The twilight sky hung over the trees of the southern forest, bathing the land in a pale golden light. The birds had gone quiet, replaced by the whispering wind that carried the scent of moss and fallen leaves.
Gu Tian Li walked alone along the narrow path he once took with Lian Shu. But this time, there was no conversation, no faint laughter or shared worry. Only the steady, silent rhythm of his footsteps, and the faint pulse of the Time Crystal tucked in his pocket.
At times, the wind whispered in a language long forgotten. But Gu Tian Li paid it no mind.
His thoughts were still haunted by the fragments of the past he saw in the Temple of Time his mother, his future self, Shen Mu... and most of all, the cold-eyed woman with the spiral symbol on her back.
"Who is she…" he muttered softly, but the wind offered no answer.
As night fell, he set up a simple camp by a small stream. He sat cross-legged, trying to meditate, but each time he closed his eyes, voices from across time echoed back this time not just voices, but visions.
He saw Shen Mu's silhouette, laughing with blood on his lips. his younger sister, Gu Ming Yue, standing on the brink of ruin.
Gu Tian Li opened his eyes with ragged breath.
"I have to move faster."
Three days later, the outer gate of the Gu Clan came into view.
A crimson flag with the emblem of a coiling dragon fluttered weakly in the morning wind. The stone walls stood as firm as ever, yet something felt different. The guards at the gate looked at Gu Tian Li with hesitation, as if unsure that the one who had returned was truly him.
As he passed through the gate, the faint ringing of a ceremonial bell sounded from afar. It was not an alarm of danger, but a signal the return of a core clan member.
In the main courtyard, two figures stood waiting.
Gu Ming Yue stood at the front of the clan hall, dressed in sky-blue martial robes, her hair neatly tied back. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, but the surprise quickly gave way to concern.
"Brother...!" she called out, running to him.
Gu Tian Li gave her a faint smile and patted her head.
"I'm back," he said simply.
Before she could reply, a heavy voice echoed from within the hall.
"Gu Tian Li."
It was the voice of the Gu Patriarch carrying the weight of generations and authority.
An elderly man with a white beard and sharp eyes stepped out from between the stone pillars. Behind him, several clan elders followed, their expressions stern.
"You've been gone for nearly a month. You missed three key meetings before the Imperial Tournament," the Patriarch stated.
"I know," Gu Tian Li answered calmly. "But I've returned with more than just an excuse."
The Patriarch stared at him. "Excuses are not enough. You are the heir of the next generation. If you're not ready to face the Imperial stage… then we must reconsider who is worthy."
Gu Ming Yue tensed, but Gu Tian Li remained still. He raised his hand, and from within his robe, he revealed the pulsing Time Crystal.
At once, the air around them grew heavy. A few elders stepped back, their instincts recognizing the unnatural power in the artifact.
The Patriarch narrowed his eyes.
"That…"
"A remnant from the Forgotten Temple of Time," Gu Tian Li replied. "I didn't just vanish. I sought something more important than personal pride… the truth about time, about Shen Mu, and about our future."
Silence fell.
Then the Patriarch let out a long breath. "You've stepped onto a path that can no longer be avoided. If you carry that crystal, then you've been marked… and time is not a loyal ally."
"Time plays its games with the innocence of children, its pieces shifting across the board of existence. Destiny, the ever-watchful captive, observes from the shadows."
"Should time dare to manipulate the pawn of destiny, I shall rise in defiance, a warrior against fate, to claim sovereignty over my own existence." He looked straight into the Patriarch's eyes.
The Patriarch looked stunned, then nodded slowly before turning into the hall. "Prepare yourself. The tournament begins in two weeks. And before then… you must prove yourself to the entire clan."
Gu Tian Li gave a single nod.
Gu Ming Yue gripped her brother's arm tightly.
"Brother… you're really going to face Shen Mu there, aren't you?"
Gu Tian Li turned to her. His eyes were calm, but behind them, a storm raged.
"Not just him. I'll face everything."
That night, the stars seemed sharper in the sky.
And elsewhere, beyond mountains and time, an ancient hourglass began to tremble once more.
The nights in the Gu Clan were never truly silent but this night felt different. The sky was dark and starless, and the air carried a metallic scent a sign that something great was coming.
Gu Tian Li stood in the training courtyard alone.
His body was still, his breathing steady. Around him, stones cracked and leaves rustled with every rise of his spiritual aura. He was no longer the same man who had vanished a month ago. Time had carved something new into him. Not just power but clarity of direction.
His Soulblade was unsheathed, yet unmoving.
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, he pictured the tournament arena. Hundreds of eyes watching. Shen Mu standing at the far end, his mocking smile slicing through the air. And behind him the shadow of a broken future, Gu Ming Yue in blood, and the collapse of time itself.
Suddenly, he swung his blade.
The air split, and a faint blue glow wrapped around his sharp gaze.
One move. Two. Three. Techniques born not from manuals, but from memory and visions.
A new art he created himself "Steps Through the Cracks of Time."
He trained until dawn approached.
....
On the second day, Gu Tian Li visited a clan technique elder Elder Ji, guardian of the clan's secret scrolls.
"I want access to the inner meditation chamber."
Elder Ji gave him a skeptical look. "That place isn't for just any disciple. Only those who have undergone full soul awakening-"
Gu Tian Li dropped the Time Crystal onto the stone table before him. It pulsed once, and the room trembled softly.
Elder Ji fell silent, then slowly nodded.
"Very well. But be warned. In that place, not only your body but your soul and beliefs will be tested."
....
The inner meditation chamber was a cave hidden beneath the main hall. No light reached it only pure darkness and the silent swirl of soul energy.
Gu Tian Li sat cross-legged at the center of a black stone altar.
Voices began to hum memories, doubts, and possibilities.
But this time, he didn't turn away.
He challenged those voices. Challenged all that was said to be impossible. And in that absolute silence, something new was born a one-breath time-reversal technique, allowing him to repeat a single second on the battlefield.
But its cost… was his own blood.
....
On the fifth day, Gu Ming Yue came to him holding an object.
"Someone sent this to you," she said softly.
Gu Tian Li unwrapped the cloth bundle. A small charm in the shape of a time spiral just like the one worn by the mysterious woman in the temple.
"No sender's name," Ming Yue said. "But… I don't like the feeling of it."
Gu Tian Li stared at it for a long moment.
"This isn't a warning… it's a challenge."
....
A week before the Imperial Tournament, Gu Tian Li stood on the rear cliffs of the clan, gazing northwest toward the Imperial Palace.
The wind blew strong, and the sky was filled with gray clouds.
Behind him, Gu Ming Yue arrived carrying his new robes battle garments with the black dragon emblem and a silver spiral line: symbols of the Gu Clan, and the time path that now bound him.
"You're leaving tomorrow?" she asked.
Gu Tian Li nodded.
"Then… take this." She handed him a small wooden bracelet, handmade from their childhood.
Gu Tian Li accepted it, and for the first time in a long while, he smiled.
"Thank you… little sister."
....
On his final night before departure, with the full moon hanging high, Gu Tian Li sat alone in his private meditation room.
The Time Crystal rested before him, and his Soulblade glowed faintly.
"Time," he whispered, "if I must fight you… then don't hide behind the veil of fate. Face me in the open."
From afar, the bell of departure began to toll.
The Imperial Tournament awaited.