Night blanketed the Azure Cloud Sect.
The bright laughter that had filled the courtyards during the day was gone, replaced by the distant chirping of insects and the occasional cry of a spirit beast flying between the floating mountains.
Inside Residence 97, Lin Mo sat cross-legged on his bed.
The ten Spirit Stones lay before him, glowing softly.
Normally, any new disciple would immediately use them to increase their cultivation.
Lin Mo did not.
His thoughts remained fixed on Han Qiu's warning.
"There are people watching you."
Chen Yu peeked through the window.
"I don't see anyone."
"They're hiding," Han Qiu replied calmly.
"You don't survive in the mountains by making yourself visible."
Lin Mo looked at Han Qiu.
"How do you know?"
Han Qiu was silent for a moment.
"My father was a hunter."
"He taught me that sometimes the most dangerous predator is the one you never see."
Lin Mo nodded.
His instincts told him the same thing.
That night, after Chen Yu and Han Qiu had fallen asleep, Lin Mo quietly left the residence.
Instead of heading toward the cultivation grounds, he walked into the bamboo forest behind the Outer Sect.
The moonlight barely pierced the thick canopy.
The deeper he walked, the quieter the forest became.
Then—
Tick...
The silver watch pulsed.
Not enough to freeze time.
But enough to awaken his newly acquired Chrono Sense.
The world changed.
Faint silver threads appeared in the air, flowing like invisible rivers.
Most drifted peacefully.
One thread...
Was broken.
Someone had recently disturbed the flow of time.
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not alone."
A voice echoed from the darkness.
"I expected you to notice."
A man in black robes stepped out from behind a bamboo stalk.
His face was hidden beneath a hood.
Only his crimson eyes were visible.
"You've been following me."
The stranger smiled.
"Following?"
"No."
"I've been observing."
Lin Mo quietly circulated his spiritual energy.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored the question.
"Do you know why the Stone Tablet awakened?"
Lin Mo remained silent.
"It wasn't because of your talent."
"It recognized something... much older."
The stranger took another step.
"The Chrono Heart."
Lin Mo's pupils contracted.
For the first time...
Someone besides the Guardian had spoken its name.
"So..."
"The Guardian is still alive."
The stranger laughed softly.
"How disappointing."
Lin Mo's heart pounded.
*"How does he know about the Guardian?"*
The stranger slowly removed a black glove.
His right hand was covered in strange crimson markings.
"They call us the Eclipse Court."
"We have searched for the Chrono Heart for ten thousand years."
"And now..."
"...we've found its heir."
Lin Mo took a step back.
"You have the wrong person."
The stranger chuckled.
"If that were true..."
"...your watch wouldn't be trembling."
Instinctively, Lin Mo touched his chest.
The silver watch was vibrating violently beneath his robe.
Without warning—
The stranger vanished.
Lin Mo's eyes widened.
"So fast!"
A cold hand reached toward his chest.
At the last possible moment—
Tick!
Borrowed Second.
Everything froze.
The stranger's fingertips stopped less than an inch from Lin Mo's robe.
Lin Mo didn't hesitate.
He moved behind the stranger and struck with all his strength.
The borrowed second ended.
BOOM!
The stranger stumbled forward.
He looked genuinely surprised.
"You've already learned a temporal technique?"
A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Then...
He smiled.
"Excellent."
The crimson markings on his arm began to spread.
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
Trees bent under the pressure.
The ground cracked.
Lin Mo instantly realized the truth.
"This isn't an Outer Sect disciple..."
"It's a true cultivator."
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Just as the stranger prepared another attack—
A brilliant blue sword light streaked across the forest.
WHOOSH!
The stranger leaped backward.
A middle-aged man landed between him and Lin Mo.
His white robes fluttered in the wind.
A sword floated silently behind his back.
"Elder Han."
The stranger sighed.
"You arrived sooner than expected."
Elder Han's expression was ice-cold.
"You dare infiltrate the Azure Cloud Sect?"
The stranger bowed mockingly.
"I merely came to greet a promising junior."
His crimson eyes shifted toward Lin Mo.
"We'll meet again."
"When you discover the truth about your parents..."
"...come find us."
Before either of them could react, his body dissolved into black mist.
The forest fell silent once more.
Elder Han slowly turned toward Lin Mo.
"Are you injured?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
"No, Elder."
Elder Han studied him carefully.
"You fought well."
"But that man..."
"...was far beyond your current realm."
Lin Mo hesitated.
"Elder... who was he?"
Elder Han looked toward the night sky.
"Someone who should have remained buried in history."
He paused.
"If you ever see crimson eyes again..."
"Run."
Back at Residence 97, Lin Mo lay awake long after midnight.
The stranger's final words echoed endlessly in his mind.
"When you discover the truth about your parents..."
Until now, he had believed they had simply disappeared.
But what if...
Their disappearance had something to do with the Chrono Heart?
Far beneath the Azure Cloud Sect, inside a forgotten chamber sealed by twelve ancient chains...
One of the chains suddenly snapped.
A deep voice laughed from the darkness.
"One seal has broken."
"The game between time and eternity... begins again."