The words from the Ledger were a cold, hard truth that hammered into Kael's mind: his revenge was no longer a solo act. The quiet fury he had cultivated for fifteen years now carried the razor-sharp edge of competition. He was in a race, and the starting pistol had just fired.
The Ledger's screen flickered, providing a clear location with the cryptic simplicity only a divine system could manage: [Target: Julian Ardyn, Ardyn Clan's Main Cultivation Grounds]. Julian. The golden child. The boy who, in Kael's past life, had risen on the Patriarch's coattails, his talent outshining every other young genius. He was a perfect pawn for the clan's political plays, and Kael had always underestimated him as a rival.
Not anymore.
Kael arrived at the sprawling cultivation grounds, a massive plaza of polished obsidian inlaid with arcane runes. The air crackled with energy as dozens of young clansmen and women practised their techniques, explosions of light and sound filling the space. He ignored them all, his gaze locked on the ccentreof the plaza.
There, in a quiet, isolated ring, stood Julian Ardyn. He was a perfect portrait of a chosen one: flawless form, an ethereal glow surrounding him, and a look of calm, effortless superiority. Julian was working on a high-level cultivation form that Kael's older self had only mastered years later. But it wasn't the skill that caught Kael's attention; it was the subtle, invisible things only a fellow regressor would notice.
Julian's movements were… wrong. They were fluid, yes, but they were also fundamentally alien. As he flowed through the stances, Kael saw a faint, crystalline shimmer in the air that no one else seemed to notice. It wasn't mana, but something purer, more complex. Julian's power wasn't a product of cultivation; it felt like a command. Like he was simply… editing reality.
The Ledger chimed in with a new notification.
[Warning: The Enlightened Scion's Timeline Alignment is Flawed]
[Karmic Source: The Rewriter]
"This one isn't a simple regressor, Host," the Ledger's voice whispered in his mind. "He is using the timeline itself as a cultivation base. Your memory is not a weapon against him; it is a lure."
Kael's blood ran cold. The smug smile Julian wore wasn't just the arrogance of a genius. It was the confidence of a man who could change the past with a single thought. A man who could erase his rival's actions before they were even completed. The game wasn't just about gaining power faster; it was about protecting his very existence.
He turned away from the training grounds, his mind a whirlwind of new plans. He couldn't just follow his old roadmap; he had to break it, to become a variable even a "Rewriter" couldn't account for. The first step was to secure something so crucial that Julian would never think to check for it this early.
Kael went not to the clan's training halls, but to the sprawling, public-facing Ardyn library, a place so mundane Julian would never waste his time there. Using his future knowledge, Kael located a dusty, non-fiction section on the history of the region. Behind a set of decoy shelves, his hand found the smooth, cool surface of a hidden drawer.
He pulled it open. Inside, on a bed of old silk, rested a small, circular compass. It wasn't a simple compass; it was a Dimensional Compass, a rare artefact from the mythic age capable of opening stable spatial portals. In his past life, it had been discovered years from now, and Julian had used it to plunder a forgotten dimensional pocket, a move that cemented his status as the clan's true heir. But Julian would only seek it later, after his power was sufficient to use it.
Kael's hand closed around the compass. He had it. He had a weapon no one, not even Julian, would expect him to possess yet. He had changed the timeline in a major way.
Just as he was about to leave the library, a young attendant passed him, then paused. The attendant was Julian Ardyn himself. He stood just ten feet away, his arms crossed, a knowing smile on his face. Julian hadn't been at the training grounds at all. He had been here. He had been waiting.
Julian's eyes, a calm shade of brown, met Kael's. But as he stared, Kael saw not the brown of his iris, but the faint, golden gleam of an arcane sigil flash within their depths. The same sigil Kael had seen when Julian "edited" reality on the training grounds.
"Some things are better left lost, don't you think?" Julian's voice was a low, chilling murmur. "Especially when you've forgotten to look in the right place."
The words from the Ledger were a cold, hard truth that hammered into Kael's mind: his revenge was no longer a solo act. The quiet fury he had cultivated for fifteen years now carried the razor-sharp edge of competition. He was in a race, and the starting pistol had just fired.
The Ledger's screen flickered, providing a clear location with the cryptic simplicity only a divine system could manage: [Target: Julian Ardyn, Ardyn Clan's Main Cultivation Grounds]. Julian. The golden child. The boy who, in Kael's past life, had risen on the Patriarch's coattails, his talent outshining every other young genius. He was a perfect pawn for the clan's political plays, and Kael had always underestimated him as a rival.
Not anymore.
Kael arrived at the sprawling cultivation grounds, a massive plaza of polished obsidian inlaid with arcane runes. The air crackled with energy as dozens of young clansmen and women practised their techniques, explosions of light and sound filling the space. He ignored them all, his gaze locked on the centre of the plaza.
There, in a quiet, isolated ring, stood Julian Ardyn. He was a perfect portrait of a chosen one: flawless form, an ethereal glow surrounding him, and a look of calm, effortless superiority. Julian was working on a high-level cultivation form that Kael's older self had only mastered years later. But it wasn't the skill that caught Kael's attention; it was the subtle, invisible things only a fellow regressor would notice.
Julian's movements were… wrong. They were fluid, yes, but they were also fundamentally alien. As he flowed through the stances, Kael saw a faint, crystalline shimmer in the air that no one else seemed to notice. It wasn't mana, but something purer, more complex. Julian's power wasn't a product of cultivation; it felt like a command. Like he was simply… editing reality.
The Ledger chimed in with a new notification.
[Warning: The Enlightened Scion's Timeline Alignment is Flawed]
[Karmic Source: The Rewriter]
"This one isn't a simple regressor, Host," the Ledger's voice whispered in his mind. "He is using the timeline itself as a cultivation base. Your memory is not a weapon against him; it is a lure."
Kael's blood ran cold. The smug smile Julian wore wasn't just the arrogance of a genius. It was the confidence of a man who could change the past with a single thought. A man who could erase his rival's actions before they were even completed. The game wasn't just about gaining power faster; it was about protecting his very existence.
He turned away from the training grounds, his mind a whirlwind of new plans. He couldn't just follow his old roadmap; he had to break it, to become a variable even a "Rewriter" couldn't account for. The first step was to secure something so crucial that Julian would never think to check for it this early.
Kael went not to the clan's training halls, but to the sprawling, public-facing Ardyn library, a place so mundane Julian would never waste his time there. Using his future knowledge, Kael located a dusty, non-fiction section on the history of the region. Behind a set of decoy shelves, his hand found the smooth, cool surface of a hidden drawer.
He pulled it open. Inside, on a bed of old silk, rested a small, circular compass. It wasn't a simple compass; it was a Dimensional Compass, a rare artefact from the mythic age capable of opening stable spatial portals. In his past life, it had been discovered years from now, and Julian had used it to plunder a forgotten dimensional pocket, a move that cemented his status as the clan's true heir. But Julian would only seek it later, after his power was sufficient to use it.
Kael's hand closed around the compass. He had it. He had a weapon no one, not even Julian, would expect him to possess yet. He had changed the timeline in a major way.
Just as he was about to leave the library, a young attendant passed him, then paused. The attendant was Julian Ardyn himself. He stood just ten feet away, his arms crossed, a knowing smile on his face. Julian hadn't been at the training grounds at all. He had been here. He had been waiting.
Julian's eyes, a calm shade of brown, met Kael's. But as he stared, Kael saw not the brown of his iris, but the faint, golden gleam of an arcane sigil flash within their depths. The same sigil Kael had seen when Julian "edited" reality on the training grounds.
"Some things are better left lost, don't you think?" Julian's voice was a low, chilling murmur. "Especially when you've forgotten to look in the right place."