After listening to Old Ting's explanation of time travel and the hounds, the demon hunters were all somewhat subdued.
It represented the crueler side of the superpowered world.
Many people yearned for time travel and held countless beautiful fantasies about it, but no one knew that once you discovered you could time travel, you were destined for a terrifying death.
Wen Wen was also very interested in the ritual to obtain transcendent time power that Old Ting mentioned.
Signing a contract with a great existence beyond the world; what did "beyond the world" refer to, the inner world, or beyond the inner world?
The real world was the Earth Federation and the universe it resided in, while the inner world was a world with entirely different rules, and that world was constantly encroaching upon the real world.
According to scholars in the Hunter Association, the real world and the inner world were like yin and yang on a Taijitu, one positive and one negative, interdependent and inseparable.
But was the real world truly equal to the inner world?
Was calling their side "real" simply human arrogance? Sudan Novel Network
If the great existence beyond the world that Old Ting spoke of was real, did that mean that besides the inner world and the real world, there were other higher-level worlds?
Another point was the ritual to obtain transcendent time power. In Wen Wen's opinion, that secret organization was extremely foolish. The superpowered individuals of that era had no correct foresight into the danger of such rituals. If they had been even slightly more rational, they would not have ended up wiped out.
Many people unable to obtain superpowers sought various methods to gain power like superhumans or monsters.
However, ordinary people had no correct understanding of the danger involved in obtaining extra power. Cataloging their actions would be enough to write a compendium of human foolishness.
For example, the simplest act, praying to "evil gods" for power through sacrifice, was a typical act of courting death.
As long as the ritual was correct, anyone could receive a response from an evil god. However, compared to evil gods, ordinary humans were like ants begging for candy by the roadside; a piece of candy casually dropped by an evil god could crush humans.
Most humans who performed rituals met a fate as tragic as the once-bewildering clown Grindy. The few who survived all became puppets without free will.
There were many other methods, but no method was entirely without side effects.
According to Wen Wen's knowledge, the safest way for ordinary people to gain extraordinary power was to borrow power from certain special extraordinary artifacts.
For example, Wen Wen's Philosophy Bracelet, X Iron Wings, Xiong Ying's "Devil's Heart" obtained from the Museum of Truth, and even Wen Wen himself being granted power by the Containment Facility were all of this type.
Then there was the study of forbidden knowledge, but this study also came with danger.
Studying one or two relatively safe tomes like the Book of Thunder was fine. If it were something relatively dangerous, just a quick glance could attract the attention of dangerous existences.
Finally, there was the "New Human" that Song Ling accidentally tinkered with.
After a comprehensive examination by the Huafu Hunter Association, the power in Tao Wen's body was entirely born from himself, was gentle in nature, and had absolutely no side effects. It was estimated that his lifespan might be much longer than that of ordinary superhumans.
This was why Song Ling was highly valued by the Huafu Hunter Association. He would likely remain on Hunter Island for research this time, but who knew if there were any undetected after-effects in Tao Wen's body.
Everyone was digesting the information Old Ting had shared. George stood up and asked, "The question I care about most now is, who attacked Boyev, and how can we catch him?"
Old Ting's expression became solemn. "This is also what I most want to tell you. The person you are looking for is named Stein. Macor. He, like me, is a descendant of those ten families."
"However, unlike our family, one person in each generation of their branch awakens the ability of a time traveler and becomes a traveler of time."
"Due to the texts passed down through generations, the Macor clan members try to avoid time travel. If they truly encounter the hounds, they will calmly face death and not involve others."
"But Stein not only actively travels through time, but after provoking the hounds, he used forbidden methods to deceive the hounds' perception and transfer the hounds' pursuit to others."
"More than twenty days ago, I received a plea for help from the Macor family. They felt that Stein had become a devil and asked me to 'persuade' Stein to accept his fate and not involve others."
Chekhov asked, "What happened later?"
Old Ting said sadly, "Later... when I arrived, the Macor family had been exterminated. Stein was the one who did it. Now he is the last member of the Macor clan. After he dies, there will be no more hereditary time travelers."
"I previously encountered Boyev being attacked by the hounds because I had discovered Stein's whereabouts..."
Xun Qing stood up and flicked his long sword. "His name is Stein. Macor, isn't it? It shouldn't be difficult for us to find him."
Although Old Ting had described time travel as terrifying, a superhuman who could traverse time was of considerable significance to the Hunter Association.
He planned to capture Stein and confine him to a secret containment facility to foresee the future and understand history through Stein's abilities. With the association's capabilities, they should be able to find a way to resist those hounds.
Other True Order members were also eager. The ability of time travel, if used well, would bring very positive results and could help them win the competition between the major regions.
Seeing everyone ready to set off, Old Ting quickly said, "With your abilities, it's not hard to find him, but it's not easy to capture him."
"Stein's own strength is not great. He himself might not be able to defeat an old farmer, but the Stein you see might be him from five minutes ago, or him from five minutes later."
Wen Wen frowned. "Didn't you say that time travel has strict limitations? Once the future and present are changed, you will encounter the hounds?"
Old Ting shook his head. "He has already encountered the hounds. He is currently avoiding them by constantly traveling through nearby time segments."
"When you find him, try to wait for five minutes without him knowing. This will increase your chances of capturing him."
"Also, do not approach him excessively. Even if you must approach, ensure that there are no angles less than one hundred and twenty degrees around you that the hounds can pass through..."