Chapter 101: The Invisible Hand

A gentle breeze rustled past, carrying away some of the heat.

Yue Longze's body had barely returned to normal, the wisps of green smoke that had been rising from him now gone.

His fingers, which had seemed stiff, twitched. Bracing his hands against the ground, he finally managed to stand.

His face was caked with dusty brown grit. He gave his head a light shake, and the sand clinging to his skin fell off in a rustling cascade.

His body was still weak. The earlier overloaded flight had pushed him past his limits, granting him a noticeable boost in speed, but it had also drained him—the spent stamina would not recover in a short while.

...

Yue Longze surveyed his surroundings. The environment here seemed like the place where Zero had first undergone his training under Ultraman Leo... Planet K76?

"P-Predecessor!"

Yue Longze stared at Ultraman King, who stood silent as a stone statue atop a towering rock pinnacle not far away, and felt a sense of bafflement.

Why had the King brought him here? For training?

Yue Longze cast a puzzled glance toward the silent Ultraman King.

...

"Long, the reason I brought you to Planet K76 is to train you."

Ultraman King finally spoke, his tone flat, betraying no particular emotion.

"Train me?"

Yue Longze was taken aback. "You... personally training me?"

A hint of amusement seemed to flicker in the King's eyes, but Yue Longze could not read him. Ultraman King was too mysterious—how could an ordinary person fathom his thoughts?

The King did not answer. Instead, he extended his right hand from beneath his cape and gave a crisp wave. In Yue Longze's astonishment, the scenery around them rapidly transformed.

The surrounding space seemed like a formless chaos, yet it still contained the assorted rocks and gravel of Planet K76.

"This is... a sub-space?"

Yue Longze exclaimed.

The King nodded at his words, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

"The universe is in turmoil now. Despair pervades everything."

He paused, his gaze suddenly turning stern, then continued: "And so the universe needs hope!"

"Hope?"

Yue Longze had a vague inkling of what Ultraman King meant.

"And that hope... is you!"

With that, the King pointed sharply at Yue Longze.

...

"So it really is me..."

Yue Longze gave a bitter smile. The hope of the universe? Why would it be him?

He suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders grow immensely heavier, and his mood turned grave.

Before, he had simply thought his task was nothing more than to deliver the final blow—to use his dark energy to finish off Juda and ensure he could never revive again. Simple as that.

But now that he had returned to the Land of Light's timeline, he realized: things were not as simple or as easy as he had imagined!

"But..."

Yue Longze asked, puzzled: "Why don't you interfere, Predecessor? If you acted, wouldn't many crises be resolved with ease?"

The King shook his head. "Bound by a certain order, I cannot act."

"Order?"

It was the first time Yue Longze had heard of any so-called "order" within the Ultraman worldview.

"Yes. Order!"

The King gave a faint nod and continued: "If I were to act, I might be able to resolve the current crisis."

He paused, and his crimson eyes sharpened as he shifted his tone. "But it would invite a crisis far more dreadful than this one!"

"A more dreadful crisis..."

Yue Longze could not fathom what crisis the King meant. The present crisis was already terrifying enough—so many powerful enemies had appeared. He could not imagine anything worse than this.

"In truth, the current crisis of the universe seems premeditated."

The King did not wish to dwell on the topic of the more dreadful crisis, so he changed the subject.

"Premeditated?"

Yue Longze suddenly realized that even as a transmigrator, there were still far too many things he did not know!

"Juda revives once every fifty thousand years. Yet this time, less than fifty thousand years have passed, and he has already revived!"

The King imparted some crucial information.

...

"What? How can that be?"

A strange glint flickered in Yue Longze's eyes. "That's impossible!"

"Juda revived early because he was infused with a certain energy."

A slight trace of puzzlement crossed the King's normally calm gaze.

"Behind all of this, it seems there is an invisible hand, manipulating everything from the shadows!"

...

"Even you can't see through that invisible hand behind the scenes?"

Yue Longze was astonished. On this return trip, he had learned so many things that shocked him deeply. In short, this universe... seemed far too deep!

...

"Enough. Don't ask any more questions."

The King seemed unwilling to say more. "As the hope of this universe, you are still of little use as you are now! What you need to do is raise your strength!"

With those words, the King's figure vanished in a flash of white light, replaced by a group of Ultra warriors.

"The Ultra Brothers?"

Yue Longze was puzzled at the sight of them. According to what Zoffy had said, weren't the Ultra Brothers supposed to be out in space, battling the Dark Five Generals and cutting down the mass-produced Darklops?

So why were they here in this sub-space now?

Zoffy, Ultraman, Seven, Jack, Ace, Taro, Leo, Astra...

Yue Longze studied the gathered figures and suddenly noticed that something seemed off about them.

They all seemed to be... mechanical constructs!

The realization struck him at once, and his scalp went numb.

Ultraman King had almost certainly brought him here to spar with these veteran Ultra warriors!

Sure enough, as he had expected, the mechanical Ultraman Ace stepped forward immediately. He planted his stance, sinking into a horse stance, and raised his guard.

The intent was unmistakable—he was declaring a challenge to Yue Longze!

Yet Yue Longze actually felt relieved at the sight, because only the mechanical Ultraman Ace had stepped up. If all the mechanical Ultra Brothers had attacked at once, he would have had no chance at all!

"Very well, then. Come!"

With a loud shout, Yue Longze assumed his own fighting stance, his aura bursting forth with fierce intensity.

"Hah!"

Yue Longze steadied his horse stance, shifted his weight through his legs, and lashed out with a spinning kick toward the oncoming mechanical Ultraman Ace.

Ace was known among the Ultra Brothers as the "King of Rays." Clearly, his specialty was not hand-to-hand combat but a dazzling array of beam techniques.

In the fight against mechanical Ace, with neither side yet resorting to beam skills, Yue Longze currently held the upper hand.

His fierce attacks drove mechanical Ace back step by step. Yue Longze sneered, readying himself to deliver the killing blow with a Leo Kick.