Wuya drifted somewhere between breath and dream.
He wasn't floating.
He wasn't falling.
He simply existed—
held somewhere dark, quiet, and distant.
The void inside him pulsed faintly.
Golden sigils moved like constellations behind his eyelids.
[Evolution: 28%]
[Physique Stability: Achieved]
[Bloodline Fragment Integration: Paused for safety]
Wuya whispered inside the darkness:
"…How long have I been unconscious?"
The Codex answered:
[Twelve hours.]
[External emotions detected: Distress. Fear. Crying.]
Wuya blinked slowly.
"…Xueyi."
The Codex flickered.
[Correct.]
Light returned.
Warmth returned.
Wuya inhaled—
And opened his eyes.
---
XUEYI HASN'T MOVED
The first thing he saw wasn't the ceiling.
It was Xueyi.
Her face rested on his arm.
Her hair messy.
Her eyes swollen from crying.
Her breathing uneven—
as though she had cried herself to sleep only out of exhaustion.
Her hand clutched his tightly, refusing to let go even in sleep.
Wuya blinked lightly.
"…Xueyi."
She didn't respond.
He gently brushed a tear track from her cheek.
She jolted awake instantly.
Her eyes widened.
"…Wuya…?"
Her voice broke.
"WUYA—!!!"
She practically launched onto him, hugging him hard enough to crack ribs.
"You're awake—!!
You're awake—!!
You're here—!!"
Wuya let her bury her face in his chest.
"…I told you I would return."
She thumped his chest.
"You… YOU IDIOT—!!
DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS—?!
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I THOUGHT—
THOUGHT—!!"
Her voice dissolved into sobs.
Wuya held her gently.
"…I'm sorry."
"STOP apologizing—!!
Just… just stay alive…"
He nodded.
"I intend to."
---
ELDER YUN FEIXUE ARRIVES
The door slid open.
Elder Yun entered quietly.
Her eyes softened the moment she saw Wuya awake.
"…Wuya.
You gave us quite the fright."
Xueyi glared through tears.
"He gave ME a fright!
And my seal still hurts!!"
Elder Yun placed her hand on Wuya's wrist.
"Let me check your pulse."
Wuya extended his arm.
Elder Yun placed two fingers on his wrist—
And froze.
Her eyes widened.
Her breath halted.
"…Your pulse…"
Wuya raised an eyebrow.
"Is something wrong?"
Elder Yun didn't answer immediately.
She pressed a second point.
Then a third.
Her brows knit deeper with each touch.
"…Your pulse rhythm has…
layers."
Wuya blinked.
"Layers?"
"Yes." Elder Yun swallowed. "A mortal pulse has one rhythm. A cultivator usually has two.
But you…"
She pressed deeper with her Qi.
Wuya felt a slight vibration echo.
"…you have three."
Xueyi gasped.
"Is that bad? Is he dying? Are we dying?!"
"No," Elder Yun murmured.
"This is not death…
This is evolution."
Xueyi's eyes widened.
"E-ev… evolving?"
Wuya listened quietly.
Elder Yun continued:
"One pulse is your natural heartbeat.
The second is your void-adapted breath.
But the third…"
She stared deeply at him.
"…It feels like a heartbeat not belonging to this world."
Xueyi shivered.
"Master, that sounds scary."
Elder Yun whispered:
"It is."
---
LADY LINGHAI ENTERS
Golden light flickered outside.
Lady Linghai stepped inside without waiting for permission.
Xueyi jumped up instantly.
"No! Not YOU again—!!
Get out—!!"
Linghai raised a brow.
"…I am not here for you."
"I KNOW!! THAT'S WHY I WANT YOU OUT!!"
Wuya sat up slightly.
"Lady Linghai."
She glanced at him.
"You survived Heavenly Suppression.
You walked out of Moonfall Cliff alive.
And now your pulse has three rhythms."
She approached him.
Her golden eyes glowed faintly.
"Let me see your aura."
Xueyi spread her arms like wings.
"NO!!
You can't look at him!!
You'll sniff him again with your divine sense!!"
"That is not sniffing."
"It IS—!!"
Wuya exhaled.
"…Please let her check."
Xueyi pouted hard.
"But… but she's scary…"
Linghai extended a finger.
A thin golden line floated from her fingertip—
and touched Wuya's forehead.
Her eyes widened immediately.
"…You…"
She stepped back sharply.
Her divine energy fluctuated.
"This…
This can't be right."
Elder Yun frowned.
"What did you see?"
Lady Linghai's breathing quickened.
"This boy's bloodline…
It resonates with void…
with chaos…
with… with…"
Her voice suddenly dropped.
"…with something Heaven erased.
Something older than all realms."
Elder Yun stiffened.
Xueyi grabbed Wuya tighter.
Linghai stepped forward slowly.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Hao Wuya…
you are not born of any normal lineage."
Wuya looked into her eyes calmly.
"…I know."
Xueyi and Elder Yun both tensed.
Lady Linghai inhaled sharply.
"So you felt it too."
Wuya nodded faintly.
"When Heaven tried to crush me…
something inside me woke up."
Linghai lowered her gaze.
"…Then you walk a path no mortal should ever walk."
Xueyi hugged him closer.
"He is MY Wuya.
He's walking where I walk."
Wuya touched her hand.
"…Thank you."
---
THE SECT ERUPTS OUTSIDE
The sound of dozens of voices suddenly rose outside Elder Yun's room.
"Where is the boy?!"
"He must be questioned by the elders!"
"He endangered the sect!"
"No, Elder Yun protected him!"
"Lady Linghai interfered!"
"This cannot continue—!!"
Xueyi growled.
"Idiots…"
Elder Yun stood.
Her eyes turned cold.
"Stay with Wuya.
I will deal with them."
Xueyi nodded fiercely.
"You better scare them, Master."
---
AN ELDER TRIES TO BURST IN
As Elder Yun stepped outside—
An elder pushed forward.
"Elder Yun! We DEMAND that—!"
Elder Yun raised her sleeve.
A gust of sky-colored wind blasted outward.
The elder flew backwards ten meters.
Elder Yun's voice was cold as frost.
"No one enters without my permission."
Elders fell silent instantly.
Lady Linghai stepped behind Elder Yun and added calmly:
"Anyone who touches that child…
will answer to me."
Elder Bai paled visibly.
"But Lady Linghai—
we cannot let this boy—"
Linghai raised a single finger.
A golden rune flashed—
And Elder Bai's knees hit the floor.
He gasped for air.
His face turned white.
"No more talking," Linghai said.
---
ELDER QIONG LUO TRIES TO FLEE
In the shadows near the sect's edge—
Elder Qiong Luo wore a cloak and crept toward the outer gate.
His steps were shaky.
His breathing ragged.
"I have to leave…
He'll kill me…
I have to leave—!!"
A disciple guarding the gate spotted him.
"Elder Qiong?
Why are you—"
"MOVE!!" Qiong Luo screamed.
He shoved the disciple aside and sprinted toward the path—
But golden chains wrapped around his feet.
Lady Linghai appeared behind him silently.
"You really tried to run?"
Elder Qiong Luo collapsed.
"N-No…
Lady Linghai…
I didn't… I didn't…"
Linghai's eyes narrowed.
"You interfered with the forbidden child.
You tried to end his life."
Qiong Luo trembled violently.
"H-He will destroy the sect—!!
He will ruin us—!!
You don't understand—!!
He's not human—!!
He's—!!"
Golden pressure silenced him instantly.
Linghai whispered:
"You deserve death.
But this is not my sect."
Two elders dragged Qiong Luo away while he screamed in terror.
---
THE SECT MASTER RETURNS
A roar of wind cut through the chaos.
A powerful aura slammed into the mountain.
Every disciple stiffened.
"The Sect Master—!!
The Sect Master has returned!!"
Elder Yun's face tightened.
"…He came early."
Lady Linghai nodded.
"He must have sensed the heavenly suppression."
A tall figure in blue robes landed at the mountain gate.
His presence was vast—
yet controlled.
Calm—
yet overwhelming.
His gaze swept everyone.
Then turned directly toward Elder Yun's residence.
"…The boy survived?"
Elder Yun bowed.
"Yes, Sect Master.
He is resting."
The Sect Master frowned.
"Show me."
Xueyi stepped in front of Wuya the moment he appeared at the doorway.
"NO!!
No more people bother him—!!
He JUST woke up—!!!"
The Sect Master paused.
"…Girl, I am your Sect Master."
"I DON'T CARE!!
You're too strong!
You'll stress him!!"
Elder Yun grabbed Xueyi by the shoulders gently.
"Xueyi. Calm down.
This is the Sect Master."
Xueyi puffed her cheeks.
"…I still don't like it."
Wuya sighed softly.
"…Let him in."
Xueyi turned around.
"Wuya—!!
Don't be polite to authority right now!!"
He gave her a faint smile.
"…It's fine."
The Sect Master entered.
He studied Wuya with sharp, ancient eyes.
"…You fought Heaven."
Wuya nodded.
"Yes."
"…You endured."
"Yes."
"…You survived."
"Yes."
The Sect Master lowered his eyes.
"…Then the heavens fear you."
Wuya raised his head.
"…So be it."
The Sect Master exhaled deeply.
"Child… do you understand what this means?"
Wuya looked directly at him.
His eyes calm.
"…It means I must grow stronger."
---
HEAVEN WATCHES… IN SILENCE
Above the skies—
The Heavenly Observer floated in storm clouds, shaking.
Staring.
Observing.
Terrified.
"He awakened a fragment…
His pulse…
His aura…
He is changing too quickly…"
Lightning flickered weakly.
"…I must report this.
Alone, I cannot kill him."
The storm split open.
He stepped inside.
And vanished from the mortal sky.
---
THE CODEX PROGRESSES
Inside Wuya's chest—
A faint golden shimmer pulsed.
[Evolution Progress: 33%]
[New Feature Unlocked Soon]
Wuya opened his eyes.
His breath deepened.
A quiet warmth touched his hand.
Xueyi's fingers intertwined with his.
She whispered:
"Don't… do anything dangerous…
for at least a day."
"…I'll try."
"NO TRY!!"
"…Then I'll rest."
She finally smiled through tears.
"That's better."
Wuya relaxed against the pillow.
Elder Yun sat nearby, watching over him.
Lady Linghai observed silently.
Outside, the Sect Master made preparations.
And the heavens remained silent.
For now.