“” Oasis’s voice cut through his thoughts like a blade dipped in ice and fire.His tone felt calm—too calm—but beneath it lingered a suffocating pressure that made the crowd’s laughter and the music of the flute seem suddenly distant to Daku, as though muffled by water.Daku froze in his tracks.Slowly, with the stiffness of someone standing before a cliff’s edge, he turned his head in search for the location.His eyes scanned the inn room, past drunken men and servers carrying trays of steaming food, until they landed on a table tucked against the corner.“...It must be them,” Daku thought, his throat dry.He didn’t waste a second.Every instinct screamed at him not to resist.Step by slow step, he moved across the inn floor, boots creaking against wooden planks, until he slid onto the empty seat among them.Shiye’s hand instantly twitched toward his sle

Daku rose from the table with stiff, hesitant movements, his cloak swaying lightly in the warm lantern glow of the inn.He adjusted his conical hat low to obscure his face and started toward the door, his steps deliberately steady.The tavern’s atmosphere hadn’t changed—flute music filled the air, drunken laughter echoed between tables, and the scent of roasted meat and ale clung to the wooden beams.The closer he drew to the door, the heavier his chest felt. His right hand clenched inside the cloak as if gripping invisible courage.And then—he reached the doorframe.One leg slipped outside, catching the faint breeze of the midnight streets.Just as the cool air brushed his skin—a voice rang in his mind, cold and merciless.“”Daku froze, his entire body trembling.Cold sweat dripped down his neck. The words were not shouted—they were whispered into his very

"This enlightened suppression is so much…" Daku’s thoughts trembled under the weight of Sato’s martial aura, which pressed down on him like an invisible mountain.He staggered to his knees, feeling the unrelenting force pushing against his chest, constricting his movements, making every breath a labor.His wide eyes flicked toward Oasis, who stood calm, almost unnervingly serene, under the same oppressive pressure.What he saw made Daku’s jaw tighten in disbelief: Oasis’s figure didn’t bend, didn’t waver, as if Sato’s aura were nothing more than a mild breeze.The cyan flames subtly tracing around Oasis shimmered in the dim light of the basement, unbothered, as though mocking the very concept of suppression.Calm… very calm, as if nothing were happening.The basement, littered with overturned metal chairs, broken chains, and the aftermath of brutal interrogation, seemed to shrink around Oasis’s stillness.Even the rhythmic dripping of water from the ceiling sounded timid, almost afrai

“Lord Ragime, these brats are trying to escape!” Sato barked, his voice raw, shaking with anger and fear.“Shut up.” Ragime’s tone cut like a knife, silencing the air itself. His eyes narrowed as he spoke with a calm weight that pressed heavier than Sato’s screams.“Go after them if you want… but remember, the town still stands in peace. If we lose more men, if the town is destroyed, the other Lords will swoop down on us like vultures.""Can’t you feel it? They are already watching, waiting to devour us the moment we weaken. That kid may be your enemy, Sato, but he is not the enemy of Meridian King Peak—not yet.""And if we keep pushing, and the rumors about him are true… then we are already finished. Look at the state he left you in. Clearly, you are not his opponent.” Ragime’s voice carried both warning and accusation, each word stabbing into Sato’s wounded pride.Sato gritted his teeth, his body trembling.“Lord Ragime is right… At this point, brains must outweigh brute strength. I

Within mountains with slopes carpeted with violet-blossoming trees that swayed gently in the crisp morning breeze.A thin veil of mist curled between the branches, the fragrance of petals mixing with the fresh scent of flowing water.At the base of a high cliff, a waterfall cascaded down in silver ribbons, its roar softened by the stillness of dawn.The water poured into a clear stream, its surface shimmering as the morning glow of the rising sun bathed it in hues of gold and lavender.Birds sang softly in the canopy, their songs delicate, almost reverent—as though the mountain itself bowed in silence to the beauty of the hour.Here, beneath the falling waters, Oasis and his companions had found respite.They bathed in the cool current, letting fatigue and the weight of Meridian King Peak wash from their bodies.It was very peaceful.Oasis had already finished.Standing by the stream’s edge, he drew on a robe of dark azure, its fabric lined with faint white trimmings that caught the m