#647 - The four elements of the universe

Before Set fell into becoming a demon, he was a powerful god. In ancient times, only three gods could be mentioned in the same breath as him. They were collectively known as the Four Old Gods.

These Four Old Gods were the Earth Mother Gaia, the Lady of Dawn Oshiete, the Master of Darkness Sunne, and Set, the Serpent Sea Emperor.

These four Old Gods not only possessed immense power, but they also created the cornerstones of creation, representing the four elements of the universe. They were essentially part of the structure that maintained the multiverse, especially in terms of magic, where the four Old Gods were almost indispensable.

It was because of this irreplaceable nature that Set possessed such formidable power. Set even had multiverse uniqueness, a privilege not enjoyed by ordinary beings.

In the vast, immeasurable multiverse, only a handful of beings possessed this trait, possibly not even exceeding the fingers on two hands.

Among the alien heroes that Yang Le possessed, only X-Man enjoyed this privilege. Even Yang Le himself had countless parallel universe versions, but he was the only one with the Omnitrix.

"Where am I...?" Set curled up, observing himself, and discovered that he had transformed into a form he had almost forgotten.

This was his earliest form when he was first born into this world, his weakest state, and the past he least wanted to revisit.

For power, Set could abandon everything. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the lead in killing the other gods, nor would he have become the ugly and filthy being he was before. But now, he had reverted to this weak body.

This was even more unacceptable to Set than being killed.

As mentioned earlier, Set was one of the four cornerstones that constituted this universe, a vital component of the Marvel Universe. To replace him would mean touching the deepest parts of this universe, which could potentially cause chaos.

Furthermore, Set himself represented the chaotic aspect of this universe. The balance between good and evil wasn't just something that happened in "Jackie Chan Adventures"; it was crucial in every universe.

The four cornerstones couldn't all represent justice. Just as there was sunlight, there must be shadows. This was an immutable law, and even X-Man couldn't arbitrarily change it. Doing so would inevitably invite a joint attack from both the forces of good and evil.

So, could X-Man kill Set? The answer was yes, but it was completely unnecessary. Eliminating Set would require finding a replacement, unnecessarily complicating a simple matter.

Moreover, this proposal was unlikely to pass. Oz's approval was highly improbable, so it was best not to waste time.

To resolve the problem with Set, it was enough to weaken his power. Therefore, X-Man reversed Set's time, reverting him to his weakest state. This not only weakened his power but also prevented the universe from becoming unbalanced.

With his power weakened, Set couldn't cause much trouble. To restore his previous strength, he would have to rely on any reserves he might have, or else hide somewhere outside the multiverse and wait for his strength to recover.

If that were the case, Set probably wouldn't be able to cause mischief for centuries, at least not on a grand scale like before.

As for whether such a weakened Set would cause any problems, Yang Le wasn't worried at all. Set was, after all, one of the Four Old Gods, a title established since his birth. He was already an outstanding figure at the time of his birth.

The long years had only allowed him to accumulate some evil power. Gaia had once said that the fallen Set was probably stronger than her, but now they should be back on the same starting line.

Seeing Set's unacceptable appearance, X-Man paid no attention. It was Set who provoked him first. If Set hadn't made the first move, he might never have remembered that there was a giant serpent outside the multiverse.

"Rumble!"

The earth shook and the mountains swayed. With Set's power weakened, the pocket dimension sustained by his clone was destined to be affected. It was already beyond Yang Le's expectations that it didn't collapse directly.

Although it didn't collapse, shrinking was inevitable.

"I will kill you!" Set roared in anger. Losing the power he had accumulated over the years, he also lost his rationality, launching an attack against an unbeatable existence.

Opening his bloody maw, black lightning bolts spewed from his mouth, targeting X-Man, who was flying away from the ground, attempting to leave the pocket universe.

However, X-Man didn't make any move, not even turning his head. The black lightning bolts that were about to approach him transformed into butterflies and flew away.

The helpless Set felt his insignificance, but he still couldn't accept the fact that he had become weak. The furious serpent went mad, thrashing about in the constantly shrinking pocket universe, stirring up clouds of dust.

Besides this, he couldn't do anything in front of X-Man.

...

Turning into a beam of light, Yang Le in his X-Man form flew out of Set's clone's mouth. Unlike the difficulty in Martian Manhunter form, Yang Le's departure was effortless.

Looking back at Set's clone, the giant serpent that had originally coiled around countless universes was now many times smaller, so small that it couldn't even coil around one universe. Like his main body, all seven of his clone's heads had disappeared, leaving only the one he was born with, looking lonely.

This was the punishment he deserved. Now, Set's strength was greatly reduced, and the power he could lend to the Serpent Society was probably negligible. Coupled with the fact that he had just wreaked havoc on the Serpent Society, weakening their strength, those rookie trainees should now be able to deal with them.

For the flourishing development of my universe, I've really broken my heart. But this is much better than playing Ice Age, at least no one will come over and ask him if it's worth it.

Looking at the abstract sphere, several times larger than other universes, Yang Le nodded in satisfaction, then ignored the mad serpent behind him and flew towards the 9527 universe.

Set was no longer a threat. Even if the Serpent Society gathered the summoning conditions to summon him now, he probably wouldn't respond. There was no way he would have one-tenth of his strength left, and with him sitting guard, if this guy dared to come, he would definitely be out of his mind.

Passing through the barrier of the universe, Earth of the 9527 universe appeared before Yang Le. In the Marvel Universe setting, Earth was the center of all universes, so Yang Le didn't even have to bother locating it to find it directly.

This was also why those threats that destroyed the world and restarted the universe always had to target a small Earth, because TOAA had set it up that way, and no one could change it.