Lin Nuo: You asked my name? It's Jiahao!

Lin Xiu looked at Lin Nuo as he withdrew his hand and asked curiously, "How is it?"

Lin Nuo pulled his hand back, sounding somewhat amazed. "My control over time really is domineering. I can actually travel to your location through your existence. But it consumes a lot of Spiritual Power and Soul Power. I'm afraid I can only maintain it for an afternoon—which is just right."

"That's enough."

"Then when do we leave?" Lin Nuo asked.

"Wait for my message." After leaving him with those words, Lin Xiu immediately departed the Sea of Consciousness. He planned to prepare an outfit for Lin Nuo to help conceal his identity and prevent him from causing too great a butterfly effect in the timeline. As for a small butterfly effect, there was no need to worry about it.

As long as there was no evidence, people could only guess.

Lin Nuo gazed at the spot where Lin Xiu had left, then couldn't help looking at his own hands again. "Time itself really is getting more and more interesting."

Afternoon came quickly. Leng Yaozhu stood at the entrance with her younger sister, Leng Yulai, waiting for the boy to arrive. A lovesick puppy stood beside them.

"Yaozhu, where's your companion? Don't tell me he stood you up?" He was the second son of Qiangu Dieting, the current master of the Spirit Pagoda, and also the very same lovesick puppy from earlier.

Leng Yulai, standing beside her sister, couldn't stand listening anymore. She looked at Qiangu Dongfeng with open disdain. "If you're sick, go get treated. Don't stand here barking like a dog."

Hearing Leng Yulai insult him, Qiangu Dongfeng didn't mind. After all, she was Yaozhu's younger sister, so he had to be magnanimous. "Yulai, we shouldn't use foul language. You should learn from your sister."

"Fuck off and die!"

Qiangu Dongfeng: "..."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. We're late." Lin Xiu walked in with Lin Nuo. This time, the two staff members didn't dare stop them at all.

Lin Xiu was still wearing the clothes he'd had on that morning. Lin Nuo, on the other hand, had arrived wearing a mask and clothes that covered him from head to toe, looking like some kind of mysterious agent.

That's right, this was the outfit Lin Xiu had prepared for him. Lin Nuo couldn't help suspecting that this fragment of his soul was pretty devious.

Qiangu Dongfeng immediately turned toward the sound. He wanted to see what kind of help Leng Yaozhu had found. But the moment he saw Lin Xiu, he sensed a hint of threat. As for the mysterious-looking guy in a mask beside him, a One-Ring Soul Master, he was insignificant.

Leng Yaozhu naturally noticed Lin Nuo behind Lin Xiu, and couldn't help warning them, "He's only a One-Ring Soul Master, right? My sister is at least a level 29 Soul Grandmaster. Are you sure?"

Hearing Leng Yaozhu's doubts, Lin Nuo answered with a cheerful grin, "Don't underestimate him. He's very strong."

"How strong can a One-Ring Soul Master be? You're bragging without even checking the facts." Qiangu Dongfeng stepped forward to sneer.

Lin Nuo grinned. "That's true. How could I compare to the son of the Spirit Pagoda's master?"

"What, do you want to be my dog?" Hearing Lin Nuo's words, Qiangu Dongfeng thought he was backing down, and continued to mock him.

"No." Lin Nuo shook his head, his voice coming through the mask. "I'm just moved by the fact that the son of the Pagoda Master is a lovesick puppy."

"You!"

"Qiangu Dongfeng, what are you going to do to my companion?" Seeing Qiangu Dongfeng about to make a move, Leng Yaozhu clearly looked displeased. Her younger sister stepped forward beside her, genuinely disgusted by the man.

Seeing that even his goddess was taking the other guy's side, Qiangu Dongfeng felt thoroughly annoyed. Just as he was about to challenge Lin Nuo to a fight, an aged voice rang in his ear. "Get back here. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"F-Father." Hearing that familiar voice and realizing his father was watching him, Qiangu Dongfeng could only leave Lin Nuo with a threat. "You just wait!"

Watching Qiangu Dongfeng flee, Lin Xiu couldn't help turning to Lin Nuo. "Are you getting back at me for choosing your clothes?"

Once this Spirit Ascension ended, Lin Nuo would return straight to his own timeline. So if Qiangu Dongfeng couldn't find him, who would he go looking for?

What a mystery!

Lin Xiu suspected Lin Nuo was simply getting back at him for choosing the outfit. He was devious himself, but his original self was an absolute master of it.

"Who knows?" Lin Nuo quietly looked away.

Lin Xiu rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with the childish guy.

At that moment, the Leng sisters came over. Leng Yaozhu spoke up. "I still don't know either of your names."

"Lin Xiu," Lin Xiu replied flatly. He just hadn't expected Lin Nuo to keep up the act.

"Lin Jiahao." Lin Nuo made up a name on the spot. With the way he was dressed, he was practically Jiahao already—he was only missing the clothes.

Watching Lin Nuo say that name without even batting an eye, Lin Xiu didn't know what to make of him.

No wonder he sometimes left the Demon Empress bewildered. It turned out his original self was a bewildering character too. Well, that explained it.

"Nice to meet you, Lin Xiu and Lin Jiahao. I'm Leng Yulai." Leng Yulai's gaze was clearly caught by Lin Nuo's outfit. She unconsciously edged closer, curiosity filling her voice. "Jiahao, why are you wearing a mask all the time?"

Lin Nuo glanced up at her, his tone tinged with amusement. "What do you think? Because it's cool?"

"It is pretty cool," Leng Yulai said, her gaze fixed on Lin Nuo's mismatched eyes, sparkling. She added earnestly, "But I have a feeling you're actually very handsome. Could you take off your mask and let us see?"

"Don't be rude, Yulai." Seeing this, Leng Yaozhu immediately stepped forward and gently tugged at her sister's sleeve, stopping her with an apologetic tone.

Hearing that, Lin Nuo slowly shook his head. A mischievous smile curled his lips as he said, half-joking and half-serious, "Sorry, but I can't. I'm just too handsome. I'm afraid that if I take off my mask, I'll be so handsome I'll kill you all."

Lin Xiu: "..."

Leng Yaozhu: "..."

"Pfft!" Leng Yulai burst out laughing. "Hahaha, you're so funny!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Then what's your Martial Soul?" Leng Yulai asked curiously. "Mine is the Heavenly Phoenix, and it seems to be a Mutated Martial Soul."

"A spear," Lin Nuo answered casually. During this visit, he planned to use the Time Sacred Spear as his Martial Soul. As for his Body Martial Soul, he wouldn't bring it out to show off.

Leng Yulai had thought Lin Nuo would say something more, but after those four words, he fell silent. She wanted to ask him more, but Leng Yaozhu stopped her. "All right, Yulai. You two, follow me."

"Sure." Lin Xiu, who had been standing off to the side watching the show, nodded. He looked at his original self, Lin Nuo, with a gloating expression.

Lin Nuo felt a little uneasy under Lin Xiu's gaze and asked, "What?"

"Nothing." Lin Xiu shook his head. He'd been wondering how to leave his original self a legacy for the future, but it seemed he didn't need to do it himself after all. His original self would leave one behind.

All he had to do was create an opportunity for him. Heh heh heh...

At the very top of the Spirit Pagoda, Qiangu Dieting kept his gaze fixed on Lin Xiu and Lin Nuo. "Have someone find out where these two boys came from."

"Yes." A figure appeared, accepted the Pagoda Master's order, and immediately left, coming and going without a trace, as if they had never appeared at all.