While reality might not match Li Hao’s speculations, he was in trouble if the Dragon master was making straight for the star of time. Not only was the star in Rat World, but so was Director General Zhao. The Great Li king and western queen were also collecting faith from the human population on the world...

Li Hao took a deep breath. Perhaps it was time to have them retreat. It didn’t matter whether the Dragon master was headed their way or not. It was best to exercise more caution.

Also, the Dragon master was truly frightening. He could sense the power of time! That made him rather unusual.

Li Hao quickly darted inside Silver Moon. Both Number Two and Void were inside the world, furiously keeping the dao universe under control. Their task was to prevent its ripples from being discovered.

The young man took another deep breath and appeared in front of Number Two.

“Senior Number Two, can an eighth rank sense the existence of the star of time?”

“I don’t know.” A mystified cat shook its head after a while. Li Hao stared wordlessly at it.

“Um... the Dragon master was just here, then left. Dragon major world accelerated in the direction of Skyward. Do you think he sensed the star of time?”

“Possibly!” The cat nodded after some thought. “The star of time is just an embryo and very young in its development, it’s not too strong yet. You’ve created numerous false worlds lately, which may have caused energy to seep out.

“But if he’s sensed it, that all it means is that he is very sensitive toward the great dao. It also indicates that he understands many types of dao, because there are many different daos in the star of time...”

The prerequisite for the Dragon master sensing the star of time was that he had comprehended many daos. That was also the case for ninth ranks, since they needed that knowledge to weave a net of dao. The Skyward master, for example, had grasped 9,999 types.

This kind of existence was simply stunning and overwhelming. A change in any dao would arouse their attention.

There were also a myriad of daos within the star of time. Those with less exposure to the great dao wouldn’t sense anything. But those who understood it on an innate level could sense the changes in the star of time.

“It’s not a good idea to call upon the river of time right now,” Li Hao said with a worried expression. “I’m worried that will expose myself instead, so it’s impossible to notify Director General Zhao...”

The young man frowned. He would never measure up to the Dragon master in terms of speed, so how could he get a word of warning to Director General Zhao?

They could stick their heads in the sand and pretend there wasn’t a problem, but what if?

What if... they’d really been detected?

The current situation was completely outside of Li Hao’s expectations. He’d thought that they flew completely under the radar.

“Do you think that the Dragon master really has discovered traces of time?” asked Number Two when the cat saw how worried Li Hao was. “If that’s the case, then he’s too strong. I’d suspect that he’s a peak eighth rank. He might understand more than five thousand daos and is weaving his own net of dao!”

How would he so easily sense the ripples of time otherwise?

“So then there’s only one way out of this, since he’s already on his way there...” the cat mused rapidly.

Li Hao looked at it for answers. Number Two might understand the star of time more deeply than he did.

“Time is everywhere, but it is only one in the past and present!”

The young man sank into deep thought as he contemplated this statement.

“Therefore, there is only one star of time,” continued the cat. “And it’s currently on Rat World. But if it disappears, that means it doesn’t exist and won’t be on that world!”

“So the senior means...” Li Hao raised a brow.

“Give it a try. Enter some moment in the past and remove the star. That will also cause the star to vanish from where it currently is!”

Li Hao’s eyebrows went even higher. So this will work, eh? Surely the cat was joking?

“It should be doable!” Number Two explained. “At the very least, this star is one of a kind! Since the Dragon master’s detected it, you can only put it back into Silver Moon’s dao universe. At the very least, that will make it easier to hide...”

“But I don’t have the star at present, how am I supposed to access the past?” asked Li Hao.

“You are its master, so you should be able to do so even without the star. You’ve just never tried it! Your dao should be completely entangled with time now and impossible to separate!”

The young man nodded after some thought and decided to give it a try. This may not be the end of the road for him yet if it didn’t work. It was down to a matter of who was faster.

He could still activate the dao chess brand right now and have the dao chess head over from Skyward to retrieve the star of time. He could also poke Lin Hongyu’s star of life and death or damage it. The woman might understand what he meant.

Whatever, it’s still such a hassle to communicate through the chaos. Li Hao thought glumly.

There was nothing else to say now but see if he could sink into the past. Trains of thoughts thundered through his mind. The Dragon master... might be stronger than all eighth ranks. That was the truly horrifying thought!

......

Li Hao started to get a feel for things after a few tries. The power of time manifested in his eyes; he didn’t dare set foot in the outside world. For the moment, he was hidden in Silver Moon’s dao universe.

He gradually immersed himself into the past, not needing to head to any other locations. The star of time had been born in this dao universe.

The young man opened his eyes after a very long period of time. It was like he really had returned to the past. The dao universe was very weak. He seemed to have returned to the day in which he first met the star of time.

All things were frozen in place!

Li Hao’s figure hovered in and out of sight. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

According to the cat, there was only ever one singular star of time. The one he saw now and the one in the Rat World was the same. It was projected into two places—now and the past.

Li Hao was finding the dao of time to be more complicated than ever. How had the War Sovereign coalesced such a dao origin? What a terrifying character!

There was no time to waste. [1] Li Hao solidified his form and reached a hand toward the star! The power of time shimmered from his hand.

It seemed to be the star of time’s first encounter with Li Hao—it resisted the unknown stranger and wanted to flee. He firmly closed his hand around it, feeling like he’d grabbed the real thing when he touched it.

Wow, will this really work? Losing myself in the past is usually just being entranced by illusion! I think... I’ve got my hands on the actual thing!

......

At the same time, Rat World.

Director General Zhao paused and looked up at the sky. A star was hovering there, but a large, formless hand had just joined it. And then... the star of time... disappeared!

The old man’s jaw dropped. How was that possible??

This would be the end of him!

That was Li Hao’s dao origin! How could someone steal it?! That shouldn’t have happened!

Is Li Hao dead if someone’s stolen even that??

The Great Li king and western queen flew over, also staring at the sky. Not only that, but the river of time vanished as the star of time disappeared. The tiny world that’d been absorbing energy trembled violently before the immaterial world around Rat World shuddered, then popped like a bubble!

The three gaped! What??

Director General Zhao looked around sternly at the unexpected. He was more worried that something had happened to Li Hao.

“He took it himself, didn’t he?” the queen suddenly said.

“Huh?” The director general looked at her.

“Who else can touch the star of time apart from him?” she explained. “If there’s really a premier powerhouse on the loose... Do they need to steal it? They can just kill us and take it!

“He retrieved the star of time for no reason at all, resulting in the collapse of the immaterial world. The power of faith is already drifting outward, which means what we’re doing here is no longer a secret!” She frowned. “We’ve been conducting our affairs in secret all along, so taking the star away now either means that he’s encountered danger... Or that we’re about to be exposed...”

Director General Zhao recovered from his shock and nodded solemnly. “That’s very true! Something bad might happen soon. We need to leave, right now!”

However, he glanced at the countless humans within the tiny world. Faith had coalesced in them. What do we do with those humans?

They were out in the open and could hide no longer! Although this was just a first rank world, it was still very difficult to move.

Do they just abandon it or what?

The director general looked at the Great Li king, then. at the queen. “If we leave... are you guys taking these humans with you?”

The queen frowned in silent thought. Would they? There were so many people that it was too hard!

Unless...

She looked at the Great Li king and breathed out with a grin. “We’ve finally collected some faith, so I am loath to give it up. Perhaps... you’ve forgotten... that I am Silver Moon!”

The two men blinked. What did she mean?

“Silver Moon is a world and the heavenly will, it is also the world’s first divine spirit!” smiled the queen. “I am that divine spirit’s substitute, but now I am the primary body! I will verify my dao with faith and establish the divine nation of Silver Moon!

“The divine nation will be both a world and not a world. It is my nation of faith, providing shelter for these people for them to continue to supply me with faith. I will be able to leave with them anytime!”

She made up her mind and waited no longer. While the two goggled at her, she transformed into a massive silver moon. Her illumination lit up the land and her voice echoed through the world!

“Those who put their faith in me may enter my divine nation! This world is filthy and irredeemable. Follow me into the divine nation and become my citizens. I am the Sky God and the divine nation is ever-lasting.

“Today, I verify my dao! Bear witness for me as I become a god of the chaos!”

The world collapsed and countless fervent worshippers saw a divine nation appear right before their eyes. It stretched on unendingly, filled with blooming fresh flowers and countless palace halls. It was the very picture of paradise.

Many of them took involuntary steps forward and entered this divine nation!

The Great Li king took in a small breath and glanced at the woman, transmitting to Director General Zhao, “She’s... seriously a complicated person. Ole Zhao, you gotta be careful. She’s built a nation on faith here. She might actually become the heavenly will of the chaos one day if we don’t tread lightly...”

Eh?

The director general blinked. Was that possible? He wasn’t familiar with the dao of faith, so was already amazed by what he was seeing. Could someone really become the heavenly will of the chaos?

1. Heh, pun. ☜