Lin Feng’s POVThe High-Spires Academy was such a beautiful labyrinth of gold and lies.Even in death’s shadow… no, especially in it, the truth of that place became clearer. In my astral form, I had drifted like a ghost through its hollow perfection, slipping through marble ceilings and gilded walls as if they were nothing more than fog.I had seen what the living were never meant to see, entered places where I had not dared to enter when I served here. Yes, that's right, I didn't attend this place as a student or a citizen, I was a slave and a toy to the others who had good mana cores. If I was seen in places such as these, I could have easily been annihilated and I wouldn't be who I am today. The polished grandeur of the lecture halls, where noble heirs debated philosophy while standing on the bones of a starving empire. The silent, sealed vaults beneath the Spires, where artifacts of unimaginable power gathered dust, hoarded like trophies by men who were too afraid to use them.

Young Master Shen’s POVI hadn't eaten any proper meal in days, my head felt bigger than my body could carry. Even the least thing, such as walking became a tedious job. The darkness of the Pits had always felt like a heavy, suffocating blanket. It was always thick and oppressive to whomever was in it at the time, but at the same time, it felt familiar in its cruelty. It pressed against the skin, filled the lungs, and settled into the bones until you stopped noticing it and just simply lived with it. But the sudden silence of the Academy was something else entirely, a complete opposite of what the pits were. It wasn't relieving to be here, it was a vacuum. One moment, I was leaning against a rusted pipe in Section 9, my back terribly aching, my throat dry, cursing Junjie under my breath for disappearing when we needed him most. The air had tasted like ash and metal, thick enough to chew. The murmurs of the survivors had been constant, they were scared, hungry and desperate, all t

Lin Feng's POV The heavy iron door of the mana-null cell groaned shut, the echo of Yun Qian’s manic laughter still bouncing off the damp stone walls. The smell of jasmine lingered, clashing sickeningly with the copper tang of my own blood and the stale urine of generations of prisoners. Shen was still kneeling at my feet, his body trembling like a leaf in a high wind. The silver key he had pressed against my thigh felt like an ice-cube against my feverish skin. He looked up at me, his eyes wide and hollow, filled only with the raw, primal terror of a boy who had seen the sun go out.“How?” he whispered, his voice cracking. “How do we get out of here, Feng? She... she’s insane. Malachi is a god. And you...” He looked at my broken, pinned body. He didn't have to finish the sentence.I looked at him with my one open eye, the violet fire burning with a cold, renewed clarity. He had just handed me the key to my cage, but the chains were still held by a Saint. “We don’t,” I said, my vo

Yun Qian's POVThe marble corridors of the High-Spires Academy were always too quiet, too sterile, and too heavy with the scent of incense that tried to mask the smell of rot underneath. I walked with a light skip in my step, the hem of my silk robes whispering against the floor like a secret. I had been heading toward my private chambers to prepare the ritual threads for my wedding to the Void, but a sudden, sharp tug pulled at the back of my mind.It was a resonance, a faint, dying echo of the blood that ran through my own veins."Father," I whispered, the word tasting like copper.I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten to tell him. I wanted to tell him that his "Heaven-Reaching" pill hadn't worked. I wanted to tell him that the ten years of life he had bought with my childhood were a bad investment because I was going to be the one to end them."Feng can wait," I giggled, spinning on my heel. "The groom shouldn't see the bride until she’s finished her chores."I made my

Lin Feng's POV They attacked, with no hesitation.The first spear lunged forward, aimed directly at my sternum, the magic at its tip compressing into a razor point designed to pierce through reinforced armor.The second followed a fraction of a second later, angled toward my throat.It was super precise and efficient. Very deadly stuff. The impacts landed, but not in the way they expected. The moment the glowing tips touched my skin, the magic shattered, nahhhhhh, all we do here is consume. So I did just that. The golden energy fractured into raw mana the instant it made contact, dissolving into violet static that surged across my chest and down my arms. The sensation was immediate, warm, almost pleasant, like stepping into sunlight after a lifetime in the cold.Their weapons went dull, the light vanished. The metal trembled in their hands."What?" the first guard gasped.I moved immediately, before they'd even realize what was happening. My hands snapped forward, faster than the