The bright midday sun hung high in the sprawling, cloudless azure sky, casting a warm, golden, and almost blinding radiance across the majestic, fog-shrouded mountain peaks of the Sun-Moon Academy. On the vast, broad, and polished white-marble plaza fronting the primary hall of the Outer Affairs Council, dozens of inner sect disciples from various peaks had gathered in restless, small clusters, their hushed murmurings carrying a distinct, underlying current of intense curiosity and quiet, eager anticipation.
It had officially been four full days since Railin accepted the highly suspicious, mandatory borderland investigation assignment from Senior Elder Xiang.
In the eyes of the dominant Shadow Moon faction and the numerous opportunists lurking within the inner sect, four long days spent inside the infamous, notoriously lethal Ghost-Fog Valley was vastly more than enough time for a newly ascended, greenhorn Stage One Foundation Establishment disciple to meet a silent, dark-market death.
Senior Elder Xiang stood prominently at the apex of the thirty-three steep granite steps leading directly into the council hall's grand entrance. His hands were neatly tucked inside his luxurious, purple-and-gold silk sleeves, a thin, deeply satisfied, and malicious smirk playing across his sharp, rat-like lips. Standing directly beside him were several senior Shadow Moon enforcement disciples, quietly exchanging amused, triumphant glances with one another under their breath.
"Four full days without a single messenger talisman or transmission word from Senior Brother Gao Feng or Senior Brother Gao Lei," one enforcement disciple whispered in a low tone, a cold, gleeful glint dancing in his narrow eyes. "The dark, spatial mist inside the Ghost-Fog Valley must have claimed yet another arrogant 'genius'."
"Elder Xiang's administrative arrangement was utterly flawless from start to finish," another Shadow Moon disciple chimed in quietly, his voice laced with cruel admiration. "Even if that brat Railin possessed truly absurd, unnatural combat talent on the execution stage, facing two Stage Three dark-market shadow assassins alongside two Stage Two enforcement veterans inside a spell-suppressed environment is an absolute, mathematically guaranteed death sentence."
Elder Xiang cleared his dry throat loudly, meticulously adjusting his fine silk robes as he prepared to turn back toward the interior hall to officially stamp and file Railin's name under the deceased inner disciples registry.
Suddenly, a profound, chilling, and completely eerie silence washed over the vast marble plaza.
The quiet, buzzing chatter among the gathered disciples died down in an instant. The inner disciples standing at the bottom of the granite stairs froze entirely in their tracks, their eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated, and mind-numbing shock as they stared collectively toward the southern stone pathway leading directly up from the transport arch.
A solitary, slender figure was walking up the mountain trail with quiet, rhythmic, and absolute precision.
His dark navy-blue inner robes were immaculate and spotless—completely devoid of a single speck of dust, dried mud, bloodstains, or battle-inflicted tears. His posture was perfectly upright, his pale hands casually tucked deep inside his wide sleeves, and his pitch-black, bottomless pupils reflected the bright golden sunlight with a calm, abyss-like coldness that chilled the air around him.
Railin.
"He... he actually came back?!" a Sword Peak disciple gasped out loudly, violently rubbing his eyes with his sleeve in pure disbelief. "And he's... he's completely uninjured?!"
"Where in the world are Senior Brother Gao Feng and Senior Brother Gao Lei?!" another inner disciple whispered frantically to his peers, his eyes desperately scanning the empty, sunlit stone path behind Railin. "They were officially assigned as his senior enforcement team leaders! Why is Railin walking back entirely alone?!"
Railin completely ignored the rising, chaotic tide of shocked mutters and gasps echoing around him. He mounted the thirty-three steep granite steps with steady, unhurried steps, his dark boots coming down with a heavy, measured cadence that seemed to strike directly against the pounding hearts of the gathered disciples.
Elder Xiang's rat-like eyes bulged out from his skull as his satisfied smirk instantly froze on his face, rapidly collapsing into a horrifying mask of pale, stunned, and trembling horror. His frail fingers trembled uncontrollably beneath his purple silk sleeves as he watched Railin step onto the top landing of the plaza.
"You... Railin?!" Elder Xiang stammered out, his scratchy, dry voice breaking violently mid-sentence. "How... how in the hell are you still alive?! Where... where are Senior Disciples Gao Feng and Gao Lei?!"
Railin came to a complete halt exactly ten paces from Elder Xiang, standing perfectly straight, unbothered, and entirely indifferent under the bright midday sun.
"Senior Sister Gao Feng and Senior Brother Gao Lei proved to be severely, tragically lacking in operational caution," Railin replied smoothly, his tone flat, calm, and utterly conversational. "Upon entering the perimeter of the Ghost-Fog Valley, our team encountered a fierce, coordinated ambush laid by ruthless rogue cultivators and dark-market shadow assassins. Senior Disciples Gao Feng and Gao Lei fought valiantly against the odds, but unfortunately... their dantians were violently shattered, and their spirit essence was completely drained dry by the enemy's dark arts. They did not survive the encounter."
"UTTER NONSENSE!" Elder Xiang shouted out furiously, his pale face flushing red with a violent mixture of rage, deep embarrassment, and instinctual, suffocating fear. "Gao Feng and Gao Lei were highly experienced Stage Two Foundation veterans! How could both of them tragically perish while you—a mere Stage One greenhorn who consolidated his core four days ago—returned completely unharmed without a single scratch on your robes?!"
Railin's pale lips twitched upward into a faint, dark, and terribly sinister arc.
Slowly, effortlessly, and without uttering a single spoken word, Railin allowed his thoroughly suppressed spiritual aura to flare outward for a brief, terrifying fraction of a second!
BOOM—!
A heavy, suffocating, and terrifying wave of pure, highly refined void-attribute pressure erupted from Railin's slender frame, slamming violently into Elder Xiang and the surrounding Shadow Moon enforcement disciples like an invisible, crushing iron sledgehammer!
Elder Xiang stumbled back three full steps in sheer agony, his face turning deathly pale as he frantically gasped for air under the immense, bone-crushing weight of the spiritual pressure.
"Stage Two... Foundation Establishment?!" Elder Xiang shrieked out in absolute, mind-shattering terror, his raspy voice cracking violently across the plaza. "You... you broke through to Stage Two in merely four days?!"
The entire marble plaza erupted instantly into a chaotic, deafening storm of bewildered, terrified cries!
"My god! He was barely at the First Level when he departed four days ago!"
"How is that physically or magically possible?! Breakthroughs in the Foundation Establishment Realm usually require months or years of quiet, painstaking isolation!"
"He didn't just survive the death trap set by the Shadow Moon Peak... he used the high-tier enemies inside the Ghost-Fog Valley as raw fuel to break through his own cultivation bottleneck!"
Railin casually retracted his heavy spiritual pressure, his facial expression returning to a state of absolute, unbothered, and icy calm. He reached smoothly into his spatial storage pouch, pulled out the glowing red administrative scroll along with six heavy, miniature iron chest charms, and held them out casually toward Elder Xiang.
"The rogue outpost hidden inside the Ghost-Fog Valley has been completely, permanently liquidated," Railin stated softly, his clear voice carrying with absolute clarity across the dead-silent plaza. "The six stolen chests of high-grade spirit-granite have been retrieved in full without a single stone missing. Here is the official mission log and the verified cargo charms."
Elder Xiang stood completely frozen in place, his trembling, sweaty hands initially refusing to reach out for the red scroll. Looking directly into Railin's dark, pitch-black, and bottomless eyes, a cold, bone-chilling realization swept through every corner of the old elder's soul.
Gao Feng, Gao Lei, and the dark-market shadow assassins hadn't just failed their mission. They had been systematically hunted down, slaughtered, and devoured by the teenage monster standing right in front of his face!
"Elder Xiang," Railin spoke once again, his voice dropping into a low, terrifyingly smooth whisper that only the elder's ears could catch over the surrounding noise. "My mandatory assignment is officially complete. Does the Outer Affairs Council require anything else from my person?"
"N-No..." Elder Xiang swallowed hard, his dry throat feeling as rough as coarse sandpaper as he hastily, frantically snatched the mission scroll with his trembling fingers. "The... the mission is officially registered as completed with distinction. You may... you may depart to your peak."
"Thank you for your efficiency, Elder," Railin said flatly.
He turned cleanly on his dark boot heels without offering a single formal bow or word of respect, his navy robes sweeping gracefully through the warm breeze as he walked down the thirty-three granite steps toward the path leading to the Ice Mystic Peak.
Far above the bustling marble plaza, perched gracefully on the high, carved balcony of an ancient mountain pavilion, two figures watched the entire stunning scene unfold in quiet solitude.
Rusunam Rusu stood with her white silk robes fluttering wildly in the mountain wind, her piercing azure eyes locked firmly onto Railin's retreating navy figure with a profound mixture of awe, shock, and immense relief. Standing directly beside her was a tall, breathtaking woman dressed in ice-blue robes, her ambient spiritual aura vast, majestic, and bone-chillingly cold as an eternal glacier—Peak Master Bing Lian of the Ice Mystic Peak.
"He stepped directly into a death trap orchestrated by Elder Xiang, containing two Stage Three shadow assassins and two Stage Two enforcement veterans," Rusu whispered softly under her breath, her voice carrying a rare tremble. "Not only did he completely eliminate all four of them in an isolated valley without leaving a single shred of evidence behind, but he also devoured their spirit essence to forcefully elevate his own cultivation to the Second Level of Foundation Establishment..."
Peak Master Bing Lian gazed silently down at Railin's distant form, her pale, exquisite lips curving into a subtle, deeply approving smile.
"A truly ruthless, terrifying void seed," Peak Master Bing Lian murmured softly, her cold, melodious voice carrying an unspoken, majestic weight across the high balcony. "Shu-Lin and Hao-Lin naively thought they were issuing a legal decree to send him straight to his grave. Instead, they merely handed him the exact high-grade fuel he desperately needed to rise above them. Rusu, go and tell him to prepare himself... the Grand Inner Sect Assembly officially commences in three days, and he will certainly need every single drop of that newly gained Stage Two power.
Peak Master Bing Lian took a slow step back from the stone railing of the balcony, her icy gaze lingering on Railin's navy robes until he turned around the mountain bend. Her cold, melodious voice sounded once more, ringing softly against the freezing air of the upper peak.
"Rusu, the Shadow Moon Peak will not take this loss quietly," Bing Lian said, her hands tucked neatly inside her wide ice-blue sleeves. "Elder Xiang was forced to sign off on the mission completion, but Shu-Lin and Hao-Lin have invested too much political capital into wiping this boy out. Now that he has returned at the Second Level of Foundation Establishment, their panic will turn into desperate, open hostility."
Rusu bowed her head slightly, her azure eyes flashing with sharp intelligence. "Master, do you believe they will attempt another strike before the Grand Inner Sect Assembly begins?"
"They would be fools to attempt a crude physical assassination inside the academy grounds right now," Bing Lian replied coldly, her gaze turning toward the distant, dark summit of the Shadow Moon Peak. "Everyone's eyes are locked onto Railin. However, the registration for the Assembly closes tomorrow evening. The rules of the Assembly allow peak disciples to issue direct, binding arena challenges based on rank and faction grievances. Shu-Lin will undoubtedly mobilize her highest-ranking direct disciples to execute him on the martial stage under the guise of an official duel."
"Railin is fully aware of their intentions," Rusu murmured, remembering the sinister, dark smile Railin had given her before boarding the carriage four days ago. "He isn't fearing their challenges, Master. He is actively waiting for them to step onto the stage so he can consume them."
Bing Lian's lips twitched slightly. "Then go down to Spirit Abode 409. Give him the Ice-Core Verification Token. With his new Stage Two cultivation, he needs to secure his official registration at the Central Martial Hall before midnight, or Elder Xiang will use administrative technicalities to bar him from entering the Assembly altogether."
"Understood, Master," Rusu replied. She bowed deeply, turned her white silk robes, and transformed into a streak of pale blue light that shot down the snow-covered mountain slope.
Meanwhile, Railin walked down the quiet, secluded stone pathway leading toward the central residential district of the Ice Mystic Peak. The news of his sudden, uninjured return—and his terrifying breakthrough to the Second Level of Foundation Establishment—had already spread like wildfire through the entire inner sect.
As he walked past passing disciples, no one dared to whisper or glare at him with suspicion anymore. Instead, disciples from the Sword Peak, the Array Peak, and even lower-tier Shadow Moon affiliates drew back several paces, bowing their heads in instinctual, suffocating dread as he passed by. The invisible aura radiating from his navy robes carried a subtle, heavy void pressure that made their dantians tremble.
Railin maintained his rhythmic, unhurried pace, his spiritual sense casually sweeping across the surrounding pine groves and rock formations. Deep inside his lower dantian, his newly formed Stage Two Foundation core was humming smoothly, perfectly absorbing and consolidating the last remaining wisps of the dark spirit essence he had devoured from Blood-Blade Mao, Iron-Skull Ba, and the two Stage Three shadow assassins.
His physical body was completely saturated with raw power, his meridians widened and reinforced to nearly double their previous capacity. Moreover, his Upper Dantian had expanded significantly—his three Soul-Piercing Needles were now shimmering with an icy, pitch-black luster, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice with double the speed and lethality.
Within fifteen minutes, Railin arrived at the stone archway of Spirit Abode 409.
He placed his hand onto the cold, rune-carved stone door, injecting a thread of his void qi into the locking mechanism. The heavy granite door slid open smoothly with a deep rumble, and Railin stepped inside, sealing the heavy stone barrier firmly behind him.
The quiet, subterranean air of the spirit abode was cool and rich with natural earth qi. Railin walked straight to the central meditation mat, sitting down in a relaxed cross-legged posture. He casually reached into his spatial storage pouch, pulling out the spatial rings he had looted from Gao Feng, Gao Lei, Ghost-1, Ghost-2, and the rogue leaders inside the Ghost-Fog Valley.
With a simple sweep of his powerful soul sense, Railin violently shattered the lingering mental seals on all five storage rings simultaneously!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
A massive pile of high-tier cultivating resources spilled out onto the polished stone floor of the abode!
Glowing stacks of mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones formed a small mountain, totaling over eighty thousand stones. Beside the spirit stones sat several dark wooden pill boxes containing high-grade healing elixirs, blood-replenishing pills, and two rare, Stage Three core-stabilizing pills. Furthermore, the six heavy iron chests of high-grade spirit-granite he had retrieved from the supply convoy sat quietly against the wall, radiating a dense, metallic spiritual aura.
Railin's pitch-black eyes swept over the massive loot with complete, emotionless satisfaction.
"Eighty thousand spirit stones, high-tier body-refining pills, and six chests of spirit-granite," Railin whispered softly to himself, his pale fingers picking up one of the dark wooden pill boxes. "A single trip to the borderlands yielded more resources than an inner disciple receives in ten years of sect allowance."
He opened the box, revealing a deep crimson pill inscribed with three glowing silver runes—a Stage Three Spirit-Refining Pill, looted directly from Ghost-1's spatial ring.
Without a second thought, Railin tossed the high-grade pill into his mouth, swallowing it whole.
BOOM!
A scorching wave of pure, concentrated spiritual fire erupted inside his stomach, violently attempting to surge through his meridians. However, the moment the medicinal energy hit his lower dantian, Railin's Stage Two void core flared to life!
The Ashen Devouring Technique!
The dark void aura swirled around the scorching medicinal energy, completely suppressing its volatile nature and instantly devouring its pure essence, converting it directly into refined void qi that settled smoothly into his foundation core within seconds!
Railin exhaled a faint mist of grey residue from his lips, his dark eyes gleaming in the dim light of the abode.
SWISH.
Suddenly, the defensive array at the entrance of Spirit Abode 409 vibrated softly. A clear, ringing voice filtered through the stone door via a spiritual sound transmission.
"Railin, it is Rusu. Open the barrier."
Railin smoothly retracted his void aura, stood up from his meditation mat, and waved his sleeve to open the heavy granite door.
Rusunam Rusu stepped into the abode, her white silk robes catching the dim luminescence of the spirit lamps mounted on the wall. Her azure eyes immediately locked onto Railin, scanning his navy robes, his steady hands, and finally his calm, dark eyes.
Even though she had already witnessed his return on the Outer Affairs Council plaza, standing inside a closed space with him made her realize just how terrifyingly fast his aura was growing. The pressure radiating from his frame was no longer that of a newly ascended greenhorn; it was the dense, suffocating weight of a true Stage Two Foundation master who had walked through a mountain of corpses.
"You move fast," Rusu spoke first, her voice calm but carrying a subtle edge of seriousness. "Peak Master Bing Lian observed your return from the high pavilion."
"Did she enjoy the demonstration?" Railin asked dryly, gesturing for her to take a seat on the stone bench across from him.
"She called you a ruthless void seed," Rusu replied, a faint, rare smile touching her lips before quickly vanishing. "She also knows that Shu-Lin and Hao-Lin will not sit idle. By returning alive and bringing back the stolen spirit-granite, you didn't just survive their trap—you slapped Elder Xiang and the Shadow Moon Peak directly in the face in front of hundreds of disciples."
Railin sat back down on his mat, his pitch-black eyes meeting hers neutrally. "Elder Xiang was merely a puppet executing an administrative decree. The real dogs are still hiding inside the Shadow Moon Peak."
"And those dogs will bark loudly at the Grand Inner Sect Assembly," Rusu warned, reaching into her white sleeve and pulling out a crystalline, ice-blue token engraved with the lotus crest of the Ice Mystic Peak. "This is Peak Master Bing Lian's personal Ice-Core Verification Token. The registration for the Assembly closes tomorrow at midnight at the Central Martial Hall. Elder Xiang was planning to use administrative delays to prevent you from registering, but with this token, the martial registrars cannot reject your entry."
Railin reached out, taking the cool crystal token into his hand. He felt the pure, icy energy embedded within the token, a mark that officially declared him under the supreme protection of Peak Master Bing Lian herself.
"The Assembly rules allow direct challenges, correct?" Railin asked softly, tossing the token lightly in his palm.
"Yes," Rusu nodded, her expression growing grave. "Any inner disciple in the Foundation Establishment realm can challenge another disciple of equal or higher rank on the central arena stage. Shu-Lin has at least three direct disciples under her command who are at the Third and Fourth Level of Foundation Establishment. She will order them to issue a death challenge against you on the first day."
Railin's pale lips curved upward into that dark, familiar, and sinister arc that made the fine hair on Rusu's neck stand up.
"Third and Fourth Level Foundation disciples..." Railin murmured softly, his dark eyes shimmering with an abyss-like hunger. "That sounds like an exceptionally lavish banquet."
Rusu stared at him for a long moment, realization dawning in her eyes. She shook her head softly, exhaling a quiet breath of cold air.
"You really are insane," Rusu whispered, though there was no disgust in her voice—only deep, intrigue-filled respect. "They think they are trapping you in an arena duel, but you are looking at them as cultivation resources."
"The academy provides rules to protect the weak," Railin stated flatly, his voice dropping into an ice-cold tone. "In the wild, power is devoured. On the arena stage, power is handed over under the witness of elders. Whether it is inside the Ghost-Fog Valley or on the central martial stage, the result remains entirely the same."
Railin stood up, sweeping the remaining piles of spirit stones and pill boxes smoothly back into his spatial pouch. He placed the Ice-Core Verification Token securely inside his inner pocket and looked toward the heavy stone exit of Spirit Abode 409.
"I will head to the Central Martial Hall now to complete the registration," Railin said smoothly, his dark navy robes sweeping behind him as he took a step forward. "Tell Peak Master Bing Lian that she need not worry about the Shadow Moon Peak."
Rusu watched his tall, unyielding back as he walked toward the door. "And what should I tell her regarding your goals for the Assembly?"
Railin paused at the threshold of the abode, turning his head slightly to glance back over his shoulder. His pitch-black pupils reflected the dim torchlight like two vast, inescapable black holes.
"Tell her," Railin whispered softly, "that after three days, the Shadow Moon Peak will no longer have a single direct disciple left to challenge anyone."
See you in next chapter....