. As for my understanding of the worldlines, I did gain some insight. These worldlines are like conduits that transport nutrients—responsible for channeling energy into the World Tree.
The way a worldline changes… its starting and ending points are already fixed. Only the middle section can be slightly altered. If one were to destroy it, I think it would require unimaginable power."
Lin Muyang's pupils contracted slightly. He hadn't expected Franklin to grasp so much in a single mission. He exhaled slowly.
"An interesting idea—and quite close to the truth. But this understanding doesn't seem to be of much help to you. Didn't you want to integrate into the Dragon Ball worldline? How do these theories help you do that?"
That question stunned Franklin. He stood frozen for a while before finally recalling his original goal. Recalling his experience in the Dragon Ball world, his eyes began to light up.
"The starting point and endpoint are fixed. My existence is redundant—an anomaly. In the To Love Ru worldline, Yuuki Rito vanished, and I took over everything he had.
In the Dragon Ball worldline, I'm the anomaly, the unnecessary element. If I want to truly integrate, I must replace an important character—someone destined to live until the end."
Lin Muyang nodded slightly. "You've grasped the key point. But how exactly will you achieve it? Replacing someone isn't as simple as forcibly taking their place. You need to completely take over their identity."
A confident smile appeared on Franklin's face. "I've already figured that part out, so you don't need to worry, Dad. By the way, where's Mom?"
"She? Busy. Didn't you say you wanted to find the universe's top doctor, Ryōko Mikado, and make her your adoptive sister? She's gone to look for her."
Watching his father casually enjoying the Cloudshade Fruit, Franklin snatched it away.
"Mom's about to give birth to me in a few days, and you're just bossing her around like that? Doesn't your conscience bother you?"
Lin Muyang wasn't the least bit upset. With a casual wave, the fruit floated back into his hand.
"At home, your mom calls the shots—I don't. And with her strength, you can count on one hand the people in this world who could pose a threat to her. If she wants to go for a stroll, let her."
Franklin was speechless but couldn't come up with a rebuttal.
"Don't look so gloomy. The causal lines tied to the Eye of True Sight have already been severed. Oh, and about your sister, Mikan—originally Yuuki Mikan. You said she'll be called Lin Mikan in the future.
Your mother and I have no plans to have another child, so we directly reshaped the To Love Ru worldline. In this world, Yuuki Rito never existed. His place has been completely taken by you.
As for his sister, Mikan, she carries a fragment of the Dimensional Heavenly Tome inside her. Even though the worldline was rewritten, she remains unaffected. I believe that's the fundamental reason for Lin Mikan's existence.
Since she's related to us, you'd better treat her well. Now that you've found a way to integrate into the Dragon Ball main storyline, do you have any other questions? Keep them simple—if they're too complicated, I won't be able to answer."
Lin Muyang's relaxed attitude left Franklin utterly speechless. Something so monumental was, in his father's words, nothing more than a trivial detail.
"Mikan is my sister. Of course I'll treat her well—you don't need to worry about that."
Franklin turned to leave. Just as he did, a sudden thought struck him.
"Dad, do you know that I'm a reincarnated person?"
Lin Muyang still looked utterly at ease. "Of course. How could I not? Why do you think I attacked you the moment we met? The abnormality of your soul was obvious the instant I saw you. And besides, you said it yourself—you're not from this world."
Franklin let out a deep breath, his expression complicated. "Then… doesn't that bother you?"
"Bother me? Bother me how? Should I be upset that your soul isn't newly born? Or that you didn't drink Meng Po's soup and forget your past life?"
Lin Muyang's words left Franklin, who had been feeling conflicted, completely bewildered.
"Meng Po's soup? Naihe Bridge? Are you saying the underworld is real?"
Lin Muyang lowered his head, thinking for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "Hmm… I can't answer that."
Just as Franklin's curiosity was piqued, he was abruptly thrown back into confusion. Recalling the Dragon Ball storyline, there were places like that—but whether they existed in reality, he had no idea.
"You can't say this, you can't answer that—then what can I even ask you?"
"I don't know. We can't offer you any real help anyway. In any case, there's still a long time before you return to your original worldline's timeline. Ask whatever comes to mind."
——
Five years passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Franklin had returned to the Red Ribbon Army once, bringing with him the beastization drug and its formula that he obtained from Ryōko Mikado.
He discussed the matter of spiritual energy cells with Dr. Gero and arranged for the beastization drug to be mass-produced for the upper ranks only. After that, Franklin cut off all contact with the Red Ribbon Army completely.
Throughout those five years, Franklin spent most of his time in the underground laboratory. Whenever a trivial question crossed his mind, he would ask his parents, and as a result, he gained a great deal of useful information.
His spiritual cultivation remained stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, while his physical cultivation rose from the early stage of the Origin Realm to its peak.
He had not chosen to break through yet. First, his current strength was sufficient. Second, breaking through the spiritual realm into the Core Formation stage—or the physical realm into the Wandering Realm—would attract the gaze of the Heavenly Dao and summon a tribulation of nine lightning bolts, testing whether the cultivator was worthy of stepping into a new level of life.
Franklin harbored an inexplicable fear of the lightning tribulation. He had read countless scenes like it in novels as a mere spectator, but now that it was about to happen to him, he found himself lacking the courage to face it head-on.
He had already devised a plan: collect the seven Dragon Balls and wish for the ability to survive the tribulation, or find some other method to resist it. Otherwise, without any means to counter the lightning, he might very well perish under its wrath.
As for ninjutsu, Franklin had analyzed the meaning behind each hand seal and tried substituting them with equivalent spiritual energy seals. But he discovered that most of the techniques in the Sealing Scroll could no longer be performed.
Multi Shadow Clone Technique consumed so much spiritual energy that he was instantly drained, and the resulting clones were just ordinary people without any cultivation. Impure World Reincarnation was forbidden before he could even attempt it—Lin Muyang had directly stopped him and strictly banned any experimentation.
In the end, the only technique he could attempt to cultivate was the Flying Thunder God Technique. But even that consumed enormous amounts of spiritual energy. Leaving behind a single permanent marker would instantly drain him, and the number of markers he could leave was extremely limited.
With his current cultivation, he could only leave one permanent marker. Placing another would erase the previous one. Moreover, the amount of energy consumed during teleportation was nearly the same as using a phantom substitution—making it practically pointless for him at this stage.
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