The silver light pouring from the ancient tablet illuminated the entire Martial Arena.
For several heartbeats, no one spoke.
Thousands of disciples stared at the summit of the Stone Steps, where Lin Mo stood alone. His robes fluttered gently in the mountain breeze as the mysterious runes on the tablet continued to glow.
Then—
The light vanished.
Everything returned to normal.
Except... the silence remained.
Elder Mu was the first to recover.
"The trial is over!"
His voice echoed across the arena.
"Lin Mo has reached the three-hundredth step."
A wave of astonishment swept through the crowd.
"No one has done that in decades."
"I heard even some Inner Disciples couldn't reach the top."
"Who exactly is this Lin Mo?"
Chen Yu cheered loudly from below.
"I knew he could do it!"
Lu Feng, who had already regained consciousness, clenched his fists. Although he admired Lin Mo's determination, a spark of jealousy ignited deep within his heart.
Lin Mo slowly approached the stone tablet.
From a distance, it looked ordinary.
Up close, however, he noticed countless tiny cracks running across its surface.
The silver runes were fading, as though they had awakened only briefly.
Without thinking, he placed his hand on the tablet.
The moment his palm touched the cold stone—
Tick.
The world froze.
Not completely.
Only the summit disappeared.
The surrounding mountains faded into darkness.
Lin Mo found himself standing in an endless plain beneath a silver sky.
Before him stood an elderly man dressed in ancient robes.
His long white hair reached his waist, and his calm eyes seemed to contain the passage of countless ages.
"You have arrived."
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.
"You... are you the Guardian?"
The old man smiled gently.
"No."
"I am merely a fragment."
"A memory left behind."
"I was once known as the First Keeper of the Eastern Clock."
Lin Mo frowned.
"Another Time Keeper?"
The old man nodded.
"Long before your era, there were twelve of us."
"We safeguarded the flow of time."
"But our order was destroyed."
"By whom?"
The old man's expression darkened.
"By those who believed eternity should belong only to themselves."
"The Void Sovereigns."
At the mention of the name, the sky above them cracked slightly.
The old man sighed.
"Even after death... speaking their name disturbs the balance."
He raised a hand.
The air rippled, revealing a vision.
Lin Mo saw twelve towering figures standing around the colossal black clock.
Each carried a different artifact.
A sword.
A mirror.
A lantern.
A bell.
And a watch.
"The Chrono Heart," the old man said, "was never meant to belong to one person."
"It was created when the twelve artifacts were united."
Lin Mo looked down at the silver watch hanging from his neck.
"So this..."
"...is only part of something much greater?"
"Yes."
"And if the Void Sovereigns obtain every fragment..."
"The flow of time itself will become their servant."
The old man's body became increasingly transparent.
"My remaining strength is fading."
"I can give you only one gift."
He extended a finger toward Lin Mo's forehead.
A single silver rune entered his mind.
"The Chrono Sense."
"It will allow you to perceive disturbances in time."
"It is weak now."
"But one day..."
"It may save your life."
The world shattered.
Lin Mo found himself standing once again before the stone tablet.
Only a single heartbeat had passed.
No one seemed to notice anything unusual.
Except Elder Han.
He narrowed his eyes.
"For a moment..."
"I felt a temporal fluctuation."
As the disciples descended the Stone Steps, Elder Mu announced the results.
"The top ten performers will receive additional cultivation resources."
The disciples applauded.
"First place..."
He looked toward Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo."
"You will receive ten Spirit Stones, a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, and permission to enter the Outer Sect Technique Pavilion."
Chen Yu nearly jumped with excitement.
"That's amazing!"
Even Lu Feng couldn't hide his surprise.
The Technique Pavilion contained martial arts that ordinary Outer Disciples could only dream of obtaining.
That evening, Lin Mo returned to Residence 97.
He placed the ten Spirit Stones neatly on the table.
Their rich spiritual energy filled the room.
Chen Yu stared at them enviously.
"You've become rich overnight."
Lin Mo chuckled.
"Let's hope I don't spend them all at once."
As the two laughed, Han Qiu quietly opened the door.
His usually calm face looked unusually serious.
"There are people asking about you."
Lin Mo's smile faded.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"They're wearing black robes."
"They've been watching Residence 97 since sunset."
A cold feeling spread through Lin Mo's chest.
The Guardian's warning echoed in his mind.
"Never let them know you possess the Chrono Heart."
Had the enemies already found him?
Outside the residence, hidden among the shadows of an ancient pine tree, two figures dressed in black silently observed the courtyard.
One of them smiled beneath his hood.
"He touched the Tablet of Time."
"There is no doubt now."
His companion nodded.
"Inform the Master."
"The heir has revealed himself."
The first hunter had arrived within the Azure Cloud Sect.