Ch. 301Time-Turner! The Hyperbolic Time Chamber
Key plot points
- As the Hongchen siblings return to Shrek Academy, Xiao Hongchen warns Meng that Virtue Hall may be connected to a powerful Evil Soul Master organization. He reflects on how Lu Yi’s choices during their tournament duel prevented the rivalry between the academies from escalating into deadly revenge.
- Lu Yi studies the Time-Turner’s rules: it can send someone back up to five hours, but users must avoid being seen by their past selves or changing major events. Misuse could cause temporal disturbances; users also continue to age during the extra time.
- Seeing the device as a way to ease his group’s lack of time for training, Lu Yi designs a secure underground cultivation facility with one-way doors and tightly controlled entry.
- He tests the arrangement with Cao Jinxuan, traveling back one hour and using the facility’s separate routes to avoid meeting his earlier self. The test succeeds, though Cao’s time-related Martial Soul shows no response.
- Lu Yi establishes strict entry times and gathers Ning Tian, Xiao Xiao, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and Nana to begin using the facility. He names it the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and prepares to use the Time-Turner with the group.
Character developments and interactions
- Xiao has become more reflective and measured. He recognizes that Lu Yi’s restraint helped avert a catastrophe, and values him as a friend rather than an enemy.
- Meng sees how much her brother has changed, teasing him for sounding like a sage; their serious conversation ends in familiar sibling banter.
- Lu Yi remains inventive and practical, turning the Time-Turner’s risks and limits into a carefully controlled training plan.
- Cao readily helps with Lu Yi’s experiment but is puzzled by the many one-way doors. Lu Yi, meanwhile, privately wonders why Cao’s Martial Soul did not react to the Time-Turner.
- The gathered students are confused by the basement’s rules and by the muffled voice inside, but Lu Yi keeps the explanation for the reveal.
Significant themes
- Restraint prevents cycles of revenge: Lu Yi’s choices in the tournament balanced both teams’ emotions and helped keep a contest from becoming a feud.
- Family and self-preservation: Xiao now places family and personal safety above institutional honor.
- Time, effort, and trade-offs: The Time-Turner offers more training hours, but at the cost of aging normally and requiring careful safeguards.
- Trust and controlled experimentation: Lu Yi’s plan depends on discipline, cooperation, and limiting contact with the outside world.