The moment the voice echoed, the air itself seemed to solidify.
Kael felt the pressure crash down on him like a mountain. It was heavy, domineering, and absolute—the kind of aura that crushed weaker cultivators into the ground without effort. The courtyard stones cracked under the invisible force, spiderweb fractures spreading outward from the point where the clan head landed.
Clan Head Lin Qingshan.
He stood at the center of the courtyard, robes fluttering despite the absence of wind, eyes sharp as blades. His cultivation was far above Elder Lin's, far above anyone Kael had faced so far.
The guards gasped in relief.
Lin Feng's legs gave out completely as he collapsed behind the clan head, trembling.
"Clan Head," Elder Lin said hoarsely, forcing himself to bow despite the pressure, "this boy—he activated a forbidden formation and murdered a guard. He practices an unknown evil art!"
Lin Qingshan's gaze shifted to Kael.
For a brief moment, the world narrowed.
Their eyes met.
Kael felt the weight of the man's scrutiny pierce through flesh and bone, probing for weakness, madness, corruption.
And Lin Qingshan frowned.
Not in disgust.
In confusion.
This boy's cultivation was still laughably low. His body was damaged. His meridians broken. By all logic, he should have been crushed flat by the clan head's aura.
But Kael stood straight.
His knees did not bend.
His expression did not change.
"How are you still standing?" Lin Qingshan asked quietly.
Kael tilted his head slightly. "Should I be kneeling?"
The courtyard went deathly silent.
Elder Lin sucked in a sharp breath. One of the guards nearly fainted.
Lin Qingshan's eyes narrowed. "You are bold."
"No," Kael replied calmly. "I am honest."
The pressure increased.
Stone shattered beneath Kael's feet. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as his weak body finally began to protest.
But he did not fall.
Inside him, the devil sigil flared violently.
Fear surged.
Not from Kael.
From everyone else.
Fear increased.
Devil Authority stabilizing.
Kael felt warmth spread through his chest, reinforcing his stance just enough to endure.
Lin Qingshan noticed.
His expression finally changed.
"This is not cultivation," the clan head said slowly. "What path have you stepped onto?"
"A path you sealed and forgot," Kael answered.
Silence.
The clan head's gaze flicked briefly toward the broken statue and the collapsed underground chamber. His pupils contracted.
"So it was awakened," Lin Qingshan murmured.
He turned back to Kael. "That thing should never have been touched."
Kael smiled faintly. "Then you shouldn't have left it where trash like me could find it."
Lin Feng flinched as if struck.
Lin Qingshan raised a hand.
Elder Lin immediately fell silent.
"You killed a guard," the clan head said. "By clan law, that is a capital crime."
Kael nodded. "He tried to kill me."
"That was not proven."
Kael's smile sharpened. "Does it need to be?"
For a long moment, Lin Qingshan said nothing.
The courtyard felt like it was holding its breath.
Finally, the clan head spoke. "If I kill you now, I remove a problem. If I don't, I invite disaster."
Kael met his gaze steadily.
"You won't kill me," he said.
Lin Qingshan raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"Because you're afraid," Kael replied.
The word struck like lightning.
Murmurs erupted.
"Silence!" Lin Qingshan snapped.
But it was too late.
The idea had been planted.
Fear twisted in the hearts of everyone present—not fear of Kael's strength, but fear of what he might become.
The clan head's aura fluctuated for just a fraction of a second.
Kael felt it.
Fear surged.
The sigil burned hotter.
Lin Qingshan's eyes darkened. "You think you understand me?"
"No," Kael said honestly. "I understand power. And I understand hesitation."
He took a step forward.
The guards recoiled.
"You won't kill me today," Kael continued, "because you want to see what I become. You want to control it. Use it."
Lin Qingshan stared at him.
Then he laughed.
A short, humorless sound.
"You're dangerous," the clan head admitted. "But you're right."
Elder Lin's eyes widened. "Clan Head!"
"Enough," Lin Qingshan said coldly. "Kael Draven is placed under observation. He will be confined to the outer grounds. No one is to touch him without my permission."
Lin Feng shot up. "You can't just let him go!"
Lin Qingshan turned his gaze on his grandson.
Lin Feng froze.
Kael bowed slightly—not in submission, but acknowledgment.
"As you wish," he said.
As he turned to leave, a sudden transmission slipped into his mind, sharp and cold.
Do not disappoint me, Lin Qingshan's voice echoed privately. Or I will erase you myself.
Kael's lips curved upward.
You already tried, he thought.
As he stepped away from the shattered courtyard, the devil sigil pulsed again—stronger than before.
Fear stabilized.
Authority expanding.
And far above the clan, unseen by all, a distant presence shifted…
as if something ancient had just noticed him again.