The banquet hall of the Fang Family manor was completely empty.
The grand pillars stood silent.
The wine tables had already been cleared.
Not a single human presence remained.
Yet—
In the darkest corner of the hall, something existed.
Even a Rank 5 cultivator standing inside the hall would have sensed nothing.
No aura.
No spiritual fluctuation.
No disturbance in space.
An invisible figure lay on the cold floor.
Still.
Motionless.
Then, without warning—
Her fingers twitched.
Chu Jingxia awakened.
She did not stand up immediately. Remaining in her invisible state, she slowly lifted her head, her thoughts returning in fragments.
"…I lost consciousness?"
A brief pause.
"…So that's how far my mind drifted."
Her invisibility did not waver. The phantom veil around her body remained perfectly intact, silently sustained by the Bloodshade Phantom Pill already dissolved within her blood.
She pushed herself up into a seated position, unseen and unfelt.
Her gaze swept across the empty hall.
"…Looks like I was out for longer than I thought."
The place where Fang Lin had stood earlier was now vacant. The echoes of voices, ambition, and profit had already faded.
"They've all left."
Chu Jingxia exhaled softly.
The Bloodshade Phantom Pill had fixed time limit—
its effect 24 hours only when the user's mental focus slipped.
Earlier, her thoughts had been too sharp… too greedy.
A single mortal boy.
A future far beyond calculation.
She let her emotions settle.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The invisible outline of her body became steadier, more complete—
yet still entirely undetectable.
Her lips curved faintly.
"…Fang Lin."
No hostility.
No affection.
Only interest.
"Enjoy your gains for now."
She rose to her feet, footsteps making no sound, presence leaving no trace.
"As long as you exist…"
Her figure faded deeper into nothingness—
not disappearing, but becoming irrelevant to the world itself.
"And I will watch."
After few minutes later
Chu Jingxia slipped through the Fang Family estate like a drifting shadow.
Walls, courtyards, watchtowers—
she passed them all without slowing.
Hidden guards, formation nodes, and patrol routes existed only in name before her. Their senses brushed past her position again and again, yet found nothing.
She avoided the brighter paths, moving where sunlight failed to reach.
Finally, she stopped.
It was a quiet corner of the estate—between two inner courtyards—
where old stone tiles lay cracked and unused. A place even the guards subconsciously ignored.
It was daytime, and the estate was alive with ordinary activity—
yet Chu Jingxia remained unseen.
She slipped silently, avoiding notice, until she reached a wooden structure resembling a small inn or dining hall. The kind of place where people came to eat, drink, and converse, its open doors and windows letting the sunlight spill across polished wooden floors. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout, occupied by guests enjoying their meals, engaged in quiet chatter—
or raising goblets of wine in leisurely sips.
Chu Jingxia's gaze swept across the room, taking in every detail without revealing herself. Then, her eyes caught a figure entering the hall—
a female, calm yet purposeful, moving among the tables with a certain poise that set her apart from the ordinary crowd.
"…So she's here," Chu Jingxia murmured to herself, invisible and still, her mind calculating each possible action.
She remained hidden in the corner, letting the sun illuminate the room around her while she observed, waiting for the moment she might act.
"Why is she here…? She should be with Fang Lin."
Chu Jingxia murmured angrily under her breath, her invisible form lingering in the shadows.
"You… Tian Xueya," she hissed, her eyes narrowing as she tracked the newcomer moving gracefully among the tables.
Her gaze was sharp, calculating, every movement measured as she remained unseen, her patience thinning with each step Tian Xueya took.
Chu Jingxia's eyes narrowed slightly as she followed Tian Xueya's steps.
Why is Tian Xueya here?
And why is she walking toward them?
Her thoughts churned in silence.
Does she plan to stay with those two now… or is she simply using Fang Lin for her own benefit?
A faint, cold sneer formed on Jingxia's lips, though no one could see it.
Does she really think that being beautiful gives her the right to use others as she pleases.
'Why am I even thinking so much about them?
Whatever they do… it has nothing to do with me.'
Her expression cooled as she steadied her thoughts.
'I only need to keep my eyes on Fang Lin.
And he isn't here.'
With that realization, the last trace of distraction faded from her mind.
'Then there's no reason for me to stay.'
Chu Jingxia turned away without hesitation, her figure blending back into the flow of the crowd as she silently set off to search for Fang Lin once more.
***********
Fang Lin looked at Mu Chen and spoke without the slightest hesitation.
"Mu Chen, give him the bag. All the spiritual stones inside."
Mu Chen froze for a brief moment, then did exactly as Fang Lin said. A trace of sadness passed over his face as he lowered his head slightly.
"Fang Lin… forgive me for this."
He opened the bag and poured everything onto the counter. White and red spiritual stones scattered across the surface with crisp, clear sounds.
The moment the seller saw them, his eyes lit up. A wide smile spread across his face as greed surged in his heart.he thought
'What luck today. If idiots like these keep coming to my shop, I'll become richer than even the elders of my family one day.'
Fang Lin bowed politely and said calmly,
"I apologize in advance. The bag may not contain as many spiritual stones as the price you mentioned."
The seller barely paid attention to his words. Only after quickly counting did his smile falter for an instant—but it returned just as fast. Laughing lightly, he said,
"There's no need to apologize, Young Master Fang Lin. After all, you are Mu family, yougest lord ,mu Chen's closest friend."
He casually placed a hand on Mu Chen's shoulder and continued,
"I only hope you'll visit my shop again in the future."
Fang Lin replied with proper courtesy,
"Yes. If the need arises, I certainly will."
Fang Lin thought to himself:
'When the Family Head handed me this bag, he clearly said it contained fifty white spiritual stones and three red spiritual stones.'
'According to what Ling Yi explained to me earlier…
A white spiritual stone is the most basic unit, commonly used by outer disciples and ordinary cultivators.
A red spiritual stone is worth ten white spiritual stones and is usually circulated among inner disciples or small clans.
A blue spiritual stone equals ten red stones—one hundred white stones—and is already considered rare within most sects.'
'As for yellow spiritual stones… each one is worth a hundred blue stones. They are true strategic resources, rarely seen even by elders.'
'So this bag…
Fifty white stones plus three red stones…
That makes a total of eighty white spiritual stones.'
Fang Lin's gaze remained calm, but his thoughts sharpened.
Eighty white stone... yet he asked for a hundred.
'So that means… I still need to pay twenty more white spiritual stones.'
The realization had barely settled in Fang Lin's mind when the seller's voice pulled him back to reality.
For a brief moment, Fang Lin was startled.
His gaze shifted instinctively toward Mu Chen, who was still being held by the seller in a strangely familiar manner.
"Mu family's young lord…?
Does that mean he's the son of the Mu family head…?"
Fang Lin studied him more carefully.
But looking at him like this… it's hard to believe.
'Mu Chen was dressed in worn, orange robes, the fabric faded and slightly torn—nothing about him resembled the image of a prestigious family head 's heir.'
–—- -– — -- —
Just then, two figures approached Fang Lin from behind.
One of them was especially huge, his build broad and imposing. He casually placed a heavy hand on Fang Lin's shoulder and spoke in a familiar, almost mocking tone.
"Oh? Fang Lin."
The pressure from that hand was deliberate—not enough to hurt, but enough to assert presence.
The sudden voice pulled Fang Lin out of his thoughts.
He turned around, and almost at the same time, Mu Chen, the seller, and Vren also looked toward the source of the sound.
All eyes shifted to the two figures standing behind them, the atmosphere around the stall quietly tightening.
Fang Lin turned around, his thoughts moving quickly.
"Who would dare place a hand on my shoulder and call my name so casually… Either they are seniors, or their status is higher than mine."
With that in mind, he did not look at them directly. Instead, he slightly cupped his hands in respect and spoke in a calm, humble tone:
"This junior greets the seniors. May I ask how I can be of assistance?"
The man who had placed his hand on Fang Lin's shoulder laughed loudly.
Turning to the friend standing beside him, he said with open mockery,
"Did you see that? He's exactly the same as before the awakening ceremony—
a complete coward, timid, always bowing and apologizing…
and here we were, thinking we came to apologize to him."
His laughter carried clear ridicule, sharp enough to draw attention.
The boy beside him looked Fang Lin up and down, his gaze filled with disappointment and contempt.
He thought to himself,
"I really believed that after obtaining A-grade aptitude, Fang Lin would have changed.But he's still the same—someone who fears others, someone who lowers his head first."
The words hung in the air, heavy with scorn, as if Fang Lin's awakening meant nothing at all in their eyes.
Mu Chen, who was standing near the stall, froze when he saw Fang Lin bowing so easily before them.
This isn't right…
His brows knit together, a trace of anger flashing through his eyes. To him, that bow felt completely unnecessary—almost humiliating.
Meanwhile, the stall's seller was completely absorbed in his own world. His eyes were glued to the spiritual stones spread across the counter, fingers subconsciously counting their worth. What was happening behind him didn't concern him in the slightest; as long as profit was secured, nothing else mattered.
Vren, on the other hand, said nothing.
He stood quietly, gripping the sword with both hands. His fingers tightened around the hilt, knuckles turning pale. Though his face showed no anger, there was a subtle tension in his posture—
as if something deep inside him had been stirred, restrained only by his small frame and silence.
Fang Lin was momentarily stunned when he heard their voices.
He straightened his back and finally lifted his gaze to look at them properly.
They came here to apologize?
And from the way they speak… it sounds like they've known me—no, the old Fang Lin—since childhood.
His eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of realization passing through them.
Friends?
No… more like the kind who called themselves friends while bullying him behind his back.
A cold clarity settled in his mind as he observed their expressions, their mocking smiles, and the casual way they spoke—as if the past had never changed.
When Fang Lin looked at the two of them carefully, his mouth fell open for a brief moment.
He murmured in a low voice, almost to himself,
"So it was you two… the ones who were insulting us earlier. And the moment you heard Xueya's name, you both suddenly went quiet."
The talkative boy didn't even bother responding. As if Fang Lin's words held no weight, he strode straight toward Vren instead, his eyes locking onto the sword in the child's hands.
He scoffed loudly.
"Oi, look at that. That filthy little beggar is holding a sword."
His lips curled in disdain.
"We still haven't managed to get one ourselves, yet a kid like him gets a sword first? Someone who clearly isn't even worthy of it."
Vren instinctively tightened his grip on the sword, his small body tensing as he took half a step back.
Mu Chen's expression darkened,while Fang Lin's eyes slowly lost all warmth.
Fang Lin calmly raised one hand—not in attack, but simply in the direction of his arm.
The boy who was moving toward Vren slammed chest-first into Fang Lin's forearm.
Before he could even process what had just happened, Fang Lin bent his elbow, grabbed the boy by the chest, and with a single sharp motion hurled him back the way he had come.
The impact was brutal.
"Ah—!"
The boy flew straight into his companion, crashing down on his back beside him.
Fang Lin's voice followed, cold and unforgiving.
"Listen carefully, you bastard. He is my little brother. Say one more word about him, and I promise—no one here will be worse than me."
For a brief moment, the fallen boy looked eyes with Fang Lin.
Those eyes were filled with rage.
Pure, overwhelming rage.
Shock froze him in place.
How… how is this possible?
This is impossible…
He's never hit anyone before… not once…
Fang Lin casually swept his hair back, tying it again where it had come loose from the force of the throw.
Then he spoke again, his tone calm—too calm.
"Tch… looks like you two arrived at the perfect time."
A slow, devilish smile spread across his face.
"I was just wondering who would pay for my expenses today."
His voice was cold.
Fearless.
Unyielding.
The words echoed through the stall, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.
For the first time, the crowd realized something unmistakable—
The Fang Lin standing before them was no longer the same person they thought they knew.