From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 46 The Corridor of Time

Dark as ink.

Lin Chen stood on the edge of a cliff behind the Qingyun Sect, with a bottomless abyss below and the sect in complete silence behind him.

He had been standing here for half an hour.

The words Shen Qingluan told him were like a dull knife, sawing back and forth in his heart.

Lin Yuan is his uncle.

The father is trapped in the river of time.

The truth about the war that took place thirty years ago has been covered up until now.

These pieces of information collided in his mind, piecing together a picture that made his heart pound.

"You've finally arrived."

A voice came from behind him.

Lin Chen turned around abruptly and saw a figure step out of the void and land steadily on the edge of the cliff.

It's Lin Yuan.

He still looked like a young man, with delicate features, but his eyes held a sense of vicissitude that was beyond his years.

"Did you know I was coming?" Lin Chen asked.

"I know you have a lot of questions," Lin Yuan said. "Shen Qingluan told you, didn't she?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"About me being your uncle?"

"Regarding your origins as someone who traveled from thirty years ago."

Lin Yuan paused for a moment, then sighed softly.

"It seems it's time to tell you everything."

The two sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff.

The night wind whistled, fluttering their clothes.

"Thirty years ago, there were two young men who were best friends and the most outstanding Time Guardians Awakened."

Lin Yuan's voice was very soft, as if he were telling an ancient story.

"One of them is named Lin Yuan, and the other is named Lin Yuan."

Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

Lin Yuan.

That's his father's name.

"Lin Yuan is my brother," Lin Yuan said. "We grew up together, awakened together, and were chosen together to become Time Guardians. Back then, we were full of youthful vigor, believing we could change the world."

His voice carried a bitter smile.

"We have indeed changed the world. Just in a way that no one expected."

"Thirty years ago, we discovered the relics left behind by the dimensional ruler."

Lin Yuan continued, gazing into the distance.

"In that ruin, there are fragments of the last spark of the dimensional ruler, and a plan for dimensional ascension."

Lin Chen held his breath.

"We should have reported this to our sect, or even the dynasty. But we didn't. We felt this was an opportunity for both of us. If we could obtain the inheritance of the Dimensional Ruler, we could become the most powerful beings in the world."

"Then what?"

"Then we touched that fragment of the spark," Lin Yuan's voice deepened, "At that moment, everything spiraled out of control."

He closed his eyes.

"Fragments of the dimensional ruler's consciousness awaken from the spark. It is an existence far beyond our imagination; it does not belong to this universe, nor to this dimension, nor even to time itself."

"It saw us, it saw our ambition, and it saw our potential."

"It gave us a choice."

Lin Chen asked, "What choice?"

"Lin Yuan chose to accept." Lin Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze complex. "He accepted the inheritance of the Dimensional Ruler and became the vessel for the new Dimensional Ruler. As for me, I chose to refuse."

"I refused the inheritance, and the price was being expelled from the river of time by the power of the dimensional ruler."

Lin Yuan's voice became calm.

"But Lin Yuan is different. He accepted the inheritance and also the mission of the dimensional ruler."

"What mission?"

"To continue civilization," Lin Yuan said. "The Dimensional Ruler is the seed left behind by the previous civilization. Its mission is to pass on the knowledge of higher dimensions, helping new civilizations complete their ascension. And those who receive this inheritance must bear this responsibility."

Lin Chen suddenly understood something.

"So my father..."

"Your father was devoured by the power of the Dimensional Ruler thirty years ago," Lin Yuan said. "His consciousness merged with the Dimensional Ruler, becoming an entity that both exists and does not exist."

"So what is he like now...?"

"He's still alive," Lin Yuan said, "but he's no longer the Lin Yuan he once was. He's trapped in the deepest part of the river of time, bearing the memories and responsibilities of the dimensional ruler."

Lin Chen felt a wave of suffocation.

Thirty years have passed.

My father was trapped like this for thirty years.

But he knew nothing about it.

"And what about you?"

Lin Chen asked, "Why did you travel through the river of time to this era?"

Lin Yuan remained silent for a long time.

"To make amends," he said. "Thirty years ago, I ruined Lin Yuan. If I hadn't taken him to that ruin, he wouldn't have received the inheritance, and he wouldn't be like this now."

"I want to change the past, I want to save him from the river of time."

"But time isn't something you can change just because you want to," Lin Chen said.

"I know," Lin Yuan said with a wry smile. "I've tried to traverse the river of time three times, and I failed each time. Each failure consumed a large amount of my lifespan. When I woke up the third time, I found myself thirty years in the future."

"And so much has happened in these thirty years."

His gaze deepened.

"The war at Yanhuang Pass, the annihilation of the barbarians, the border crisis of the dynasty—none of these were accidental."

Lin Chen suddenly looked up.

"What do you know?"

"I know there's a force secretly manipulating everything," Lin Yuan said. "That force comes from the depths of the river of time, and their only goal is to prevent civilization from advancing to higher dimensions."

"Stop the advancement of civilization?" Lin Chen frowned.

"The inheritance of the Dimensional Ruler is not something that just anyone can accept," Lin Yuan said. "It chooses a successor, and that successor must meet two conditions."

"First, the blood of the Time Guardian flows within me."

"Second, possessing the will to advance civilization to a higher level."

A storm raged in Lin Chen's heart.

The bloodline of the guardians of time.

The will to advance civilization to a higher level.

Aren't these two conditions exactly what he possesses?

"You mean..." He looked at Lin Yuan in disbelief.

"Yes." Lin Yuan nodded. "You are the true chosen successor of the Dimensional Ruler. Your father was nothing more than a failed attempt."

The truth was far more devastating than Lin Chen had imagined.

"That force began its machinations after learning you were the heir," Lin Yuan said. "The war thirty years ago was launched by them to eliminate your father. And the destruction of the barbarians was also their attempt to weaken the dynasty."

"They want to stop the ascension of civilization?" Lin Chen asked.

"It's not just about stopping them," Lin Yuan shook his head, "they want to devour the ascending energy of this universe."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted.

"Do you know how the inheritance of the Dimensional Ruler came about?" Lin Yuan asked.

Lin Chen shook his head.

"The legacy of the dimensional rulers comes from the previous civilization that successfully ascended to a higher dimension," Lin Yuan said. "During their ascension, they scattered their seeds of enlightenment into countless lower-dimensional universes. Every universe that receives these seeds has the opportunity to complete its own dimensional ascension."

"But ascending to a higher dimension requires a massive amount of energy. And this energy comes from the dimensional rulers themselves."

"In other words..."

"Yes." Lin Yuan's voice turned heavy. "The inheritance of a dimensional ruler is essentially a harvest of energy. When a civilization completes its dimensional ascension, the dimensional ruler devours all of that civilization's energy and then continues searching for the next target."

"The previous civilization successfully ascended to a higher dimension, but the price was that it was devoured by the dimensional ruler."

"And now, the dimensional rulers have set their sights on this universe."

Lin Chen felt a chill rise up his spine.

If he accepts the inheritance and completes his dimensional ascension...

That entire civilization would become food for the dimensional rulers.

"So you came to this era not to save my father."

Lin Chen suddenly said.

"It was to prevent me from accepting the inheritance."

Lin Yuan paused for a moment.

“Both,” he said. “I do want to save my brother. But I also know that if he is saved, you will be chosen by the dimensional ruler. Then, the entire civilization will suffer the consequences.”

"So you'd rather he be trapped in the river of time than let me take the risk?"

"No," Lin Yuan shook his head, "I'm looking for a solution that satisfies both sides."

"What method?"

"To make you stronger," Lin Yuan said, "strong enough to wield the power of a dimensional ruler, instead of being devoured by it."

He took out a jade slip from his pocket.

"This is the culmination of all my research over the years. It records methods for harnessing dimensional power, and..."

He paused.

"And how to get your father out."

Lin Chen took the jade slip, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Time is running out."

Lin Yuan stood up and looked at the pale light that was beginning to appear on the horizon.

"The Dark Blade Pavilion has its eyes on you. The war at Flame Wasteland Pass is just part of their plan. If you can't get there before them, the entire Northern Frontier will fall."

"And what about you?" Lin Chen asked.

"I have one last thing to do," Lin Yuan said.

"What is it?"

Lin Yuan did not answer.

He simply turned around and looked at the rising sun in the east.

Last time, I couldn't do anything. This time, I won't miss out again.

His figure began to blur.

"Lin Chen, remember my words!"

"No matter what happens, never give up hope."

"The blood of the guardians of time flows in your veins. The power contained within that bloodline is far greater than you can imagine."

"Go to Yanhuang Pass, go protect those who need you."

"When you come back!"

His voice faded into the distance.

"I'll give you a surprise."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yuan's figure disappeared completely into the dawn.

Lin Chen stood alone on the edge of the cliff, clutching the jade slip tightly in his hand.

A morning breeze carried the distant sound of the bells from the Qingyun Sect.

A new day begins.

And his journey is about to enter a new phase.

Yanhuang Pass.

There are three thousand soldiers there.

There are things he must protect.

and also……

The battlefield where his father once fought.

"Wait for me."

Lin Chen said in a low voice, his gaze turning northward.

"Father."

"No matter who you are, no matter what you become!"

"I will definitely rescue you."

In the morning light, a faint golden light shone between his brows.

Those are the marks of time.

It is also proof of his status as the successor.