"Why are you targeting me?"Caelan's voice broke the silence of Cindervale Forest.Zaren was still holding his elbow, his breathing not yet fully steady. But in his eyes was something that hadn't changed even though his body wasn't at its best. Conviction."Because you're an illegal cultivator." His words came out breathless but firm. "You have no right to exist. You're not part of any recognized sect. And to us, that means you need to be eliminated."Caelan didn't answer right away.His mind moved quickly behind a face that showed nothing.So that was it. The world of sects and cultivation, the world the Master had once touched on but never fully explained, apparently had its own laws. A cultivator not under the protection of a recognized sect was a threat to be eliminated. Not because of anything they had done, but simply because of their existence.And if both of them returned and reported this to their superiors, nothing would stop the sect from sending more, and stronger, than wh

At six thirty in the morning, the dark navy Lamborghini pulled out of The Grandeur's parking lot in the quiet that hadn't yet been broken by the usual bustle of the day.Caelan drove without hurrying, moving through Velmont's streets that were still half-empty, heading toward the eastern side of the city where Irongate Prison stood. An old gray building that had been in Velmont longer than half the other structures surrounding it.He knew that road by heart.For four years he had passed through the same gates from the other direction.The morning guard at the front post recognized him as a former inmate, checked his ID, and let him through to the visitation area. Caelan gave his name and who he was there to see."Leon." He used the name the Master had gone by during his time in prison.The guard checked his computer screen. Silence for a few seconds, longer than necessary.Then he looked up. "I'm sorry. The inmate by that name... disappeared two days ago."Caelan didn't react right aw

Caelan opened the door.Layla was standing at the threshold with the breakfast cart as usual. Her outfit was neat, her hair perfectly combed. Everything the same as always.Including the guy who opened the door without a shirt on.Her eyes moved in one second from Caelan's face to his shoulders, to his chest, still slightly damp from the morning training, then back to his face in a way that couldn't entirely be called professional.In her head, Layla, several thoughts crossed her mind that she could never possibly say out loud.Then she gave a small clearing of her throat. "Your breakfast, Doctor Voss.""Thank you." Caelan stepped back, letting the cart in.Layla pushed the cart to the dining table, arranging the dishes one by one with orderly movements, but this time it required more concentration than usual. Once done, she gave a small bow and turned toward the door."Doctor Voss."Caelan turned.Layla was standing near the door, one hand on the cart handle. Her cheeks were slightly

Vance took off his glasses, briefly wiped the lenses, a movement that looked calm but didn't match the expression on his face."So what you're saying," he finally said, his voice measured but with something beginning to simmer behind it, "is that I've been mishandling my patient for the past three months? That a doctor who appeared three days ago suddenly feels more qualified than me to assess a case I've studied thoroughly?""I'm only offering a different perspective—""Perspective." Vance repeated the word like someone who had found something amusing but not quite funny enough to laugh at. He put his glasses back on. "Let me tell you about my perspective, Doctor Voss." The way he said the name was slightly different from before. "I've handled more than four hundred hepatobiliary oncology cases in twenty-three years of my career. The hepatic resection procedure I developed has been replicated in eight hospitals across three countries. The International Journal of Surgical Oncology pu

The black limousine moved away from Aurelian in a quiet broken only by the sound of an engine that was barely audible.In the spacious rear seat, Vance sat with his hands on his knees, eyes fixed forward but not really seeing the road outside the window. Across from him, Edmond Whitaker leaned back with a fatigue he couldn't entirely hide.Vance turned to his young assistant seated on the fold-out chair. "Dig up everything you can find on Caelan Voss. Full background. I want to know where that confidence of his comes from."Edmond didn't say anything, but his eyes moved toward the assistant in a way that said he wanted to hear it too.He had only gotten rough information about Caelan Voss before. Now he wanted the full picture on someone who had dared to question Doctor Vance's judgment.The assistant nodded and opened his laptop.His fingers moved. Screens switched. Databases, articles, public records, old news articles that had nearly been forgotten.Ten minutes passed."Full name,