Ten years ago.The Crowe Estate.It was past midnight.The family was asleep when an explosion tore through the eastern wing of the mansion. Windows shattered, smoke filled the corridors, and the sound of gunfire followed seconds later.The estate's security guards didn't stand a chance. They were slaughtered before they could properly return fire.Elias's parents burst into his bedroom. His father grabbed his shoulder while his mother rushed toward his little sister, Lily.“Elias. Lily,” his mother whispered urgently. “No matter what happens, you stay in this room. Do you understand?”“Your mother and I will handle it,” his father added, forcing a calm smile that didn't reach his eyes.Elias was shaking. He held his sister tightly as their parents stepped out and closed the door behind them.The gunshots grew louder. Voices echoed through the hallway, and Lily buried her face into Elias's chest. He could barely breathe. After several seconds, he slowly moved toward the door and opene

For ten years, Elias had seen nothing beyond concrete walls and iron gates. Now, for the first time, he stood beneath an open sky.He remained still for a moment, his eyes fixed on the road stretching beyond Blackstone’s massive gates.Ten years.They had taken his childhood. His family. His future.His jaw tightened as a dark, simmering vengeance moved through him.And he intended to take everything back.“Shall we go?” Marcus asked carefully.Elias gave a small nod.A black SUV was waiting outside the prison. Two armed guards opened the doors respectfully, but Elias had already entered the rear executive seat before Marcus could reach it.Marcus followed quietly and sat beside him.The driver started the engine, and the vehicle pulled away, leaving Blackstone behind.About an hour later, they arrived at Greyhaven’s most prestigious private hospital.The building towered above the surrounding streets, its glass walls reflecting the city lights. Private security guarded the entrance,

Every eye in the room turned toward the physician.The head doctor of Greyhaven’s most prestigious private hospital stood frozen, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.Ginger. Honey. Pepper. Boiling water.What kind of treatment was that?He had spent more than thirty years studying medicine. He had trained overseas, chaired medical conferences, published research papers, and treated countless patients.Yet this young man—this former inmate—had walked into his ward and accomplished what an entire team of specialists could not.He looked around the room.Marcus. Vanessa. The nurses. The security guards.Everyone was watching him.His reputation was on the line.How could he kneel before an ex-convict? A man without a medical degree?His pride rebelled.“Don’t get cocky, you fraud!” he suddenly snapped, his face turning red. “She recovered because of the treatment and medication I gave her earlier! Her body was already stabilizing!”He pointed at Elias.“It was coincide

The moment Elias stepped fully into the chamber, he felt the pressure.The air itself seemed heavier around the long obsidian table.Twelve elders.Twelve powerful figures whose auras remained restrained, yet still radiated an intimidating sense of dominance.Elias’s senses sharpened instinctively.Every one of them was at least at the Dragon Lord level, a realm immediately beneath the Celestial Realm.In the world of martial cultivation, strength was divided into distinct realms: Sentinel, Regent, Sovereign, Dragon Lord, Celestial, Primordial, and Apex Primordial.Elias had only recently entered the Celestial Realm.Yet the twelve people sitting before him were monsters in their own right.Their eyes moved over him, and disappointment quickly surfaced.“A young man?” one elder muttered.“Is this some kind of joke?”Quiet murmurs spread around the table.A heavyset man with streaks of silver in his hair leaned forward. His expression carried open hostility.His name was Chad Bozeman.

Zia dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it had formed.Celestial Realm.Impossible.She had spent fifteen years inside Azure, surrounded by some of the most gifted warriors in Greyhaven. She understood better than most what it took to reach the upper levels of cultivation. Dragon Lord alone required decades of disciplined training, refined technique, and a natural affinity for Aether that perhaps one in ten thousand people possessed.The Celestial Realm was something else entirely.In all of Azure’s thirty-year history, only one person had ever stood at that level.Master Zucker.And even he had taken a lifetime to reach it.Elias Crowe was barely twenty-five. He had spent the last ten years inside Blackstone Penitentiary. No matter how gifted he was, no matter what Zucker had taught him behind those walls, the idea that he had reached the Celestial Realm was simply…Ridiculous.Zia shook her head slightly.Don’t be ridiculous.He was confident. Perhaps genuinely strong. But co