NOVPUB"Don't worry, your woman is safe," Sun Qi replied. "You should be grateful my master forbade anyone from touching her. Otherwise…" His voice dropped, laced with dark amusement. "She would have countless husbands by now."
A deadly silence followed.
The Chaos Knights tensed, expecting Yun Lintian to erupt in fury.
But he only smiled—a smile that made Sun Qi's instincts scream in warning.
"Nian Shi knows better," Yun Lintian said softly. "The moment he lets anyone touch her… is the moment he dies."
Sun Qi's eyes narrowed. He had expected rage, desperation—not this chilling certainty.
"Activate the formation!" he barked.
The Chaos Knights moved instantly. Golden runes lit up across the void, forming an intricate sealing array designed to suppress even a Primordial God. Chains of temporal energy shot toward Yun Lintian, aiming to bind him in place.
Yun Lintian didn't move.
He simply raised a hand.
"Break."
A pulse of Primordial Chaos erupted from his palm.
The golden chains shattered mid-air.
The sealing formation collapsed like glass.
Sun Qi's calm facade cracked.
"Impossible!"
Yun Lintian took a step forward—
And space itself screamed as his aura exploded outward.
The nearest Chaos Knights disintegrated on the spot, their armor and bodies turning to dust before they could even scream.
Sun Qi roared, unleashing his full power. A massive halberd materialized in his hands, its edge humming with time-rending force.
"DIE!"
He lunged, his weapon carving through reality itself—
Yun Lintian didn't dodge.
He caught the halberd's blade with his bare hand.
Sun Qi's eyes widened in horror.
"You—"
CRACK.
Yun Lintian shattered the divine weapon with a squeeze of his fingers.
Before Sun Qi could react, Yun Lintian's other hand closed around his throat.
"Tell Nian Shi this," Yun Lintian murmured, his voice deathly soft. "If he wants to play games… I'll erase his existence from time itself."
Sun Qi struggled, his face turning purple—
Then—
BOOM!
A temporal rift tore open behind Yun Lintian.
A voice, ancient and mocking, echoed through the void.
"Come find me then."
Nian Shi's voice.
Yun Lintian's grip tightened—
But Sun Qi's body dissolved into golden mist, vanishing before he could be killed.
The remaining Chaos Knights froze in terror.
Yun Lintian turned his gaze toward the rift.
"Finally showing yourself?"
No response.
Only the rift remained, pulsing with challenge.
Yun Lintian smiled.
"Good."
Without hesitation, he stepped through—
And the void swallowed him whole.
The world shifted.
Yun Lintian stepped through the rift—and found himself standing in a vast, ancient hall. The ceiling stretched endlessly into darkness, while the floor was made of polished black stone that reflected the dim glow of floating lanterns.
At the far end of an impossibly long table, a man sat calmly, his fingers steepled before him.
Nian Shi.
The God of Time.
He looked nothing like what Yun Lintian had imagined.
No monstrous aura. No sinister presence.
Just an elegant scholar, clad in simple white robes, his silver hair tied back neatly. His golden eyes gleamed with quiet amusement as he regarded Yun Lintian.
"Welcome," Nian Shi said, his voice smooth. "Please, sit."
Yun Lintian's gaze swept across the hall.
"She's not here," Nian Shi added before he could ask. "No need to look."
Yun Lintian remained silent for a moment before walking forward. Each step echoed as he moved toward the table. He took a seat at the opposite end, the distance between them vast—yet neither seemed bothered by it.
Nian Shi smiled.
"I must admit," he began, "your parents and Yun Tianming did an excellent job hiding you from me." He chuckled lightly. "I truly believed I had killed you when I erased that alternate timeline. Yet here you are."
His golden eyes gleamed.
"Fate's little joke, I suppose."
Yun Lintian studied him.
This was the being who had orchestrated the fall of countless realms. The one who had imprisoned Qingxuan. The so-called Lord of Chaos.
And yet—he looked so… ordinary.
"Why?" Yun Lintian asked.
Nian Shi tilted his head slightly. "Why what?"
"All of this." Yun Lintian's voice was calm, but his eyes burned. "The destruction. The suffering. What's the point?" 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
Nian Shi leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.
"Tell me, Yun Lintian," he said instead. "Have you ever wished for a peaceful world? A place where your women, your people, could live without fear?"
Yun Lintian didn't answer.
Nian Shi continued. "I want the same thing."
A beat of silence.
Then—
"I want to end all conflict. All war. All suffering." His golden eyes darkened. "But to do that… I need the power of the Creator."
Yun Lintian's gaze sharpened.
"You want to rewrite existence."
Nian Shi smiled. "Exactly."
He spread his hands.
"The universe is flawed. Mortals fight. Gods scheme. Even Primordial beings like us are bound by the cycle." His voice grew softer. "But if I become the Creator… I can remake everything. A perfect world. No pain. No loss."
Yun Lintian stared at him.
Then—
He laughed.
A cold, humorless sound.
"And you think slaughtering millions is the way to achieve that?"
Nian Shi's smile didn't waver. "Sacrifices are necessary."
"You're insane."
"Or perhaps," Nian Shi countered, "I'm the only one willing to do what must be done."
Silence fell between them.
The air grew heavy.
Then—
Nian Shi sighed. "I didn't bring you here to fight. Not yet."
He waved a hand.
A shimmering image appeared above the table—Long Qingxuan, suspended in a void, her body encased in golden chains.
Yun Lintian's fingers twitched.
"She's alive," Nian Shi said. "Unharmed. And she will remain so… if you cooperate."
Yun Lintian's eyes darkened.
"What do you want?"
Nian Shi leaned forward.
"Join me."
Yun Lintian's fingers tightened imperceptibly on the armrest of his chair. The invitation hung in the air between them—absurd, yet delivered with complete sincerity.
"Join you?" His voice was dangerously calm.
Nian Shi smiled, unfazed by the lethal undercurrent in Yun Lintian's tone. "You must have realized by now—the true threat isn't me."
A flicker of something passed through Yun Lintian's mismatched eyes.
"Yin."
The name alone made the lanterns in the hall dim momentarily.
Nian Shi inclined his head. "The Chasm of Uncreation. Now that he has gotten the Devourer, thanks to you. This allows him to recover faster."
Yun Lintian's gaze sharpened. "Then why did you release it?"
A dry chuckle escaped Nian Shi's lips. "You forget—it wasn't me who unleashed Yin. That honor belongs to Ren Yuan."
"You could have stopped him," Yun Lintian countered coldly.
"Why should I?" Nian Shi spread his hands. "Whether it's you or me standing at the end—one of us must face Yin regardless."
The implication hung heavy between them...
