Chapter 169
Chen Ren stood in Hong Yi’s workshop. Before him sat the two craftsmen of his sect Feiyu and Hong Yi.
They had spoken for more than an hour already, drifting from mundane repairs of certain items to things that mattered more, but now—now he was getting to the most important product; the true matter of this meeting, the seed that might alter the very foundation of ...
Chapter 168
Chen Ren hadn’t expected the heavens themselves to open up against him. One moment, stillness—then the next, rain hammered down, lightning lashing through the darkened air like whips of white fire. The wet cold seeped instantly into his robes, clinging, dragging him down, forcing every step to feel heavier than the last. Lightning though, was nothing. It sizzled against h...
Chapter 278
Thalric’s palm came down like a warhammer.
The oaken table didn’t creak, didn’t groan—it broke. A hard, splintering crack ran through the center seam and the whole slab collapsed into two toothy halves. Pewter goblets jumped and rolled, wine arcing into the air before slapping across the stones.
He was already moving. Fingers hooked the nearest chair, mu...
Chapter 167
Chen Leijun stood upon the high pavilion, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes half-lidded but clearly aware of what was happening. Below him, the training grounds stretched wide, dust rising with every clash of wooden spears and every tumble of a fallen youth. The echoes of shouts, the thud of fists striking flesh, the sharp clang of weapons—it was all a symphony he had...
Chapter 277
As soon as Kai said those words, the reactions were polarized.
The great hall rippled with unease. Murmurs immediately started to surface like restless winds. A few of the gathered nobles leaned forward, eyes gleaming with agreement, while others frowned deeply.
Questions brewed in the air, thick as storm clouds and Kai welcomed them.
One of the older l...
Chapter 166
Chen Ren followed Zi Wen down the quiet corridor, Yalan padding silently at his side. To his surprise, Whiskey had chosen to tag along as well, the lunari hopping from chair to chair before finally clambering onto the top of a shelf as if he had business in the matter. Sori, too, perched solemnly on his master’s shoulder, wings tucked tight as its sharp eyes swept the hall....
Chapter 276
William Blackwood sat high in the gallery, the expensive oak railing pressing against his palms as his gaze fixed on the lone figure standing at the heart of the assembly hall. From this height, Arzan looked almost small—surrounded by chairs and hungry-eyed nobles looking for weakness—but well, they were not going to find anything. William knew better by now.
For ...
Chapter 275
The truth of the matter was that there was no good way to prove whether Kai had killed Lucian or not. The man had locked himself away in a chamber and swallowed poison. In this age, there were no autopsies, no physicians who could dissect a body and declare its end without question. They could not delay for long either—funerals came quickly, and Lucian’s had been no excep...
Chapter 165
The next few days, Chen Ren fell into the rhythm of a very painful lifestyle.
His mornings began cross-legged on the floor with Wang Jun’s voice drilling into his ears, half instruction, half ego-polishing tales of his own brilliance. Soul cultivation demanded focus, silence of mind, yet somehow he was forced to chase his soul’s shadow while enduring the endless th...
Chapter 274
The heavy doors of the chamber swung open.
Every single pair of eyes moved towards King Sullivan who entered the room with long, steady strides. His gaze did not linger on anyone, not on Dukes or Counts or the sea of lower lords that filled the rows. He walked straight toward the seat that was specifically given to him.
Knight Roderic followed closely at his si...
Chapter 164
The golden dragon had once implied that Chen Ren would walk both paths—soul cultivation and body cultivation.
Of the first, he already knew a little, and Wang Jun’s endless bragging had only added to that. But the second… he hadn’t thought much about it until he had begun combing through the spoils of the Void Blade Sect’s library. That was when he found it.<...
Chapter 273
Viscount Redmont let his eyes travel slowly across the great chamber. It was a room that was seldom used, the room that held the Assembly of Judgment. The space was wide and tall. The ceiling was high enough that every sound seemed to echo. Rows of stands curved around the hall, stacked like steps, with the lower nobles seated in the lower rows and the greater lords and dukes...
Chapter 163
Anji looked at the books spread across the desk—the same desk Sect Leader Chen Ren had once used before leaving the city. There were stacks of account records lying open with the pages filled with numbers and notes. Sales were climbing steadily, not only from the steady supply Jadefire Hall sent day and night, but also from the small ventures Chen Ren had left behind.
<...
Chapter 272
King Sullivan crouched low, the watering can tilting in his hand as he let the thin stream fall gently onto the soil. The young plant before him shivered under the droplets, and he stared at the vibrant green. Only a few months ago, it had been nothing more than a fragile sapling. Now its roots clutched firmly at the earth, its branches reaching upward with hunger. Given anot...
Chapter 162
Shen Linao thrashed against the burning chains, his body twisting as flames erupted from his skin. His face was pulled taut, equal parts rage and desperation, the veins bulging along his temples as he strained. His qi surged wildly, spilling out in waves of fire that scorched the gorge, but none of it reached the man holding him.
Xinyan strode forward through the infe...
Chapter 271
Destruction was everywhere.
The air itself cracked beneath the clash of spells, causing heat rolling outward like the fists of angry gods. Shards of stone rained down from above as the arena groaned and split apart under the strain. Kai could feel the wards failing, but he didn’t dare to look toward the stands. He couldn’t know if the people had escaped, if Killian...
Chapter 161
In an instant, it felt as if the world itself had stilled.
The voice that rang out froze the gorge in place. Disciples who had been lunging for Zi Wen, Hong Yi, and his puppets halted mid-strike, their blades trembling in the air. From above, hidden cultivators leaping down from the cliffs staggered mid-flight, their footing breaking as their bodies slammed against sto...
Chapter 270
Amara’s fingers dug into the armrest of her seat until her knuckles turned white, the polished wood biting against her palm as if to anchor her to reality. Yet reality itself seemed to blur before her eyes. The clash in the arena was far from a duel, it was a calamity in a given form.
It looked like it was enough to topple entire armies. Red flares burst like molten...
Chapter 160
Yalan had been right.
The Blazing Ember Sect had indeed pitched their camp around the gorge. From the mouth of the cave where Chen Ren crouched, he counted two tents with crimson banners fluttering in the cold wind. At least fifteen cultivators lingered in sight—some standing watch with blades across their laps, others pacing the perimeter, and a few more crouched ar...
Chapter 269
Kai didn’t keep his eyes matched with Veridia for long. There was no point in staring her down now; the real exchange would come soon enough. Instead, he let his steps carry him further toward the arena’s center.
The first thing that caught his eye was the lower stands, where the commoners were packed shoulder to shoulder. In the middle of the sea of faces and the...
Chapter 159
The carriage rolled through the snow-laden terrain at a sluggish crawl, its wheels groaning with every turn as frost bit into the wooden spokes. More than once, the horses had to halt, steam pouring from their muzzles, while Zi Wen lifted his hand from the driver’s bench. Qi rippled outward from his fingers, sweeping the road clean of snow in a shimmer of pale blue light be...
Chapter 268
Prince Eldric walked down the stairs towards the arena. Two new Knights flanked him, their armors moving with a metallic sound that made his jaw tighten every time they moved. His mother’s doing, of course. Word of the incident with the previous pair had reached her ears faster than he had thought would be possible, and his mother—she’d wasted no time in replacing them....
Chapter 158
Shen Linao’s gaze stayed on Tu Wei’s face. His scowl continued to get deeper. It wasn’t merely the boy’s presence that soured his mood—though after weeks of staring at that same pale, anxious expression, even that was enough to test his patience. What bothered him was the unspoken aura around him, the boy didn’t even speak yet, but there was a noticeable tremor in...
Chapter 267
Count Pherrin Blackbough gulped down the wine. The bitter tang slid down his throat, leaving a faint burn in its wake, and when it reached his stomach, some of the fog in his head began to lift. The reasoning that returned wasn’t much, but it was enough to remind him of the hour, and of the meeting he had nearly missed.
Ever since the banquet had ended, his mind had ...
Chapter 157
Chen Ren’s carriage neared the gates of Meadow Village, and the heavy wooden doors swung inward without so much as a signal. The guards that were on duty straightened at once, thumping their spears lightly against the ground in acknowledgment. By now, his carriage was as familiar to them as the village chief’s own robes, and he had already sent word of his return days ago...
Chapter 266
Veridia felt the prickle of Queen Regina’s eyes on her before she even finished speaking. That narrow, penetrating stare that Veridia was never comfortable being under. She had just recounted every detail of what had happened last night with Arzan, if that was even his real name.
The Queen’s reaction had come in stages: first was the immediate and sharp flare of an...
Chapter 156
The dragon’s chest visibly expanded, and the scales shifted. It let out a deep hrrrhhhfff, and immediately, hot air curled around him.
“Yes, human. You are dying.”
Chen Ren felt its voice inside his soul, reverberating until the reality of what it had just said carved into his mind.
“Do you truly think your star space breaking is like catching a...
Chapter 155
Snow-laden branches blurred past the window. Tiny figures leapt between them—creatures with plump bodies wrapped in furs so thick they looked like living snowballs. In their nimble paws, they clutched cracked nut shells, nibbling with the absentminded contentment of those untouched by the world’s troubles.
They looked like squirrels at first glance, but Chen Ren kn...
Chapter 265
How does she know?
Kai stared at her for a few seconds, not moving his gaze, but maintaining a steady expression. A neutral one, where not a single muscle moved. On the surface, he was the calmest, but inside, every muscle in his body itched to tense.
The question hit like a blade sliding under his ribs. Had his secret leaked?
No, impossible. The few w...
Chapter 154
For a long, silent minute, Chen Ren could only stare.
He hadn’t imagined this in any nightmare, hadn’t even known it was possible. One’s star space could be damaged?
Yet, right before his eyes, fragments of his inner world were flaking away. They peeled off like brittle paint from old wood, curling and drifting into the darkness before dissolving into mote...