Once the Grand Elder finally came to a stop, Kai halted as well, his steps quiet against the stone path that wound through the mountains.The Grand Elder turned around slowly.For a moment, he didn’t speak. He simply looked at Kai, his aged eyes sharp but warm, filled with a depth that came from watching generations rise and fall.Then, unexpectedly, a smile spread across his face. Not the polite kind or the distant kind. But the genuine smile of an elder who had seen something confirmed what he had believed all along.He lifted his hand and tapped Kai’s shoulder lightly, once… then again.“You’ve done well,” the Grand Elder said, his voice steady and firm. “Better than I expected, and that is saying something. I am proud of you.”The words landed heavily.Kai felt something tighten in his chest, a quiet warmth spreading through him. He smiled, not arrogantly or triumphantly, but with sincere respect. He dipped his head slightly, accepting the praise without exaggeration.“I only did

With a low grunt that sounded more annoyed than heroic, Kai finally moved.He had already stood there for a long time, staring at his own reflection on the surface of the molten pool, watching the faint outline of the third eye resting between his brows as if it were mocking him. His fists clenched, then loosened, then clenched again.This was it. No more delaying, excuses or dramatic speeches about destiny.Still… hesitation crept in.He wasn’t a psychopath.And more importantly, he wasn’t someone who loved pain.If anything, Kai thought he deserved some kind of reward system for the sheer amount of suffering he’d already endured in his life.Lava baths, bones exposed, flesh incinerated, regeneration loops that would make sane people beg for death and now this? Digging out his own eye like it was a rotten tooth?Whoever wrote this cultivation method must’ve been dumped, betrayed, burned alive, and then decided the world deserved revenge, Kai thought grimly.There’s no other explanat

After the halberd finally melted down completely, its familiar shape dissolving into a pool of seething crimson metal, Kai didn’t rush the next step.He stood there for a moment, watching the molten remains swirl slowly inside the forge, listening to the deep, angry hum it produced as if protesting its own destruction.The Helrberd had been with him for a long time. It had tasted blood, shattered bones, and survived battles. Melting it felt a little like betrayal but growth always demanded cruelty.“Don’t look at me like that,” Kai muttered, staring into the furnace. “You’re not dying. You’re evolving.”With that settled, he brought out the new material he had acquired from the secret realm. The moment it appeared, the forge reacted violently.The air pressure shifted, runes flared brighter along the walls, and the molten pool trembled as if something far more dominant had just entered its territory. Kai narrowed his eyes, adjusted the flow of Lavare, and carefully introduced the new

Seeing that the girls have finally disappeared down the path, their voices fading into excited chatter and exaggerated arguments about who looked best in red armor, the space between Kai and Abigail grew noticeably quieter.The forge behind him still radiated heat, the air faintly humming with residual energy, but compared to the chaos from moments earlier, it felt almost calm.Abigail then decided to speak.“The sects have formed an alliance,” she said, her voice steady, almost casual, as if she were talking about the weather.Kai turned fully toward her, one brow lifting slightly. “An alliance?”She nodded. “Ours and the girls’ sect.”He didn’t interrupt, only waited, arms folding loosely as he listened. Abigail continued walking slowly, and he matched her pace without thinking, the two of them moving side by side as she explained.“On the surface, it’s a simple cooperation agreement,” she said. “Resource sharing. Temporary access to cultivation grounds. Mutual protection clauses. T

Kai scoffed openly, rolling his eyes so hard it almost looked like effort cultivation as Zora finished her sentence, clearly enjoying herself far too much for someone who had just appeared out of thin air and insulted him in the same breath.“You know,” he said flatly, “for someone who trained me, you’re oddly proud of discovering I’m not completely brain-dead.”Zora clicked her tongue and shook her head, looking him up and down in an exaggerated manner. “Careful,” she said lightly, a wicked smile tugging at her lips. “You should be grateful I said you have a little sense. That’s already high praise coming from me. Most people don’t even qualify for basic survival instincts.”Kai opened his mouth to retort, already forming a sharp comeback in his head, but Zora didn’t give him the chance.“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she continued smoothly. “One good decision doesn’t erase the dozens of times you almost killed yourself out of stubbornness and stupidity. Or because you thought, ‘Eh,