Yue Yun stood supported between Lin Xinyao and Yang Ningchang, her moon-white robes stained with blood but her golden-tinged black eyes burning with defiant clarity. Though her body trembled from exhaustion, her gaze remained steady as it locked onto Nian Shi.
"You're so desperate to erase this timeline," she continued, her voice calm but carrying an edge sharper than any blade, "that you'd even use that sword?"
A beat of silence.
Nian Shi studied Yue Yun for a long moment before his lips curved into a faint smile. "This is our first encounter," he remarked casually, as if commenting on the weather.
When puzzled looks appeared on the faces of Yun Qianxue and the others, he tapped his chest with his free hand. "I mean, it's my first time meeting you."
The revelation struck Yun Qianxue like lightning. Her ice-blue eyes sharpened as she scrutinized Nian Shi's every detail—the slight variance in his temporal aura, the way his silver hair shimmered with subtly different hues.
