Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

Shi Yan agreed.

But his agreement was not as readily accepted as the other seven.

The moment he nodded, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes—a mixture of helplessness, resentment, and a hint of relief that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

The other seven people did not notice these subtle changes.

They were discussing the route to the Eternal Alliance, how to avoid the eyes and ears of the Misty World, and how to make contact with Lin Xiao.

But Shi Yan's thoughts had already drifted back to a very, very long time ago.

That was a year ago.

When he first arrived in the Misty World.

Like all other survivors, he found himself in unfamiliar land, surrounded by a hazy mist and under a starless sky.

But his feelings were completely different from others.

Because the moment he arrived, his SSS-level time-related talent awakened.

The feeling was like a tightly closed door suddenly opening in front of him, with countless forces of time surging out from behind the door, flowing into his body, his soul, and every cell of his body.

He could feel time—not the markings on a clock, nor the numbers on a calendar, but the real, flowing river of time and space between all things in the universe.

It was a boundless river, flowing from the birthplace of the universe and rushing towards its end.

The river water is silvery, each drop a fleeting moment, each ripple a branch of destiny.

And he is a helmsman on this long river.

He can accelerate time, extending a moment into eternity.

He can slow down time, compressing billions of years into a single instant.

He could even turn back time and let things happen again.

This power convinced him from the very beginning that he was the protagonist of this world.

Lin Xiao, who is ranked number one on the leaderboard, and everyone else with SSS-level talent, are just supporting characters to him.

In this world where time reigns supreme, he is the only true king.

With this confidence, he began to frantically improve his strength.

The cultivation speed of the Time Talent is astonishing.

What takes others months to break through a bottleneck, he only needs a few days—because he can use time acceleration to extend a few days of training time into several months.

As his rank increases, the proportion of time he can control also increases.

In just a few months, he soared from level zero to level four.

When he broke through to the fourth tier, his time talent extended into a new ability—the River of Time.

He can glimpse the past, and he can also glimpse the future.

At that moment, he couldn't wait to activate his talent, and his consciousness probed into the river of time.

He wanted to see what his future held.

He wanted to see himself standing at the top of the world, to see countless lives prostrate at his feet, and to see the expressions of regret on the faces of those who had once looked down on him.

But when he actually saw that future scene, his Dao heart shattered.

At the end of the river of time, stands a figure.

The figure was surrounded by seven-colored light, and behind it was a complete universe.

The power of the five elements circulates endlessly in the universe, with countless stars shining within it.

He recognized the face of that figure.

Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao is ranked number one on the leaderboard.

He stood at the end of the river of time, like an insurmountable mountain, blocking the entire river behind him.

Shi Yan tried to see beyond him and into the distant future, but he couldn't.

Because Lin Xiao's very existence is a barrier. A barrier that even time cannot penetrate.

"Impossible..." he murmured, his voice trembling slightly.

He once again activated his talent, his consciousness probing into another branch of the river of time.

This time, he tried to glimpse a different future—a future where Lin Xiao did not exist.

But he soon discovered that no matter which branch he chose, no matter which possibility he explored, Lin Xiao was always there.

Sometimes he's an enemy, sometimes an ally, sometimes just a passerby in the background—but he's always there.

Moreover, Lin Xiao stood at the end of each branch.

High above, unshakeable.

"No...this is impossible..."

Shi Yan was unwilling to accept this.

He frantically activated his talent, his consciousness traversing countless branches of the river of time.

He saw millions of different futures—

There is a future where he launched an attack when Lin Xiao was only at the second tier.

That time, he almost succeeded, and he also pushed Lin Xiao to the brink of despair.

But in the next instant, Zhuge Duo, the survivor with the talent of destiny, risked her life to save Lin Xiao.

Not long after, Lin Xiao's revenge came.

In one future scenario, he learned from his previous mistake and sowed discord among Lin Xiao's allies, causing Zhuge Duo to betray Lin Xiao.

That time, Lin Xiao did suffer a setback, and his strength stagnated for a whole month.

But a month later, he returned with even greater power and pinned Shi Yan to the ground with a single sword strike.

In one future, he would always avoid Lin Xiao and have no contact with her.

He survived that time.

Lin Xiao didn't even know he existed.

But he saw a more distant future—in the final battle between Lin Xiao and the God of Mist, the entire Mist World was collapsing, and he, as an observer, was not spared either.

In one future, he joined the Mist World and became a member of the Dark Erosion Order.

That time, he lived a little longer.

But in the end, Lin Xiao still came knocking and killed him with a single sword strike.

There is a future he is trying to create by collaborating with Lin Xiao.

He survived that time, and lived a long time.

But he could only ever stand behind Lin Xiao, watching that seven-colored light illuminate the entire universe.

Millions of futures, millions of possibilities.

We must examine each aspect of time and deduce each one in turn.

He wanted to find a path, a path that would allow him to surpass Lin Xiao.

But he couldn't find it.

Not a single one.

No matter what he does, no matter which path he chooses, Lin Xiao will always be ahead of him.

Sometimes closer, sometimes farther, but always there.

forever.

Ultimately, he came to a conclusion that filled him with despair—

He is only absolutely safe when he has no relationship with Lin Xiao.

As long as he doesn't try to surpass Lin Xiao, doesn't try to be Lin Xiao's enemy, and doesn't even try to have any interaction with Lin Xiao, he can live.

But what does that mean?

He is a master of SSS-level time-manipulation talent.

He is someone who can travel freely through the river of time.

He considers himself the protagonist.

Now they're telling him he can only be a supporting actor?

Shi Yan was unwilling to accept this.

But what can he do?

The power of time became incredibly heavy at that moment.

At that moment, his Dao heart cracked.