"Senior!" Long Qingxuan cried out as she watched Yun Wuhan’s figure begin to dissipate. Her hand reached out instinctively, grasping at golden motes of light that slipped through her fingers like sand.
Yun Wuhan turned to her, his expression softening. A playful glint appeared in his eyes. "I never expected the proud Dragon Princess would one day become my daughter-in-law." His voice carried genuine warmth. "Thank you... for staying by my son’s side."
Long Qingxuan’s lips trembled. The usually composed Dragon Clan Princess found herself unable to speak.
The others stood in silence. Long Xi closed her eyes and fell silent. Linlin and Qingqing clung to each other, their small frames trembling. Even Nantian Fengyu, ever defiant, lowered her gaze.
Yun Wuhan’s form grew fainter. He looked at each of them—these people who had fought, bled, and would die for his son. His final words were barely a whisper:
"Live well... in whatever time remains."
The white space shattered like broken glass.
The group stumbled as the study room materialized around them. The floating diary fell with a soft thud onto the desk.
Nantian Fengyu was the first to move. She snatched up the diary, flipping to the last page. The mysterious runes had completely faded—only blank parchment remained.
"He’s really gone," she murmured.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Long Qingxuan stood frozen, Yun Wuhan’s final words echoing in her mind. Beside her, Long Niu sniffled quietly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
It was Long Xi who finally spoke. "We should prepare." Her voice was steady, but her clenched fists betrayed her emotions. "If what Senior Yun said is true... we don’t have much time left."
Nantian Fengyu snapped the diary shut. "Prepare for what? To die?" Her crimson eyes burned. "I refuse to just wait for the end!"
"Then what do you suggest?" Long Xi countered. "Even if we told Yun Lintian everything now, it wouldn’t change fate. This was always the only path."
A tense silence fell.
Linlin suddenly spoke up. "What if... what if we’re looking at this wrong?" All eyes turned to the small Wood Spirit. "Senior Yun said we’re Big Brother Yun’s anchors to humanity. Maybe... maybe our purpose isn’t just to die, but to remind him why the fight matters?"
Qingqing nodded vigorously beside her. "Yes! Big Brother Yun would never abandon his humanity completely! We’ve seen it time and again—no matter how powerful he becomes, he always remembers those he cares about!"
A spark of hope flickered in the room.
Nantian Fengyu scoffed, but her usual fire was missing. "Foolish optimism." Still, she didn’t outright dismiss the idea.
Long Qingxuan finally stirred. "They’re right." She lifted her head, determination replacing her grief. "Whether our deaths are inevitable or not, we can still shape how Lintian remembers us—and what he fights for."
She turned to the window, where the sun of the Land of Beyond Heaven shone over peaceful fields. Somewhere out there, Yun Lintian was waging a war across timelines.
"We’ll leave him letters," she decided. "Memories. So even when we’re gone... he’ll never forget what he’s protecting."
In a distant timeline, amidst the ruins of a shattered divine realm, Yun Lintian stood over the corpse of the Primordial Goddess of Blossoms. Golden divine blood dripped from his fingers as he absorbed the last remnants of her power. His mismatched eyes—one gold, one black—showed no emotion. Only the endless void of a man who had walked through countless battles.
The air around him twisted unnaturally, his aura so dense it crushed the very fabric of reality beneath his feet. The God Slaying Sword hovered at his side, its blade pitch-black, drinking in the lingering divinity in the air.
Just as he prepared to tear open space and move to the next timeline, three figures appeared at the edge of the ruins.
Three young women, barely at the Lower God Realm, their faces twisted with grief and hatred.
"You...!" The eldest, a girl with silver hair and tear-streaked cheeks, pointed a trembling sword at Yun Lintian. "You killed our master!"
The other two, twins with matching violet eyes, flanked her, their weapons raised despite the obvious futility.
Yun Lintian regarded them with indifference. The God Slaying Sword shifted slightly, positioning itself between him and the girls, as if amused by their defiance.
The silver-haired girl lunged first. Her sword flared with desperate power—a technique she had likely practiced under her master’s guidance.
The God Slaying Sword didn’t even let her strike reach halfway. It flicked her blade aside with contemptuous ease, sending her crashing into the rubble. The twins attacked next, their movements synchronized, their hatred burning bright.
Yun Lintian didn’t move.
The black sword intercepted them effortlessly, its dark edge humming as it deflected their blows. One twin stumbled, her wrist fractured from the recoil. The other barely managed to stay standing, her breath ragged.
They knew they couldn’t win.
For a fleeting moment, something stirred in Yun Lintian’s chest.
They are just like me... seeking revenge for their loved ones.
These girls, weak as they were, were willing to throw away their lives for vengeance. Just as he had once done.
And now, he had become the very thing he had sought to destroy—a monster who tore families apart.
The emotion was crushed before it could fully form. His expression remained cold.
"If you wish to avenge her," he said, his voice devoid of warmth, "grow stronger. Then come find me."
He turned away, already opening a rift in space.
"My name is Yun Lintian."
And then he was gone.
The three girls collapsed in the ruins, their bodies trembling with exhaustion and grief. The eldest clutched the ground, her fingers digging into the dirt where her master’s blood had pooled.
"Yun... Lintian..." she whispered, etching the name into her soul.
Nian Shi observed the scene from the silver currents, his lips curling into a smirk.
"How interesting," he mused. "Even now, after slaughtering so many, he still hesitates."
Nian Shi glanced at Tantai Lanling and asked. "Do you want to face him now?"
"Can I?" Tantai Lanling asked calmly.
"Of course," Nian Shi chuckled. "It won’t slow him down in the slightest. On the contrary, it will make him thirst power more."
Tantai Lanling titled her head slightly and said. "Alright."