Wei Jianming woke to the familiar scent of Azure Peak's morning mist. A petrichor scent, spirit herbs and the distinct fragrance of cultivation incense. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming again. How many times had his mind conjured this ghost of a memory?
But the hardwood floor beneath him felt too real. The distant sounds of disciples practicing sword forms too clear. The spiritual energy pulsing through the mountain too vibrant.
He sat up with a jolt, his body responding with alarming ease. Gone was the stiffness of age, the tremor in his hands. He looked down at limbs that belonged to a younger man, one that was scarred from training but strong. A mirror across the room reflected a face he hadn't seen in decades, unmarked by the ravages of failure and regret.
"It actually worked." he whispered, voice cracking with emotion.
An unfamiliar pain flared across his chest. He tore open his inner robe to find a single star-shaped scar directly over his heart, pulsing with faint azure light. The first of seven, according to Ruoxi's notes.
Ruoxi. The name triggered a cascade of memories and revelations. Somewhere in the sect, she was still alive, researching the very technique that had brought him back. He needed to find her and warn everyone.
But when?
Wei stumbled to the window. The seven peaks of the Azure mountain range stood majestically against the dawn sky. No storm clouds gathered yet. The spiritual formation protecting the sect still shimmered invisibly above them. This was before the attack, but how long before?
A knock startled him. "Senior Brother Wei? The morning assembly begins shortly. Elder Lu requested your presence early."
Wei froze at the voice. Liu Cheng, the first disciple to die during Zhao's attack and beheaded while trying to warn others. Now alive, standing just beyond his door.
"I'll... be right there," Wei managed.
He dressed quickly, mind racing. Elder Lu wanting to see him early... He tried to remember the events leading to the attack, but fifty-three years had blurred much of the chronology.
As he opened the door, Liu Cheng stepped back respectfully. "Senior Brother, are you well? You look pale."
Wei studied the young man's earnest face, unmarked by the death wound that had haunted his nightmares for decades. "I'm fine, just... didn't sleep well."
They walked together through familiar corridors that Wei had rebuilt in his dreams a thousand times. Every stone column, every calligraphy scroll, every wooden beam had been burned to ash in his original timeline. Now they stood pristine, suffused with the spiritual energy of generations.
"Have you seen Song Ruoxi today?" Wei asked carefully.
Liu Cheng's expression turned quizzical. "Junior Sister Song? She's been in closed meditation for three days now. Her breakthrough to Core Condensation is expected soon."
So Ruoxi was still here. If she was approaching her breakthrough, then the attack might be just days away.
At the assembly courtyard, disciples gathered in their respective divisions. Wei found himself automatically moving toward his usual position. The sight of so many familiar faces,all dead in his original timeline and all of it nearly overwhelmed him.
Elder Lu Qingmei stood at the front, her face unwrinkled, her right arm strong and unblemished. Nothing like the broken woman who had found him in that tavern.
"Wei Jianming." she called. "Come demonstrate the Third Azure Star Form for the new disciples."
Wei moved forward mechanically. The sword at his hip, not the broken remnant he'd carried for decades and it sang as he drew it. The technique flowed through him with a perfection he'd forgotten he once possessed. His spiritual energy, undiminished by years of substance abuse and neglect, responded instantly to his will.
But as he completed the form, a sharp pain lanced through his chest. The star-shaped scar burned beneath his robes. Several nearby disciples gasped as azure light briefly shimmered around his blade.
Elder Lu's eyes narrowed. "Most impressive, Disciple Wei. Your control has... improved overnight."
After the assembly, Elder Lu gestured for him to follow her to the secluded meditation pavilion.
"Your spiritual energy signature has changed." she said without preamble. "And you performed the Third Form with a variation I've never seen before, one that is much more efficient but not what I taught you."
Wei felt cold sweat form on his brow. He'd forgotten that Elder Lu was basically a spiritual sensor of unparalleled sensitivity. Of course she would notice the difference.
"I've been experimenting with the form." he said carefully.
Elder Lu studied him. "Experimentation is to be expected from someone of your talent, but such a fundamental shift overnight raises questions."
Wei hesitated. Should he tell her the truth? Would she even believe him?
Before he could decide, the pavilion door slid open. "Elder Lu, I've completed the analysis you requested."
Wei turned to see Yun Lihua enter, scrolls tucked under one arm. Alive. Beautiful. Unburned. The shock nearly drove him to his knees.
"Lihua." he whispered.
She looked at him with mild surprise. "Senior Brother Wei." she acknowledged with a bow, then turned back to Elder Lu. "The spiritual formation has been showing fluctuations as you suspected. Someone has been testing its boundaries."
"When?" Wei interrupted, his voice urgent.
Both women stared at him.
"Three nights ago," Yun Lihua answered slowly. "How did you know about that?"
Wei's mind raced. Three nights ago, the first probing attack which no one had recognized as such until it was too late.
"Zhao Moying is coming." he said, the words tumbling out. "He's found a way to break through the formation. He'll be here with an army within days, maybe hours."
Elder Lu's expression hardened. "That's a serious accusation, Disciple Wei. Zhao Moying was expelled twenty years ago. What evidence do you have of this?"
Wei struggled to find words that wouldn't reveal too much. "I... had a vision. A premonition."
"A premonition." Elder Lu repeated skeptically.
"Check the southern ward stones." Wei insisted. "They've been tampered with. And Song Ruoxi, she needs protection. She's in danger."
Yun Lihua exchanged a concerned glance with Elder Lu. "How would you know about Junior Sister Song's research? She's kept it highly confidential."
Wei realized his mistake too late. Of course Ruoxi wouldn't have shared her time manipulation theories widely.
"I think." Elder Lu said carefully, "That Disciple Wei should visit the medical pavilion. These... premonitions... are concerning."
"I'm not unwell." Wei insisted. "Please, just check the southern ward stones. If I'm wrong, what's the harm?"
Elder Lu studied him for a long moment. "Very well. Lihua, escort Wei to his quarters and ensure he rests. I will investigate these... concerns."
As they left the pavilion, Wei felt the weight of Yun Lihua's gaze. The woman he had loved from afar walked beside him, alive and skeptical.
"What's really happening, Wei?" she asked quietly. "You've never shown interest in spiritual formations or ward stones before."
He looked at her, memorizing the features he'd only held in fading memory for decades. "If I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe me."
"Try me." she challenged.
Wei hesitated, then glanced around to ensure they were alone. "I've lived this day before. I've seen what happens next. Everyone dies, Lihua. The sect falls. Azure Peak burns."
She stopped walking, her expression unreadable. "And Song Ruoxi? Why did you mention her specifically?"
"She knows something. Something important enough that Zhao wants her taken alive while the rest of us die."
Lihua's eyes widened slightly. "You know about her research?"
"The Sevenfold Azure Star Formation," Wei said. "It's not just a cultivation technique."
Lihua grabbed his arm, pulling him into a secluded alcove. "How do you know this? Only three people in the sect are aware of Ruoxi's work—myself, Elder Lu, and Sect Leader Tian."
"Because I used it." Wei admitted, pulling open his robe to reveal the star-shaped scar. "I came back to stop what happens next."
Lihua's fingers hovered over the scar, not quite touching. "This is impossible. The technique is theoretical. Ruoxi hasn't even completed her calculations."
"She will. She did. Fifty-three years from now, I learned how to activate it."
Lihua searched his face, looking for deception. "If what you're saying is true... what happens to me?"
The question struck him like a physical blow. How could he tell her about the azure flames?
Before he could answer, a distant explosion shook the mountain. Alarm bells began to ring across the sect grounds.
Wei's blood ran cold. "It's happening sooner this time." He grabbed Lihua's shoulders. "Listen to me. Find Ruoxi. Get her out through the eastern tunnel. I'll meet you at the White Crane Overlook."
"But the sect-"
"Will fall regardless. But maybe next time, I can prevent it entirely."
"Next time? Wei, what are you-"
Another explosion, closer. Disciples were shouting in the distance.
"Go!" Wei pushed her away. "Please, Lihua. Trust me just this once."
Something in his eyes must have convinced her. She nodded once and ran toward the inner halls.
Wei drew his sword and ran toward the sounds of battle. If his memories were correct, the first breach would come through the training grounds. If he could hold that position long enough...
As he rounded the corner, he came face to face with three black-robed cultivators. None were familiar, but their chest emblems marked them as members of the Shadow Concord, Zhao's faction.
"You're early this time." Wei said, dropping into a fighting stance.
The lead attacker looked confused for only a moment before Wei's sword took his head. The others reacted quickly, dark energy surging around their weapons.
Wei moved with the muscle memory of a thousand practice bouts, enhanced by combat techniques he'd learned over decades of survival. His younger body responded with a speed and precision he'd forgotten was possible.
As he dispatched the last attacker, he felt a presence behind him. He spun, blade extended-
-and stopped a hair's breadth from Song Ruoxi's throat.
She stood perfectly still, eyes wide but unafraid. "Wei Jianming." she said softly. "You're not you, are you?"
The star scar on his chest pulsed painfully. "Ruoxi." he breathed. "You need to run. Now."
"It worked." she whispered, her eyes fixed on the faint glow visible through his torn robe. "You actually used it. You came back."
"There's no time." Wei insisted. "Zhao is coming for you specifically. He knows what you've discovered."
Ruoxi shook her head slightly. "But I haven't completed the research yet. Unless..." Her eyes widened with understanding. "You brought it back with you."
Wei suddenly realized his tactical error. If Ruoxi was taken now, Zhao would extract the completed technique from his own knowledge rather than her incomplete research.
"I've made it worse." he realized aloud.
The ground beneath them shuddered as a more powerful explosion rocked the mountain. The main formation was under attack.
"Not worse." Ruoxi said, a strange calmness settling over her features. "Just different. The cycle continues, but the pattern changes."
"What do you mean?"
"I suspected this might happen." She reached into her robes and withdrew a small jade pendant, pressing it into his hand. "When you use it again and you will, this will help you remember what matters."
Before Wei could respond, a section of roof collapsed nearby. Through the dust and debris, a tall figure emerged, flanked by black robed cultivators.
"Song Ruoxi." the figure called, his voice carrying unnatural resonance. "Your presence is requested by the Shadow Concord."
Wei positioned himself between Ruoxi and the newcomers. "Zhao Moying." he growled. "You're not taking her this time."
Zhao's eyebrows rose slightly. "This time? Interesting." His gaze fixed on the glowing scar visible through Wei's torn robes. "Most interesting indeed."
Wei lunged forward, sword trailing azure light. Zhao met the attack with casual ease, deflecting Wei's blade with a black dagger.
"You've improved, Wei Jianming," Zhao observed. "But you're still not my equal."
The fight was brutally short. Despite his enhanced techniques, Wei found himself outmatched. Zhao's cultivation had progressed far beyond Core Resonance and he was at least at Astral Embodiment stage, possibly higher.
As Wei fell to one knee, blood streaming from a wound in his side, he saw his worst fear realized: Ruoxi being dragged away by Zhao's disciples.
"Stop!" he shouted, forcing himself up.
Zhao turned, studying Wei with clinical interest. "You're different. The technique worked, didn't it? How many stars have you sacrificed so far? Just one, it seems."
Wei charged again, desperation lending him strength. This time, Zhao didn't bother deflecting the attack, he simply caught Wei's sword with his bare hand, the blade unable to penetrate his spiritual barrier.
"I had planned to extract the knowledge from Ruoxi slowly." Zhao said conversationally, "But you've brought me a more complete version. How considerate."
Pain exploded in Wei's chest as Zhao drove his dagger directly into the star-shaped scar. The world went white with agony.
"I'll take this knowledge from your mind directly." Zhao whispered. "And then perhaps I'll try the technique myself. After all, what's a few scars against the power to rewrite time?"
As darkness closed in, Wei saw Yun Lihua appear behind Zhao, her hands forming the signs for a forbidden technique. Their eyes met briefly.
"Run." she mouthed silently, before azure flames erupted from her body, engulfing her and Zhao in blinding light.
Wei crawled away as the flames spread, clutching the jade pendant Ruoxi had given him. Through the fire and smoke, he saw disciples falling, buildings collapsing. History repeating itself with slight variations.
He had failed again.
With the last of his strength, Wei arranged seven spirit stones from his pouch into the pattern he now knew by heart. As Zhao's screams and Lihua's sacrifice played out behind him, he activated the Sevenfold Azure Star Formation once more.
The second star on his chest ignited with searing pain. Another piece of himself, his earliest childhood memories had faded as the world around him began to dissolve.
"I'll try again." he whispered as consciousness slipped away. "I'll save them next time."
The last thing he saw before the time vortex claimed him was Ruoxi being dragged away, her eyes fixed on him with an expression not of fear, but of sad understanding as though she had always known this moment would come.