For a long moment after Heaven retreated, no one moved.
The courtyard was silent.
Still.
Frozen.
Wuya remained standing in the center — body trembling, robe torn, blood trailing from his lips.
His eyes flickered once.
Then closed.
His knees gave out.
"WUYA—!!!"
Xueyi sprinted forward, her Moonveil Seal blazing so brightly the courtyard was washed in silver.
She caught him before he hit the ground.
His body was frighteningly cold.
His breath light.
Uneven.
Shallow.
Wuya whispered faintly:
"…I… said… I'd come back."
Then he collapsed fully into her arms.
Xueyi screamed:
"MASTER—!!
HE'S NOT BREATHING RIGHT—!!
HELP—!! HELP—!!"
Her hands shook violently as she held Wuya's limp body.
"No… no… no…
Don't fall asleep!
Wuya!!
Wuya!! Wake up!!"
Her voice broke completely.
---
ELDER YUN ACTS IMMEDIATELY
Elder Yun reached Wuya within seconds.
She placed her hand over his chest.
Her eyes widened in alarm.
"His heart rhythm is unstable—!"
Xueyi sobbed harder.
"FIX IT—!!
FIX HIM—!!
PLEASE—!!"
Elder Yun gritted her teeth.
"Move aside, Xueyi!
Let me see!"
Xueyi hesitated—
Then wiped her tears and stepped back only enough for Elder Yun to work.
Elder Yun's palm glowed sky-blue as she pushed her Qi carefully into Wuya's body.
The moment it entered—
A strange ripple pushed it back.
She flinched.
"…This is—his physique…"
Lady Linghai stepped forward slowly.
"His body is adapting to void force on its own.
You must not flood him with too much Qi.
You will overwhelm it."
Xueyi grabbed Linghai's arm.
"SO HELP HIM—!!"
Linghai pried her off calmly.
"…I am helping."
She extended her divine sense cautiously—
and immediately recoiled.
"…This child…
His energy channels are folding…"
Elder Yun paled.
"Folding…?!"
"Inverting. Reversing. Reconnecting.
He is reshaping internally."
Elder Yun pressed her forehead.
"That means—"
Lady Linghai nodded.
"He is evolving."
Xueyi blinked through her tears.
"Eve… evolving…?"
Linghai lowered her voice.
"…He is rewriting parts of himself to resist Heaven."
Elder Yun inhaled shakily.
"That's impossible…"
"It is happening," Linghai replied.
---
ELDER YUN CARRIES HIM
Elder Yun gathered Wuya into her arms.
Xueyi stayed glued to her side, trembling violently, refusing to be more than a meter from him.
"Master—
is he dying—?!"
"No."
Elder Yun shook her head.
"Not dying…
but not stable either."
Xueyi's sobs didn't stop.
"He's in pain…
I can feel it…
I can FEEL it, Master…"
Elder Yun softened.
She gently wiped Xueyi's tears with her sleeve.
"Then stay with him.
He needs you."
Xueyi nodded desperately.
"Always…
I'll never leave him…
Never…"
---
SECT ELDERS ARGUE
As Elder Yun carried Wuya away, the courtyard erupted in voices.
Elder Bai shouted:
"We cannot keep that boy here—!!
He draws Heaven's wrath!"
Elder Geng countered:
"And who among you can face Elder Yun if you touch him?!"
"Heavens suppress only those who threaten the order!"
"That child… did you see? He BENT divine suppression!"
"That's unnatural!"
"That is dangerous!"
"That is… monstrous!"
Lady Linghai stepped forward.
Her divine aura silenced half the elders.
"You speak too loudly of things you do not understand."
Elder Bai trembled.
"Lady Linghai… y-you saw it too…"
"I did."
Her eyes narrowed coldly.
"And that is why you should be silent."
Elders paled instantly.
Lady Linghai's golden gaze swept over the group.
"Hao Wuya is not ordinary.
But you are not qualified to decide what he is."
She turned away.
"And none of you have the right to touch him."
Her divine pressure rolled outward—
several elders collapsed to their knees.
The others shut their mouths instantly.
---
ELDER QIONG LUO HIDES
Far away, Elder Qiong Luo cowered inside his hall.
He felt the storm.
He felt the suppression.
He felt the backlash.
He knew exactly what happened.
He crawled across the floor like a terrified insect.
"Oh heavens…
Oh heavens save me…
I interfered with something I shouldn't have…"
His disciple entered the room, trembling.
"E-Elder… what do we do…?"
Qiong Luo grabbed him.
"LISTEN TO ME—!!
Burn the documents!
Erase all formations!
Destroy every trace!"
"But Elder—"
"DO IT—!!
Or we are already dead!"
He pushed the disciple away, eyes wild with fear.
"He survived Heaven.
HE SURVIVED HEAVEN.
What kind of demon child is he?!"
---
LADY LINGHAI'S ANALYSIS
Lady Linghai walked silently through the corridors, following Elder Yun from afar.
Her eyes glowed faintly with golden runes.
She whispered to herself:
"Eternal Void…
the bloodline of those who existed before the heavens…"
She pictured the moment Wuya bent the heavenly suppression—
the way space distorted around him,
the way pressure slid off,
the way the void rippled away in fear.
She shivered.
"…even the heavens hesitate before him."
She touched her chest lightly.
"Why… does he remind me of that legend…?"
---
ELDER YUN'S ROOM
Elder Yun laid Wuya gently on a futon.
The room was quiet.
Xueyi sat at Wuya's side immediately, gripping his hand tightly, tears still dripping.
"Wuya…
Wake up…
Wake up for me…"
Elder Yun knelt and placed her hands over Wuya's chest again—
but much more gently.
His heartbeat was faint.
Slow.
But stable.
Elder Yun closed her eyes in relief.
"He is safe…
for now."
Xueyi sobbed quietly.
"Why…
Why do the heavens hate him so much…?"
Elder Yun looked at Wuya's face.
She brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.
"…Some people are born too bright for the heavens to tolerate."
---
WUYA'S UNCONSCIOUSNESS — THE INNER REALM
Inside Wuya's unconscious mind—
He stood in a void filled with faint stars.
A strange place.
A formless, silent realm between thought and existence.
A pulsing golden circle floated before him.
The Codex.
[Evolution Process: 14%]
[Warning: Internal pathways unstable]
[Bloodline Fragment activating]
Wuya looked up at the swirling symbols.
"…What am I awakening…?"
The Codex answered:
[Fragment: Eternal Void Pulse]
[Origin: Forbidden]
[Record: Erased by Heaven]
Wuya frowned.
"…Why is it forbidden?"
The symbols hesitated.
Then answered:
[Insufficient Access Level]
Wuya closed his eyes.
"…I see."
The void trembled slightly.
He felt pain even inside his dream.
A faint pulse of warmth touched his back.
A voice whispered—
A voice familiar.
Ancient.
Distant.
Filled with longing.
"…My son."
---
IN THE MORTAL WORLD — HAO TIANHAI
Far from the Clear Sky Sect, in the humble mortal corner city where Wuya grew up—
Hao Tianhai dropped a sack of rice as his entire body trembled.
The shock rippled through his sealed cultivation base.
He felt the Heavenly Suppression.
He felt the void ripple.
He felt Wuya's pain.
His heart shook.
"…Wuya…?"
His eyes widened.
His voice cracked.
"Wuya—!!"
He rushed outside, looking toward the distant mountains.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
His breath shook.
He reached toward the sky with trembling fingers.
"…Don't you dare touch him…"
Tianhai's suppressed cultivation surged violently—
for a moment tearing through its mortal disguise.
Lightning sparked around his feet.
The air rippled.
Then he forced it all down with extreme effort.
Blood leaked from his lips.
"Not yet…
Not yet…
I can't reveal myself…
Not yet…"
He clenched his fists until they bled.
"Just hold on, Wuya.
Just a little longer…"
---
A WHISPER FROM BEYOND — HAO AOTIAN
In realms far beyond the mortal world, beyond the immortal realms, beyond the divine domains—
A massive palace of drifting galaxies trembled faintly.
A voice stirred.
A presence shifted.
A single whisper escaped across uncountable realms:
"…Wuya…?"
The whisper shattered countless minor worlds.
In the mortal world—
A gust of wind swept across Elder Yun's courtyard.
Xueyi shivered for no reason.
Elder Yun looked up sharply.
"…What was that?"
Lady Linghai froze in place.
Her divine blood recoiled.
"That pressure…
That fragment…
Where did it come from…?"
---
WUYA'S BREATH RETURNS
Back in Elder Yun's room—
Wuya's fingers twitched faintly.
Xueyi gasped.
"MASTER—!!
He moved—!!
He moved—!!"
Elder Yun rushed to check his pulse.
Her expression softened instantly.
"…He's stabilizing."
Xueyi clasped Wuya's hand to her chest, tears overflowing with relief.
"Wuya…
Don't ever scare me like that again…
Please…"
Wuya's lips moved slightly.
"…Xue…yi…"
Xueyi burst into sobs again.
"You idiot…
You absolute idiot…
Don't ever do that again…"
His hand squeezed hers weakly.
Elder Yun placed her hand over both of them.
"Rest now, Wuya.
You fought the heavens themselves.
Let your body recover."
Wuya's breathing evened out.
His consciousness faded.
Xueyi rested her head beside his arm, refusing to move even an inch.
Lady Linghai watched silently from the doorway.
"…This child…
He changes the very rules of the world."
Elder Yun looked at Linghai.
"Help me protect him."
Linghai nodded.
"…For now."
The room dimmed to quiet stillness—
except for the faint, rhythmic beat of Wuya's evolving bloodline.