In a vast grand hall, twelve elders sat around a long table, their gazes fixed on an ancient device placed at its center. The atmosphere was tense, as if even the air itself was holding its breath.
Suddenly—
*Buzz…*
The device emitted a faint glow. Its surface trembled lightly at first, then began vibrating faster and faster. Within moments, it shook so violently that cracks formed across its surface.
*Boom!*
The device exploded, blasting the entire table into fragments.
The elders were stunned. Shock, fear, and an indescribable emotion surged through their hearts. This omen… this sign… it was something their faction had waited countless generations for.
The elder seated at the center—clearly the leader—slowly stood up. His eyes were solemn.
"The destined time has arrived," he said softly, yet his voice echoed throughout the hall. "The moment we have waited for… has finally come."
He gestured to an elder on his left.
"Diviner Qing. Please divine whether there is hope for the future our World has longed for."
Diviner Qing stepped forward. "Yes, Leader."
He placed several ancient items before him—stones, talismans, metallic rods, strange charms passed through countless hands. As he formed hand seals, the items rose into the air, glowing faintly and resonating with each other.
The hall dimmed.
The floating items spun.
Then—light flashed.
A scene appeared before Diviner Qing's mind.
A man and a woman stood together, facing a terrifying calamity. The world behind them was collapsing, destruction spreading everywhere. In the depths of the scene, Qing sensed the presence of an unfathomable being, but its form was too obscured for him to understand. He tried to look further, but the vision shattered.
His breathing grew heavy.
Then—two flashes of light shot into his mind.
He saw two places:
**Heavenly Martial Sect.**
**Ancient Zhou Family.**
He opened his eyes and reported everything to the hall.
"The fate has twisted… The unpredictable has happened. The destined one has finally appeared… but there is another issue. A girl of the Zhou family is entangled in his fate. Their futures are deeply intertwined."
Gasps echoed through the hall.
This… was not what their ancient records had described. Everything was changing.
Silence hung heavily for a long time before the leader, Zhang Yuan, finally spoke.
"If fate has chosen this path, we will accept it. What matters is that their paths do not drift apart. Diviner Qing, I leave this matter to you. Arrange everything carefully."
"Yes, Leader."
The elders continued to discuss for a long time before the meeting finally came to an end.
…
Far away, in a place untouched by humans—
A vast dangerous forest stretched endlessly, filled with ferocious beasts. Death lurked in every corner. Even experienced cultivators rarely dared to enter this place.
Deep inside a cave, a man was sitting cross-legged. Spiritual energy surged around him like waves.
Lee San… was attempting to break through to the next realm.
Suddenly—
*Uwaaa… Uwaaa… Uwaaaa…*
A faint cry drifted in with the wind.
Lee San's eyes snapped open. His heart trembled.
A baby's cry? Here?
His breakthrough was at its critical moment. A single distraction could send his cultivation spiraling. Yet the cries grew clearer and clearer, as if the child was right outside the cave.
*Uwaaa… Uwaaa…*
He clenched his teeth.
At first he thought it was an illusion, a mental trial.
But no—this sound was real. Too real.
"How could… a child be here?" he muttered, disbelief mixing with anxiety.
He slowly stood up, the spiritual energy around him growing unstable. If he continued his breakthrough, the momentum alone could kill the infant.
But if he stopped here…
His chance would be gone.
Grinding his teeth, he walked to the mouth of the cave.
There, on a massive rock, under towering trees… lay a crying newborn.
No traces of people.
No footprints.
No disturbed leaves.
As if the baby had simply… appeared.
A chill ran down Lee San's spine.
Their gazes met.
The baby's small eyes reflected the sky itself. Something stirred in Lee San's heart—old memories, old emotions. He couldn't ignore them.
"This child…" he whispered.
He made his choice.
Forcing his spiritual energy back down—
*Puh!*
Blood sprayed from his mouth. His meridians screamed in pain.
He had forcefully stopped his breakthrough.
But he didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward, picked up the baby, and held him carefully in his arms.
"We're leaving," he whispered to the infant.
…
At the Heavenly Martial Sect—
In the main hall, a guard knelt and reported, "Sect Master, Elder Lee San has returned, but… something seems wrong. His aura is unstable, and it appears he—"
Lee Min stood up before the guard finished.
His expression darkened.
"I will go see my brother immediately. Where is he?"
The guard replied, "He has gone to his courtyard and is requesting your presence there."
"Alright," Lee Min said, already leaving. Worry filled his mind. Just what happened to brother…?
When he arrived at the courtyard, he froze at the door.
Lee San stood inside, his aura clearly showing a failed breakthrough—but what shocked Lee Min more was the sight of his brother holding a small baby. The infant was asleep in Lee San's arms, as though exhausted from crying.
Lee Min stepped into the room, unable to hold back his question.
"Brother… what happened? You said you needed a quiet place for your breakthrough and went alone into that dangerous forest. Now your breakthrough failed—and you came back with a baby?"
Lee San welcomed him in with a tired smile, then slowly explained everything.How the breakthrough was close.How the strange crying interrupted him.How he found the baby in the middle of the forest with no trace of anyone around.And how he had no choice but to forcefully suppress his breakthrough.
Lee Min was stunned.
His brother's breakthrough failed…And a baby appeared out of nowhere…In the middle of that vast and deadly forest…
Nothing made sense.