Yun Lintian's grip on the Heaven Sunderer tightened. "The Temporal Hourglass. Nian Shi's trap. It was all your plan."
"Of course." Mo Ling spread his arms, his torn robes fluttering. "Did you truly believe a relic that powerful would be given freely? It was bait—to lead you exactly where we wanted."
He laughed, the sound hollow. "And you took it so eagerly."
Mo Ling's smile vanished, replaced by icy disdain. "The Creator was a fool. She made Primordial Gods to serve her 'balance,' but we were never meant to be servants." His gloved hands clenched. "I refused to bow. So I remade myself—across timelines, across deaths. And now..."
His gaze locked onto Yun Lintian. "You stand as the final obstacle to true freedom."
Yun Lintian didn't move. "Freedom to destroy?"
"Freedom to rule!" Mo Ling's voice cracked like thunder. "No more cycles. No more suffering under false balance. Only one truth—my truth."