RE: LORD OF TIME

"Don’t try to forcefully manipulate your Aether Energy. Instead of guiding it only with your Aether Core, try using your mental energy together with your core. It will become much easier," William said as pure Aether Energy flowed out from his palm and enveloped his entire arm.

Liam looked at how effortlessly William controlled his Aether Energy, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

"You know, my father is a Star Commander, but for some reason, I feel like your control over Aether Energy is even better than his," He said as he attempted to control his Aether Energy the way William had described.

However, he had only just broken through to the Star Warrior Realm, and his mental energy was still very weak, making it difficult for him to use it to guide his Aether Energy.

William ignored Liam’s comment and seeing that he was still struggling, he continued to instruct him seriously.

"It’s normal that you can’t control it properly immediately after breaking through. But as long as you keep practicing diligently, it won’t take long before you get the hang of it." He paused before adding.

"You should know that one of the most important requirements for breaking through to the Star Commander Realm is having excellent control over your Aether Energy. It’s better to start improving your control now rather than banging your head against the wall later."

"I understand," Liam nodded with a sigh, knowing William was right.

"By the way, when is she coming?"

William calculated the time before looking into the distance.

"I told her to meet us here in about three hours. It’s already been more than two and a half hours, so she should be here soon."

"I see..." Liam nodded before glancing at William’s backpack.

"What do you have inside your backpack? It’s so big."

"Just a few things we will need inside the Astral Rift."

In reality, there weren’t many items inside William’s backpack.

It only contained a few essential supplies that would make traveling inside the Astral Rift safer.

As for the things William had gone out to buy earlier, most of them were stored inside his Storage Ring.

He carried the backpack simply because he didn’t want to reveal that he possessed a storage device as storage devices were extremely rare, and he had no intention of attracting unnecessary attention.

"The Howling Desert, right?" Liam looked at William curiously.

"I asked a few senior students about that Astral Rift, and all of them said it’s one of the worst rifts inside the academy. Is there a special reason you want to go there?"

William had already prepared an excuse so he lowered his voice and spoke seriously.

"Do you think it’s strange that I have such good control over my Aether Energy?"

"Uhh..."

Liam actually wanted to say that not only William’s control over Aether Energy, but even his strength and knowledge about many things were unbelievably abnormal.

However, seeing William’s serious expression, he swallowed those words and simply nodded.

"Actually, it’s because I knew someone from the academy even before I enrolled," William said with a sigh.

"She told me many things about the academy and even guided my cultivation for a while. That’s why I am currently ahead of most of the new students."

Liam’s body stiffened slightly upon hearing that.

"You mean... you met a senior before joining the academy, and she personally guided you?"

"That’s right." William nodded. "She also told me quite a few things about the Astral Rifts within the academy. The Howling Desert was one of them. If what she told me is true, we will be able to obtain enough cultivation resources to support ourselves for quite some time."

Liam no longer cared about the Astral Rift as there was something far more important.

"...Was the senior who guided you beautiful?"

William was momentarily taken aback by the strange question.

However, after thinking about Vivian, the "senior" he was referring to, he nodded without hesitation.

"She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

Liam’s eyes twitched even more violently.

"Even more beautiful than Miss Alicia?"

William’s lips curved upward as he shook his head.

"There isn’t even any comparison."

What a joke.

His sweet Blood Pack was the most beautiful woman in all the realms.

How could Alicia possibly compare to her?

Although Alicia was undeniably beautiful, she was still just a sixteen-year-old noob and would need another ten years and plenty of milk before she could even hope to compare to her.

Seeing William’s somewhat smug expression, Liam felt as though something inside him had caught fire.

Looking down, he imagined his entire body burning in the flames of jealousy.

"Why would such a beautiful senior help you? What’s so special about you?" Liam complained indignantly. "Sure, you are tall, fairly handsome, and you have beautiful green eyes... but my skin is shinier than yours."

As he spoke, he proudly showed off his oil covered wheat-colored skin, which glistened under the light of the setting sun.

"Why didn’t a beautiful senior come teach me? If a beautiful senior had guided me instead of my old man, I would probably have learned to control my Aether Energy a long time ago."

"Tch. The ramblings of a lonely single dog." William said in a tone filled with disdain, completely ignoring the fact that currently he was a single dog himself.

Liam suffered a critical hit straight to the heart upon hearing William’s cruel words and staggered backward, looking utterly devastated.

William ignored him completely, knowing that Liam was merely having one of his usual episodes and would recover before long.

A few minutes later, they saw Alicia walking toward them.

She wasn’t carrying anything with her, but William didn’t comment on it as he knew she almost certainly possessed a Storage Device.

Once she arrived, the three of them wasted no time and headed toward the core area of the academy, where all of the Astral Rifts under the control of the Sun and Moon Academy were located.

"What happened to him?" Alicia asked in confusion after noticing Liam’s depressed expression.

"He wanted to apply a little more oil to his skin, but he discovered he’d run out. That’s why he’s feeling depressed," William replied with a perfectly straight face.

Alicia looked at Liam’s already oil-covered skin before instinctively taking a step away from him, afraid that simply standing too close might somehow make her own skin greasy.

Seeing her reaction, Liam suffered another critical hit and suddenly began questioning whether applying oil to make his skin shinier had really been such a good idea.

Around half an hour later, the trio arrived at the deeper region of the academy and stopped before a massive dome-shaped building.

At its entrance stood two guards emitting powerful auras.

William and the others walked over and presented their student badges.

"New students?" One of the guards asked after examining their badges.

"Yes. We would like to enter the Howling Desert Astral Rift," William replied.

Using their student badges, the three of them each paid fifty Academic Credits.

"If this is your first time entering an Astral Rift, make sure you have brought enough supplies," The guard reminded them after confirming the payment. "Also, if you encounter any danger, there’s an outpost near the exit portal. You can always seek help there."

"Thank you for the advice. We will keep it in mind," William replied with a nod before leading the other two inside the dome-shaped building.

The moment they stepped through the entrance, they felt as though they had passed through an invisible barrier and the surrounding light immediately dimmed.

What appeared before them were rows of Astral Rift portals, more than fifteen of them in total.

Each portal emitting a different colored glow that illuminated the dim hall. Some crackled with lightning, while others shimmered like flowing water.

"Follow me. The portal to the Howling Desert is over there."

One of the staff members, who had already been informed by the guards stepped forward and led them toward the rear of the hall.

Soon, they stopped before a dark blue portal streaked with faint light-brown currents.

"This is the Howling Desert portal," The staff member explained. "You may remain inside the Astral Rift for as long as you like. However, once you leave, you will have to pay another fifty Academic Credits if you wish to enter again."

William, Liam, and Alicia exchanged glances and after nodding to the staff member, the three of them stepped forward together, entering the portal.