"My brother said he knows nothing about her," Yeon eventually said, sitting on the bed. "But... I guess you were right to suspect him. I'm beginning to suspect him too."Kaien was surprised. He thought she'd defend her brother. "What made you change your mind?""Really, I told you—my brother doesn't sound like himself. He feels different. And I know he's lying. I just can't prove it." Yeon sighed heavily. "I know my brother is obsessed with Li-san, but he would never go this far. So whoever that was... it's not my brother. It's someone else."Kaien lifted a brow. "Possession is the word. It's not easy for someone to just pretend to be your brother.""You're right, that's possible too. But anything could be happening right now, and we don't know it. I tried to speak with the council, but I couldn't find them. Not even the Mage or the Major. They're nowhere to be found."Kaien's thoughts stopped. "That Mage. There's something odd about him. He just appeared out of nowhere, like he doesn

"Imitating skills? That's cool!" Seojun's excitement was evident."Remember, you can't imitate all skills. There's a limit, which is why you're at the second tier of the Dual Moon Pathway," Kaien reminded him. "Once you imitate a skill, you can only use it temporarily. No skill stays with you forever.""What about you, Uncle Kaien?" Seojun asked. "I've never seen you imitate anything.""That's because I don't bother unless it's necessary," Kaien explained, sitting on the grass. "Imitating skills at a higher tier is considered wasting the knowledge you've gained at that level. When you ascend tiers, you're supposed to leave the old skills behind and focus on what's ahead. They don't disappear, but you've outgrown them."Seojun nodded, thinking it over."Not many cultivators come from the Dual Moon Pathway," Kaien continued. "So make the best of it while you're young. The older you get, the more tiers you'll climb." He paused. "You'll change a lot.""So I can't imitate other Dual Moon c

The Royal Selection Festival was introduced years ago by the Emperor of the Hwan Empire. Solely to choose one of its winners and grace them with privileges of the Hwan Empire. This act had progressed over the years with rules that remained untethered. Until today. The blade came again at an aggressive pace. Luckily, Kaien had rolled out of the way just in time to witness the deathly impact of the fan. If he hadn't, the blade would have probably diced one part of his body. Kaien sighed with resignation of observing the blade and focused solely on the person that was benefiting from it—Lady Umni Loo. "Are you getting tired, my love?" She closed the gap desperately and engaged in combat with Kaien. Her hands connected with his blocking elbows, pushing her back which startled her. She almost lost balance which earned Kaien the advantage to sweep her off the ground before throwing his gaze back at the blade. It rose and flung itself at him at a speed that could tear a hole in spa

Bajin Bu crashed into the walls which in return, cracked momentarily like glass, another impact and it would definitely come crumbling. Kaien remained where he stood. He looked like he was caught in-between a trance-like state. His hand stretched forward with intent. It would seem like his hand being locked in that position was the cause of Bajin Bu's devastating impact with the walls. Everyone's expression got tainted immediately with unspeakable fear. Did the so-called iron king just fall from a single touch from Kaien? Smokes whirled up into the invisible vacuum of the clear blue skies at rapid pace as it revealed a figure standing a few feet away from the gargantuan crack made in the arena. The figure was a man, and the man was Bajin Bu. "Boy!" His cold void swept the arena like a Shockwave but Kaien remained unmoved, only the edges of his clothing danced to the wave that permeated him "Striking when I'm not ready is fowl play!" Bajin Bu thundered, his voice enca

"I will ask you one more time." Kaien tightened his grip around the Archmage neck. "Where are they?" Yeon was slowly recovering from the wave impact with her memories. She forced out gasps as everything became extremely clear to her. "Please..." the Archmage pleaded. "...mercy, It wasn't me, it was him." He tried to explain but it was of no use to Kaien. Kaien stared him dead in the eye, his gaze telling the Archmage if he didn't speak now, he might not live to see the next day. The Archmage swallowed hard and stretched out his palm. He muffled some words before some rifts opened up and spewed Seojun and Li-san. Kaien dropped him immediately and rushed to catch them. He laid them on the floor with profound care. Yeon was already standing there, her vision lucid and locked on the Archmage. Yeon approached him with an imminent frown. When the Archmage saw her coming, he sat up, cowering in abject fear. If he was lucky, the princess of the Ashmoon kingdom w