The first clone meets Veena a few hours later, after the evening settles over the Wizard Academy.
Most students have already left.
Only mid-stage wizard apprentices remain, lingering in laboratories and training grounds, racing against time.
They know the truth—each advancement becomes harder than the last, and the academy's resources give them an edge they cannot afford to lose.
The corridors are quieter now, lit by soft mana lamps embedded in the walls.
Veena walks beside him.
The first clone studies her briefly and speaks.
"You look like a human again."
Before, under the influence of dense death energy, her skin had carried a corpse-like pallor, her presence cold and unsettling.
Veena exhales faintly.
"I will look like one again in a few months," she says.
"With better control over mana, I can suppress the death energy."
She pauses.
"But as my understanding of the Death Law increases, I won't be able to stop it forever."
They enter a sealed laboratory.
Veena removes most of her outer clothing without hesitation and lies down on the central lab table, her movements precise and unembarrassed.
The first clone activates the instruments.
Thin probes, crystalline sensors, and rune-etched plates attach to her body, mapping energy flow, elemental saturation, blood resonance, and life rhythm.
The machines hum to life.
Data streams across hovering screens, pouring into the academy's data storage system.
They wait in silence.
When the recording finishes, the first clone reviews the results.
His eyes narrow slightly.
"Your elemental transformation has exceeded ten per cent," he says.
"Fourteen point seven per cent."
Veena tilts her head.
"That high?"
He thinks for a moment, then understanding settles.
Qi refiners follow a fixed path.
First, they refine Qi.
Then they reach the mortal limit.
After that, they absorb free spiritual energy—elemental, neutral, hybrid, or otherwise—to advance further.
Spiritual energy alters Qi.
Altered Qi feeds back into the body.
The higher the cultivation, the deeper the change.
Veena reached the peak of Qi refinement—the Divine Mind Realm—more than a decade ago.
Her transformation is not surprising.
It is inevitable.
Veena watches his expression.
"Is there any way to slow down my elemental transformation?" she asks.
The first clone frowns.
He wants to accelerate transformation.
She wants to suppress it.
"Why?" he asks.
She stares at the ceiling, grey eyes distant.
"What do you mean, why?" she says.
"It strips emotion away."
Her fingers curl slightly.
"It makes me cold. Mechanical. Bloodthirsty."
Her voice lowers.
"I want to feel warm human blood—not crave it."
"Oh."
The realisation strikes him.
He has only considered efficiency.
Not consequence.
His own elemental transformation is under five per cent—too shallow to cause noticeable side effects.
Hers is nearing fifteen per cent.
He nods slowly.
"We shouldn't think about slowing or halting the transformation," he says.
"We should think about eliminating the side effects."
Veena turns her head toward him, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"Why?"
He considers his words carefully.
"If the four criteria are met," he says, "entry into the realm beyond Divine Mind becomes possible."
She understands laws.
She understands spirit.
She understands energy.
But this—
"Physical criteria?" she asks.
"For the first time," she admits, "I've heard that."
She falls silent, thinking.
After a while, she nods slowly.
"It is feasible," she says.
"The physical criterion may be what is missing."
She turns to him.
"Do you have a solution?"
"Several," the first clone replies.
"Elemental transformation.
Blood transformation.
Runic transformation."
She listens.
"What about the puppet transformation of the Divine Puppet Sect?" she asks.
"That too," he says.
Then another thought surfaces.
"Your corpse transformation would also work."
Veena is silent for several seconds.
Then she asks quietly, "What transformation are you following?"
He points to himself.
"Me?"
He answers honestly.
"I am improving my magic circuits."
"Runic-based," he continues.
"Which also accelerates elemental transformation."
She absorbs that.
"And what transformation should I follow?" she asks.
He looks at her steadily.
"That is your decision," he says.
"I cannot help you choose."
Silence fills the laboratory.
The machines dim.
Veena lies there, eyes unfocused, mind turning inward.
After a moment, the first clone speaks again.
"Tomorrow," he says, "come here and help me teach the students."
She nods slowly, still deep in thought.
He turns and leaves the room, footsteps echoing softly down the corridor.
Behind him, Veena remains still.
Not thinking about advancement.
But about what kind of existence she wants to preserve as she continues to rise.
---
The next morning, a carriage rolls to a stop before the wooden gate of a small frontier village.
Its wheels creak softly in the dawn mist.
Inside the watchtower, a village guard jolts awake from shallow sleep.
He blinks once, then twice—then reaches for his bow.
The moment he spots the unfamiliar carriage, he nocks an arrow and aims downward.
"Who are you?" he shouts.
The driver freezes, eyes widening as he looks up at the arrowhead pointed straight at his face.
He raises both hands slowly.
Before he can speak, the carriage door opens.
Five teenagers step out.
Lu Chen.
Bu Shou.
Mu Yue.
He Shoumie.
Zhang Ling.
They wear the standard robes of the Wizard Academy—still new, still stiff, still carrying the faint glow of fresh enchantments.
Lu Chen moves half a step forward, instinctively placing himself between the guard and the others.
"Don't shoot," he shouts.
"We are from the Wizard Academy."
The guard does not lower his bow.
Instead, the arrow shifts—now aimed squarely at Lu Chen's chest.
"Wizard Academy?" the guard says uncertainly.
Lu Chen swallows, then nods.
"Yes," he says.
"Is your village being harassed by a pack of wild Iron Claw Dogs?"
The guard hesitates.
Then nods.
Lu Chen straightens his back.
"We were sent to deal with the pack."
The guard stares.
"You?" he blurts out.
"You kids?"
At that moment, Lu Chen raised his palm.
Mana stirs.
A blue flame blooms above his hand, steady and controlled, its light reflecting off the wooden gate and the guard's widened eyes.
Shock ripples through the watchtower.
The guard's fingers twitch.
The bowstring slips.
The arrow is released.
For a split second, Lu Chen's mind goes blank.
Then instinct takes over.
The blue flame surges forward.
Fire meets arrow.
A sharp explosion erupts in midair, scattering sparks and fragments as both are destroyed.
Silence follows.
The guard's face drains of colour.
"I—sorry! Sorry!" he stammers.
"I didn't mean—"
He scrambles down the ladder, shouting over his shoulder.
"I'll call the village chief!"
He vanishes from sight.
The driver rushes forward.
"Lu Chen, are you okay?"
Bu Shou, Mu Yue, He Shoumie, and Zhang Ling crowd around him.
Lu Chen presses a hand to his chest, heart hammering wildly.
He forces a grin.
"I'm fine," he says.
"Really."
Then, quieter, more to himself than anyone else, he adds, "Experiences like this really make me want to transform my Qi into mana as soon as possible."
The others nod grimly.
At–mid-wizard apprentice stage, the energy circulating in their bodies is still Qi.
That means every spell requires drawing in free spiritual energy from the surroundings.
Spellcasting is slower.
Mental strain is higher.
Energy consumption is inefficient.
And worst of all, they can only cast one spell at a time.
Only when they reach late wizard apprentice will their Qi begin transforming into true mana, allowing faster casting, parallel spell execution, and internal energy circulation.
That stage is notoriously slow to reach.
Qi must be refined until it is dense and stable like forged steel, or it will disperse the moment spiritual energy is absorbed.
Minutes later, voices rise behind the gate.
Wood creaks.
The gate opens.
The guard returns, accompanied by three men.
The villagers' gazes immediately settle on the elder at the front.
He steps forward, leaning slightly on a carved staff.
"I am the village chief of Nuri Village," he says calmly.
Lu Chen steps forward again, shoulders squared.
"I am Lu Chen," he says.
"These are my teammates—Bu Shou, Mu Yue, He Shoumie, and Zhang Ling."
He bows slightly.
"We have come to eliminate the pack of wild Iron Claw Dogs."
A middle-aged man among the villagers snorts.
"You five are just children," he says skeptically.
"How can you deal with ferocious Iron Claws?"
Before Lu Chen can reply, Zhang Ling steps forward.
His eyes flash.
He raises his palm toward a tree several meters away.
He whispers under his breath.
Spiritual energy gathers.
Wind condenses.
A crescent-shaped blue blade forms, spinning violently.
It shoots forward.
Under the villagers' gasps, the wind blade slices cleanly through the tree trunk.
The tree tilts—
—and crashes into a flooded crop field, sending ripples across rainwater pooled among young shoots.
Zhang Ling lowers his hand, chin lifted, eyes full of pride.
The villagers stare in stunned silence.
The chief inhales sharply.
"Please," he says hurriedly, gesturing toward the gate.
"Come in. Eat something. Rest."
Lu Chen raises a hand.
"No," he says firmly.
"We need to complete the mission and return quickly."
The chief studies him, then nods.
He turns to the guard.
"Chao," he says.
"You lead them."
Chao bows.
"Yes, Village Chief."
He turns toward the five apprentices.
"Lords," he says respectfully.
"Follow me."
They pass through the village, walking along the dirt paths skirting the outer houses.
Morning smoke rises from chimneys.
Villagers watch from doorways, fear and hope mingling in their eyes.
Beyond the fields, the forest looms.
Dark.
Dense.
Alive with unseen movement.
The Iron Claw Dogs are waiting.
And for the five apprentices from the Wizard Academy, this will be their first true test beyond the walls of safety.