“I’ve wanted to ask since the first time I saw you…”
The headmaster’s office was bright and well-lit.
A warm atmosphere wrapped around the crisp aroma of tea, filling the entire room. The white porcelain teacup on the table emitted curls of white mist, and the tea leaves soaking in the hot water unfurled, turning the tea clear and inviting.
The Sovereign of Rules and the Sovereign of Time sat opposite each other, nestled in the soft sofa.
At this moment, the two did not carry even a hint of the air of supreme Law Dominators. Instead, they seemed like old acquaintances who had known each other for decades, acting in whatever way was most comfortable.
One leaned his elbow on the sofa’s armrest, slowly sipping from a teacup while his fingertips were stained with warm steam. He had completely retracted the pressure of his law, settling in for a simple chat.
“You are definitely going to ask if those little fellows in the future can be liberated, aren’t you?”
The Sovereign of Time’s features were half-hidden in the shallow light and shadows, making it hard to see her face clearly, but a light smile was obvious on her lips. Her tone was incredibly certain, as if she had known what he was going to say all along. Her fingertips carelessly rotated the teacup, and as a droplet of water slid down the rim and onto the table mat, she didn’t care at all. She simply blew on the steam rising from the cup.
“Yes.”
The Sovereign of Rules nodded frankly without any concealment, giving a low grunt of affirmation. His slender fingers gently tapped the cool wall of the cup in a slow, steady rhythm. Anyone with eyes could see that he was not as calm as one might imagine.
“They are just a few Dominators of lower-level laws. What is there to worry about?” The Sovereign of Time let out a scoff, her tone full of undisguised disdain.
It was as if she were not talking about Law Dominators, but rather petty thieves scurrying along the roadside.
“Their ability isn’t great, but their tempers certainly are. They can’t stir up any waves, and they aren’t worth your concern at all.”
“Phew… true.”
Hearing this, the Sovereign of Rules felt an instant wave of relief. His tense shoulders slumped, and he exhaled a heavy breath of turbid air. The heart that had been hanging in suspense for so long finally settled back into his chest. He took another large gulp of the warm tea, his Adam’s apple bobbing. The solemnity and worry between his brows swept away, and his expression relaxed significantly.
The hierarchical relationship between laws carried absolute suppression.
It was like the Dominator in charge of the General Elemental Law; dealing with the seven single-element Dominators would be as simple as crushing a few ants. It was an absolute slaughter; they could be handled however one pleased, and taking on all seven at once was no difficult task.
For example, the Law of Death sounded terrifying and had a prestigious reputation. It could deprive things of life and kill all creation at a whim, appearing peerlessly domineering. However, in front of its superior law, the Life Law, it was as obedient as a well-behaved little girl, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Anything that Death could achieve—such as taking a life or ending vitality—the Life Law could do just as clearly. And the things Death could not do—such as bringing the dead back to life, reshaping the physical body, creating life force from nothing, and reversing the trajectory of life and death—the Life Law could still handle with ease.
The two were not opposites at all.
Death was originally a part of life. It was an essential link in the cycle of life. As the old saying goes: “When a whale falls, ten thousand things are born.” Only by truly experiencing the silence of death and tasting the flavor of extinction can one truly understand the meaning of being alive and comprehend the core truth of the Life Law.
Yet, many mages who studied the Life Law happened to be incredibly stubborn. They focused solely on “life” and completely ignored the crucial link of “death.” After busying themselves for half a lifetime, they would end up with nothing to show for it, stuck at a bottleneck forever.
“However, the reason I returned to this time period wasn’t to clean up those seven old fogies.”
The Sovereign of Time put down her teacup and leaned back against the sofa, sinking into the soft cushions. Her posture became even lazier and more casual. Her fingertips lightly brushed the hem of her clothes, creating a faint ripple of time that vanished as quickly as an illusion.
“According to the normal course of history, the current me shouldn’t be sitting in the position of the Sovereign of Time yet.”
As she spoke, she decisively crossed her slender right leg over her left knee. Her toes swayed slightly in a flamboyant and unrestrained motion.
“Although with my current strength, I could sit in this position whenever I wanted and no one could stop me, I have to suppress myself with everything I have. I don’t dare to let loose at all to prevent the already messy future timelines from becoming a complete disaster. It’s quite stifling… which is why I specifically ran back from the future.”
She let out a light laugh. Her voice was airy, yet she revealed a truth so absurd it was world-shaking. Her tone remained as calm as if she were talking about eating or drinking, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
“The moment I became the Sovereign of Time, all versions of me across every timeline theoretically synchronized into a Dominator. Even when I was still in my mother’s womb—before I had even developed a human shape and was still a small embryo—I was still a bona-fide Sovereign of Time.”
“Then…”
The Sovereign of Rules furrowed his brows instantly. His body leaned forward unconsciously as he drew closer, his eyes filled with genuine confusion and a hint of disbelief. “If even the seven elemental Dominators combined are nothing in your eyes, then what kind of massive situation could there be? What could make you suppress your own strength and specifically cross through time and space to return from the future?”
“It doesn’t hurt to tell you part of it. It’s not some unspeakable secret anyway.”
The Sovereign of Time paused, shedding some of her laziness. Her tone became a bit more serious, and a trace of imperceptible solemnity flashed through her eyes. Even the tea fragrance floating around seemed to freeze for a moment.
“There are two Dominators in our camp who became bitter enemies. It was all because one of them was incredibly clumsy with words—a complete mute who kept every thought and feeling bottled up inside, unable and unwilling to speak. Couple that with a complete lack of emotional intelligence and a total lack of tact in both action and speech, and the performance was disastrous.
“The moment the other person exhausted all their effort to reach the summit of the Dominator throne and broke free from all shackles, they went mad on the spot. Without a word, they initiated a fight to the death against the person who had ascended to godhood at the same time…
“Their battle tore the heavens and earth apart, turning the sun and moon dim. Wherever the aftershocks of their laws swept, everything turned into nothingness. In the end, they blew the entire world into tiny pieces. The galaxies grew dim, the universe collapsed… nothing was left.
“The reason I went to such great lengths to run back this time was to make some preparations in advance. I want to quietly change their life trajectories so they don’t become enemies. I want to make their future selves stop fighting and save this world.”
A Dominator’s attainment was eternal. That was a matter destined by the Heavenly Dao and ordained by the laws. No one had any way to stop it.
However, that didn’t mean a Dominator’s memories, experiences, temperament, and obsessions couldn’t be quietly changed!
In the future, those two fought until the world was dark, with eyes only for each other. One of them wished for nothing more than to grind the other to dust and refine their soul, unable to think of anything but revenge. The other was forced into a corner and could only fight back passively.
They would never notice her small movements in the past.