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202: The Divine Reserve
The passage beneath the ruins was barely wide enough for two people, and the air rising from it tasted of old metal.Kai crouched beside the golden inscription, fingers hovering over the stone. Whatever waited below pulsed in time with the manual in his robes."Nobody enters until we know what we're dealing with," Shen Tian said, raising a hand.Victor stared into the dark, jaw tight. "We found a hidden passage, and your plan is to stand here until the formation collapses on its own?""My plan is to keep you alive long enough to complain about it.""Then give me something to do besides waiting.""You'll get your chance."Daniel traced the markings with his thumb. "These are older than the settlement. The people who built their homes here probably found this by accident."Kai pressed his palm to the stone, and the voice stirred behind his ribs.'This is no ordinary treasure chamber. It is a sanctuary. Someone stored materials here to sustain a divine soul.'Kai kept his face blank. 'To
201: The Root Of The Problem
The first thing Kai noticed after his breakthrough was how much energy ordinary movement consumed. Walking drained him. Even lifting a teacup made his arm tremble. His Qi flowed more smoothly now, but the Middle Stage of the Soul Formation Realm had not repaired his foundation, and his spiritual reserves were a shadow of what they should have been.Frustration sat in his chest like a stone. He needed resources, and he needed them soon."Are you sure this is the place?" he asked, staring at the wooden sign above the crowded entrance. NORTHERN TREASURE MARKET."Unless the sign is lying," Victor said, grinning. "And in a place like this, everything lies. That's why I love it."Merchants shouted beneath colourful canopies. The smell of roasted meat tangled with bitter herbs. Somewhere nearby, two voices screamed about the price of mountain essence."Now this is a language I understand," Victor said, rubbing his hands together."You understand cheating.""I understand business. Buy for two
200: The Hearing of Seven Stars
Kai woke to the sound of someone arguing outside his door."I'm telling you, he needs rest!""And I'm telling you, the council hearing begins in less than an hour.""Then let him sleep thirty more minutes!"Kai opened his eyes. Victor's voice was unmistakable, and so was the stubborn pitch it only reached when he was losing.He sat up slowly. His chest still ached, but the warmth from last night lingered beneath his foundation, steady as a banked fire. He turned his attention inward. His Qi no longer stumbled through his channels the way it had for months. The pressure formation had nearly crippled him, yet it had also exposed the flaw he'd never been able to find: an imbalance between his upper and lower channels, a wall that grew harder every time he pushed against it.'So that's where you've been hiding.'The door swung open. Victor stared at him."You're awake.""I noticed, thanks. Your shouting was very persuasive.""That's how people know I'm serious.""That's how people know yo
199: The Five Roads Trial
"That's Elder Rowan," Daniel said, his voice low and tight. "And the last person Adrian Ashford accused of helping Lucian steal his identity."Kai barely had time to process it before the supply cart slammed into a wooden barricade. The driver bellowed and hauled on the reins. One of the mountain runners stumbled, and a stack of crates went tumbling across the road."Everybody out!" Shen Tian ordered.Kai jumped down, boots skidding in the dust.The First Returning Gate rose less than a hundred metres ahead. Its stone arch was bound in dark metal bands, and cultivation inscriptions crawled along its pillars like veins. A bell started ringing from the watchtower, its sound rolling through the pass."Alarm formation," Daniel said. "It triggers whenever a restricted individual approaches."Victor brushed dirt from his sleeves. "Wonderful. We finally arrive, and the whole place greets us with a bell. I've had warmer welcomes at funerals.""Save the jokes," Shen Tian snapped."I would, but
198: The Name They Banned
The drainage channel was narrower than Kai had expected.He crawled on his stomach, shoving his bag ahead of him while freezing water soaked through his clothes and crept down his collar. The tunnel stank of mud and rust. Behind him, Victor delivered a steady stream of complaints."I want it noted," Victor groaned, "that I have never been this wet in my entire life.""You fell in a fountain at your cousin's wedding," Daniel said."That was a controlled wetness.""Both of you, quiet," Shen Tian said from the front. He raised one hand. "Wait."Kai froze, water lapping at his ribs. A faint mechanical hum drifted from beyond the metal barrier ahead.Daniel checked his scanner, and the glow lit his worried face. "Patrol vehicle on the other side. Less than fifty metres."Victor let his forehead drop onto his arm. "We escaped one checkpoint just to crawl into another. The universe has a sense of humour, and I hate it.""This isn't a checkpoint," Shen Tian said. "It's an old monitoring stati
197: The Witness Door
The name carved into the stone doorway was unmistakable.LUCIAN ASHFORD WAS HERE.Kai traced the letters with his fingertips, and his stomach twisted. The cuts were fresh. Pale grains of stone still lay in the dust beneath the inscription.'He stood exactly where I'm standing. He touched this wall and probably smiled while he did it.'"He came through recently," Daniel said, crouching beside the dust. "Days, maybe less.""Days?" Victor folded his arms. "That's your expert opinion? I could have guessed days.""I'm a scientist, not a bloodhound.""Then stop sounding so smug about it.""I wasn't smug. This is my normal voice.""That's the problem."Kai ignored them. Several sets of footprints crossed the cavern floor, some from ordinary boots, others from heavy equipment. "How many people went in?""At least six," Daniel said.Shen Tian knelt beside one track. "Seven."Daniel's eyebrows rose. "I just said at least six.""And you were correct. Technically." Shen Tian pressed two fingers i
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