"There is a myth about a place that exists far far away from the Aldora continent, it was said that if one left this continent and headed in a western direction for 100 years they would get a glimpse of this place and even after glimpsing it.
It would take another 100 years to step foot on it. That myth has died down now, most people living today would not have even have heard of it, in fact me and your Uncle Shuan are probably the last persons alive who knows of this myth.
The old timers before me said that place is called Diyu and it is on a higher plane than the mortal world, people there were born as xiantians or saints. It is said that no one from the mortal world has ever actually met someone from Diyu, but I have! your father and my brother died for that person, and that person gave you your name, when you were born she insisted on that name for you." said the old man with a melancholic look on his face.
CLANK!
Hartley fell off the chair he was sitting on with his mouth wide open, unable to speak. Hartley didn't believe a single word said by the old man, Hartley thought this was a ploy by the old man to brainwash and use him.
Patriarch Lou looked at Hartley and with a long sigh, again he started to speak.
"Your mother's name is Gwen and she was from a large sect in Diyu called the Time Keepers, the direct decedents of the Time Keepers was affiliated with no elements, their affinity was with time itself, as I look at you I can see you also have no affinity with the elements, so maybe you can right now, or maybe in the future, be able to affect time, that is because of your mother's blood running through your veins."
Hartley's head almost exploded, sweat running and dripping off his forehead like he had just had a long night session with Zhi Ruo. Hartley was wondering if the old man could notice the blue star fragment in his chest, but apparently he couldn't and with Hartley hiding his aura no one could, not even a half step saint realm expert like Patriarch Lou.
Hartley's mind was running a thousand thoughts per second, wasn't it the blue star fragment that gave him power over time? now he wasn't so sure, when he first got the blue star gravity sutra book, it did say, only someone naturally talented could cultivate it, was he naturally talented? or was it his bloodline?
The patriarch then told Hartley the name of his father, it was Lou Quin and the name of his grandfather was Lou Chu, he said he wasn't going to tell him anymore right now, because he would be in danger, this had to be kept an absolute secret because the people from the Time Keepers sect would kill him on sight if they got wind of his origins, not only him maybe the entire clan, even though the likelihood of the Time Keepers sect coming back to the mortal plane was extremely low.
What the patriarch told Hartley was the absolute truth, but he didn't tell him this from the good of his heart, he told him because he would need Hartley's strength in the upcoming years if Hartley developed time manipulation to a decent level.
The Patriarch had seen the people who came looking for Hartley's mother that time, and no one in the mortal realm could exchange one blow with them.
They could cast a domain and within that domain they could, pause, slow down, and rewind time. Some could stop time in their domain, cultivate for years inside it and come out twice as strong as they were a second ago.
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The patriarch had a flashback of a demonstration Hartley's mom gave him, they were casually chatting and the next thing he knew, she was tapping on his right shoulder, when one fought against someone with the power over time, they would not be aware that time was being manipulated, he shuddered just thinking about it, you wouldn't even know how you died when battling those guys.
Though the patriarch didn't think Hartley could get to the level of those guys because he had mixed blood.
Patriarch Lou had calculated this long ago, he had arranged for Hartley to be abandoned at the remote mountain just in case the Time Keeper sect learned of his existence and came looking for him, this would ensure that they wouldn't find him in the Lou clan, but kept him near enough that if he developed to be as powerful as his mother, he could be of some benefit to the Lou clan.
The patriarch would need him in the future so he decided to gamble and bring him in closer now. " That's why your name is so unique" said the harmless looking old man before he sent Hartley away.
Hartley left the Patriarch's mountain with more questions than answers, Hartley had no memory of his parents, so he couldn't feel sad for them, it was as if they were things unrelated to his reality, he felt guilty because right now he still couldn't feel anything for them.
Hartley had always depended on himself, he had had no teachers or guides on his short journey. When he was fourteen and fighting regular battles with the fierce beasts in the nameless back mountain, he had noticed that he hadn't developed any elemental affinity but he had pushed the thought aside thinking it was because he had no one to teach him, it turned out his origins were special but Hartley could take no solace from this, he still wished he was a normal kid doing normal things.
By the time Hartley returned to his courtyard it was already dark, he decided to spend the night in the clan and go see Zhi Ruo tomorrow. Hartley calmed his emotions and sat cross legged and began to cultivate again but this time he would concentrate on time, the story Patriarch had told him was convincing but he still had a head full of doubts.
The last time Hartley was at the thin line between sub-realms he had been pushed over the edge by the stimulation of the assassination attempt at the inn......
In Hartleys daintan there was a mini version of himself sitting crossed legged in concentration, he was covered in blue aura, this time it was not still and calm as it usually was, it was writhing and roiling around his body like a giant snake trying to constrict his movements.
In the outside world the blue aura was behaving in the same manner sending occasional flashes of blue throughout the room, his muscles bulged and moved around like there were a dozen snakes slithering under his skin, it looked quite painful but Hartley's face was peaceful and serene, under the constant bulging and moving of the blue aura through his body, a couple hours later his physical body had passed the threshold of a 2nd layer xiantian.
Hartley hadn't noticed the upgrade of his physical strength because he was on to something else. This feeling..... He had felt it before in the inn. Time was timeless, again there was a gravity pulse coming from his body which synchronized with his heart beat.
Badum Badum.
Hartley could hear his own heart beating as loud as a drum beating in his ears and everything in the room floated a meter off the floor.
Badum Badum....
it was like the blue star fragment was trying to combine with his blood, after another hour Hartley opened his eyes which were shining like a lantern in the dark room, everything was frozen, the dust particles floating around froze in place and every piece of furniture was floating a meter off the floor frozen in suspended animation. The color was drained from the room leaving everything a monochrome tone, the room looked like a piece of art drawn only in black and white.
Even though Hartley was lucid and his thoughts were in real time, he couldn't move his body, he fought to move his right hand and when it started to move, his nose started to bleed, he was frightened and tried to stand up with all his might, when he finally stood up, a line of blood flowed down his nose and onto his upper lip, it then dripped in slow motion towards the floor.
The droplet of blood falling to the floor was the only thing moving in the room.
When the drop of blood finally splashed against the floor, everything floating in the room crashed to the floor with a bang, Hartley had a massive headache and passed out immediately.