“Small matter…?” Elijah Langston repeated, staring at Alaric as though he expected the man to correct himself.His cultivation core had been destroyed and his heart reduced to nothing. “We don’t have enough time for me to drag this out, Elijah, so I’ll show you.”Alaric stepped closer as his hand disappeared into the sleeve of his robe. When it emerged, a small blue crystal sphere rested between his fingers.Elijah’s attention stayed on it immediately. The object was smooth and translucent, small enough to sit comfortably in a man’s palm. Nothing about its appearance seemed particularly remarkable at first, but the longer he studied its structure, the more familiar it became. He leaned slightly closer, trying to place where that familiarity came from.Alaric raised the sphere and poured a thin stream of spiritual energy into it.Brilliant blue light burst from its centre, spreading through the crystal until the entire sphere shone so intensely that Elijah had to narrow his eyes. T

Alaric slipped his free hand into the sleeve of his robe again and brought out a small pill, placing it beside the empty blue core in his other palm. Elijah’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer, his focus staying specifically to the pill.Unlike an ordinary practitioner, Elijah had spent years working with medicines, poisons and pill refinement. Purity was one of the first things he had learned to judge. Experience had long since made it unnecessary to break open its surface to recognize the quality of its refinement.“Heaven-grade…” he murmured.That was the highest recognized standard a refined pill could achieve. Almost every trace of impurity introduced during refinement had been removed, leaving the medicinal essence concentrated to a degree few refiners could accomplish.Yet Elijah’s expression grew stranger as he continued examining it. What he had initially recognized as Heaven-grade purity exceeded that standard the more closely he looked.The pill was too pure.None of th

Jin stomped on the ground and turned away, returning to where he had been sitting. He lowered himself into his Burmese posture again before speaking without looking at either of them.“You’ve gone far, Alaric.”Alaric glanced towards him. “I doubt I will ever meet another person who chose the same path I did. Allow me the small relief of speaking freely to one while I still can.”Jin offered no reply, and Alaric turned back to Elijah.“Since reaching the Grandmaster realm was never your reason for choosing the diverse arts, there is no reason for me to explain how I overcame the hurdle that should have stopped me. Even those who have filled Galecrest searching for the secret have no idea that the path I followed should have prevented me from becoming a Grandmaster at all.”Elijah’s expression hardly changed as he listened.“You faked your death and remained hidden here all these years to protect your secret. I can only assume you had valid reasons for doing so.” He studied Alaric’s fa

“How dare you!”Rowan dashed forward with spiritual energy surging through her blade, sweeping straight at Elder Benedict. The old man’s laughter broke off as he brought his wooden cane forward to meet it.The weapons collided strongly, lighting up the strange symbols carved along the cane. Rowan felt the spiritual force surrounding her blade vanish almost completely, but before she could pull back, an unfamiliar force surged through the wood and struck into her sword arm.Her feet left the ground as the impact threw her backwardsRowan forced spiritual energy through her legs and planted one foot hard against the ground as she came down, sliding several metres before finally bringing herself to a stop.“Hm…” Benedict withdrew his cane and rested its end on the ground, studying her with renewed interest. “You are stronger than the others, but that changes nothing. Before an elder of the old arts, these techniques of yours are little more than an eyesore.”He raised the cane again, m

Before anyone could answer Mother’s question, Iris rushed forward and wrapped both arms around her.“Mother… you’re alright?”Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she held on. Mother’s expression softened for a moment before she regained her composure and gently loosened Iris’s arms.“That’s enough, Iris.”She looked past her towards Rowan, the seriousness returning to her eyes as she waited for an explanation.“We don’t know what happened,” Rowan said after a brief hesitation. “We had already travelled far into the tomb when a blinding light appeared. None of us could see anything, even after closing our eyes. When it disappeared…” Her gaze moved across the basin. “We were here.”Mother blinked and turned towards the other disciples. They nodded hurriedly, confirming Rowan’s account, but as she looked through the group, her mind settled on something else.“Where is Elijah?”Iris’s face crumpled. She sniffed, struggling to speak through the tears. “Mother… he’s dead. Mr. Elijah is dea