"…Now that we've cleared that up," Ren said, voice easy, "we can talk about the serious part."
His tone made it sound like he was inviting her out for tea, not nudging a holy land.
Mu Qianyu drew in a slow breath in this soul-space, steadying herself. Her phoenix flames eased, their glare tightening, focusing.
"All right," she said softly. "What do you want to do?"
"In simple terms?" Ren straightened a fraction, eyes half-lidding with that relaxed focus of his. "I want you to help me arrange a meeting with Divine Phoenix Island before the Martial Meeting in the Seven Profound Valleys."
She frowned.
"A meeting…? You mean, you want to come to Divine Phoenix Island personally?"
"Of course."
He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You've all been looking down on the lower countries from your immortal island for three thousand years," he went on, tone light, words sharp. "If a new variable appears in your backyard and you don't bother to look at it up close… wouldn't that be irresponsible?"
"You really…"
She couldn't refute it.
From Divine Phoenix Island's perspective, his existence wasn't just a curiosity. It was a variable that could not be ignored.
Ren didn't press. He let the silence settle for a heartbeat, then continued, voice turning a shade more serious.
"You can tell your Island Master and the elders exactly what you saw of me," he said. "Thundercrash Mountain. The Thunder Flood Dragon. How I guided your Fire Laws and your Thunder Phoenix Flame. How I helped Little Flame. And you can tell them that I've truly reached the Xiantian realm."
His eyes narrowed slightly, not in displeasure, but in quiet emphasis.
"There has never been a Xiantian junior like this in the Seven Profound territory," he said, matter-of-fact. "A junior who can teach others. Who can heavily injure a Revolving Core master. Who can reshape another sect's cultivation path from the roots up."
He opened his hands.
"Even if they don't care about me," he went on bluntly, "they should care about the possibility."
"That someone like me exists."
"That I'm willing to teach."
"That I have my own Dao, and I'm not tied to their old grooves."
Mu Qianyu didn't speak.
Because if she imagined herself sitting in the Island Master's place… looking at reports of Thundercrash Mountain, hearing of a youth who'd killed a Saint Beast, who was already reshaping a third-grade sect in their own territory…
She would never be able to ignore it.
"If Divine Phoenix Island can't even be bothered to meet a junior like this once," Ren added lightly, "then the stories I heard about the sect's ambition are really too flattering."
Her lips twitched.
"You've 'heard' about us?" she asked, dry.
"I read a lot," he replied, unbothered.
In truth, he had weighed Divine Phoenix Island against standards that had nothing to do with this lower realm—but that was no one else's business.
He let that pass with a shrug, then rolled on, tone calm again.
"Here's the simple way out for everyone," he said. "Instead of waiting for the Martial Meeting, seeing what I'm doing, and then flailing to react, Divine Phoenix Island invites me ahead of time. We talk. I show you some things. You show me some things. We see if our Daos happen to point in the same direction."
"You're a fourth-grade sect," he added, not without respect. "You have your pride. That's fine. But I'm not going to bow. If we work together, it'll be because our Daos align, not because I'm trying to climb your ladder."
Mu Qianyu listened in silence.
Behind his casual words, she could feel that other side of him—the part that had walked into the Seven Profound Valleys and smashed Acacia Peak without blinking. The part that had ignored status, ignored background, ignored everything people thought they were supposed to fear.
A man who did not bend to "higher power".
"…You're confident that Divine Phoenix Island will agree to such a meeting?" she asked at last.
"I'm confident," Ren said simply, "that they can't afford not to."
The words weren't arrogant.
They were just… a statement. As if he were saying that water flowed downhill.
In her mind, Mu Qianyu saw jade slips.
She saw elder after elder reading the reports from the Seven Profound territory. She saw Mu Yuhuang's calm face, Mu Fengxian's sharp eyes. She saw them quietly discussing a youth whose actions and methods simply did not match any pattern they understood.
She also saw another future.
If she said nothing, Divine Phoenix Island would only ever see him through second-hand reports. Always one move late. Always reacting.
If she moved…
If she opened this door…
Not only the island, but she herself would be stepping into a new sky.
Ren's voice slid through her thoughts, quiet but firm.
"Qianyu," he said. "You've seen it yourself. You know my level isn't something these third-grade sects can measure. Your island…" His smile turned a shade deeper. "My Dao will flourish even more there."
"If you bring this up," he continued, "and they still choose to ignore it… then later, no matter what happens, no one can blame you for not warning them."
"You're pushing me into the center of the fire," she said softly.
"Phoenixes grow there, don't they?" he replied, just as soft.
Her lips curved despite herself.
"…Sometimes," she murmured, "I really don't know whether you're helping me… or causing me trouble."
"Both," he said cheerfully, not even pretending otherwise. "But I promise the benefits will outweigh the headache."
He paused, then let a lazy, teasing note slip back into his tone.
"Besides," he added, "what kind of martial artist doesn't throw themself into fire for a chance at rebirth?"
The words sank deeper than she expected.
Divine Phoenix Island had three thousand years of accumulation.
Its inheritance was profound.
But Mu Qianyu knew better than most that even Divine Phoenix Island had its limits. Its Fire Laws, its cultivation methods, its bottlenecks… she had felt those invisible walls press against her again and again.
Now there was a man who tossed out "a chance at rebirth" like it was a casual promise.
If anyone else said that, she would have laughed.
From him…
She believed it.
"…All right," she said quietly. "I'll do it."
Her phoenix fire surged.
"When my seclusion ends, I'll request an audience with the Island Master and the elders," she said, resolve settling in her voice. "I'll tell them everything I saw at Thundercrash Mountain. Everything the intelligence reports say about the Seven Profound Valleys. I'll tell them you wish to meet before the Martial Meeting."
Her eyes hardened.
"And I'll tell them," she added, "that if they let this chance slip away… they may regret it in the future."
In the soul realm, Ren's smile turned slow—genuinely pleased.
"Good girl," he said.
Mu Qianyu's heartbeat stumbled.
"…You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Talking like that."
"How?"
"…Like someone who thinks he can say anything and get away with it."
"Qianyu," he said, amused, "we've talked long into the nights already."
"If, after all those blissful nights, I couldn't say a few soft words to you," he went on lazily, "wouldn't that be a bit ungrateful?"
"…You…"
She wanted to scold him.
She really did.
But her lips betrayed her. A small, helpless laugh slipped out.
"You're impossible," she murmured.
"That's fine," he said. "As long as you still call."
She could feel him smiling. In this quiet soul-space, she could almost see those pitch-black eyes curved faintly at the corners.
"By the way," he added, tone shifting back to that light, dangerous playfulness, "when Divine Phoenix Island agrees to the meeting—because they will—I'll bring one of my women along."
Mu Qianyu blinked.
"One of your…?"
"My wives," he said cheerfully. "I've been letting them steal the spotlight in the Seven Profound Valleys anyway. Might as well show them off properly to a fourth-grade sect."
"…Show off…"
She echoed the words, caught between exasperation and something else.
"You're treating Divine Phoenix Island like a stage?"
"Of course not," he said. "I'm treating it like a good audience."
His voice dipped, playful.
"Don't worry," he went on. "I'll be very attentive to you too, and to all the Phoenix maidens of your sect. I'm a gentleman, after all."
"Attentive… to all…"
For some reason, the image of him surrounded by Divine Phoenix Island's red-robed female disciples sprang into her mind—his lazy smile, their flustered expressions.
Her face froze.
"Ren Ming."
"Mm?"
"Don't go too far."
He laughed.
"Relax," he said. "I only flirt with people I like. And I'm not in the habit of stepping on my own women's toes. If I'm being attentive to your sect, it'll be because I've already decided to treat Divine Phoenix Island as my own people."
The casual way he said "my own people" made her heart tremble slightly.
"Your confidence…" she said. "If the elders hear you speak like this…"
"Naturally, some elders can get nicer treatment, like your Island Master," he replied easily. "The others… eh. They just better not annoy me. You know how I am, Qianyu. I'm not going to crawl for anyone."
His tone wasn't domineering.
Just firm.
Like a sword planted in the earth.
"…I know," she said softly.
And somehow, knowing that he would not bow… made her more willing to stand beside him.
"Then it's decided," he said. "You set up the meeting. I'll handle the rest."
"You speak as if everything is already in your hands," she muttered.
"If it isn't yet," he said, "I'll make it so."
There was no arrogance in his voice.
Just quiet certainty—from a man who had already crushed one mountain and was looking calmly at the next.
Mu Qianyu exhaled slowly.
"All right," she said. "I'll begin preparations on my side. For now… I should continue consolidating my cultivation. If the elders agree to your visit, I don't want to stand beside you and drag you down."
"You won't," he said.
His voice softened.
"You were already beautiful on Thundercrash Mountain," he said. "Give it a bit more time. You'll be even more stunning when we meet again. I'm looking forward to it."
"You really…"
Warmth climbed up her cheeks again.
She was suddenly very grateful this was only a soul link. If he could see her face right now…
"Rest well, Qianyu," he said gently. "When we next meet, I'll show you a wider world. For you—and for your entire sect."
Those words landed in the center of her heart like a burning brand.
A wider world.
For her.
For Divine Phoenix Island.
"…I'll hold you to that," she whispered.
"Do."
The soul realm shimmered.
The connection began to fade. Even as their consciousnesses parted, the warmth of his presence lingered in her spiritual sea, like the last embers of a phoenix flame refusing to die.
…
On Divine Phoenix Island, the echoes of that soul-conversation had not yet faded when the flames began to stir.
Emerald Bamboo Pavilion was quiet.
Morning mist clung to the slender bamboo, each leaf tipped with clear dew. The entire island pulsed with Fire origin energy; even the drifting fog carried a faint heat. Deep within the grove, a simple wooden hall rested on stone foundations darkened by age and phoenix fire.
Inside, several red-robed elders sat in silence.
They had all received the jade slips.
They had all read the same name.
Ren Ming.
Mu Qianyu knelt at the center of the hall, back straight, red skirts spread behind her like a phoenix tail. The fiery mark at her brow glowed faintly; within her dantian, her Revolving Core rotated steadily, Vermillion Bird flames entwined with violet thunder and a subtle wind pattern.
Her report had already lasted the time it took a stick of incense to burn.
It had begun at Thundercrash Mountain.
"With one strike," she said quietly, "he pierced through the Thunder Flood Dragon's thunder body using the power of his Laws."
Her tone was even, but those words carried weight.
In Divine Phoenix Island's eyes, a thunder Saint Beast was not something to "instantly kill" at Houtian. Thundercrash Mountain might not be their home ground, but the Purple Flood Dragon Divine Thunder it had bred was an earth-step Thunder Soul that could cripple or kill ordinary geniuses. Mu Qianyu and Little Flame had nearly paid with their lives for it.
Across from her, an old woman in plain green robes rested both hands atop a bamboo cane.
Mu Fengxian.
Her hair was completely white. Her skin, thin as paper, was etched with age, yet the phoenix flames in her eyes were still keen enough to burn through lies and pride alike. She watched Mu Qianyu without speaking, letting each word settle in the hearts of the elders around her.
"You said," one elder murmured slowly, "that after seizing the Purple Flood Dragon Divine Thunder… he used it to temper your Vermillion Bird Flame."
Mu Qianyu nodded.
"Yes. He devoured the remnant thunder with a power in his blood that I could not clearly see. Then… he did not keep the refined thunder for himself." Her expression softened without her realizing it. "He fed it into my flame. He helped me refine it into Thunder Phoenix Flame. Little Flame's bloodline was tempered as well."
Her Vermillion Bird cultivation art flowed through her meridians at the memory—so much smoother now, where before there had been slight roughness and constraint. The phoenix fire in her Revolving Core burned with a faint violet edge, thunder and fire braided together.
"He displayed comprehension of Fire, Thunder, and Wind Laws that far exceeded mine," she continued. "At the time, he was still Houtian. Yet his Laws… were strange."
The elders exchanged glances.
"Strange?" a white-browed elder asked. "Explain."
Mu Qianyu hesitated.
How could she put that feeling into words? That moment on Thundercrash Mountain, when his Martial Intent had unfolded and it felt like the sky itself had split.
"When he condensed his Martial Intent," she said slowly, "the heavens reacted. His Fire, Thunder, and Wind were not three separate comprehensions. They merged into something that… pierced through everything."
She drew a slow breath, remembering.
"Even my phoenix flame trembled," she admitted. "Little Flame's instincts screamed of calamity."
Her fingers curled against her robe.
"That Intention cut through thunderclouds, through origin energy itself," she said. "It ignored wind and rain. For a brief instant, even my Revolving Core felt as if it might crack just by being 'seen' by it."
In the silence that followed, every Divine Phoenix elder present felt their blood run a shade colder.
"He called it," Mu Qianyu went on, "Heaven-Piercing Martial Intent."
At that name, the temperature in the hall seemed to rise, not from phoenix fire, but from something fiercer.
Heaven-piercing.
Madness.
Yet from a youth who had killed a Saint Beast, refined a Thunder Soul, and now stood at the center of a disaster like Acacia Peak… the word did not sound entirely like a joke.
Another elder tapped the arm of his chair.
"You say he has a method to guide others' Fire comprehension," he said. "A… diagram?"
Mu Qianyu's eyes flickered.
"Yes. He calls it the Lantern-Heart Flame Diagram."
She described it as best she could—the way that art pulled disciples into the field of Fire Laws, teaching their meridians what "Fire" meant beyond simple heat, letting their Spiritual Seas feel how the world spoke in flame. An art not for battle, but for foundation.
"A technique that shrinks the gap between 'ordinary' and 'genius'," she said. "As long as one is willing to work, their Fire comprehension accumulates with every breath."
"And this same youth," a thin elder beside Mu Fengxian said mildly, "later walked into a third-grade sect and tore down a mountain."
Jade slips lay between them.
Within those slips were the same scenes that had shaken the entire South Horizon Region: Acacia Peak's destruction; Acacia Faction's erasure; Sovereigns kneeling in the air; Jiang Huan, a Revolving Core Highest Elder, forced into seclusion, his Dao foundation damaged.
A Xiantian youth had done that.
"Mu Qianyu," Mu Fengxian finally spoke.
Her voice was low, but it cut through the murmurs like a blade.
"The intelligence says he is only at Xiantian," she said. "Is that true?"
"In terms of True Essence realm, yes," Mu Qianyu answered honestly, meeting her gaze. "His body walks another path that I cannot fully see. But in the essence gathering system, he has reached Xiantian."
A snort came from one corner.
"A Xiantian youth injuring a Revolving Core master to the point of seclusion…" an elder said. "That is already 'impossible'. If we accept that, then any labels we place on his realm are meaningless."
"That is precisely the point," Mu Yuhuang said quietly.
The Island Master sat with her eyes half-closed, jade crown resting lightly upon her brow, Vermillion Bird aura suppressed to a gentle warmth that filled the hall.
"It is not where he stands that matters," she said. "It is that he is paving the road under his feet instead of walking a pre-made one."
The hall fell still.
Mu Fengxian's gaze did not leave Mu Qianyu.
"You said," she murmured, "that he wished to meet with Divine Phoenix Island."
"…Yes," Mu Qianyu said.
"And you also said," Mu Fengxian continued, eyes narrowing with faint amusement, "that he is willing to teach… but not to bow."
Mu Qianyu's lips twitched despite herself.
"…He said," she admitted, "that if we work together, it will be because our Daos align, not because he is trying to climb our ladder."
One elder's brows creased, mouth parting to speak of arrogance, of hierarchy.
Mu Fengxian lifted her hand.
"Enough," she said lightly. "That kind of pride… is not unfamiliar to us, is it? When have the Phoenixes of our island ever been content to crawl?"
The elder fell silent.
Mu Fengxian turned back to Mu Qianyu, old eyes suddenly sharp.
"Let us assume," she said, "that everything you have stated is true. A Xiantian youth who killed a Saint Beast, refined an earth-step Thunder Soul, reshaped your flame, and created a foundational Fire art that rivals some of our lesser inheritances. A youth who then crippled a Revolving Core Highest Elder, knelt several Sovereigns, and erased a third-grade sect's branch."
Her cane tapped the floor.
Tock.
"Let us further assume," she went on, "that his Martial Intent truly pierces heaven and earth as you describe, and that he is spreading his methods in the lower realms."
Her gaze swept the hall.
"Then we have only two choices."
Everyone understood, even if she did not voice them.
Ignore.
Or engage.
Ignore… and let such a variable grow on its own, perhaps nursing resentment when it looked up and saw the holy land that chose to avert its gaze.
Engage… and risk bringing that strange, foreign Dao into the delicate balance of the South Horizon Region—but in return, gain the chance to understand it, to ride the wave instead of drowning under it.
"The Seven Profound Valleys will hold their Martial Meeting in four months," Mu Fengxian said. "If we do nothing, our disciples will stand under his shadow whether we wish it or not."
Her phoenix-like eyes narrowed.
"Divine Phoenix Island has ruled the South Horizon Region for three thousand years," she said quietly. "We do not run from change. We judge it."
She turned back to Mu Qianyu.
"Convey this to him," she said. "Divine Phoenix Island will receive him as a guest before the Martial Meeting. I will personally meet him. The island will open a portion of our inheritance grounds for him to see."
A few elders straightened abruptly.
"That much?" one blurted.
Opening inheritance grounds—even a portion—to an outsider, no matter how talented, was no small gesture.
Mu Fengxian smiled faintly.
"If he is as formidable as she says," she replied, "anything less will only insult him—and make us look small."
Her gaze hardened.
"And you," she added, eyes returning to Mu Qianyu, "will be the one to escort him here."
"…Yes," Mu Qianyu answered.
Her heart, which had calmed after her talk with Ren, began to beat harder again.
"You have already stepped half a foot into his storm," Mu Fengxian said, tone turning almost gentle. "Thundercrash Mountain. Your flame. This contact. It is only fitting that you see where this road leads."
Her cane tapped the floor once more.
"Meeting adjourned."
Red robes rustled like fire as the elders rose one by one. Some faces were bright with interest, some clouded with worry, some deep in thought. But none of them looked away from the jade slips.
From the name written there.
Ren Ming.
As they departed, Mu Qianyu remained kneeling for a heartbeat longer.
She felt the island's future settle on her shoulders—not as a burden pressing her down, but as a responsibility she chose to carry.
Then she rose.
Outside the pavilion, bamboo leaves trembled as a warm breeze passed through the grove. The entire island seemed a little brighter, as if some distant fire had drawn closer.
Mu Qianyu stepped into the morning mist and drew out a familiar talisman from her sleeve.
The soul-brand inside still carried his warmth.
"Ren," she whispered, lips curving. "They agreed."
…
Within the Seven Profound Martial House, another kind of fire was burning.
Several days had passed since Mu Qianyu had activated the talisman.
In that time, the Seven Profound Martial House had changed even more, all disciples' cultivation improving even more.
Under the quiet light of a late afternoon, Ren Ming stood on a high stone terrace overlooking a cultivation field he had personally refitted.
Below him, five stone platforms floated in a simple formation, each at a slightly different height.
On each platform sat one of his women.
Murong Zi.
Bai Jingyun.
Na Yi.
Na Shui.
Qin Xingxuan.
They sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breaths deep and steady.
True Essence roared in their meridians.
Bone Forging.
In this world's Body Transformation system, Altering Muscle was the stage where one rewove the texture of flesh and tendon; Bone Forging was when True Essence seeped into bone, tempering marrow and structure until the body could carry heavier Laws. Pulse Condensation, the final stage before Houtian, condensed the body's power into a tighter, more unified whole, bridging flesh and True Essence.
Ren had already pushed them through Altering Muscle.
Now, one after another, their bones sang.
He stood with his hands tucked loosely into his sleeves, expression relaxed, gaze sharp.
He didn't bark corrections.
He didn't drown them in theory.
If they couldn't grasp this chance even with his hand on their backs day after day, then their Martial Hearts were too weak for where he intended to lead them.
His gaze drifted from platform to platform.
Murong Zi sat with her spear laid across her knees, Aura pressing outward like a blade wrapped in flame.
Her Azure True Dragon Infinity Seed pulsed faintly in her dantian, the seed's internal law quietly adjusting itself with every breath—"regenerate with the bearer's realm," "no hard cap on True Essence quantity," always pushing her forward, never so far that her body or Dao Heart would crack. Chaos energy from Ren's earlier tempering had already tested that pattern; it had flexed, learned, and adapted, tracing even higher-grade energies and readying itself for future storms.
Modified Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians circulated through bone and tendon, each movement of her True Essence imprinting the "memory" of perfect force as nascent Dao Fruits along her skeleton.
Modified Heretical God Force flowed quietly beneath that—an inner governor that shaped her power into spirals, tempering even as it boosted.
Her Seeds burned in her dantian.
Fire.
Thunder.
Wind.
And a faint, newly budding Spear Seed.
Her Fire Seed gave every thread of True Essence a faint burning aggression. Her Thunder Seed made it explode and leap more easily. Her Wind Seed coaxed energy along the shortest, most efficient paths.
At the center of those three, a tiny Spear Seed had begun to condense—a point of law as sharp as the tip of a spear, gathering every straight-line, piercing instinct she'd ever had.
Her Fire Laws pressed against the boundary of the first level, edging closer to the second. Fire Martial Intent at Small Success.
Her cultivation had stabilized at Late Bone Forging.
He smiled faintly.
On the next platform, Bai Jingyun's aura rose like a drawn sword.
Where Murong Zi's power pushed forward like a spear thrust, Bai Jingyun's moved like the calm before an explosive slash—precise, restrained, hiding its edge until the last instant.
Her Azure True Dragon Infinity Seed beat in the same steady rhythm as Murong's, the law inside adjusting quietly as her realm rose.
Her Seeds:
Fire.
Thunder.
Wind.
And Sword.
Her Wind Seed had blossomed early thanks to Ren's training sessions on the island—a quiet halo of movement that let her True Essence curve in ways most others couldn't see.
Now, her Sword Seed hung above her dantian like a thin, sharp Law node. Every time her True Essence brushed it, a faint cutting attribute threaded into the flow. Even sitting still, each breath she drew seemed to sharpen the world around her.
Her Fire Laws stood at the peak of first level, pressing against the door to the second. Fire Martial Intent at Small Success.
The Heaven-Piercing Elemental Cannon's skeletal pattern hovered in her Spiritual Sea, still in its rudimentary phase—lines of Fire, Wind, and Thunder Laws intertwining like a nascent formation.
Across from them, Na Yi and Na Shui sat opposite each other, mirroring positions.
Na Yi's aura felt like the earth.
Fire.
Thunder.
Wind.
And Earth.
True Essence carried gravity. When she circulated, the ground beneath her seemed to dip by a hair, as if acknowledging her presence. Her path leaned toward guarding and suppression—holding the line so others could strike freely.
Within her dantian, the Earth Seed anchored everything. It gave her circulation weight, made spontaneous deviation harder, stabilized forms that would have collapsed in less steady bodies. It turned her into a wall.
Na Shui's aura flowed like water.
Fire.
Thunder.
Wind.
And Water.
Her True Essence slipped through her meridians with quiet grace, smoothing roughness, healing micro-damage almost as soon as it formed. Her Fire didn't clash with her gentle nature; it wrapped around her Water, forming steam when she chose, storms when needed. Her Thunder coiled as restrained arcs, ready to explode when her calm finally broke.
Where Na Yi anchored, Na Shui adapted.
Ren watched the four of them with a slow exhale.
Then his eyes lifted to the highest platform.
Qin Xingxuan sat there.
Her long hair fell down her back, stirred gently by a wind that wasn't really there.
Her cultivation had already stepped ahead of the others.
Where the rest had reached Late Bone Forging, Qin Xingxuan stood at half-step Pulse Condensation. Her bones weren't just tempered; the nascent network of meridians between them had begun to unify into a single, integrated web.
Her Azure True Dragon Infinity Seed pulsed stronger than the others', adapting to the strain of a realm that bridged Body Transformation and Essence Gathering.
Her Seeds burned like a small constellation.
Fire.
Thunder.
Wind.
Spear.
Unlike Murong Zi's embryonic Spear concept, Qin Xingxuan's Spear Seed had nearly crystallized. It condensed everything she was—her stubbornness, her quiet loyalty, the image of a spear dancing through blood mist at Acacia Peak—into a single, ruthless point.
Her Fire Laws pressed hard at the boundary to the second level, Thunder and Wind circling at the first with frightening purity. Fire Martial Intent at Small Success turned behind her as a clean, blazing wheel.
Inside her Spiritual Sea, the Heaven-Piercing Elemental Cannon's pattern trembled on the edge of completion.
Lines of Fire, Thunder, and Wind Laws wove together into a complex array, each stroke inscribed by Ren's hand and her own comprehension. Right now, they hovered just short of snapping into their true form.
Another nudge.
Another push.
And Heaven-Piercing Elemental Cannon would ignite.
Ren's smile deepened.
Even with his methods, talent still mattered.
Qin Xingxuan had entered Seven Profound Martial House with a sixth-grade martial talent—rare in this kingdom, the sort of talent sects would fight over. Under his shadow, under the pressure of Acacia Peak and his remorseless "guidance," that talent had been lit on fire.
The others were catching up, Seeds condensing, Laws sharpening.
But she… was already leaning forward into the storm.
"Good," he murmured under his breath. "Let's see how far you jump."