Capítulo 1: Rewinding Time
天
Somewhere in the starry sky surrounded by stars and darkness was a floating table made of mysterious glowing jade that illuminated the void.
Two old men with a profound aura currently sit around this table, casually sipping tea.
"I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when you invited me to drink tea, Senior Wu," said the old man in a golden robe that represented royalty.
"I also wasn't sure that you'd agree to meet with me on such short notice. Knowing your status as the Heavenly Emperor, you must be very busy." Wu Tianyi showed a friendly smile.
"An invitation from an Ancient Immortal that has cultivated during the Primordial Era, I wouldn't miss this chance even if I had to push everything back."
"Hoh? Am I that famous?" Wu Tianyi lifted an eyebrow.
"There's no need to be humble. The amount of people who have lived during the Primordial Era and are still alive right now is less than five including you. After all, only exceptional geniuses such as Senior Wu would be able to live for tens of millions of years."
"Millions of years, huh… I have always been focused on my cultivation so it doesn't feel that long."
"To be so dedicated to the Cultivation Path, I admire you."
Wu Tianyi showed a bitter smile and shook his head. "What's there to admire? Despite so many years of effort, I am still nowhere near the peak of cultivation. In fact, I have long reached my limit. No matter how much I cultivate, I won't get any stronger."
"..."
After a moment of silence, the Heavenly Emperor spoke, "Senior Wu, why have you called me here today?"
"Have you ever thought about traveling to the past?" Wu Tianyi suddenly asked.
Slightly taken aback by his question, the Heavenly Emperor took a moment to think of his answer.
"Although that sounds interesting, it's strictly against Heaven's Law to time-travel, especially if it's to the past. Who knows what kind of anomaly that would cause in the universe."
The Heavenly Emperor looked at Wu Tianyi with a weird expression and asked, "Don't tell me you know someone who's trying to time-travel…"
"Are you against it?"
"Well, since I am the Heavenly Emperor, I cannot allow anyone to defy the heavens that I am supposed to protect."
"I knew it…" Wu Tianyi sighed.
"What's this all about, Senior Wu?"
After a moment of silence, Wu Tianyi spoke with an apologetic expression, "I called you here today to apologize."
"Apologize?" The Heavenly Emperor looked at him with a surprised look. "Why would you—"
As though he'd realized something, the Heavenly Emperor suddenly stopped talking, and his eyes widened with shock.
"D-Don't tell me that you are going to…"
Wu Tianyi smiled and retrieved a worn-out talisman from his robes and said, "After searching for countless years, I have finally found the Timeless Talisman hidden deep within the Temple of Time."
"The Timeless Talisman! The Temple of Time!" The Heavenly Emperor's body trembled upon hearing the name 'Temple of Time', one of the most dangerous places in this universe that even someone as powerful as him would not dare to venture without a damn good reason.
"T-The Timeless Talisman is only rumored to have time-traveling power! Who knows what kind of mysterious power it truly holds!" The Heavenly Emperor began persuading Wu Tianyi.
"I am aware of the risks and the problems it might cause this world, so I am apologizing before I use it."
"T-Think about this again, Senior Wu! Why would you want to turn back time?"
"I have never told anyone about this, but when I was a young and naive little boy, I had made some stupid decision that inevitably dampened my progress in cultivation. Every day, even to this day, I cannot help but spend half of the day thinking where I would be right now if I hadn't made those choices and cultivated properly."
"W-When you were a little boy? Are you trying to travel millions of years into the past?! That's absurd! It's impossible! Not even a legendary Artifact would have such powers!"
"We won't know that unless I try it." A childish smile appeared on Wu Tianyi's face, looking like a young boy who was about to have his dreams realized after many years of waiting.
"D-Don't do it!" The Heavenly Emperor shouted in a pleading tone, something that has never happened before.
However, Wu Tianyi was too focused on the talisman in his grasp to hear anything.
The next moment, Wu Tianyi poured some of his spiritual energy into the talisman, causing it to glow brightly and flap around like wings.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, memories from his past appeared as images and surrounded him, making it feel like he was watching a play on his life. There were even memories that he'd long forgotten.
However, instead of moving forward, the play was being played backward, almost as though time was being reversed.
When he first became a true Immortal and gained immortality; when he conquered an entire continent with a mere gaze; when he achieved his first Grand Dao. Everything Wu Tianyi had achieved in this life was slowly disappearing into the void.
After what felt like an eternity has passed, Wu Tianyi suddenly snapped out of his daze and looked around.
"W-Where am I?"
He quickly realized that he was no longer sitting around a jade table in the starry sky, the worn-out talisman in his hand had disappeared, and the Heavenly Emperor was nowhere to be seen.
"Why are you standing around with that dazed look, Wu Tianyi?! Are you so scared to fight me that you cannot even move?! Ahahaha!"A loud and obnoxious voice suddenly resounded in Wu Tianyi's head.
[What's this voice? It sounds so familiar yet…]
Wu Tianyi turned around to face the direction of the voice, where a young man with an arrogant face and a sword in his grasp was standing.
"T-This is…"
Wu Tianyi's eyes widened with surprise when he saw this arrogant-looking young man, and his body trembled with excitement and relief.
"It worked! It really worked! The Timeless Talisman had worked! I have traveled to the past, and my entire cultivation is gone!"
One would normally be devastated to lose their life's worth of effort, but Wu Tianyi was unable to contain his excitement and began shouting out loud.
"What kind of nonsense are you shouting? Have you gone nuts before I could even beat you?" The arrogant young man was startled by his sudden change of behavior.
[Ahem. It seems like I have lost control over my emotions for a second. How embarrassing for someone who's lived for millions of years.] Wu Tianyi cleared his throat and suppressed his urges to jump around.
"You know what? Since you are so afraid of this Young Master, I will give you another chance. As long as you promise me that you will give up on Bing Meiling, I will spare you from my beating today," said the arrogant young man.
Wu Tianyi raised an eyebrow trying to remember this event.
After a moment of pondering, he finally recalled it.
[Oh, right. When I was young, there was this girl named Bing Meiling that I had fancied. However, because of this unrequited love I had for her, I was bullied nearly every day by this boy before me, who also shares the same emotion for her.]
"What is your answer, Wu Tianyi?!" The arrogant young man shouted. "I will give you three more seconds to decide—"
"Okay, I won't go after her anymore." Wu Tianyi suddenly said in a nonchalant voice, taking the young man by surprise.
In his previous life, his feelings for this Bing Meiling was fairly strong, so he fought the young man to the bitter end — only to have his ass beaten to a pulp. However, in this life, he has much more important things to worry about than something like love.
"Then, if you don't mind, I have important matters to attend right now." Wu Tianyi said as he turned around.
But before he could even take a step, the arrogant young man shouted, "Are you mocking me, the great Du Fuwei?!"
"Do I look like a fool to you, Wu Tianyi?! Do you seriously think I will believe such half-assed words?! If you don't kneel before me and swear that you'll forget about Bing Meiling, I will beat you until you become an obedient dog!"
"..."
Wu Tianyi slowly turned around and stared into Du Fuwei's eyes with a serious expression on his face.
"Since you are but a young brat and I am currently in a good mood, I will give you a choice. I can walk away right now and pretend we never spoke today, or I can go over there and rip that annoying mouth off your face. Which do you prefer?"
"..."
When Du Fuwei saw how cold Wu Tianyi's eyes were and the dangerous aura that surrounded him, Du Fuwei felt all of the strength in his body disappear and went into a daze. He had a strong feeling that Wu Tianyi wasn't bluffing and would really dare to rip his mouth off his face.
Plop.
Du Fuwei dropped to his knees a few moments later, and when he finally came to it, Wu Tianyi was no longer in his sight.
"I-I won't forget this humiliation, Wu Tianyi!!!" Du Fuwei gnashed his teeth in anger.
Meanwhile, Wu Tianyi was walking around the place while trying to recall where his living quarter was located. After all, it's been a few million years since he'd last been to this place.