The night of December 17th, Black Iron Calendar Year 902...
Although Zhang Tie, secluded within the Castle of Black Iron, had been out of contact with the outside world for a long time, day after day of cultivation had left him unable even to feel time passing. A day, a week, a month, a year—they all seemed much the same. Yet when this day arrived, the exquisite calendar clock in the Palace Tree's main hall, personally crafted by Edward, clearly displayed the precise time in the outside world.
Edward had made this clock at Zhang Tie's request. Handcrafted from start to finish, the over-one-meter-tall purplish-red metal clock was a flawless work of art. Placed in the Palace Tree's main hall, its style and aura perfectly complemented the Palace Tree.
Time within the Castle of Black Iron was synchronized with the outside world, day and night alike. Afraid that he might lose track of time, Zhang Tie had asked Edward to make this object a year ago and place it in the Palace Tree's main hall. It served as a reminder that beyond the Temple Pyramid and the Castle of Black Iron, another world was waiting for him—many people were waiting for him, and many things awaited him...
Cultivation passed far too swiftly, so swiftly that Zhang Tie worried he might become immersed in this world and forget the strife of the outside world.
Four months earlier, Zhang Tie had smashed through the layered attacks of the puppet battle dummies in the hall all by himself, crushing everything in his path. For the first time, relying on his own strength alone, he had fought his way through the entire hall and walked steadily across it on his own two feet.
That was the first time Zhang Tie had not used the