“Young Master, you're awake?”
While Lin Yuan was deep in thought, a voice of surprise rang out beside him.
He looked up to see a hunched old man staring at him with unconcealed joy.
The old man’s hair was grizzled and ssy, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and he exuded a cold, venomous aura like a snake ready to strike.
But when he looked at Lin Yuan, all that malice vanished—replaced by genuine happiness.
“Third Uncle.”
Lin Yuan nodded to him.
In na, the hunchbacked old man was his father's old servant—the Red Lotus Sect Master’s loyal aide.
But in truth, the two had shared a bond like brothers. In private, they addressed each other as such, and Lin Yuan had always called him “Third Uncle.”
The reason Lin Yuan had escaped the imperial army's siege wasn’t just because his father drew most of their attention.
It was also thanks to Third Uncle risking everything to rescue him—going so far as to serve as bait to lead away the pursuing soldiers.
Without Third Uncle, Lin Yuan’s original self would never have awakened.
“Young Master, the Sect Master is dead.”
Third Uncle’s voice was low, eyes filled with grief.
“Mm.”
Lin Yuan nodded, his expression growing heavy.
With the Red Lotus Sect Master dead, the imperial forces’ full attention would now fall on him.
Even with Third Uncle's protection, surviving wouldn’t be easy.
“But with here, you don’t need to worry, Young Master.”
Third Uncle said solemnly, “Even if I die, I’ll die before you.”
“Don’t say such unlucky things.”
Lin Yuan shook his head.
“What’s your plan now?”
Compared to his forr self, Third Uncle was clearly far more experienced.
“I plan to take you to the Red Lotus Sect’s Yongzhou branch. It should still be safe for now—beyond the court’s imdiate reach.”
Third Uncle answered seriously.
“The Yongzhou branch?”
Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
In his mories, the branch leader there had been fiercely loyal to his father.
Now that the Sect Master had fallen, the entire Red Lotus Sect was in turmoil.
Seeking refuge with the Yongzhou branch was a sound choice.
“Then get so rest for now, Young Master. We’ll leave as soon as night falls.”
With that, Third Uncle stood and left—he still needed to patrol the area and watch for enemies.
As the old man vanished from view—
Lin Yuan slowly rose to his feet.
And began examining himself.
“Martial Ancestor.”
“Martial Ancestor.”
“Martial Ancestor.”
Faint, almost imperceptible whispers echoed in his mind.
“These voices... They’re from those cultivating the martial evolution path? They’ve already ford stable ‘Dao Beacons’ to help realize I’m currently inside a ti loop?” ŘаΝօβÊŞ
Lin Yuan’s mind settled.
Without those faint whispers, many peak Chaos evolvers trapped in ti loops—stripped of their power and understanding of Dao laws—would risk complete disorientation.
Especially after the first loop ended and the second began—once mories of the first were erased, without external 'anchors' or ‘markers,’ they would begin repeating the cycle endlessly.
But now, thanks to those whispering voices, Lin Yuan could confirm he was still in the first cycle.
With that certainty—
He turned his focus inward, diving into the depths of his mind.
In the empty void of his consciousness stood a vast and majestic Gate of Myriad Realms.
“As expected, even a ti loop can’t sever my connection to the Gate of Myriad Realms.”
Lin Yuan breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Ti loops isolated everything. Right now, the only thod of connecting with lifeforms within a loop was through spreading one's evolution path—like the whispers he heard.
Other than that, no form of contact was possible.
But the Gate of Myriad Realms was clearly an exception.
Lin Yuan could still see it clearly in his mind.
Unlike the blurry voices, the gate remained sharp and unshaken.
It was as if it existed both inside and outside the loop, unchanged by either.
“Let’s see if I can still use boundary-breaking source energy.”
Lin Yuan began to test it.
Instantly, the Gate of Myriad Realms began to glow faintly.
Strands of mysterious energy began to flow, attempting to descend into this looped world.
“I can use it.”
Lin Yuan nodded, and once again the thought resurfaced.
Kill the Emperor of the Grand Feng Dynasty.
Boundary-breaking source energy was the only omnipotent force Lin Yuan had encountered.
In theory, it could achieve anything.
Even the complete destruction of a Ti Being.
Of course, that depended on having enough of it.
With sufficient boundary-breaking source energy, not only could a Ti Being be destroyed completely—so could a Ti Lord.
But that would take an ocean of power—far more than Lin Yuan currently possessed.
Even to fully destroy a single Ti Being, what he had now was insufficient.
But this ti, he wasn’t trying to kill a Ti Being.
Just a mortal—at most a Dao Master.
It shouldn’t require too much.
Buzz—buzz—buzz. The Gate of Myriad Realms pulsed with energy, and soon a ssage appeared in Lin Yuan’s mind.
“Four million units of boundary-breaking source energy.”
Lin Yuan’s expression darkened.
“That much?”
To kill one re mortal—and it would cost this much?
“Is this mortal unusual? Or is it the ti loop’s interference driving up the price?”
He pondered quickly.
All his accumulated boundary-breaking source energy so far barely surpassed four million.
That included harvesting vast amounts during a cosmic destruction event.
If not for that, it would’ve taken him millions—tens of millions—of years to gather that much.
“Better not.”
He decided not to waste his entire reserve just to kill the Grand Feng Emperor.
The power stored in the Gate of Myriad Realms was his ultimate trump card—ant for life-or-death situations.
As for this ti loop?
Did he really need the Gate to escape it?
And even if he did, he’d only use it at the very last mont.
For now, Lin Yuan could see a path to victory through his own ans.
“With my foundation, my chances of breaking free from the ti loop are far higher than other peak Rank Twelves.”
He had that confidence.
Boundary-breaking source energy was only a last resort.
Unless he truly couldn’t break through, he wouldn’t touch it.
For now—
He would attempt to shatter the loop with his own strength.
“Runes.”
With a thought, tiny runes began forming and weaving together before him.
This was the legacy of a Ti Lord. Once cultivated to the final level, even within a ti loop, these runes could be used—partially breaking the loop’s rules.
“They’re suppressed.”
Lin Yuan stared at the runes. He could feel the suppression on the Dao of Runes.
But he had expected that. Even Lord Tian Guang had warned him.
Reaching the fifth level of the rune legacy did allow their use inside ti loops—but with many restrictions.
Still, compared to other Rank Twelve peaks who couldn’t use any technique at all within the loop, having even limited access to rune power was like having cheat codes.
“The future...”
Lin Yuan tried using the runes to glimpse future tilines within the loop.
Buzz—buzz—buzz. Countless runes intertwined and clashed. But due to the heavy suppression, Lin Yuan could barely see any visions.
Instead, he received fragnted information—in the form of words.
Lines of illusory text began flashing before his eyes.
[At eighteen, you are hunted by the imperial court and flee into the mountains. Thanks to Third Uncle’s intervention, you barely survive.]
[One day later, you and Third Uncle set out for Yongzhou, hoping to join the local Red Lotus branch.]
[Half a month later, you reach Yongzhou safely.]
[The Yongzhou branch leader welcos you warmly.]
[One month later, he colludes with the court to ambush you.]
[Third Uncle dies in battle. You escape.]
[One year later, you are killed by three Dao Masters.]
Line after line of text flashed by.
Lin Yuan saw one of his possible futures.
“The Yongzhou branch leader betrayed us and joined the court?”
His brows furrowed. Third Uncle had trusted that man deeply, and his forr self had thought well of him.
“The Sect Master’s death… the court’s overwhelming power… I suppose it makes sense.”
Lin Yuan nodded after so thought.
Then continued to sift through tiline after tiline.
All in text form.
By the end of the day, he stopped, rubbing his brow.
Despite the loop’s suppression, he had viewed over a thousand tilines.
And finally found one most favorable to himself.
“For now, the priority is becoming a Dao Seeker.”
Lin Yuan steadied his mind. In every tiline he’d seen, the stronger he was, the easier things beca.
“Dao Seeking begins with harnessing mind power to draw in the power of the world…”
He recalled the Red Lotus Sect’s Dao-seeking techniques.
In truth, the first step was nearly identical across all such thods.
For soone like Lin Yuan, becoming a Dao Seeker was almost trivial.
Boom!
As he released his mind power.
The surrounding power of the world slowly began to gather, flowing into his body.
In the distance...
Third Uncle was vigilantly scouting, examining every trace of disturbance.
Then suddenly—
He stiffened, turning sharply toward where Lin Yuan was resting.
Streams of worldly energy were gathering there, flowing rapidly inward.
“This is…” Third Uncle trembled, stunned.
“Mind guiding the world’s power... this is Dao Seeking?”
“Young Master... Young Master has beco a Dao Seeker?”
“Sect Master, do you see this? The Young Master... he’s beco a Dao Seeker.” Tears welled in his eyes.
...
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