The moonlight cast a pale blue glow across Ash's quarters.
Inside, he sat still—legs crossed, his breath slow, his heartbeat steady. In his soul sea, the throne pulsed gently with dark life. Two spirits flanked it like silent statues: Vulcan, the silent forgemaster, and Mrit, the furious Nine-Horned Bull.
> "A third spirit..." Ash muttered under his breath, eyes closed. "If I find the right one, I'll reach Qi Condensation… and the throne will grow again."
But the forest had been quiet. Too quiet. The usual chaotic movement of beasts had thinned out—as if something stronger had claimed the territory.
He opened his eyes.
> "I'll go tomorrow… before dawn."
---
Elsewhere – Lian Rou's Room
In a refined chamber carved for inner disciples, Lian Rou sat on her bed, her spirit orb flickering beside her. Her brows were knit in thought.
She stared at the half-burned report scroll she'd pulled from the border city guard's records.
Root Forging stage… defeating a Tier 2 Bramblefang Boar head-on?
She leaned back.
> "Impossible," she whispered. "I've seen Qi Condensation cultivators get skewered by those things."
She thought back to the fight—how Ash had moved.
No panic.
No hesitation.
And his reaction time… too crisp, too practiced. Not enhanced by technique—but by instinct.
---
She rose and stepped to her mirror. Her reflection showed not a suspicious girl—but a young woman raised by royalty, trained in diplomacy and warfare alike.
> "This orphan boy… either he's hiding a technique his master gave him, or…"
She didn't say the word aloud. But it burned in her mind.
> "Or he's walking a forbidden path."
---
Meanwhile – Ash's Mind
Shen Mu stirred faintly in his consciousness.
> "She watches you too closely. If her suspicions grow, the throne may be revealed."
Ash frowned. "She's smart. She isn't like the arrogant ones."
> "Which makes her dangerous."
Ash looked down at his palm. The soul mark of Mrit shimmered faintly under his skin before vanishing.
> "If I'm to survive this world, I need to stay ahead. One more spirit… something subtle, something hidden."
---
Midnight – A Brief Encounter
As Ash exited his room in silence, steps muffled by spirit qi, he paused.
A faint creak echoed behind him.
He looked back.
No one was there.
But behind a distant pillar, Lian Rou exhaled quietly, her body cloaked in a weak invisibility shroud she'd inherited from her clan. She'd timed her arrival carefully—this was the third night Ash had left after midnight.
> "Let's see what secret you're hiding," she whispered.
---
Closing Scene: Back in Ash's Soul Sea
The obsidian throne pulsed again.
A third ghostly silhouette flickered in the distance of the spiritual fog. It hadn't yet been claimed… but it was waiting.
A spirit born from something ancient… something forgotten.
And it had sensed Ash's throne.
---