While Kyrian and the others were returning to the Verdant Sword Sect.

Several hours earlier, in a place extremely distant from there, far beyond the Verdant Sword Domain, dark clouds covered the sky.

At the center of a vast plain, a fortress rose, built of deep black bricks with gleaming crimson details.

The stench of blood filled the air, even from hundreds of meters away.

Inside, the air was heavy, and the walls pulsed with lines of crimson energy.

At the back of the castle, in a silent chamber, a man sat before an empty balcony.

Suddenly, he interrupted his cultivation and opened his eyes.

They glowed red, flickering with surprise and irritation.

He frowned, feeling something.

A faint presence, a signal that lasted only a few seconds.

"This signal… is it from Wei Feng?" he murmured.

His expression hardened.

The man slowly stood, the energy around him trembling.

"How is that possible? He was supposed to be dead."

His gaze sharpened, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"No… it's impossible he's still alive. But someone must have taken what he left behind…"

He took a step forward, and the ground beneath his feet cracked. In an instant, he vanished from sight like a shadow.

Outside the fortress, his figure appeared atop the outer wall. He looked toward the dark horizon, in the direction where he had felt the signal from Wei Feng's pendant.

"The Verdant Sword Domain… it's been a long time since I set foot in such a place," the man murmured, a cold smile forming on his face.

'I must see it for myself…' he thought. At that moment, his Qi erupted, and a crimson flash tore through the horizon.

Without hesitation, he shot eastward, cutting through the clouds at an absurd speed.

…

Back in the Verdant Sword Domain, Kyrian and the others advanced through the mountains, the sect was already close.

On the way back, the earlier strange silence slowly turned into the usual chatter, mostly the two of them asking for more details about what had happened.

After all, Kyrian had completed the mission alone.

He told them what had occurred, saying he had overestimated the enemy's strength, they weren't as powerful as he had thought, just numerous.

'Though perhaps, if that man had used the formation to empower himself, who knows what realm he could have reached…' Kyrian thought for a moment.

Then something came to his mind.

"Ren Yao. Your match is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Yes… I still don't feel completely prepared…"

"Yanyu will train with you. Then you'll be prepared," Kyrian said as he glanced at Yanyu.

She looked at him for a few seconds and nodded. Kyrian gave a single approving nod in return.

For some reason, he wanted to be alone for a while.

By the time they finally crossed the sect gates, the sun was already setting behind the mountains. The sharp, cold evening breeze brushed their faces, and the familiar sounds of inner disciples training once again filled Kyrian's ears.

Ren Yao and Yanyu walked side by side, while Kyrian followed silently behind.

"Go to the task hall and hand in the report. I'm heading to my courtyard," he said without looking back.

They parted ways there. Yanyu and Ren Yao went toward the hall, while Kyrian climbed the cold stone steps that led to the central area.

The path was empty. The core disciples seemed not to have returned from their missions yet. The few lights along the way made the stairs feel even lonelier.

He walked straight toward the core disciples' residence. When he passed through the gate into his courtyard, the sound of the wind was his only greeting.

"Too quiet…" he murmured.

The trees around him swayed slowly. Kyrian let out a deep breath and made his way to his room.

Inside, nothing had changed. Everything was just as it had always been.

He sat on the edge of the bed, then lay on his side, staring at the ceiling for a while.

He didn't know why, but something felt strange within him. Something small, annoying, yet persistent.

He turned once, twice, three times.

"Could it be… hunger?" he muttered.

Just as he was about to get up, a sound came from outside his room.

A scratching noise, like claws against wood.

Kyrian rose slowly, opened the door, and looked.

On the couch, Luz sat, scratching the backrest with her paws, her white fur glowing faintly under the dim light.

Kyrian blinked, surprised.

"You… were here the whole time?" he asked, having been so distracted he hadn't even noticed her earlier.

The fox raised her head and stared at him, ears twitching.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Luz, who had been wearing her usual look of indifference, immediately nodded, letting out a low, raspy sound.

Kyrian sighed and extended his hand, pulling a few spirit stones from his ring. He tossed them toward her.

Luz caught them with her paws and began to devour them contentedly.

"At least someone knows what they want."

He leaned against the wall, watching the fox calmly absorb the energy.

Kyrian's body was fine, not fully rested, but nothing to worry about.

Yet somehow, he felt drained. With nothing urgent to do at the moment, and his cultivation unable to progress again for a few weeks until his limit lifted, there was little left to occupy his mind.

He looked toward the sky through the window.

"So… what do I do now?" Kyrian wondered.

For the past few months, he'd always had something in mind, always something to do, training, a mission, a goal.

But now, for some reason, he didn't want to do anything at all.

Perhaps it was exhaustion. Perhaps his mind simply needed rest.

"Yeah… I think I'll listen to my instincts."

Kyrian returned to his room, extinguished every light, shut the windows tightly, and lay down again.

And so, the night passed in silence.

When he opened his eyes again, sunlight was already pouring into the room, warm against his face.

Kyrian stretched, yawned, and stood up.

But the next moment, a burning sensation ran across his hand.

The mark, the fragment of the natural formation, flared briefly, calling to him before fading again.

As if trying to remind him. Kyrian frowned, staring at the mark.

"It's really far away… not something I should worry about right now."

"Well, I think that rest was enough."

"My goals are clear again. I need to learn more about the blank book in my mind."

"Especially if I want to grow stronger faster, and to do that, I need to seek out more of those black masses filled with hostility. Then the limit of my eyes will fade faster."

"Besides, I need to take some time to travel to the next place the mark points to… maybe this time, I'll discover something different…"

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