Planet Astrofol-876:
Maav, Tamat, Naruto, and Bai Li appeared in a meeting room; they all had pale facial expressions, and Bai Li was nothing but a soul.
"Is this planet safe?" asked Naruto.
"I don't know."
"But you're the one who set up the safety protocols."
"The Legendary Arcanist was more powerful than I anticipated," replied Maav. "So, I don't know whether he can find this place."
The room became quiet for a few seconds.
"Things are not so bad," said Tamat. "We have been in worse situations. Since we are alive, we have a chance."
Everyone looked at her before secretly rolling their eyes. This woman was a Saiyan. After almost dying by the Arcanist's punch, she can use Zenkai Boost to drastically increase her power once she fully recovers from near-death experiences.
With this boost, she will reduce the time needed to become a Super Saiyan 3, which is on par with Tier 9.
"She may have a point," added Naruto; he knew the correct mentality was necessary for such dangerous missions.
"You don't understand," continued Maav. "That Arcanist did not use its full strength."
"What do you mean?"
"During the entire battle, he never used his Rules."
"Wait, didn't he use Destruction Rules?" asked Tamat, who was observing the battle from afar after her defeat.
"He used [Intent], which is a lesser form of rules or [Authority]," explained Bai Li. Naruto and Tamat understood. As an Arcanist, their opponent should have complete control of certain rules. However, he never used it during the battle.
"Are you guys sure?" asked Tamat; she could not accept such a fact.
"I fought a Legendary Arcanist in another mission. I know the fluctuation of Rules," replied Maav.
"Rules are more common in the Cultivation World, so I also know," replied Maav. Cultivators cannot use the Rules after leaving their universe–unless they reach realms comparable to above Tier 12.
"Furthermore, I do not know how he survived the Power Gem," sighed Maav. He thought the Arcanist would have used a magic tower or Floating City. However, he detected nothing.
"So, what is our next step?" asked Naruto, a little dejected.
"Heal and wait for the Samsara Hall's next move," said Maav. "If I guess correctly, they should send more reinforcements. And the Purple Robe Daoist might show up."
"And what should we do if he finds our planet?"
"Then, prepare to fight to the death."
The group sighed; they knew this day would come one day, so they were not scared. Anyway, as long as they had one last breath, they would fight and make the enemy hurt before dying.
…
Edward returned to his base and saw Tobias' group looking at him in awe. He let them watch this battle for this exact reason.
"You have one day to make a decision," he said to them before entering his room.
"Master, are you hurt?"
"I am, but I'm almost healed now." Edward could feel the Phoenix Flame fixing his internal organs.
"Let me scan you."
"I said I'm fine."
"And I want to be sure," argued the spicy little elf. Edward shook his head and began his work–he had no time to waste.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
"I am."
"Then, let's get to work."
Edward waved his hand to control the Space-Time Rules of this universe to create a unique portal. The process took a few hours. However, it's because Edward took this experience as a learning opportunity.
Once he finished, he stepped into the portal without hesitation. After passing through the portal, he was in the same place. However, he knew it was different.
He sensed a mysterious pocket dimension summoning him. Without hesitation, he teleported inside, where he saw someone waiting for him. It was himself–his future self, to be exact.
"You know you should not break the fabric of Space-Time," said Future Edward.
"I know since I'm you," replied Edward. "Anyway, in this weak universe, the worst that can happen is the Universe Will exiling or trying to kill me. Plus, this timeline is hidden."
"As long as you understand," said Future Edward, who manifested two things: a ring and a crystal.
"The ring contained the artifact needed for Tobias' team to infiltrate the Samsara Hall. The crystal contained the research on the Fourth Layer of the Dimension and how I created the artifact."
"What about the Mana Circles?" asked Edward.
"It's there too, up to 8 Mana Circles."
"What about my other research?"
Future Edward's mouth twitched, wanting to beat his past self.
"I know what you're thinking, but please be reasonable." Edward knew for a fact he was not a match for his future self. After all, the latter knew him like the back of his hand and had more knowledge than him.
"The research results are also here," replied Future Edward. "Except for the completion of the Ultimate Body and the study of Izanagi."
"Can I ask why?" he asked politely.
"The Ultimate Body is not so easy to finish; you will need knowledge from Merlin or the Akashic Record. As for the study of Izanagi, I simply didn't want to help you out of spite."
Now, it was Edward's time for his mouth to twitch.
"Anyway, thank you for your help," he said.
"Whatever. You can go away now; your face is unpleasant to look at."
Future Edward disappeared, while present Edward shook his head. Without saying more, he returned to the past.
He checked the crystal and absorbed numerous pieces of information. Many of the research his clones back in the other timelines were studying were now finished–including his main objective for coming into this world:
[The Mana Tree]
The main issue he needed to solve for the Mana Tree was how to have it condense Fruit of Knowledge after being planted on a planet or plane. And the answer his future self came up with was using knowledge on [Intent].
The fruit will resonate with [Knowledge Authority] to gather and condense knowledge from wherever it is planted.
His future self even created a special tree with Space-Time Rules that can gather knowledge from the past and condense it into a fruit.
"It's worthy of me," praised Edward.
"How narcissistic can you be?" said Morgana.
"Leave me alone," said Edward, who sometimes regrets giving this thing free will. Then, he focused on the other gain in this crystal.
"The Mana Circles are done. There is enough information for you to deduce the other two," commented Edward, and Morgana nodded as she received the information.
Edward then discovered his future self perfected the method of Will Coating by studying Tobias' Haki System. Using his Willpower, Edward can now boost his spells.
"With all this knowledge from the Haki System, Chris can quickly create the method of training Willpower," commented Morgana, and Edward agreed with him.
Edward then focused on his gain from Sasha. His future self created the Soul Magic Circuit that helps with magic control. At first, Edward thought this method would be useless to him because he was close to the pinnacle of Energy Control in terms of talent.
However, he knew how arrogant this thinking was. The circuit can give him a boost of 5%. Furthermore, it is beneficial in the creation of the Ultimate Magic Body.
Edward searched for knowledge on how to create his Hall of Heroes like the Fate Universe. However, his future self only left a message–too much time, so do it yourself.
He shook his head and moved on; he knew himself and was not surprised. There was much knowledge about technology learned from Kingsley. His Future Self even captured many destroyed ships during his battle with the top reincarnators from the river of time, learning their technology.
Edward knew the Empire's technology tree would take a big step after his return, along with the introduction of the new Arcane Class–-Technomancer.
Finally, Edward focused on the two things he wanted to know most–the magic Domain and the fourth layer of the Soul Dimension.