Chapter 16: The timeline

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"master Ian, Peter Parker and Oscorp have been found!"

In just half a day, Butler Anderson brought Ian the information he needed.

"Thank you, Uncle Anderson! Ian took the documents.

When John mentioned gene implantation, Ian immediately thought of Spider-Man.

Little Spidey was indeed the result of gene implantation— and a very successful one at that.

At this point in time, Spider-Man likely hadn't appeared yet, so Ian could only use his family's resources to investigate.

Sure enough, he found Peter and Oscorp, but the information was vastly different from what Ian remembered.

Peter Parker was currently only ten years old, orphaned, and living with his uncle and aunt.

However, his parents were just ordinary workers and had died in a car accident rather than a plane crash.

Oscorp was even more different. Right now, it was just a pharmaceutical company worth less than a hundred million dollars, far from the multi-billion-dollar conglomerate Ian remembered.

"This Marvel universe even has mutants, so there's no way Spider-Man wouldn't exist, right?"

Unsure of where the problem lay, Ian decided to personally visit New York.

First, he checked Oscorp and found nothing unusual— it was just a normal small company.

Then, he went to Peter Parker's home.

At first, he didn't notice anything suspicious either, but when Peter Parker came home from school, Ian sensed something was off.

"Why does something feel... out of sync?" Ian frowned and subconsciously activated his spatial-temporal vision.

Boom!!!

A roaring sound exploded in Ian's consciousness!

An ethereal Line like river of infinite time particles appeared before his eyes. 

"Could this be the Timeline in the Marvel Universe?!" Ian shocked.

Previously, he could only vaguely perceive the trajectory of events, but now, he could directly see the Timeline.

Ian was both surprised and shocked!

After all, his studies in spatial-temporal science hadn't progressed— they were still stuck at LV3, 50% completion.

[For clarification, the River of Time is a fanfic theory to express the many, connected timelines like a river and its branches, and many Marvel fans love this idea]

"If it's not my understanding of space-time that has improved, then what caused this change?" Ian pondered while observing the scene before him.

He couldn't clearly see the fate of all beings within the River of Time, only glimpsing occasional fragments with little practical meaning.

However, as he stared at the River of Time longer, he captured more information, and the river's contours became clearer.

At a certain threshold, Ian's vision finally transcended the river's constraints, allowing him to view its entirety from above.

The River of Time had no discernible beginning or end, nor did he know its scale in terms of time.

But Ian could see that at a particular point, the river branched into a tributary.

And at the source of this tributary— was Peter Parker!

"I see… The Spider-Man world has become a branch of the River of Time, or rather, a parallel universe?"

Ian roughly understood the situation.

The moment he realized this, the roaring of the river faded, and Ian exited his vision of the River of Time.

When he looked at Peter Parker again, he didn't enter the same state as before.

He could no longer see the River of Time, but on Peter Parker, he now saw a floating, unstable storyline.

"If I want to obtain the gene implantation technology from Spider-Man's world, I'll likely have to enter that universe myself!"

With this realization, Ian encountered a new problem.

Traveling through time and space was currently beyond his abilities, and his learning system didn't provide any functions for traversing dimensions.

"If spatial-temporal science lets me see parallel universes, then it should be able to help me travel between them!" Ian focused on his Spatial-Temporal Science.

[Spatial-Temporal Science LV3 (50%)]

Description: You have a good understanding of space and can clearly perceive spatial trajectories; however, your understanding of time remains crude, allowing only a rough perception of time's trajectory.

Time was still his weakest area, holding back his progress in spatial-temporal science.

But Ian had no solution— Earth's research on time was too weak, consisting only of uncertain theories without practical results. Even if he wanted to study it, there was no knowledge available.

Of course, Earth wasn't entirely devoid of experts in the field of time.

The Sorcerer Supreme was highly skilled in temporal studies!

Ian had considered seeking the Sorcerer Supreme's guidance— not only to learn about space-time but also to study magic.

But he had never dared to take action!

After all, as a transmigrator, he was a clear disruption to time's order.

If the Sorcerer Supreme viewed time as sacred and believed that all anomalies must be erased…

Wouldn't seeking her out be like walking into his own doom?

"I've already made such a big splash, and the Sorcerer Supreme hasn't come after me. That likely means she doesn't mind my presence.

If I visit her now, there's probably no danger!" Ian tried to convince himself.

With the Sorcerer Supreme's abilities, she had undoubtedly been aware of Ian's existence for a long time.

She hadn't taken action against him all this time, nor had she interfered with any of his choices— clearly, she had already accepted him as part of this world.

Ian's fears all along had been nothing more than overthinking!

Now that he had made his decision, Ian didn't hesitate any further.

After making some arrangements, he headed straight for the New York Sanctum, a place he had long avoided!

The Sanctum's concealment spells were completely ineffective against Ian— he saw through them at a glance.

Ian was puzzled. This was one of the three great Sanctums, yet there wasn't even a single guard at the entrance?

Even as he stepped inside, he encountered no obstacles.

It didn't feel like a heavily guarded stronghold at all.

But the moment Ian entered, his confusion vanished.

Standing inside, waiting for him, was the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One.

"You've come," the Ancient One said with a smile.

"Master, you knew I would come today?" Ian asked in surprise.

This was a decision he had made on the spot— yet the Ancient One had already known?

"Time had already given me the answer," the Ancient One replied.

"You've been aware of my existence all along. Why haven't you done anything?" Ian couldn't help but ask.

"I protect this world, not time itself, and you are not a threat to this world.

Moreover, as long as mutants don't create a catastrophe capable of destroying the world, their matters do not fall under my jurisdiction," the Ancient One answered.

"Mutants? … Then who does oversee us mutants?"

Ian was surprised. He had never heard of an organization that governed mutants, but the Ancient One wouldn't just make something up.

"Mutants have existed since ancient times, and they are one of the world's important protectors. Naturally, they had a unified organization.

But during World War II, mutants lost their Their leader who has the power to predict the future, and after that, they fell into disarray," the Ancient One explained.

"One faction of mutants established an organization called the Hellfire Club."

"The other faction has been searching for the next generation's leader."

"Did they ever find one?"

"No. The new leader never arrived."

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(End of Chapter)