Chapter 32: System Rewards

Peak Master’s Hall.

Ji Qingyou appeared silently behind Lin Jun, her voice soft and gentle. "Master, Lin Qingxuan has arrived. He is currently kneeling at the foot of Wanfa Peak, and it seems... his state is not very good."

Lin Jun, who was waiting for the 'Immortal Venerable Gift Package' to unlock, paused, then replied impatiently, "Lin Qingxuan, Lin Baixuan, I don't know who they are! Tell Ye Zhetian to drive him away!"

"Yes," Ji Qingyou replied respectfully before withdrawing.

Lin Jun’s gaze remained entirely fixed on the 'Immortal Venerable Gift Package' visible only to him, filled with anticipation. Regardless of what was inside, the system’s divine operation had piqued his curiosity to the limit, leaving him unable to sleep for nearly a month. As for Lin Qingxuan, he was already a person whose memory had completely faded. Back when the little black dog won the Young Sect Master competition, Lin Jun had spared this rebellious disciple’s life purely out of a final shred of sentimentality. Of course, the main reason was that he didn’t want to dirty his own hands and remember the incident for the rest of his life.

[Ding! Congratulations on taking Wang Nixian as a disciple. The Immortal Venerable Gift Package is now open!]
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained a share of the Law of Time (Beginner).]

Lin Jun, sitting cross-legged, felt his body jolt violently. In an instant, a profound realization surged into his mind. At that moment, he felt as if he were standing in the river of time, witnessing the sun rise and set, the cycle of the four seasons, and the flow of life. He saw green rice ears turn yellow as time passed; he saw an infant go from birth to death, enduring countless twists and turns before turning into a handful of dust; he saw a planet evolve from its initial condensation to its final, silent death; he saw the rise and fall of dynasty after dynasty.

He saw red threads of causality woven through the world; by merely tugging them, he could alter reality. He also saw such a red thread within his own body, though its color was slightly dim. At this moment, he seemed to look up and see a deity, his gaze piercing through the vast cosmos to sense the Heavenly Dao that existed in the void above all living beings. Innumerable insights flooded his mind, and he instantly grasped the method to manipulate this Law of Time within him. His eyes flickered, reflecting the vicissitudes of ages in a mere heartbeat, revealing an endless, ancient depth.

"Mas..." Ji Qingyou, who had returned, caught this sight and was struck by a wild tremor in her soul!

This gaze... Master, you have finally returned to your true self. An Ancient Great Emperor! Feeling as if she had discovered Lin Jun’s secret, Ji Qingyou trembled, forgetting the words she had come to say, and retreated respectfully.

"Sigh..." After digesting everything within that Law of Time, Lin Jun let out a long sigh. For a moment, he had been a traveler in time, witnessing the birth and death of all things. A melancholy he couldn't describe filled his chest, along with a sense of compassion for all living beings. Born to live, yet destined to die; dying, only to return again. There was nothing more sorrowful in the world. Life was like a cage from which no one could escape. Fortunately, he had his system; the misfortune belonged to others, otherwise, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He stared into the empty space and slowly extended a finger. The red, thread-like Law of Time he had just acquired twined around his fingertip like soft silk. Watching this manifestation of the Law of Time, a deeper realization flashed in Lin Jun’s eyes. This wasn't a simple or superficial Law of Time; it possessed a profound inner meaning. Whether it was the Law of Time stepping out or the Law of Causality cheating, it was clearly intertwined with the Law of Causality. To be precise, it was likely an incomplete 'Law of Causality' that had sunk into a 'Law of Time,' sharing the characteristics of both.

Lin Jun realized that as long as he upgraded this Law of Time, it would evolve into a higher-level Law of Causality. While he didn't yet know how to upgrade it, he had clearly struck gold. It was a single law with two sets of properties—perhaps the system was bad at math.

*Swish!*

He cast the Law of Time toward the rocking chair he often lounged in. Suddenly, two images appeared before him: one showed the chair rapidly aging until it decayed and vanished; the other showed both the current chair and the decayed chair simultaneously, as if one were the cause and the other the effect. He could reach out and pull one of them out! However, he tried and realized his current law intensity wasn't strong enough.

Helpless, he chose the first image.

*Swish...*

Instantly, the chair he had used for over a decade decayed to the extreme, scattering like sand. For a moment, he felt a twinge of regret. He had been using that chair for years and was truly reluctant to part with it. But then he thought, there would surely be better ones in the future, and his sadness vanished.

After 'erasing' the chair, the thread of causality on his hand grew dimmer, looking somewhat exhausted, as if it had been forced to work too hard. Lin Jun estimated that at its current strength, it could be used about three times before needing a recovery period. As for why he called the Law of Time an 'Causality Thread,' it was his own design. For one, it looked like a thread; for another, it was red and possessed higher-level causal properties. Whether for its appearance or its auspicious connotations, he decided to call it the Causality Thread! This way, he could create all sorts of confusing effects later on. It was incredibly cost-effective!

Lin Jun’s thoughts stirred, and he retracted the dimming Causality Thread. His heart was full of fantasies. Though currently inconspicuous, the system indicated it was upgradable! It was currently at the 'Self' level, but once it reached the 'World' level, he might become the god who masters time in this ancient world. A single thought could change the world into a vast ocean or mulberry fields. How exciting!

Meanwhile, having received his master’s instructions, Ye Zhetian leaped down and headed straight for the foot of the mountain.