Rune found it.
The entrance to the S.J.F.
The moment he stepped through and dropped down, everything disappeared.
No light.
No sound.
Nothing.
For a second, he didn't move. His eyes tried to adjust, but there was nothing to adjust to.
So he created his own light.
A small glow formed in his hand, spreading just enough to reveal his surroundings.
Then he realized where he was standing.
A table.
A massive one.
Far larger than anything normal.
And he wasn't alone.
Dozens of people sat around it.
At least fifty.
All of them were already seated, as if they had been in the middle of something important.
Now they were all looking at him.
Rune didn't move.
This wasn't what he expected.
Before he could even speak, the room split.
Half of them moved.
Attacked.
The other half reacted just as fast, blocking them.
"He's perfect! We can use him against the Death King!"
"That won't work! You're wasting time!"
The room filled with pressure instantly.
Qi clashed.
Weapons were drawn.
Rune stood in the middle of it, not even understanding why he was suddenly the center of everything.
After a while, the chaos slowed.
They stopped.
Not because they agreed.
But because they had to.
They returned to their seats.
The tension stayed.
"You should've stayed away," one of them said.
Another shook his head. "Too late now. He might be useful."
Rune was about to respond—
"Enough."
Everything stopped.
Immediately.
Every person sat properly.
No hesitation.
The one who spoke stepped forward slightly.
"I'm Gin. I lead the S.J.F."
Rune looked at him.
"Rune."
Gin nodded.
"I'll keep this simple," he said. "We're already late."
Rune felt it immediately.
Something was wrong.
"The Death King finished it."
Rune's expression hardened.
"The W.T.S."
Silence followed.
Rune already knew what that meant.
World to Sleep.
A weapon meant to start something much bigger.
He had hoped they still had time.
They didn't.
"All that's left is a vessel," Gin continued. "Someone to activate it."
Rune didn't respond right away.
But his mind was already moving.
He had to stop it.
Even if it was already too late.
Back in the Heavenly Demon Empire, Karin kept training.
A full month had passed.
Every day, she pushed further.
The Heavenly Demon Scripture was no longer completely unreadable. She was starting to understand parts of it.
Not everything.
But enough to move forward.
There was still no sign of her father.
People said he was in isolation.
Karin didn't believe that.
But she didn't stop.
She couldn't afford to.
This time, she wouldn't fall behind.
As she studied, she began to understand more about the one who created the scripture.
The original Heavenly Demon.
An ancestor.
Someone who stood at the very peak of his era.
But what stood out wasn't just his strength.
It was how he was described.
Most cultivators relied on aura.
On killing intent.
On presence.
He didn't.
He didn't need to.
People feared him just by looking at him.
Not because of what he did.
But because of what he was.
And yet—
The records still called him human.
Karin didn't fully believe that.
There were too many contradictions.
Some texts hinted at something else.
Something older.
Ancient demons.
Not the kind people called "demonic" in cultivation.
Real ones.
Beings that existed long before the current era.
No morality.
No restraint.
Only destruction.
They were the reason the First Holy War happened.
Entire lands were wiped out because of them.
And according to the oldest records—
That was when the First Immortal appeared.
The one who ended it.
The one who stopped them all.
Isshin was on his way back.At least, that was the plan.
After leaving the forest, he slowed down slightly.
"Are they even at the academy?" he thought. "It's break time… they're probably gone."
He didn't know where Rune or Karin would be.No one he knew knew them.
Even if he went back, there was a chance he wouldn't find them at all.
He stopped.
"Should I still go back?" he asked.
Raijin answered immediately. "No. Go to a city instead."
Isshin frowned slightly.
"A city?"
"You need experience," Raijin said. "Connections. Information. You won't get that by going back to the same place."
That made sense.
"I also have something you can use," Raijin continued. "All of my stuff before I came to this planet is stored somewhere else. The only thing I have left are these basic crystals that were lying around in my pocket."
A Dark Jade Crystal appeared in Isshin's hand.
"You should sell this."
Isshin looked at it. "How much is it worth?"
"Here? Five to six million coins, at least."
Isshin paused.
"Why couldn't you tell me before?!" Isshin replied.
"As I said, I just happened to have some of these random rocks in my pocket… forgot they would mean a lot on this planet."
That was more money than he had ever dealt with.
"I have a few more of these," Raijin added casually.
That settled it.
Isshin changed direction.
The nearest city was Florent City.
It took him about a day to get there, moving quickly with Flash Step. By the time the sun started to set, the city walls came into view.
It was busy.
Merchants, travelers, cultivators.
Everyone was gathered near the entrance.
Isshin joined the line.
When it was his turn, a guard stopped him.
"What's your business here?"
Isshin hesitated.
"Say you're here for the auction," Raijin said.
"I'm here for the auction," Isshin replied.
The guard looked at him carefully. "Permit?"
"I don't have one."
"Then it's twenty coins."
Isshin paid without thinking too much about it.
Compared to what he was about to sell, it didn't matter.
The guard stepped aside.
Isshin entered the city.
The first thing he noticed was the building in the center.
It stood above everything else.
At least fifty meters tall.
Even from a distance, it didn't look like anything else in the city.
Isshin walked toward a nearby stall.
"Where's the auction hall?" he asked.
The shopkeeper pointed straight ahead. "That building. Everything's in there."
"Everything?"
"Inn, auction, food, rooms. All in one place."
Isshin looked back at the structure.
Then he walked toward it.
As he got closer, he saw the name carved above the entrance.
The Florentines.
He stepped inside.
The first floor was busy.
People eating, talking, trading.
Servants moving between tables.
Merchants discussing deals.
It felt alive.
Isshin found a seat and ordered food.
While eating, he asked one of the workers, "When does the auction start?"
"Three days."
That gave him time.
He finished eating and got a room.
Ten coins.
Then he went upstairs.
As he explored, he found it.
The auction hall.
Huge.
Much larger than anything he had seen before.
Rows of seats.
A central stage.
Everything designed to draw attention.
Isshin stood there for a moment, taking it in.
This wasn't a small place.