“I need your help, Wu Xiang,” Tian Zhi murmured when he returned from his brief absence, her voice trembling like leaves stirred by a restless night wind. Wu Xiang’s gaze was steady, his tone unwavering. “If there is any way I can help you, I will.” “For several nights, I have felt eyes upon me—red eyes glowing in the dark. They appear at dusk, linger for a moment, then vanish. I fear some beast stalks me. Will you investigate?” Her words quivered with unease, her eyes darting toward the shadowed trees where the mist clung like a veil. Wu Xiang’s fists tightened. “I will return tonight and face whatever threatens you. But dawn is near—I must leave before Uncle Wang discovers I’ve been wandering the forest.” “Go then,” Tian Zhi urged, her voice taut with urgency. “But promise me you will come back tonight.” Wu Tian, silent until now, spoke once Wu Xiang departed. “Are these red eyes real, Tian Zhi? Or is this merely a way to draw Wu Xiang back here?” Her lips curved faintly

As Wu Tian walked through Lo Han, the villagers’ eyes followed him with cold suspicion, their gazes sharp and filled with hostility. The warmth he had once felt in their greetings was gone, replaced by whispers and narrowed stares. The air itself seemed heavier, as though the village carried a secret that pressed down on every soul. “What wrong have I done, that the entire village now despises me?” Wu Tian muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with frustration. From within the pouch, Tian Kui’s voice rumbled. “I do not know, Wu Tian. Yesterday they were kind, yet today they treat you as an enemy. Something must have changed overnight.” Wu Tian’s jaw tightened. “I suspect the same. But whenever I ask, they remain silent, refusing to explain their hatred.” Tian Kui’s tone grew grave. “Could they be under the influence of dark energy?” Wu Tian’s eyes narrowed. “Darkness? From whom? I feel no shadow within myself. Could it be Wu Xiang? Or has the Darkness Cultivator return

“You carry the essence of a true warrior, Wu Xiang! Once you master the Lo Han Palm, your strength will surge beyond measure. That is what I meant when I said you had immense potential,” Wu Tian declared, though within his chest he wrestled with the burden of secrets he dared not reveal. The temple’s air was thick with incense, its fragrance curling like smoke through the cavernous hall. Shadows flickered across the stone walls as torchlight sputtered, casting wavering silhouettes that seemed to breathe with the rhythm of their words. The faint hum of the wind outside pressed against the ancient doors, mingling with the echo of their voices. From within the pouch, Tian Kui’s voice resonated, calm yet firm, like thunder muffled by distant mountains. “It is necessary, Wu Tian. You must restrain the truth for now. If you reveal too much, the current of time itself may fracture.” His words carried a weight that seemed to bend the silence around them. Wu Xiang’s eyes gleamed with admi

The Black Dragon and the White Dragon glided side by side above the boundless ocean, their colossal wings cleaving through the briny wind while the waves below collided with a fury that shook the world. Each surge of seawater leapt skyward, catching the sun’s blaze and scattering it into a thousand glittering shards. The ocean’s roar merged with the thunderous rhythm of dragon wings, a symphony of raw, untamed power that reverberated through the hearts of the two young Martial Geniuses astride them. “This is unbelievable!” Wu Xiang cried out, his face drenched by the spray, his laughter carried away by the rushing wind. His voice trembled with exhilaration, as though the ocean itself had awakened something wild within him. Wu Tian leaned forward, his palms pressing against the warm, ridged scales beneath him. “Why are you flying so close to the waves, Tian Kui?” His words were half a challenge, half a plea, his eyes narrowed against the salt spray. The dragon’s voice rumbled dee

“Indeed! Yet the Darkness Cultivator was hurled into another age. If your eyes have not glimpsed him, then surely he has fallen into a time far removed from ours,” Wu Tian declared, his voice reverberating through the hushed expanse of the forest, where the canopy swayed gently and shadows stretched like living things. Ashura’s immense frame shifted uneasily, his eyes glowing faintly like embers in the twilight. The air around him seemed to tremble with his unease. “If the Darkness Cultivator lingers in the upper world, it is perilous. The abundance of qi here would swell his strength beyond measure, far greater than in the middle world.” His words carried the weight of thunder, mingling with the rustle of leaves and the distant cry of unseen birds. Wu Tian’s expression hardened, his gaze piercing the dim light filtering through the branches. “You speak truth. If he was cast into the past, then by now his power would have grown immeasurably—perhaps to the point of being unstoppabl