A young man with sandy hair, dark green eyes, and deeply tanned skin walked down a back country road. The hard packed dirt was not simple, it was fused by powerful formations so that it would not deteriorate over time and keep beasts away that had not yet gained sentience.

It was more than wide enough for carriages going both ways and still room for people to walk. The old wooden staff in his hands spoke of long use and anyone judge youth by appearance would be a fool.

The young man walked with ease and confidence. The few with him at the moment only nodded but there were no indications of maliciousness coming from him.

A rogue cultivator was often associated with banditry or other acts in the past but no longer. The 6 Elemental Epoch had been unprecedented peace and even a random rogue cultivator was no longer seen with disdain.

The young man was unusual in that he was walking with no sign of any supplies or storage treasures. Cultivators easily noted them but the lack of them only meant they were small or they could not afford one.

The youth did not care as he walked down the road and finally paused near a wild forest. The retraction of many factions from the Final Fiend War had left large swathes of land to be reclaimed by Heaven and Earth.

Things that had been built in the hopes of lasting forever had been swallowed up by nature once the humans, demons, or whatever race built it died or abandoned it.

The youth glanced up and down the road before heading into the forest. The change was instant.

The pleasant day of sunshine and gentle warmth was replaced by shadows and humidity. If a mortal was to experience it, they would collapse from the extreme switch.

The youth simply shrugged and showed no concern as he walked as easily through the rough ground of the forest as he had the road.

After several days he finally paused and seemed to relax. The youth faded to reveal the emerald haired figure of Lind Frey.

He had not been truly alone in a long time. His family had argued someone should go with him but anyone near him was now well known. Taking someone even remotely from the Blessed Crimson Range would be as good as hanging a sign saying who he was.

His current disguise was a variation of his old Frey Clan. It was not exact as someone might recognize them. It was just enough to pass as pure human.

His eyes were finally able to be disguised to a point but the color could only be muted.

He waited patiently in the small clearing, taking in the sounds of life around him. No meetings, no attempts to garner favor, or even just questions about his various professions.

He had enjoyed the peace and recovered to beyond his previous peak. He had fully mastered his Time Layer. It was far more complex and nuanced than he expected.

His crude use of it in the battle with the Bastard showed only afterwards. The desperation had made him get inventive. There was no doubt he may have arrived at some of those uses later, yet now he could see thousands of ways to better ensnare such a foe.

He raised his empty hand and let the shadows dance mixed with sunlight. It was a simple thing but simple things had become hard to find in his life.

He had zero clues to his next Mystery and the answers were not with his family or a secure life. He was not looking to rule or simply guide the next generations. He had an enemy to kill.

Suddenly, space rippled before a grinning monkey with golden fur appeared. Lind sighed as Sun never changed.

"You seem to be enjoying your chaos." Lind wanted to smack him but it was a bit amusing to see the world speculate like mad what he was doing.

"If you knew how much they tried to stop me, you would not be smiling. Do you want my wives to find us here?" The smile vanished from Sun’s face. He absolutely did not want that to happen.

"We should go then." Sun held up his own staff. Space rippled once more and both men stepped into it.

Lind went from deep humidity to a blizzard. Even his resilient body took a moment to adjust.

Space sealed behind them with not a trace left. The whole point was to lose any possible trail someone could follow. If Lind tore through space, it would leave a trace or 2 behind someone might use to find him.

Sun was an ally but he was always traveling. There was no way to know for certain if he helped Lind or was just on one of his antics.

Sun bowed and left quickly. The Northern Continent was mostly unsettled now that it had warmed slightly. Lind wondered about that change compared to everything else.

The Southern and Eastern Continents had been largely similar. Even after the Fiends were gone and they planted the Seeds in the wrecked Eastern Continent, it had mostly returned to a temperate environment.

The Western Sun Isles were largely unchanged. The islands were too isolated and the Void Ocean currents disrupted any change that might have started.

Still, Sun had done a lot to raise up the connection between them and thus the quality of life for cultivators had improved drastically compared to any shifts in nature.

The Northern Continent was still cold, but not as bone deep cold as the last time he had been there.

The other 3 continents were largely known to him and also under the control of powers that would actively hunt him down for favors or more if they found him.

The Northern Continent remained largely ruled by beasts. They operated by different rules. If Lind walked openly, they would not care. They would only leave him unmolested unless he asked for something.

For now, he wanted to explore. The wild continent appealed to him in many ways. He looked at the stretch of ice and trees. It was a strange sight. Before it had been nothing but ice fields and storms.

The mixture of both returning forest and the lingering ice made him smile. He let his aura gently absorb and see what was around him.

The flow of energy, Daos, and everything came back to him. He saw the ice trying to cling to the land but giving way to a new flow. He tried to follow it but it was too big and far.

The peace of the land surprised him despite the conflicting forces. It did not give him a lead but it made him think in a broader sense. He smiled and then took a step only to pause.

He glanced to his left and frowned. It was not something bad exactly, yet he felt a disturbance.

He floated up and silently went towards the feeling. He was not looking for a new companion, honest to all the spirits, but he had seen the scenario play out too many times not to be suspicious.

He just happens to arrive when something was going on? Not a chance he dismissed that as pure coincidence!

He flew over a small ridge and did not find a cornered figure nor any other cliche moment. He simply found a tragedy.

A large wolf was ripped apart as the claw of another beast was lodged in it. Lind was not sure what the other beast had been as it was mauled pretty badly.

It had scales but that could be quite a few races. The 2 beasts should not have met, however, given their natural environments. The odd situation in the Northern Continent was what made such an odd battle possible.

He was confused as it should not have drawn his attention like it did. A fight to the death in the wild, while not a normal pair of beasts, was perfectly natural.

He scanned carefully before he found the cause of the disturbance.

It was an egg. It had been covered in the lifeblood of both beasts. Normally, that should not have affected it, yet it had. It seemed the fight to the death had been over the egg. It was clearly not from the wolf but what race would have an egg that could be affected by blood splatter.

He knelt down and examined it from afar. He dared not add to its dilemma. The issue was a reptilian and mammalian race were not usually compatible at such an early stage.

They were only World Realms.

Lind tried to find any clues of the other race before he found the horns.

"A snow dragon." It was a variant but it was a powerful one. The bloodline was also not pure but who knew what it was mixed with. The distinctive blue horns were the only indication of what it was in the mess.

The wolf was far easier. Its dark fur marked it as a forest wolf but of a much warmer climate. How the blazes it killed a snow dragon he had no idea but if it had been trying to strengthen its baby in the egg, it was possible it was very weak at the time.

It also explained the current situation. The only way to strengthen a baby dragon before birth was to bathe it in either the purest element aligned to its race or refined blood of its parent.

Unfortunately, that process was now contaminated. The fusion step had been interrupted at the worst moment and now an alien race was introduced.

Lind frowned as there was little most could do but he theoretically could. Even then, odds were 50/50 at best. If he did nothing, the baby would die for sure.

He sighed. The choice was obvious.

Life surged from him gently as it embraced the egg. He made damn sure his harmony did not touch it.

That would only make things far worse.

It could violently try to reverse what was already a dangerous moment. All he could do was help it to survive.

He hoped it would live.