Aiden kept his expression composed, but underneath it, irritation simmered. He'd only asked a few offhand questions, and Vanessa had already pieced together far too much. Best to keep his distance from this woman going forward."Self-taught. No one trained me. I just practice the method everyone knows already, the common one. For whatever reason, it just happens to suit me."Vanessa cast him a skeptical look, clearly not buying a single word of it. Plenty of people had trained in the old method. Why would Aiden be the one exception that actually succeeded? Please.Still, she let it slide. Everyone had their secrets.She picked up her wine glass, took an elegant sip, then said, "From what I know, the Spirit Awakening Realm is followed by Energy Refinement, and after that comes Foundation Establishment.""The strongest cultivator alive is said to have reached the legendary Golden Core Realm, roughly on par with a Heaven-realm warrior. Supposedly, his strength is terrifying. Though hones

Watching Aiden's reaction only deepened Lucy's blush, though secretly, it pleased her too. There was something satisfying about seeing the person she cared for react that way to her."Ahem. It's getting late. Tomorrow, once we're done with lunch, I'll take you out for some proper clothes. No dryer here, though. Why not just use your inner energy to dry it instead?"Silently running through a calming mantra, Aiden kept his eyes averted while he answered. If not for real discipline, he probably wouldn't have trusted himself in that room a second longer."Huh? Dry my hair with true energy? I have no idea how that even works..." Lucy looked thoroughly confused. True energy, drying hair?Aiden exhaled slowly, reining in the heat still simmering under his skin, and smiled. "It's a small trick cultivators use. Just circulate your true energy into your hands."Lucy tried copying his motion but couldn't quite land it. Left with no other option, Aiden took her hand gently and guided the flow of

Redmane was livid, barking out orders to pursue the fleeing shooters. Then he reached out to Aiden and headed into the woods alone, having brought along a full set of top-tier gear.Aiden changed quickly into heavy protective clothing: three layers of bulletproof vests stacked one over the other, topped with a specially reinforced trench coat offering additional protection.Alongside it sat a baseball cap that looked completely ordinary, except for its weight. A genuine bulletproof helmet, disguised as streetwear.Aiden wasn't usually one for this kind of outfit, but tonight he pulled on the coat and cap without hesitation, grabbed a firearm, raised it, and prepared to step back out into the open.Tonight's events had lit something in him he couldn't just walk away from. How could anyone tolerate being cornered at their own front door?These killers needed to die. Picture someone finishing a peaceful meal, taking a quiet evening walk, dreaming a little about the future, only to nearly

Mount Halcyon, known across old legend as the First Sacred Peak of the world and the Mountain of Ten Thousand Ancestors, carried a mythology all its own. The very first breathing-cultivation text ever recovered had been unearthed from ruins right here.Legend spoke of a deity dwelling deep within its slopes, called the Lady of the Western Peak, human-headed, leopard-bodied, attended by twin bluebirds. She stood among the chief deities of the old rites, and alongside the King of Dawn, she guided mortal men and women toward immortality.The mythology surrounding this place ran even deeper than the old rite once performed at Mount Aurelia. But even legend couldn't survive the scrutiny of modern weapons, and its secrets had long since been laid bare.It wasn't until Celestara's discovery, and the rise of martial arts, that this ancestor of all mountains finally settled into quiet again. After extensive restoration, Mount Halcyon had largely returned to something resembling its original fo

Everyone present saw the same thing at once: clouds and mist swirling before the bronze gate, warping the space into something curved, blurred, disorienting to look at directly."Supernatural power. Myth, come back to life?!" Redmane blurted, and the rest of his team stared in equal disbelief, struggling to accept what stood before them.Over the years, this exploration guild had seen plenty of the unusual. Even so, this pushed the limits of what any of them had witnessed before.Redmane ordered everyone to hold position and observe.The other teams did the same, freezing mid-advance, weapons drawn, eyes fixed nervously on the strange phenomenon unfolding ahead."ROAR!"A predator's roar tore through the thick fog, echoing across the desolate canyon with enough force to crack the ground itself, the sound rolling on like thunder.Even at a distance, it struck something primal in everyone who heard it, as though some ancient, monstrous beast lurked just beyond the towering bronze gate.