Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

Chapter 177 The Bizarre Time Loop, Xia Fa's Solution—Is He Truly a Genius? (Part 1)

On a sunny and breezy day, the sea was a deep, clear blue, stretching to the horizon.

But on this calm sea, an extremely strange scene unfolded.

In front of the Red Porcupinefish, less than a kilometer away, a group of traveling whales, of varying sizes, were swimming forward.

But whenever they swim a certain distance, they immediately disappear, only to reappear at the very spot where they first started swimming.

These migratory whales seem to be like migratory slimes, not very intelligent. They just keep swimming forward, only to be sent back after a short distance, then swim again, and be sent back again...

It was clear that this group of eleven traveling whales was exhausted, but whether out of instinctive fear or a desire to escape, they continued to swim.

This was the first time Xia Fa had ever seen traveling whales. At first glance, they looked a lot like blue whales, but they were not as big as blue whales. The larger ones were only the size of a house, and the smaller ones were as big as a water tank.

They are round and plump, like a ball, with white bellies stretched open by folds, blue bodies, and exceptionally smooth skin. Their small eyes are round and bright, like two tiny black dots.

Xia Fa sincerely felt that if these traveling whales weren't able to escape into the Protoss Realm at any time and thus couldn't be kept in captivity, they could even be kept as pets; they were just too cute.

They continued to wag their tails, swimming forward tirelessly, only to be "teleported" back to the surface of the sea time and time again.

But whether it was Shafa, Prince Justinian and Avalon, or even the less intelligent pirates present, they could all see that they had not been "teleported" back.

Instead... they got trapped in a time loop time and time again!
A seagull was seen flying overhead over that area of ​​the sea.

Its position was slightly behind that of the group of traveling whales. Whenever the traveling whales swam a certain distance and were "teleported" back, this seagull was also "teleported" back to its initial position.

Not only that, but even the flow of seawater, the direction of the breeze, and even the bacteria in the air—bacteria that demigods and angels can see—will be reset along with the location of the traveling whale!
These migratory whales were so exhausted that they could barely swim anymore. Everyone knew that if they acted now, they could capture all eleven migratory whales.

Because they probably don't even have the energy to escape into the Celestial Realm.

Yet, not a single pirate on the massive, thousand-meter-long Red Porcupine showed any sign of greed or excitement.

All the pirates were filled with fear and trembling. Some of them couldn't even hold their weapons steady and they fell onto the deck with a clatter.

Captain Red Pufferfish and Dagney's expressions immediately darkened.

Even Prince Justinian and Avalon showed a solemn expression in their eyes.

It seems that even these two angelic overlords have encountered a problem that they find extremely difficult to solve.

Xia Fagang had just turned his gaze away from the traveling whale pod when he immediately noticed the uncertain expressions on everyone's faces.

Almost instantly, a piece of occult knowledge he had recently come across came to mind.

The time-loop type of ghost realm is a very special type among high-risk ghost realms.

The higher the level of danger in a high-risk domain, the more "rules" it possesses, ranging from the fungal level to the whale level and then to the overlord level.

However, the Time Loop Ghost Realm, as a high-risk ghost realm, does not have a danger level classification.

In other words, it is neither at the bacterial level nor the dominant level, and it only has one set of rules.

That is... the time loop!
But precisely because of this, all beings of angelic status are trapped within it, and only the Sovereign can forcibly break through the barriers of this strange realm.

Moreover, the time-loop type of ghost realm has no fixed entrance.

In "The Mystical Exploration Records of the Fog Man," there is a very apt record regarding time-looping eerie realms:

"When you see other beings trapped in time loops, you have already entered a time loop-type ghost realm!"

Xia Fa shook his head slightly; no wonder everyone looked so grim.

The moment the pirates on the lookout tower spotted the group of traveling whales, everyone on the Red Porcupine was essentially already inside this time-looping, eerie realm!

Regardless of whether powerful beings like Prince Justinian paid special attention to the traveling whale pod, everyone was already essentially in this time-looping, eerie realm at that time.

On the other hand, the time loop type of ghost realm is also extremely deceptive. From a distance, it is impossible to tell that this group of traveling whales has actually been trapped in a time loop until they get closer.

But that wouldn't have been a big deal, because whether we got close or not, we were all trapped inside anyway. Getting closer would actually be better, otherwise we might die without even knowing why.

"Don't panic, everyone. Every time you encounter a time loop-type ghost realm, it's completely different, and the situation will be completely different each time. But we're not without a glimmer of hope if we can choose Avalon."

Prince Justinian spoke, his tone already becoming solemn:

"Or, if I am chosen, I will do my best to lead everyone away."

His words did offer a slight sense of comfort, but most of the pirates remained in a state of panic, their faces pale.

The captain of the Red Pufferfish shook his head and sighed:

“Even if you two are angels, and even overlords, only those with the status of a sovereign can forcibly break through the time-looping ghost realm and lead everyone out. Moreover, out of the thousands of people on the ship, it would be very difficult to select Lord Avalon from among one to ten.”

Degren, however, remained calm, not because she was unafraid, but because she had become indifferent to life and death. She had been standing next to Xia Fa earlier, and now she chuckled lightly:

"Xia Fa, come on, come inside with me."

She whispered these words to Xia Fa in a secret voice, and no one else heard them.

Xia Fa was slightly taken aback:
"What are you going to do?"

Daigney whispered again:

"Since we're all going to die soon anyway, I want to take you to discover a secret."

Xia Fa didn't immediately understand what she meant. Just then, three semi-transparent, colorless pillars of light descended from the extremely high sky.

Everyone held their breath at that moment, including Xia Fa.

Once everyone is trapped in the time loop-type ghost realm, it won't be long before the time loop-type ghost realm selects one to ten people to participate in the real "time loop".

If the chosen one can break the time loop, then everyone, and even all living beings in this time-loop-type ghost realm, will be saved.

As for the time-looping ghost realm itself, it will disappear and reappear at some unknown time in the future, continuing to trap other living beings.

But if they fail to break the time loop, they will be trapped in it forever, like these traveling whales, with no chance of escape.

Moreover, if they are trapped for more than a day, even if other ships pass by and break the time loop, they cannot be rescued; only those ships can be rescued themselves.

"So, this group of traveling whales actually consists of more than eleven. Several of them were chosen, failed to break the time loop, and died?"

The thought had barely crossed Xia Fa's mind when he saw the three colorless, transparent beams of light descending towards the three pirates.

In that instant, everyone's eyes were focused on the three pirates.

But immediately, the desperate screams of the other pirates rang out.

"No!!!!!!!!!!" Among the three pirates, one was short and fat, licking a lollipop, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and grinning foolishly.

The other pirate had a violent expression, and his face and body were covered in scars, making him look like an impulsive and reckless type.

As for the last pirate, he seemed normal, but the other pirates on the ship knew that he was completely illiterate, an illiterate among illiterate men.

Are these three people tasked with solving the time loop puzzle?
Especially on this route where no ships might pass by for ten days or half a month?
Dagney slapped her forehead, the captain of the Red Pufferfish looked desperate, and the first and second officers slumped onto the deck, seemingly having given up the struggle.

Prince Justinian and Avalon exchanged a glance, both at a loss for what to do.

Once you enter a time-looping ghost realm, it's like entering a real ghost realm. Moreover, strictly speaking, a time-looping ghost realm can be equivalent to an angelic level at its highest, and it will greatly disrupt the flow of time.

In other words, they were unable to contact the sovereign beings they knew to come and rescue everyone.

And now, these three pirates have been chosen again...

The hot-tempered pirate and the illiterate pirate were immediately enveloped by a colorless, semi-transparent beam of light.

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

Just as the first colorless, semi-transparent beam of light was about to descend upon the drooling, foolish pirate's head, it seemed to realize something was wrong and abruptly bent over.

Then, this colorless, translucent beam of light, like a snake that had come to life, circled once above the deck.
Before anyone could react, it suddenly charged towards Xia Fa!

In the blink of an eye, Xia Fa was completely enveloped by the colorless, semi-transparent pillar of light.

The next moment, he and the two pirates vanished from the deck.

As if realizing something, everyone rushed to the edge of the deck, leaning over the railings and looking at the place where the group of traveling whales were trapped.

Suddenly, they were pushed apart by an immense force, and a whirlpool appeared on the sea surface.

The vortex was like an entrance to a strange realm, within which a village slowly emerged.

As for those poor traveling whales, although they were pushed away, they were still trapped in the time loop, continuing to swim forward, only to be reset again and again.

But everyone had no time to worry about that for the time being, and all eyes were on the village.

With a flash of light, the hot-tempered, scarred pirate appeared on the muddy ground in the village.

He had a head of coarse black hair that spread out behind his head like a lion's mane, and his eyes were wide open with very small pupils, making him look like someone not to be trifled with.

However, upon appearing in this village, his fierce expression immediately vanished, replaced by a cautious and observant demeanor.

Just then, many villagers came out of the houses in the village.

At first glance, the villagers looked exactly like humans, with vivid expressions and mannerisms. The people on the boat didn't notice anything unusual at first.

However, anyone with even a little knowledge of the mystical knows that these are not people, or even living beings.

Or rather, they are both human and not human.

These villagers are beings formed by the "rules" of this time-looping ghost realm. They possess all the characteristics of a human, but they are reset time and time again as the rules are triggered. Even in death, they are reset to their state before death.

It must be understood that in this world, even if the nine righteous gods were to intervene, resurrecting a person would be extremely difficult. The boundary between life and death has always been the most difficult place to cross in this world.

However, these villagers can die and be resurrected time and time again as the time loop is reset. Therefore, some scholars have pointed out that any living being in the time loop type of ghost realm, whether human or other race, is essentially a product of the rules and cannot be regarded as a real living being.

"Someone's coming! Someone's coming!"

Among the villagers, someone shouted, and led by the white-haired village chief, everyone immediately surrounded the black-haired pirate.

"Where are you from, young man?"

The village chief stroked his long white beard, asked with a smile, his expression extremely kind.

The villagers stared wide-eyed at the scarred pirate, seemingly waiting for his answer.

That pirate was impulsive and reckless, and having reached the whale-level rank, no one on the ship, except for Captain Red Porcupine and Dagney, dared to easily provoke him.

In this time-looping, eerie realm, it was already quite remarkable that he was able to restrain his temper and observe cautiously for a while.

Therefore, faced with the village chief's question, the pirate didn't think twice and replied:

“Where else could I come from? I’m from the Kingdom of Augu, of course.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the villagers changed immediately.

"He's not from around here, kill him, kill him!"

Other villagers echoed loudly, raising their sickles, pitchforks, and other farm tools.

"He's not from around here, kill him, kill him!"

"He's not from around here, kill him, kill him!"

The pirate was clearly extremely impatient and suddenly took a step forward:
"You want to kill me? All of you combined wouldn't be enough to defeat me!"

He clenched his arm muscles, as if he was about to unleash some kind of secret ability.

However, his expression changed immediately the next moment.

Because he discovered... he was unable to activate any of his secret abilities!

He was like an ordinary person, just like the villagers in front of him!

"kill him!"

"kill him!"

The villagers shouted loudly and suddenly swarmed forward, stabbing the pirate to death.

The pirate looked fierce and violent, but he was completely powerless to resist.

The village rippled and undulated, and everything returned to normal. The villagers disappeared one by one, and the yellow earth at the village entrance became silent again.

The second pirate to appear was the illiterate pirate.

However, on the deck, Avalon was the first to show a thoughtful expression. Although his voice was calm, his words made everyone's hearts sink.

"This is troublesome. This strange realm can actually imprison a person's secret abilities..."

(End of this chapter)