The endless sea of qi slowly calmed around Liu Xin. His eyes narrowed as a strange sensation crawled across his spine an instinctive warning, something he had never felt in a thousand years inside the Void Domain.
"…Why is it suddenly so quiet?"
The Void trembled faintly beneath his feet.
A ripple.
A distortion.
A pressure he had never sensed before.
Liu Xin looked around, confusion turning into unease.
"Should I stay… or should I leave?" he muttered to himself. "This place… it doesn't feel stable anymore."
He sensed it. The Void Domain was pulsing irregularly, like a heart missing its beat. Cracks of darkness flashed in the far distances, vanishing just as quickly.
His eyebrows tensed.
Is it… collapsing?
He called out instinctively.
"Master? …Master, help!"
Only silence answered him.
Liu Xin frowned, then raised his voice.
"MASTER! HELP!"
Still no response.
His voice echoed endlessly across the floating mountains and inverted rivers, but no one replied. Anxiety began to claw at his chest.
"Don't tell me… I'm stuck here?"
"This place… if it collapses while I'm still inside…"
A wave of panic surged through him.
The sky above flickered like a dying lantern. The floating mountains shuddered. The rivers twisting upward began to ripple violently, like they were torn by unseen blades.
Liu Xin's heartbeat spiked.
"No… no, no, no! Don't collapse yet!" he yelled, gripping his head. "Master, where are you?!"
He was prepared to wait.He was prepared to shout again.
But then—
A pitch-black swirl suddenly formed before him, like a hole torn through reality. Tendrils of void energy spiraled outward, pulling at his robe and hair.
A portal.
A way out.
There was no hesitation.
"Whatever! I'm going!"
Without a second thought, Liu Xin leaped straight into the swirling darkness.
Everything went black.
After a few seconds.
When Liu Xin opened his eyes again, he was standing in a serene bamboo forest.
Moonlight bathed the tall bamboo in silver. Dew glimmered on the leaves like scattered stars. Fireflies drifted lazily through the mist, their faint glow adding a mysterious charm to the night.
A gentle breeze brushed his face, cool, refreshing, alive.
After a thousand years in the endless, oppressive Void, this simple night air felt almost divine.
"…A day has passed?" Liu Xin whispered, stunned.
He remembered clearly that he entered the Void Domain at night.
And when he came out… it was still night.
To the world, only a single day had passed.
To him, a thousand years
His chest tightened at the thought.
Then—
"It's about time."
A familiar voice entered his ears.
Liu Xin turned sharply.
There, standing calmly with his hands clasped behind his back, it was Lin Xuan.
His master.
The first living person Liu Xin had seen in a thousand years.
A wave of emotion surged through him relief, respect, and gratitude.
"Master… you were waiting for me?"
Lin Xuan nodded lightly.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips."Early Soul Transformation Realm. Quite decent."
Lin Xuan's gaze moved slowly across Liu Xin, his eyes narrowing with interest.
"And it seems you've become more handsome… your appearance has changed quite a bit from before."
He stepped closer, observing him as if inspecting a rare treasure.
"Your aura is more refined, your presence heavier. Even your temperament has become calmer and sharper at the same time. This breakthrough didn't just strengthen your cultivation," his voice deepened. "It reshaped your entire being."
Liu Xin blinked, stunned for a moment."Handsome…?" He touched his own face unconsciously. The contours felt sharper, his features more defined. Even the air around him seemed lighter, flowing differently across his skin.
He bowed deeply."Master, this disciple has merely followed your teachings. Without your guidance, I wouldn't have achieved any of this."
Lin Xuan snorted lightly."Hmph. Flattery won't work on me."But despite his words, a faint warmth flickered in his eyes.
Liu Xin straightened his back, feeling the new strength coursing within him calmer, deeper, and far more powerful than before.For the first time, he realized just how drastically the breakthrough had changed him. His soul felt clearer. His senses are sharper. His entire being… elevated.
Then—
He stopped.
He remembered.
The collapse.
His expression darkened as he recounted the scene.
"M-Master, back inside the Void Domain started collapsing. Everything was shaking, the rivers were tearing, the sky was cracking, I almost died inside…"
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
"You were lucky to get out."
Liu Xin blinked."…Lucky?"
"If you stayed even a few seconds longer," Lin Xuan said casually, "you would've been shredded into pieces on the spot."
Liu Xin froze.
"Sh-shredded… to pieces?!"
His face drained of color.
"Master!! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" he roared, nearly coughing blood.
Lin Xuan shrugged.
"…I forgot to mention."
A vein popped on Liu Xin's forehead.
For a moment, he stared at his master with a disgusted expression.
"Is my master even trustworthy…?"
But after a sigh, he dismissed the thought.
Lin Xuan was the one who made him strong.
That alone overshadowed everything else.
Lin Xuan continued.
"Do you know why the Void Domain collapsed?"
Liu Xin shook his head.
"The Void Domain isn't meant for training," Lin Xuan said. "It was originally a torture technique. The fact that it has collapsed means a thousand years have passed."
Liu Xin's eyes widened.
"T-Torture… technique?!"
"Yes. Anyone trapped inside would have their mind slowly broken. Even an Immortal Emperor Realm cultivator would eventually lose their sanity."
Silence.
Then disbelief.
"E-even an… Immortal Emperor?!"
The Immortal Emperor is a supreme powerhouse of the Upper Realm yet even someone of this level could lose their sanity.
Liu Xin felt his scalp go numb.
"Then how come I didn't go crazy!?"
He quickly asked.
"Master… why didn't it affect me?"
Lin Xuan pointed to the sky casually.
"Because Yue was the one who created of Void Domain. She didn't activate the torture mechanism."
Liu Xin's jaw dropped.
"The beautiful scenery inside that place… had a torture mode?"
He swallowed hard.
If Yue hadn't controlled it…
He would have been reduced to madness long before he reached the Soul Transformation Realm.
"Speaking of Yue…" Liu Xin looked around. "Where is Lady Yue?"
"I sent her to investigate the arrival of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect," Lin Xuan answered. "She's also verifying the date of their disciple recruitment trial."
Liu Xin nodded.
But then—
"And you," Lin Xuan said, turning to him, "will participate in that trial."
Liu Xin blinked.
"…Why? I already have you as my teacher."
Lin Xuan paused.
A thought flashed through his mind.
"Huh. He's right… why is he participating if I'm already his master…?"
But then—
A bold idea struck him.
Lin Xuan cleared his throat.
"No. You MUST participate. And not just participate, you must become the Sect Master's personal disciple."
Liu Xin stared in confusion.
"…Why?"
"That," Lin Xuan said solemnly, "is top secret."
Liu Xin blinked again.
He didn't understand.
But he trusted his master.
"I… understand. I will become the Sect Master's disciple."
"Good."
After a moment of silence, Liu Xin bowed respectfully.
"Master… if I am to participate in the trial, may I request something?"
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
"Speak."
"Please teach me an offensive technique… and a defensive technique."
The wind rustled the bamboo.
The moonlight brightened.
Lin Xuan's expression shifted slightly, interest flickering in his eyes.
A faint smile curled on his lips.
"Oh? You finally want techniques?"
He stepped forward.
A single tap on Liu Xin's forehead.
BOOM
A burst of profound knowledge surged into Liu Xin's mind.
Ancient martial diagrams. Sword arts that could tear mountains apart. Barrier techniques that could withstand heavenly might.
Liu Xin staggered backward, gasping as the ocean of knowledge integrated into his soul.
Lin Xuan spoke calmly.
"I give you two techniques."
"One offensive."
"One defensive."
"Master… their names…?" Liu Xin asked respectfully, trembling.
Lin Xuan smirked.
"Your offensive technique is called, Heaven-Piercing Void Slash."
"And your defensive technique, Eternal Aegis Barrier."
Liu Xin's heart pounded so hard he could barely breathe.
Those names alone carried overwhelming power.
He knelt immediately, even though his master gave him only two techniques.
"Thank you, Master!"
Lin Xuan looked at him and nodded.
"Train well. Because when the Azure Spirit Sword Sect arrives…"
His gaze turned sharp.
"You're gonna dominate the entire Stage, I prepared for you."