The back of the Phoenix was wide, but no one spoke on it.Lian Haofeng stood to the left, his eyes occasionally drifting to the young man standing casually in the middle, enjoying the high-altitude wind as if he were taking a stroll through a market. Lian Yushuang stood to the right, and unlike her brother who kept his curiosity neatly tucked away, she didn't bother hiding the watchful stare she had fixed on Kael's back.Kael had noticed both of them from the very first second. He let them sit with it for a moment before finally saying, "Just ask what you want to ask. No need to hold back."Lian Haofeng didn't waste time. "Where are you from? I'm fairly certain you're not from this region."Kael knew this question was coming, so he already had his answer ready."You're right," said Kael. "I'm from the Sky-Piercing Sacred Dragon Sect's territory. When the conflict between them and the Heaven-Splitting Celestial Sword Sect broke out, I decided there was no point staying. I traveled sout

Lian Zhenyu's room was at the end of the eastern wing corridor, behind a pair of sandalwood doors carved with blooming lotus motifs. The moment the doors opened, the smell of medicine greeted them, a blend of dozens of herbs that had been burned and boiled over days, yet none of it seemed to have produced any meaningful result.The room was spacious, its ceiling high, its windows large but with the curtains drawn shut, leaving only the dim, warm glow of several hanging lanterns. In the center of the room, on a silk-draped bed with posts carved in small dragon shapes, lay a young boy.Lian Zhenyu looked to be around fifteen years old, but his condition made that age feel like something that was slowly leaving him behind. His skin was pale to the point of near-translucence. His jawbone jutted sharply, his cheeks sunken, his neck far too thin for a boy his age. The hands resting on top of the blanket looked like bones wrapped in a thin layer of skin. His chest rose and fell with shallow,

The changes came one by one, like spring arriving after a winter that had gone on far too long.The color in Lian Zhenyu's face kept warming itself back to life. Not an excessive flush, just the color that was supposed to be there, the color of life that had been gone for a long time. The dark purple beneath his eyes began to fade. His dry, cracked lips looked wetter, more whole.Then his chest expanded fully for the first time in a while, longer than anyone could quite remember.And from the boy's throat came a sound.Not the screams of pain they were used to hearing in the middle of the night. Not a groan either. Just a small, hoarse sound, the sound of someone who hadn't properly used their voice in a very long time."Fa... father."Quiet, imperfect, half a whisper. But it split the room like lightning across a clear sky.Lian Boxuan was at the side of the bed before he even realized his legs had moved. His large hands reached for his son's thin ones, holding them gently, the way s

Lian Chengbao looked at Kael calmly, his eyes reading the young man from top to bottom.Low-level Celestial Realm aura. Second or third level at most, nothing beyond that. Yet this young man had taken down twenty Order Keepers and Feng Quanyi, both of whom far outranked him, then healed an illness that had been considered incurable for months.The way he concealed his true strength, the way he moved, the way he spoke. All of it pointed to someone who had been through far more than his age suggested.Who was this young man, really?He kept that question inside his own head. It wasn't his job today to ask. His job today was far simpler.He turned behind him, where several Golden Lotus Sect cultivators had already landed carrying tools and building materials."Begin the renovation," he said briefly.They moved without question.The door to the Thousand Leaf Herb Shop opened, and Bai Ruomei stepped out with Bai Junlin peeking out from behind her shoulder. Both of them looked at the crowd

At that point, the sound of large wings beating came from outside.Bai Junlin, who was sweeping the inside of the shop, peeked through the window and immediately set down his broom in a rush. "Grandma! Brother Gao! A Phoenix!"Bai Ruomei came out of the storage room at a pace quicker than usual. Kael set down the herbal mixture he was working on and followed from behind.Outside, a golden Phoenix had already landed in the front courtyard, its wings folding slowly. From its back, eight people descended one by one. Lian Boxuan in his full Grand Leader robes, Madam Lian Wei at his side. Lian Haofeng with a calm expression, Lian Yushuang, and three Grand Elders with gold embroidery along the hems of their robes.And among them all, walking with steps that were still slightly slow but steady, was a fifteen-year-old boy with cheeks that had already started to fill out and eyes far clearer than the last time Kael had seen them.Lian Zhenyu.Bai Ruomei bowed respectfully the moment Lian Boxua