Linlin's tail stiffened. "Wait. So Big Brother Yun is from... the oldest timeline?"
"Not just old." Qing Yun's voice dropped. "Original. The blueprint. Every other reality branched from yours."
Yun Lintian's pulse quickened. "Then why is it so weak? In my world, the Primordial Gods are gone, the laws are broken—"
"Because of the War." Qing Yun interrupted. "When the Creator fought the Chasm of Uncreation, their battle shattered the Prime Origin into infinite fragments. Each fragment became a new timeline." Her eyes darkened. "Your world... was the battlefield."
The weight of those words settled like a mountain.
Yun Lintian frowned slightly. "So Nian Shi..."
"Seeks to control the branches," Qing Yun confirmed. "But the roots remain in your timeline. That's why your Tree is different. It carries the essence of the first creation."
A realization struck Yun Lintian. "That's why I can absorb divine authorities so easily."
