After Liu Yue left the room, her presence lingered faintly like a fading breeze. Lin Xuan sat in the silence, his thoughts turbulent beneath a composed face. The mark on his back pulsed faintly, as though it carried a consciousness of its own.
> "Why the Scriptures of Severed Unity?" he murmured.
The Zhi Clan wasn't strong enough—nor knowledgeable enough—to recognize the true worth of such a divine art. There was no way they had come upon this knowledge on their own.
> "Is there a mastermind behind them?" Lin Xuan wondered aloud, eyes narrowing. "One of the Four Major Clans... or even the Royal Family?"
The mere possibility sent a cold ripple down his spine. He could feel it now—he was entangled in something far greater than a mere grudge between clans. The weight of fate stirred behind the scenes, and his role in it was growing.
But speculations could only wait. Power was still what he lacked. He needed to step into the Qi Transformation Realm.
He left the safety of the inn and entered the dense, mist-veiled forest nearby, his steps silent as a shadow. His senses were alert, attuned to the flow of spiritual energy. Rare herbs and roots—resources vital for his next breakthrough—were hidden here.
Yet as he moved deeper into the woods, something caught his attention—raised voices, sharp and mocking.
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