Li Tian's eyes searched the thousands of faces surrounding him until they found the only one that mattered. "...Mo Yun?" His voice cracked. For a heartbeat, the battlefield disappeared. He saw two hungry boys stealing steamed buns from the sect kitchens, two disciples training until their hands bled, two sworn brothers who had promised to stand back-to-back against the world. Now Mo Yun stood beneath the banner of the Heavenly Accord Sect with a sword in his hand, its tip aimed at Li Tian's heart. "The Chaos Heart can't remain with you," Mo Yun said, refusing to meet his eyes. "I did what was necessary for the sect." Li Tian stared at him. "So it was you." The words were barely louder than a whisper. Around them, thousands of Heavenly Accord disciples stood in perfect formation, white-and-jade robes fluttering beneath a sky that seemed ready to collapse. The sky darkened over the valley of Heaven's Ruin Gorge. Jagged black cliffs towered overhead, and a cold wind swep

THUMP. Darkness swallowed everything. There was no pain. No sound. No sky. No earth. Only an endless void that stretched beyond sight, where even time seemed to have forgotten how to move. Li Tian drifted through the darkness without knowing whether a second or a thousand years had passed. Then a voice pierced the silence. "Li Tian!" It was faint, almost carried away by the wind. "...Li Tian!" His consciousness stirred. His fingers twitched. His chest suddenly tightened as if an invisible hand had squeezed his lungs. He gasped. Air rushed into his body in a violent cough. His eyes flew open. Blinding sunlight poured through a canopy of emerald leaves, forcing him to squint. Branches swayed gently overhead, casting dancing shadows across his face. Somewhere nearby, water trickled over smooth stones while birds chirped as though nothing in the world had ever gone wrong. Li Tian froze. His breathing became ragged. This wasn't Heaven's Ruin Gorge. There was no broken battlefi

Li Yuer flinched, instinctively pulling Li Tian closer. The tension in her frail shoulders eased only when she recognized the man standing in the doorway. It was Li Cheng. Li Tian's gaze settled on his father. The man looked like a walking corpse. His face was gaunt. Every breath looked like a quiet battle he was slowly losing. His skin had sunken over his bones the way it does on a man who has long stopped fighting for himself. Years ago, someone had driven a forbidden technique through his cultivation and left nothing behind worth saving. The once-proud cultivator had become little more than a hollow shell, forever trapped in weakness. Li Cheng ignored everything else in the room. He staggered to the bedside before collapsing onto his knees. His trembling hands gripped the edge of the hard wooden cot. "I couldn't protect you..." His voice cracked. "If I were still strong... if my cultivation hadn't been crippled..." Tears welled in his eyes. "Li Wei would never have dared touc

The towering silhouette lunged toward him. Li Tian reacted on instinct. He twisted sharply, the beast's claws tearing through empty air as he shot toward the cave entrance. Dirt exploded beneath his feet while his mind raced. Get it away from the cave. If the battle collapsed the cavern, every spirit herb inside would be buried forever. He burst into the open forest. Behind him came a thunderous roar. Before he could gain any distance, the wolf leaped over his head and crashed onto the ground ahead of him, cutting off his escape. Li Tian skidded to a halt. Only now did he get a clear look at the beast. It stood nearly twice his height, its charcoal-black fur rippling over powerful muscles. Crimson eyes burned beneath a jagged mark glowing on its forehead. Every breath it released carried scorching heat. His expression hardened. "Earth Grade beast." His heart sank. His recent breakthrough had narrowed the gap, but not enough. Against a Grade Five beast, a direct confrontation wa

The heavy iron doors of the Green Willow Market pavilion closed behind him. Li Tian stepped into the chaotic street, expression calm and unreadable. Beneath that stillness, his newly repaired meridians gave a faint, uneasy twitch. Three distinct signatures of spiritual pressure brushed against his senses. Someone was following him. "I can't afford trouble right now," he muttered, gaze drifting toward the shifting figures at the edge of the crowd. A fight here would draw the attention of the Li Celestial Clan, and his qi had yet to recover from the Ashen Veil Forest. Without breaking stride, he disappeared into the densest part of the market, slipping through the sea of armored cultivators, shouting vendors, and haggling mercenaries like a shadow. Three turns. Two narrow alleys. One incense-choked passage. By the time he emerged, the hostile spiritual pressure had dissolved into the chaos behind him. Even so, he remained vigilant. Leaving the market behind, he headed toward the ele