The next two weeks were not spent the same way as the previous two.Meditation remained part of his routine. Hunting remained part of his routine. The spiritual cores from the demonic beasts that failed to avoid crossing his path in the forest were still absorbed.But something had changed.The black sword at his side needed to be understood, and understanding a weapon was not something that could be accomplished simply by looking at it.Lein began with the basics. He felled the Ironcrown trees that had already been cracked during his previous battle, studying how the blade interacted with dense wood from different angles. Not every slash was equally effective from the same direction. The Ironcrown's uneven internal structure responded differently depending on where the blade struck and at what angle.A week spent with the Ironcrown trees taught him lessons that no theory ever could.During the following week, he brought the sword into real combat.The demonic beasts that charged at h

According to anyone who had ever made the journey on horseback, the distance from Stonemarrow to the capital of the Kingdom of Vaelthorn took about one month under favorable conditions. With a horse faster than average and good weather throughout the trip, it might be shortened to three weeks.Lein wasn't traveling by horse.With his Peak Divine Realm cultivation and a flight speed far beyond what it had been when he first set foot in Xollos, he could cover that month-long journey in four to seven days. That estimate accounted for Ryn and Sael riding on his back, which meant there was a limit to how fast he could fly without making them physically uncomfortable.Without them, flying at full speed with no living burden to carry, he could probably make the trip in just one or two days.But they were with him.And that was what mattered.---By late afternoon on the first day, the sky above Xollos had begun to change colors when Lein spotted a stretch of forest below, its trees including

That evening, a knock came at Lein's door not long after the sky outside the window had turned completely dark.Ryn and Sael stood in the doorway like two people unsure whether their visit was welcome."Come in," Lein said before either of them could speak.A moment later, another knock sounded at the door.An inn attendant entered carrying a large serving tray. Several dishes rested upon it, their aromas filling the room before the tray had even been fully uncovered.There was a thick, cream-colored soup with chunks of meat floating on the surface, steam rising from it with the fragrance of spices unlike anything found in Stonemarrow or the small villages they had passed through. Beside it sat slices of bread with perfectly browned crusts, a platter of roasted meat so tender it fell away from the bone under the weight of a pair of chopsticks alone, and a small bowl of dark sauce whose aroma was stronger than everything else on the tray combined.Ryn and Sael stared at the food withou

A few seconds earlier, on the other side of the settlement.Ryn's shout reached Lein's ears from a distance where no ordinary voice should have carried. But senses that had long surpassed those of an ordinary human no longer obeyed the same limitations.Lein moved before the echo had even fully faded.And what he found at the marketplace was not a sight that made him want to stand still for long.Ryn was on the ground, the position of his body making it obvious that he had been thrown down against his will. Beside him lay Sael, blood staining the corner of her mouth, completely motionless.Lein looked at the large man standing over them with a cigar between his fingers.Something warm stirred beneath the calm that usually filled him—not impulsive anger, but a calculation that had already reached its conclusion in an instant.The man recognized that someone new had entered the situation. He looked at Lein with the gaze of someone accustomed to judging threats, and who rarely found anyt

The following morning, in a room on the upper floor of an otherwise unremarkable building, three people were already standing before the first rays of sunlight had fully entered through the windows.The first was a man of average build, yet the way he carried himself seemed to fill the room far more than his size should allow. His black hair was cut short and neatly kept, and a thin scar ran from his right eyebrow to his temple. A single-edged sword hung at his waist with the ease of something that had been there for so long it had become part of the way he stood.His name was Bram.The second was a woman whose gray hair didn't match the youthfulness of her face. She stood with the composure of someone accustomed to being the calmest person in any room. A slender sword with a yellow hilt rested across her back.Ni Wei.The third was the largest of the three, broad-shouldered, with eyes that rarely blinked longer than necessary. The greatsword on his back was far larger than what most