Inside the Time Temple in the Chaos World, Shichen slowly awoke from his long contemplation.
Azure and silver light intertwined in his eyes. Several crystalline Dao Marks of Space had wound themselves through the patterns of the Law of Time. He had fully refined the Dao Marks Yang Mei had given him. Though the two laws had not completely merged, the embryonic form of a spacetime Dao had emerged.
Shichen looked beyond the temple. The Primordial World was growing more active under the push of the Tribulation, while the Chaos World, sustained by the Primordial World and many others, had finally escaped the danger of declining.
"Still not enough," Shichen murmured. "I must find the God of Systems to solve the Chaos World's problems once and for all."
He was about to close his eyes and resume his contemplation when the River of Time suddenly surged without warning.
Shichen frowned and flashed above the River of Time.
Standing over its surface, he scanned the rushing waters. The main current flowed steadily, as always.
Shichen closed his eyes and extended his divine sense along the River of Time's branches.
On one branch, he saw a paper boat drifting slowly upstream from the future toward the past. It carried a young woman's voice, heavy with Longing:
"Big brother... where are you? Can the paper boat find you? Tuntun misses you so much..."
Shichen's brows drew tight. He reached into the branch and scooped up the paper boat. After staring silently at the crude little vessel in his palm, he crushed it.
"Even on a branch of the River of Time, time must not be traced backward."
He stood above the river for a long while. Then another paper boat appeared on one of its branches. He scooped it up too, but this