Ash took a deep breath before speaking, because despite everything Henry had revealed so far, there were still too many things that did not make sense to him.
"I won’t tell you how many Runes I have collected. But that doesn’t mean I don’t trust your words. I know you are speaking the truth."
Ash paused briefly before continuing.
"But.....what do you gain from all this..? What are you even expecting from me...?"
Henry smiled hearing those words.
"What do I want from you..? I want nothing."
He answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Because I can gain nothing from helping you. Karma doesn’t bind you, thus we won’t be in any kind of Karmic ties, and the same goes for many other things too. I just want to see how far you will go and what you can achieve."
His smile widened slightly.
"It’s not every day that you get to see an Anomaly. But I am also not a Saint. If in the future you get a chance to help me, just be sure to step in."
Henry casually leaned back into the couch.
"Because I actually have a very bad habit of courting death. I like taking risks, because the greater the risk, the greater the reward."
Ash looked at him for a few moments.
What a lunatic....
The funny thing was that Ash himself did not realize how often others would probably describe him with the exact same word.
"Just to let you know, I can’t stay in this world for very long, because I technically did not arrive here by a normal method."
A strange look flashed through Henry’s eyes for a brief moment.
And because of you, I have arrived seven years into the future, I have skipped a lot of time. I will most likely be sent back into the past very soon according to the Natural Laws, but now that I know the future will be this interesting, I will be waiting.....
Oblivious to Henry’s thoughts, Ash continued listening.
"Thus, whatever help I can provide you is very limited. At most, I can give you some information and knowledge."
The moment those words left Henry’s mouth, Ash’s eyes visibly brightened.
For someone else, treasures, weapons, cultivation resources might have been more attractive.
But for Ash, knowledge was often more valuable than all of them combined.
A smile gradually appeared on his face.
"Knowledge you say....? That’s good."
Unlike before, this smile was genuine. After all, if there was one thing Ash never believed he could possess enough of, it was knowledge.
"I want the method to create Worlds inside the core and various other methods to continue that path. I want different kinds of techniques related to it and everything. If you have body cultivation techniques along with World Creation techniques, that would be for the best."
Ash spoke without the slightest hesitation, as though he had been waiting for this opportunity from the very beginning.
"Oh, and before I forget, I also want one for strengthening the Soul as well. While you are at it, it wouldn’t hurt to have one for Strengthening Will power as well. I already know how to increase my Will Power, but it would nice to have more. Maybe I can learn some new insights from them."
As he continued speaking, the smile on his face only grew wider.
"Also, it would be very nice if you can tell me how you hacked the Universal System to access its knowledge. Teach me that. Scratch that, directly give me that knowledge."
Ash did not even pause to breathe before continuing.
"And before I forget, I also want to know everything about this Fake Dimension. Don’t leave even a single clue behind. Yeah, that’s it. I guess I covered everything, but if you feel I should know more, give me more. I don’t mind."
By the time Ash finally finished speaking, his eyes were practically shining.
Meanwhile, Henry’s expression had gradually become stranger and stranger the longer Ash spoke.
For several moments, he just stared at Ash.
Then he stared some more.
Henry was dumbfounded.
He had expected Ash to ask for information.
He had expected Ash to ask questions.
What he had not expected was for Ash to immediately try to rob him blind the moment he mentioned knowledge.
"..."
"..."
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Eventually, Henry rubbed his forehead.
"You know, when most people hear that I can share some knowledge, they usually ask one or two questions."
Ash blinked.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Henry nodded.
"Meanwhile, you just tried to empty my entire collection in one breath."
Ash looked genuinely confused.
"Well, you did say you could provide knowledge."
The corner of Henry’s mouth twitched.
That’s not what I meant, you dumbass. No... calm down, Henry. Take deep breaths. Let’s not lose our cool because of him.
For the first time since arriving in this Dimension, Henry genuinely felt a headache coming on, because he had met greedy people, ambitious people, and even shameless people before, but never had he met someone who immediately tried to rob him of every piece of knowledge he possessed the moment he offered help.
With a helpless sigh, Henry rubbed his forehead before finally speaking.
"Fine, I can provide you all this. I am not signing any contract with you because I feel that in the future even that might stop working on you, but I believe you are not the kind of person who breaks his promises."
Ash nodded lightly.
"Well, anyways....."
"Most of the things you asked for can be given to you. World Creation methods, body cultivation techniques, soul strengthening techniques, information regarding this Fake Dimension, and even various cultivation systems from other Dimensions are all things that I can provide, though whether you can fully comprehend some of them is another matter entirely."
A smile slowly appeared on Ash’s face as he listened.
"Oh, don’t worry about that. Whether I can comprehend it or not is my problem. You just need to give it to me."
Henry looked at him for a few moments before shaking his head.
"In that case, prepare yourself mentally first, because the amount of information I am about to give you is not small, and even with your abilities, sorting through all of it will probably take some time."
The smile on Ash’s face widened further upon hearing those words, because rather than feeling intimidated, he felt anticipation.
After all, opportunities to obtain knowledge from someone capable of travelling across Infinite Dimensions were opportunities that might never come a second time.
Henry then tried to transfer the information directly into Ash’s mind, but he was unable to do so because of the protection of the Rune of Knowledge, which instinctively resisted any attempt to access or interact with Ash’s mind through such methods.
Thus, Ash used the Soul Flame as the medium for the transfer instead.
The Soul Flame acted as a guard between his Soul and the outside world, and if it detected any evil intention hidden within the information being transferred, it would burn that part away before it could reach him.
At least, that was what Ash believed.
More importantly, if Henry truly wanted to harm him, there were countless easier ways to do so, which was why Ash did not hesitate for long before choosing this method.
Henry’s finger slowly touched the Soul Flame.
The instant contact was established, an endless torrent of information surged outward like a cosmic flood escaping a broken dam, causing Ash’s eyes to immediately lose focus as his consciousness was dragged into a deep trance.
The amount of information being transferred was simply too enormous.
Energy Cultivation techniques.
Body cultivation techniques.
Soul cultivation techniques.
Dimensional knowledge.
Information regarding the Fake Dimension.
Everything was being poured into Ash’s Soul Flame at once.
After some time, Henry withdrew his hand and quietly observed the motionless Ash while leaning back into the couch.
The process would take some time.
After all, even with Ash’s terrifying comprehension abilities, digesting such an absurd amount of information was not something that could be accomplished instantly.
As he watched the unconscious Ash, Henry’s thoughts naturally drifted toward the techniques he had just transferred, particularly the few that he personally considered the most valuable among the countless inheritances.
For Body Cultivation, he had transferred the Law Tempering Physique , an ancient body cultivation method that used fragments of comprehended Laws to temper the body. Every time a practitioner deepened their understanding of a Law, they could fuse a portion of that comprehension into their flesh, bones, blood, and organs. The method progressed extremely slowly because genuine understanding could not be rushed, but every improvement became a permanent part of the body.
Alongside it was the Titan Body Method , a body cultivation method inspired by the naturally powerful physiques of giant races. The method focused on gradually increasing the body’s physical limits through repeated strain and recovery, forcing muscles, bones, tendons, and organs to adapt together.
There was also the World Core Physique , a body cultivation method that used miniature worlds as nourishment. As a practitioner’s inner worlds expanded and matured, the resulting growth was reflected back into their physical body, gradually strengthening every aspect of their physique.
****