Silence reclaimed the battlefield.
Yun Lintian lowered his sword, golden-black eyes scanning the void where Nian Shi had stood. His breathing remained steady, but his mind churned.
Even with the combined power of thirty-seven Primordial Gods... I couldn’t kill him.
The question burned—How?
Nian Shi’s strength wasn’t just superior—it felt fundamentally different. Not just mastery over time, but something more primal. Something that shouldn’t exist.
Like he had drawn power from beyond the system of cultivation itself.
Yun Lintian exhaled slowly. This battle had revealed three truths.
First, Nian Shi was still holding back. That final dimensional technique wasn’t a desperate escape, but a calculated withdrawal.
Second, the gap wasn’t just in power, but in understanding. Nian Shi operated on rules Yun Lintian couldn’t yet perceive.
Third, each Nian Shi had different strength. Clearly, the one he faced earlier was entirely different from the other Nian Shis he had met before.
Yun Lintian had no idea how Nian Shi became this strong. There must be a reason behind this.
The God Slaying Sword hummed in his grip, its hunger unsatisfied.
Yun Lintian let it go and the sword hovered around him like an obedient servant.
He recalled every encounter with Nian Shi across the timelines.
Some were weaker, barely a threat. Others were stronger, but still within reach.
This Nian Shi operated on another level entirely.
The answer lay in time itself.
Nian Shi wasn’t just the God of Time—he was Time’s embodiment. Each version of him across the timelines wasn’t merely a clone or an avatar.
And the stronger ones...
They had lived longer.
Yun Lintian’s eyes narrowed as realization struck.
Nian Shi’s power wasn’t just his own.
Every second, every minute, every year—each Nian Shi across every timeline grew stronger, accumulating knowledge, refining techniques, absorbing power.
And when one became strong enough...
The Nian Shi he had just fought wasn’t just a single entity.
He was the culmination of countless Nian Shis, each contributing their strength, their experience, their very existence to the whole.
That was why he was so strong.
That was why the gap felt insurmountable.
But even that didn’t explain everything.
Nian Shi’s power still felt... foreign.
Like it came from outside the system.
Yun Lintian’s gaze drifted to the God Slaying Sword.
If I can’t match him through conventional means...
Then he would have to go beyond them.
Yun Lintian exhaled, his golden-black eyes hardening with resolve.
He had three tasks ahead.
He had to understand Nian Shi’s true nature. There was still more to uncover about the God of Time’s power.
Afterwards, he had to find a way to counter dimensional manipulation. Nian Shi’s escape proved spatial control alone wasn’t enough.
Lastly, he must surpass the system. If Nian Shi drew strength from beyond cultivation, then so would he.
The only problem was how... How could he go beyond that?
Perhaps, the power of the Creator?
Yun Lintian stood in the void, the remnants of battle fading around him. His golden-black eyes burned with contemplation as he considered the true nature of the Creator’s power.
Extinguish galaxies with a thought? Create stars with a flick of the wrist?
But he knew one thing—his current strength wasn’t enough.
The Creator’s power was absolute.
But what did that mean?
Yun Lintian flexed his fingers, watching as spatial distortions rippled around them. Even now, after absorbing the essence of thirty-seven Primordial Gods, he could feel the limits of his control.
True creation—not just reassembling existing matter, not just bending laws, but birthing something from nothing.
That was the difference.
Yun Lintian’s gaze darkened.
He had the Seed of Time.
He had the God Slaying Sword.
He had the Eight Divine Beast Souls.
But none of these were the core of the Creator’s power.
They were tools. Weapons.
What he needed was the source.
The origin of all things.
The power to define reality itself.
Time was against him.
Nian Shi grew stronger with every passing moment, his countless selves across timelines accumulating power.
Yun Lintian didn’t have that luxury.
He needed to force his ascension.
The answer came to him like a whisper.
The ancient entity at the bottom of the Endless Abyss.
Unfortunately... the World Tree was gone. It gone with his wives and people...
Yun Lintian’s eyes turned cold. Since he couldn’t find the World Tree, the only way he could improve his power was to continue his hunt.
With a thought, Yun Lintian tore open space, stepping through the rift.
Let the hunt begin again.
In an isolated space beyond time, Nian Shi lounged on a silver throne, his fingers steepled as he observed Yun Lintian through a floating mirror. The image showed Yun Lintian vanishing into a spatial rift, his expression cold with determination.
"A bit risky," he mused, "but everything went according to plan."
Beside him, Tantai Lanling stood rigid, her crimson eyes fixed on the mirror. The battle had shaken her—not just Yun Lintian’s raw power, but the fact that he had still been holding back.
Nian Shi glanced at her, amused. "Scared?"
Tantai Lanling didn’t flinch. "Yes."
Her honesty made Nian Shi laugh. "Good. You should be." He leaned forward, his silver eyes gleaming. "That was just a fraction of what he’s capable of. Once he figures out how to integrate all those powers into one..."
He trailed off, letting the implication hang.
Tantai Lanling understood.
If Yun Lintian mastered the fusion of his abilities, even Nian Shi’s strongest incarnations might not survive a direct confrontation.
This battle hadn’t been about killing Yun Lintian.
A carefully orchestrated scheme to push Yun Lintian toward his limit—to make him see the gap, to force him to evolve faster.
Nian Shi needed him strong.
Strong enough to be the perfect vessel.
"The hunt continues," Nian Shi murmured, watching Yun Lintian’s figure disappear into the void. "And with each god he devours, he comes closer to perfection."
Tantai Lanling frowned. "What if he becomes too strong? What if he—"
Nian Shi silenced her with a look.
"Don’t worry." His smile turned razor-sharp. "No matter how powerful he gets, he’ll always be dancing in my palm."