7 segment internet clock on MEGA +WIFI R3 ATMEGA2560+NODEMCU ESP8266

I have a MEGA +WIFI R3 ATMEGA2560+NODEMCU ESP8266 32MB MEMORY USB-TTL CH340G COMPATIBLE FOR ARDUINO MEGA. Have loaded a 7 segment clock sketch in the microcontroller and an NTP Client sketch on the ESP8266. I get a ping from the ESP8266 as well as the correct time in the Serial Monitor. However, I can't manage to have the microcontroller read the serial string from the ESP8266 to display the correct time. Can someone help. I have attached both sketches.

CLOCK_WITH_RTC.ino (1.71 KB)

AdvancedNTPCLIENT2.ino (968 Bytes)

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