The helicopter's door slid open, commanding everyone's attention. I narrowed my eyes against the whipping wind as a young man stepped out, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
He couldn't have been older than twenty-five, with sharp features and an air of absolute entitlement. His tailored black suit looked obscenely out of place among our weather-worn cultivation gear. Behind him followed two elderly men, both radiating the unmistakable aura of Third Rank Grandmasters.
"That's impossible," Conrad whispered beside me.
I knew what had shocked him. Despite his youth, the newcomer's energy signature clearly marked him as an Inner Strength Master—a level that typically took decades to achieve.
"Who is he?" I asked Evelyn, keeping my voice low.
She frowned slightly. "Melvin Blackthorne. He's from a branch of the Blackthorne Family of Veridia City."
