Evening descended in waves of crimson and gold as Cang Yue City, capital of the Da Cang Empire, finally appeared at the far horizon.
Its walls stretched like sleeping dragons beneath sunset. Ancient watchtowers pierced the sky. Imperial banners moved in the wind. From this distance alone, the city radiated power. History. Danger. Destiny.
Lin Shuan stood on a ridge overlooking it, silent. Beside him, Zi Xianyi brushed loose strands of hair from her face and smiled faintly.
"We actually made it…"
Her voice carried relief.
But the sun was already sinking. And entering the imperial capital at night, exhausted and unprepared, was unwise.
So before reaching the city gates, they stopped at a travelers' inn along the outer road.
It was not luxurious— but respectable. A two-story roadside hotel built of dark wood and stone, lit by warm lanterns. Horse carts lined the front courtyard. Travelers ate below. Tea fragrance drifted through the hall.
For one peaceful moment, it felt ordinary.
As if fate had paused.
Their room stood on the upper floor. Quiet. Modest. A round wooden table. Two chairs. One paper-screen window overlooking distant city lights.
As soon as the door shut, both removed their masks.
Lin Shuan set his frost-colored half-mask aside. Zi Xianyi placed her moon mask near the teapot.
For the first time since leaving Starlight City, there was calm.
They sat facing one another, hands wrapped around warm cups of tea. Steam rose between them.
For a while neither spoke. Only the soft sound of cups touching saucers.
Then Zi Xianyi broke the silence.
"You know…"
Lin Shuan lifted a brow.
"What?"
She stared into her tea.
"You killed that man…"
Pause.
"…inside his brother's merchant company."
Lin Shuan sipped calmly. "Yes."
She looked at him.
"That may create even greater danger."
Her voice lowered.
"If his brother learns what happened…"
"…he won't let you go."
Lin Shuan's fingers stilled around the cup.
His brother.
He had thought of revenge. But not the full weight behind it.
He set the cup down.
"How strong… is his brother?"
Zi Xianyi hesitated. Then answered carefully.
"In Starlight City…"
"…he is said to be counted among the strongest."
Lin Shuan's eyes narrowed.
"How strong?"
She swallowed.
"At least Meridian Tracer Rank."
A pause.
"Maybe… even higher."
The cup nearly slipped from Lin Shuan's hand.
"…Meridian Tracer?"
Disbelief.
Energy Core Rank already felt vast. Meridian Tracer was another realm entirely. A true expert.
"If that's true…"
He trailed off.
His mind raced.
Could he face someone like that?
Not now.
Inside the pendant, Tian Wuchen finally spoke.
"You begin understanding consequences."
Lin Shuan answered inwardly. Very dryly.
Helpful.
Zi Xianyi watched his expression.
Regret touched her face.
"I shouldn't have dragged you into this."
Lin Shuan shook his head.
"No."
He looked at her directly.
"I chose this."
Her heart tightened strangely.
Before she could answer—
Footsteps.
Outside.
Heavy. Many.
Both froze.
Lin Shuan's eyes sharpened instantly.
So did hers.
Another step. Closer.
Then another.
Not travelers. Warriors.
Lin Shuan whispered—
"Mask."
Instantly both put them on.
Tea still warm.
Silence.
Then—
BANG.
The door burst open.
Six armed warriors flooded into the room.
All Energy Core experts.
Eight-Star. Nine-Star.
Steel flashed. Murder intent filled the chamber.
They spread instantly, surrounding the room. Blocking escape.
Then someone stepped through them. Slowly.
A man dressed like a refined merchant. Long dark robes. Sharp features. Cold calculating eyes.
But beneath that cultured exterior— pressure.
Terrifying pressure.
The moment Lin Shuan sensed it, his heart skipped.
Meridian Tracer.
Not weak.
Four-Star Meridian Tracer.
Even breathing near him felt difficult.
It was the man from the merchant hall balcony.
The one drinking tea. Watching.
Now here.
Tian Wuchen muttered in Lin Shuan's mind:
"…Lin Shuan."
"It seems tonight you may suffer heavy losses."
A pause.
"You took danger for that girl for no reason."
Lin Shuan nearly choked inwardly.
Old man— now?
He replied silently:
"Are you trying to help or terrify me?"
Tian Wuchen:
"Both."
Lin Shuan mentally groaned.
The merchant-looking man stepped forward.
His voice was elegant. Deadly.
"So…"
"You are the boy."
He studied Lin Shuan.
"You killed my brother."
Lin Shuan stood slowly. Hand drifting near sword.
"Then you must be Yin Feng."
The man smiled. Cold.
"Correct."
His eyes gleamed greedily.
"But revenge…"
"…is not why I came."
Lin Shuan frowned.
Oh?
Yin Feng leaned closer.
"That movement technique…"
"What was it?"
Silence.
Then realization.
He wants Lightning Immortal Path.
Not merely vengeance.
Greed.
Lin Shuan almost laughed.
"Oh…"
"So you want the technique."
Yin Feng's smile widened.
"Give it to me."
Lin Shuan answered lazily,
"Sorry."
"That can't happen."
A beat.
"And…"
"I won't tell you its name either."
The room went cold.
Yin Feng's fist tightened. Veins rose.
He whispered,
"Capture him."
"Leave him alive."
Then colder—
"Barely."
Steel rose.
Lin Shuan drew his sword. Zi Xianyi moved beside him. Weak, But resolute.
For one instant—
two against seven.
Then battle erupted.
An Eight-Star warrior stepped forward laughing.
He looked Lin Shuan over mockingly.
"This?"
"This is the monster who killed Young Master Yin Jing?"
He snorted.
"One-Star Energy Core?"
"No need to fear."
He lunged. Sword thrust like lightning.
Fast.
Deadly.
And unlike weaker foes— he could track Lin Shuan's movement.
Interesting.
Lin Shuan's eyes sharpened.
Good.
He activated—
Lightning Immortal Path.
CRACK.
Thunder split the room.
He vanished.
The Eight-Star warrior's smile faltered.
He saw him. Barely.
Too fast.
Yet still— he had a fraction of time. Enough to defend.
Or so he thought.
A silver flash.
Then—
THUD.
A head hit the floor.
The body stood one moment, then collapsed.
Blood spilled across wooden boards.
Silence.
Shock.
The others froze.
One strike.
One death.
Lin Shuan stood still, sword humming.
Even Yin Feng's brows rose.
Then—
he smiled.
A frightening smile.
"As expected."
"Interesting."
He was not angered.
He was intrigued.
That was worse.
"Kill them."
Five warriors rushed together.
Steel exploded from all directions.
Zi Xianyi drew breath sharply, forced to dodge.
She was weakened. Still recovering.
She could barely defend.
Two enemies pressed her hard.
She retreated desperately.
Lin Shuan meanwhile was surrounded by four.
Perfect formation.
Multiple angles. No escape.
For one moment— he remembered.
Mini Cosmos.
Tian Wuchen's brutal training.
Being swarmed. Beaten. Forced to survive.
The old lessons burned alive.
If surrounded— Break the center. Scatter pressure. Destroy rhythm.
Lin Shuan exhaled.
Then moved.
Golden light erupted.
"Golden Dragon Smash!"
ROOOAR—
A dragon phantom exploded outward.
Shockwave. Golden force.
BOOOOM.
All four attackers were hurled backward. Tables shattered. Walls cracked.
Warriors smashed into pillars coughing blood.
Injured. Stunned.
The room shook.
Even Zi Xianyi stared.
Yin Feng's smile deepened.
Another technique.
His greed sharpened.
He whispered almost to himself:
"I must have them."
Yin Feng stepped forward.
At last.
Pressure crashed over the room.
Meridian Tracer aura.
The lamps flickered. Floorboards trembled.
Lin Shuan's instincts screamed.
Danger.
Real danger.
He understood instantly.
I can't win.
Not tonight.
Not here.
He made his choice in a heartbeat.
Run.
Survive.
Then—
Lightning erupted.
Before anyone reacted, Lin Shuan seized Zi Xianyi around the waist.
She gasped.
"What—?!"
CRASH.
He leapt through the paper-screen window. Glass shattered. Wood splintered.
They plunged into night.
And vanished.
Wind screamed.
Zi Xianyi found herself in his arms, held close as he raced across rooftops.
She barely understood what happened.
Only moonlight, wind, and impossible speed.
Tiles blurred beneath them.
Lightning Immortal Path at full force.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Each step sounded like distant thunder.
Behind— shouts erupted.
"After them!"
Yin Feng burst through the broken window.
As expected.
He had predicted escape.
Yet even he looked startled.
That speed…
He roared:
"CHASE THEM!"
The pursuit began.
Across inns. Across bridges. Across moonlit roofs.
A city-wide hunt.
Lin Shuan ran as if hunted by death.
Because he was.
Zi Xianyi clung unconsciously closer.
Her face burned.
She was in his arms. Pressed against his chest.
And despite terror—
some treacherous part of her noticed his heartbeat.
Strong. Steady.
She immediately felt embarrassed.
Why am I thinking this now?!
Lin Shuan, focused on survival, noticed none of it.
Only distance.
Need more distance.
Faster.
Faster.
Behind them, Yin Feng pursued with terrifying persistence.
But—
he was slower.
To his disbelief.
A Meridian Tracer.
Outrun by an Energy Core boy.
Impossible.
Yet happening.
His expression darkened.
That technique must be mine.
They did not stop.
Fields passed. Villages blurred. Outer districts vanished.
Hours seemed moments.
Nearly one hundred kilometers.
At last— Lin Shuan staggered.
Breathing hard. Sweat soaked him.
Even he had limits.
And carrying Zi Xianyi drained more.
He landed behind a vast noble estate wall. Shadowed. Silent.
Set her down gently.
She looked at him wide-eyed.
"You carried me… this whole way?"
He was too exhausted to answer properly.
"Later."
He pressed finger to lips.
Quiet.
Then inwardly:
"Master."
Tian Wuchen understood.
Ancient power stirred within pendant.
A hidden concealment art spread.
Their presences blurred. Vanished.
As if absent from the world.
Lin Shuan leaned against stone wall, trying to steady breath.
Zi Xianyi stood close. Too close.
Neither commented.
Then—
Footsteps.
Approaching.
Yin Feng.
He landed nearby. Aura sweeping area.
His subordinates with him.
He searched.
Eyes like blades.
Nothing.
Impossible.
He looked left. Right. Above.
No trace.
Lin Shuan could hear his own heartbeat.
Zi Xianyi barely breathed.
Yin Feng muttered,
"They were here…"
One subordinate asked,
"Did they escape farther?"
Silence.
Yin Feng's eyes narrowed.
Then coldly:
"Move."
"Search ahead."
At last—
they left.
Footsteps faded.
Only then did Lin Shuan exhale.
Alive.
Barely.
Neither spoke for a long while.
Night insects hummed. Moonlight touched stone walls.
Finally Zi Xianyi whispered,
"…I thought we would die."
Lin Shuan managed a tired smirk.
"So did I."
She looked at him.
Then suddenly laughed. Nervous. Breathless. Half from relief.
Lin Shuan blinked.
"What?"
She covered her mouth.
"We just fled a Meridian Tracer…"
"…and you sound disappointed."
He considered.
"I dislike running."
She stared. Then laughed harder.
Madman.
Inside the pendant, Tian Wuchen snorted.
"You should dislike dying more."
Lin Shuan thought:
You choose strange moments for wisdom.
After a pause, Zi Xianyi looked down.
Softly:
"When you grabbed me…"
Lin Shuan tensed.
"Yes?"
She turned red under moonlight.
"…Nothing."
He looked suspicious.
She refused to elaborate.
Silence returned.
Then Lin Shuan's face hardened.
"That Yin Feng…"
He had felt it.
The gulf.
Meridian Tracer was terrifying.
He was not ready.
But someday…
He would be.
Zi Xianyi noticed the change.
"You're thinking of fighting him again."
"Yes."
She sighed.
Of course.
Warrior madness.
Then she looked toward where pursuers vanished.
Fear returned.
"He won't stop."
Lin Shuan nodded.
"I know."
Which meant—
the tournament, Cang Yue, all of it—
had just grown more dangerous.
And more interesting.
He looked up at the moon.
Storms were gathering.
Again.
But tonight—
they survived.
And survival was enough.
For now.
They remained concealed behind the estate wall until deep into the night.
Too risky to move.
Too exhausted.
Zi Xianyi finally sat beside him against the stone.
Shoulders almost touching.
Neither noticed how natural it felt.
After a while she asked softly,
"Shuan Hao…"
He looked over.
"If you had fought him…"
"…would you have won?"
He answered honestly.
"No."
She seemed surprised at the directness.
He added:
"But one day."
No boast.
Just certainty.
And somehow—
she believed him.
Wind moved through trees.
Somewhere distant, Cang Yue's great lights shimmered beyond darkness. Calling. Waiting.
Lin Shuan closed his eyes briefly. Not asleep. Thinking.
About Yin Feng. About power. About how narrow survival had been.
And one truth sharpened clear:
The empire was no longer a tournament dream.
It was war.
And he had just taken the first true step into it.
Beside him, Zi Xianyi leaned back against stone, watching him in moonlight.
This mysterious boy, who could kill like lightning, run from impossible enemies, and still joke with death.
Who was he really?
She did not know.
But fate had tied her path to his.
And somewhere, far away in darkness—
Yin Feng stood on a rooftop, looking toward the night where prey vanished, voice colder than winter.
"Run while you can."
"I will peel every secret from your bones."
His eyes burned with greed. And vengeance.
Above him thunder rolled.
As if heaven itself answered.
To be continu