After a year of teaching and training by Lin Zhongtian, Diana grew very quickly.
Her height increased by 30 centimeters in just one year, from a cute little girl of 1.2 meters to a heroic girl of 1.5 meters.
Neither Lin Zhongtian nor Hippolyta were surprised by this.
If the divine power was not suppressed, it would not be impossible for Diana to grow one year older every day.
But growth in appearance does not mean maturity in mind. Diana is still the innocent child she was a year ago, but her mind has gained a lot more knowledge about the human world, and her understanding of this world has become more sound.
Paradise Island, mirror space.
Diana stood in the center of the circular platform, wielding a heavy black iron sword that was 1.6 meters long and about 30 centimeters wide.
This heavy sword was made by Lin Zhongtian using compressed metal specifically for Diana as a practice sword.
It has no edge or blade and weighs 890 kilograms. Even if ordinary people have been trained, it would take the cooperation of several people to barely lift it. However, Diana wields it with just one hand.
“Hoo—Hoo—”
As their steps crossed, the sword blades created a whistling wind.
Diana was waving the heavy sword while staring ahead with an unfocused look, looking as if she was worried about something.
Not long after, Diana suddenly stopped, thrust the heavy sword in her hand into the ground, turned around and ran quickly to Lin Zhongtian.
At this time, Lin Zhongtian was sitting on a recliner, drinking the wine in the glass, his eyes shining with silver light, browsing the long river of time, and sensing the mysterious power of time.
Diana squatted beside the recliner, holding onto the armrests, and shook Lin Zhongtian's arm in a somewhat depressed manner.
"Teacher, teacher, have you heard what happened to Phillips?"
"..." The silver light in Lin Zhongtian's eyes faded away, and he turned his head and glanced at her, "Of course."
Diana couldn't help but ask, "Can you help her?"
Lin Zhongtian couldn't help but laugh: "How do you want me to help her? Help her leave Paradise Island and find the human who has forgotten her, or bring that human back and let the two of them live on Paradise Island as examples of violating Amazon tribe rules?"
“…”
Diana opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping herself from speaking again.
Her mind told her that neither option would lead to good results.
The combination of long-lived species and short-lived species is a tragedy in itself.
Being able to forget each other in the world is also a lucky ending.
In Lin Zhongtian's opinion, the one who really needed help was not Phillips who had tasted a brief happiness, but the unborn mixed-race baby in her belly.
Diana didn't know that Phillips was pregnant with a boy, but she knew that the love between the Amazons and humans never had a happy ending.
But even so, when it really happened before her eyes, Diana still found it hard to accept.
At this moment, seeing that the teacher who used to be omnipotent was helpless, the kind-hearted Diana felt very sad and couldn't help but act childishly towards the person close to her.
"It's all the teacher's fault!"
Diana stood up angrily, turned around in a huff, and didn't look at Lin Zhongtian.
Lin Zhongtian found this somewhat amusing and asked with interest, "Why do you blame me?"
"Teacher, standing at the northernmost tip of Paradise Island, can hear what I say at the southernmost tip. Standing on the beach at the edge of the island, you can see the whole process of me hunting sharks in the shallow sea fifty miles away."
"With your ability, you should have discovered that human when he drifted to Paradise Island. If you had stopped him from meeting Aunt Phillips at that time, none of this would have happened!"
Looking at Diana's sad back, Lin Zhongtian couldn't help but laugh.
He gently reached out his hand, grasped Diana's wrist, asked her to turn around, and then looked into her slightly red eyes and asked:
"Phillips is your mother's personal guard. He knows your mother's style of doing things best. She must know the consequences of marrying a human. But why does she still insist on being with that human man?"
Diana asked with red eyes: "Why?"
Of course it’s because of love!
Lin Zhongtian answered in his heart.
But he couldn't explain this to Diana now, so he could only spread his hands and said, "You can't understand the specific reasons now, but with your logical thinking, you should understand that Phillips made the decision knowingly. Since she is willing to take this risk and has no regrets about it, what qualifications do I have to interfere with her behavior?"
“…”
Diana looked even sadder after hearing this.
Lin Zhongtian smiled and raised his hand. Diana squatted down as usual, like a wounded little animal, and leaned her head on the teacher's palm, letting him stroke her long black hair.
"People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, the moon waxes and wanes, it is impossible to have everything in life."
"Diana, I know you are a kind-hearted child, but reality is not a fairy tale. There are not so many perfect endings. Sometimes, you have to learn to compromise with reality. Don't force yourself. This will only make those who care about you even more sad..."
To be honest, if this was not the past timeline, Lin Zhongtian would definitely not teach Diana like this.
He would definitely let Diana hide under his wings for the rest of her life just like he protected Duoduo.
But this is just the past after all.
Lin Zhongtian has discovered that the longer he stays in this past world, the greater the fluctuations in the river of time will be.
Even if he did nothing but teach Diana, and even never left Paradise Island, he still could not eliminate this influence.
According to Lin Zhongtian's calculations, given the current fluctuations in the river of time, he would have to leave in a year at most.
The next important time node will be more than a thousand years from now...
In other words, in the eyes of everyone on Paradise Island, Lin Zhongtian will disappear for more than a thousand years.
During these thousand years, even if Lin Zhongtian wanted to protect Diana, he was powerless, unless he ignored the safety of the world and forcibly intervened in the long river of time.
But if this happens, the long river of time may collapse.
The kind-hearted Diana certainly would not want to see such a tragedy happen.
So whether out of his own conscience or for Diana's sake, Lin Zhongtian would not do this.
Hearing Lin Zhongtian's serious words, Diana nodded as if she understood.
Lin Zhongtian smiled slightly, ruffled Diana's hair, and said with a smile: "Continue practicing sword!"
"Only when you have enough power can you protect the people you want to protect from fate..."
Diana nodded with red eyes, then turned around obediently and walked towards the heavy black iron sword inserted in the center of the platform.
Time passed as Diana swung her sword again and again.
In the blink of an eye, winter went and spring came, and half a year passed in a flash.
In the past six months, Lin Zhongtian fulfilled his original promise and taught Diana all three sword techniques, but Diana obviously could not accept it all.
Don't be fooled by her saying she wants everything at the beginning, that's only because she hasn't gotten the hang of kendo yet.
Now, after nearly two years of practice, Diana has begun to have her own understanding of kendo and has gradually developed her own style.
She integrated and blended the "Black Iron Heavy Sword" and "Dharma Sword Technique" taught to her by Professor Lin Zhongtian, and turned them into her own things.
In addition, Lin Zhongtian also taught Diana the art of controlling objects and the method of constructing a biological force field. He would secretly take the Sword of Vulcan from the high tower on Paradise Island from time to time and let Diana try to control objects.
As for the mysterious sword intent and sword power in the world of "A Chinese Ghost Story"...
Sadly, Diana showed no talent for this.
No matter how much Lin Zhongtian let her experience it personally, she could not learn this kind of thing.
There was no way, Lin Zhongtian could only give up this idea and let Diana walk her own path.
…
It was another early morning. Lin Zhongtian was suspended above the palace, staring at the sky with silver eyes.
Due to a previous attempt he made, the fluctuations in the river of time became increasingly larger.
Six months ago, he would have been able to stay in the current timeline for nearly a year.
But now, there is less than a month left at most...
The reduced time was all due to Lin Zhongtian's suicidal attempt -
He plans to add a course called Marxist philosophy for Diana.
This action instantly caused turbulent waves in the long river of time.
If Lin Zhongtian had not interrupted it in advance, the world would probably have been completely destroyed in his hands.
Afterwards, Lin Zhongtian thought about it carefully and found that the key to the problem might not be Diana, but his actions, which would make this idea appear in the world earlier.
This will inevitably lead to a huge change in the future direction of the entire world.
Anyone who has seen the movie "The Flash" knows that in the DC universe, time works differently than in Marvel.
Changing a certain time node will not only change the future and form a time tributary, but will also synchronously change the past and cause changes in the origin of the world.
Just like Barry Allen, the Flash in the movie, he just changed the placement of canned tomatoes on the shelf, which led to a huge change in the origin of Batman Bruce Wayne.
Lin Zhongtian does not rely on the Flash's speed force to change the world, he uses the authority of time to travel through the long river of time.
The difference between the two is like Walter White and Pink Panther in Breaking Bad.
Lin Zhongtian is Lao Bai, a top chemist who knows everything about what he makes. Therefore, while interfering with the past, he can ensure that the world whose future he has changed will not become a parallel universe.
The Flash Barry Allen is like Pinky, who only knows the facts but not the reasons.
Although he also knew many of the rules governing the operation of time, they were like sophisticated experimental steps, merely the surface of the long river of time, not the deeper rules of time.
Lin Zhongtian knows the deeper rules and also knows how to protect the river of time and prevent it from producing tributaries.