RE: LORD OF TIME

The sun slowly rose above the horizon, shining its light upon the world and dispelling the darkness.

In the backyard of his home, as the rays of the sun slowly fell upon him, William exhaled lightly and finally opened his eyes.

He opened his status window and looked at it.

====

---) Name: William

---) Realm: Star Warrior (Early Stage)

---) Cultivation Technique: Time Star Codex

---) Body Refining Technique: Gale Tiger Body Forging Technique (First Stage)

---) Traits: Sword Dominator (Ancient), True Wisdom (Ancient)

---) Title: God of Time’s Heir, Favored by the Supreme

---) Bloodline: None

---) Soul Armament: Blood Moon

---) Skills: Eyes of Insight (Rank One), Time Acceleration (Growth-Type)

---) Battle Arts: Phantom Steps (Low Level), Wind Cutter (Low Level)

---) Ability: Overload

---) Seven Steps of the Supreme (???)

====

Seeing the Body Refining Technique listed as having reached the First Stage on his status window, William couldn’t help but smile slightly.

”Although the experience was torturous, it was worth it.”

The foundation of William’s body was already terrifyingly strong because of the first Chapter of the Supreme Star Scripture and the Blood Essence Crystal of the Titan Ape.

Because of this, he had perfectly refined the Gale Tiger’s blood essence and reached the starting point of the First Stage of the Gale Tiger Body Forging Technique in just one night.

Although his physical strength and defense did not increase much because they were already extremely high, his agility and flexibility had improved considerably.

William stood up, and after testing his body for a while, he found that his agility was nearly ten percent higher than it had been yesterday.

”I have only reached the starting point of the First Stage. If I completely master the First Stage, won’t my agility increase by around fifty percent...?” William couldn’t help but mutter, feeling pleasantly surprised.

He looked at the now-empty bottle that had contained the Gale Tiger’s blood essence and sighed softly.

”Practicing the Gale Tiger Body Forging Technique is easier than cultivating the Time Star Codex, but it requires external resources. Without the blood essence of a wind-attributed monster, I can’t continue cultivating it.”

William shook his head and stopped thinking about it. For now, until he entered the academy, he had no way of acquiring such resources on his own.

William looked at his clothes and noticed several bloodstains on them. While cultivating the Gale Tiger Body Forging Technique, his skin had cracked several times because of the overwhelming power of the blood essence, causing blood to seep out.

”It’s a good thing I can use Water Elemental Energy to clean my clothes. Otherwise, considering how many clothes I dirty every day, half of my time would be wasted washing them...” William said in a voice full of relief as he used his Aether Energy to clean his clothes before drying them with Fire Elemental Energy.

Soon, Elena prepared breakfast, and he sat down to eat with his family.

While they were eating, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

William and the others turned toward the entrance and saw a man wearing the armor of the town guards standing outside.

Elena and Karl immediately stood up when they saw him and hurried over.

William’s eyes also narrowed slightly when he saw the guard, as he already had a good idea why the man had come.

”Brother Ming, you have come at the perfect time. Come and have breakfast with us.”

Because of the sudden appearance of the crater, the guards had been patrolling the town for the past few days.

Ming was responsible for patrolling their neighborhood and was quite familiar with the people living there, so Karl naturally invited him to join them for breakfast.

”No need. I have already eaten,” Ming said with a smile before looking at William, who had just walked over.

”I came to deliver a message. Lord Richard asked me to inform you that you will be leaving for the academy with him tomorrow.”

”I see. Thank you for informing me,” William replied with a polite nod.

Ming shook his head before lowering his voice.

”By the way, you all should be careful over the next few days...” He leaned forward and spoke seriously. ”Do you remember that young noble who came with Lord Richard yesterday?”

Elena and Karl nodded as they naturally remembered Lucas.

”That guy suddenly disappeared last night. It’s rumored that some dangerous people captured and killed him.”

Elena and Karl were stunned upon hearing the news, their faces filled with shock.

”Brother Ming, are you telling the truth?” Karl asked in a low voice.

”Yes. The guards have been searching for him all night but haven’t found anything,” Ming nodded before reminding them once more.

”Just be careful whenever you go out. The town hasn’t been safe lately.”

After saying that, he left, as he still had other areas to patrol.

William glanced at his parents and noticed the worry in their eyes.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

He had never intended to throw the entire town into panic, but ever since he had tested the Seven Steps of the Supreme, one event after another had occurred, eventually plunging the whole town into unease.

Elena and the others returned inside and continued their breakfast.

Trying to change the subject, Karl spoke softly.

”So, you will be leaving tomorrow, right?”

William nodded and noticed that the moment his departure was mentioned, his mother’s eyes dimmed slightly.

William couldn’t help but feel that life was truly unpredictable.

In the original timeline, while fighting on the battlefield, he had always longed to see his family again.

But now that he was finally with them, even though he wanted nothing more than to stay by their side forever, he had to leave after spending only such a short time with them.

During the past month since returning to the past, although he had spent most of his time desperately increasing his strength—because he needed to break through to the Star Warrior Realm in order to remain in this timeline, the little time he had spent with his family had become the most precious moments of his life.

Whether it was eating together or chatting about trivial matters during and after dinner, those simple moments brought him a happiness far more precious than obtaining any rare treasure.

But he also understood that if he wanted to preserve this happiness, he needed strength.

Without enough strength, everything would once again follow the same path as the original timeline, and he would lose everything.

William looked at Elena and Karl, who were giving him countless instructions about how to behave after arriving at the academy.

Although they looked sad and worried because he would be entering an unfamiliar environment alone, there was also a trace of anticipation and pride in their eyes.

Anticipation that their child would not have to endure the same hardships they had faced throughout their lives.

They didn’t care whether he would bring them wealth or status in the future.

They were simply happy that their child would be able to live a better and more comfortable life.

’This time... I won’t fail them.’

William felt his throat go dry at the thought of being separated from the people he cared about the most.

However, he didn’t show anything outwardly and simply smiled, reassuring his parents that he would take good care of himself.

Because it was William’s last day at home, Elena and Karl didn’t go to the farm to work, and the family spent the entire day together.

William also instructed Samuel about many things he should do while William was away.

That night, the family shared a simple meal together without preparing anything extravagant.

As the sun rose the following morning, William gently hugged Elena.

”Get along with your fellow students, don’t get involved in fights, remember to eat properly, and...”

William patiently listened to Elena’s endless instructions. Her eyes were already slightly red as she spoke.

”I’ will take care of myself, Mom. You should also take care of yourself. And there’s no need for you to go to the farm every single day,” William said as he gently let go of Elena.

He then looked toward Karl, who simply nodded before speaking in a serious voice.

”If you find that place isn’t to your liking, you can always come back.”

William felt warmth spread through his heart upon hearing those words and nodded.

”Understood, Father.”

”This is some money. Keep it safe, and don’t hesitate to buy anything you need.”

Elena handed him a small pouch.

Without even opening it, William could already tell that it contained more than one hundred silver coins.

For a farmer’s family like theirs, that amount represented years of savings.

William didn’t refuse the money because he knew that if he did, it would only make his parents worry even more.

Besides, he had secretly placed most of the money he had found inside Lucas’s storage ring in his parents’ room, along with a letter that they would discover once they entered the room. Therefore, he wasn’t worried about their financial situation.

”I will be going now.”

William looked toward Samuel, who had remained silent the entire time, and patted him on the shoulder.

”Don’t forget what I told you.”

Samuel nodded seriously.

”Don’t worry, Brother. I will take care of Mom and Dad.”

William smiled at his words.

After taking one last look at Elena and Karl, he turned around and began walking away.

Elena instinctively took a step forward but was gently stopped by Karl, who silently shook his head.

She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything.

As he walked away, each step felt heavier than the last, and William hated this feeling of helplessness.

’If only I were stronger, I wouldn’t have to leave them...’ He thought as his eyes stung slightly.

In the original timeline, he hadn’t been nearly as sad as he was now because, at that time, he hadn’t understood the true value of this affection.

Back then, he had been more concerned about leaving this small town behind, seeing the wider world, and becoming as powerful as the heroes from the stories he had grown up hearing.

Only after losing his family did he truly understand what they had meant to him.

He finally understood the saying that only after losing something do you realize its true value.

In the original timeline, he had indeed become strong.

Although he was still far from standing at the very peak of the world, he had become powerful enough to stand on his own.

But that strength had meant nothing to him.

He realized that although he possessed great power, it could never bring back the warmth he had felt when he was with his family... or when he was with his friends.

Strength was necessary.

But even more important were the people for whom he sought that strength.

William slowly closed his eyes and when he opened them again a moment later, every trace of hesitation had disappeared, replaced by an incomparably sharp gaze.

In the distance, he could already see Richard standing beside a carriage waiting outside Baron Xing’s mansion.

’Nothing that went wrong in the original timeline will happen again...’

William muttered to himself, his gaze fixed upon the carriage that would carry him to the place where everything had begun in the original timeline.

Just as William was staring at the carriage, a few notifications suddenly flashed before his eyes.

(Detected that the Heir is about to reach the time node where his downfall originally began.)

(A new trial has been issued for the Heir.)

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//End of Volume 1//

(A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this volume! The second volume will begin tomorrow.

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Thank you!)