Inside the ancient hall, where the spirits of the ancestors had gathered for the final time, Rayan stood at the center of intricate formations, feeling an invisible energy surrounding him. He had gained all the knowledge passed down by the ancestors through the ages, but he knew this would be the last time he would summon them in this place.
The seventeenth ancestor looked at him with a calm smile, as if his soul was finally at peace.
"You have inherited the legacy of the Heavenly Sect, leader of the eighteenth generation… do not fail us."
With his final words, the light began to fade gradually, and with it, all the ancestors who had stood with him on his journey inside the hall vanished. Rayan felt his heart pounding violently, as though he were bidding farewell to a part of himself.
He took a deep breath, then turned and left the hall with steady steps—yet he was unprepared for the shock that awaited him outside.
The moment he stepped out of the hall, he heard rapid footsteps approaching. Before he could process what was happening, his three disciples leapt onto him, embracing him tightly, tears streaming down their faces.
"Master of the sect!!"
"You're finally back!"
"We thought you'd never come out!"
At first, Rayan was surprised, but then he noticed the deep worry in their eyes. He didn't understand the reason behind all this emotion until Li Shen spoke in a trembling voice:
"An entire month has passed since you entered the hall!"
He froze in place. A month?! He felt as if he had only spent a few hours inside the hall. How could time pass so quickly? Had the technique he obtained affected his perception of time?
But before he could think any further, he sensed a powerful presence hovering above the sect. He looked up to find the Heavenly Dragon watching him with gleaming eyes, as if observing every change that had occurred within him.
The Heavenly Dragon slowly descended toward Rayan, its eyes examining him intently. Rayan felt an invisible pressure creeping into his body, but he stood firm, staring at the colossal creature without fear.
"You have changed."
The dragon's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.
"You did not emerge merely with a new technique… you emerged bearing the full legacy of the Heavenly Sect."
Rayan felt the weight of those words more than he had anticipated. Then the dragon continued:
"With this, I hereby declare you the eighteenth leader of the Heavenly Sect."
The dragon's proclamation echoed through the skies, as if announcing it to the entire world. Rayan realized he was no longer just an heir… he had become the true leader of this sect.
There was no time to waste—he wanted to test his new power.
"If I truly am the eighteenth leader..." Rayan murmured, before raising his hand toward Dawn Valley, where many of the sect's ancestors had been buried over the ages.
He felt an endless flow of energy surge from his body, intertwining with the heavenly energy around him. Suddenly, the sky above the valley glowed with golden and violet hues, as streams of celestial energy formed massive pillars engraved with the names of the ancestors.
"Let this place stand as a witness to the legacy of the sect!"
With his words, Dawn Valley transformed into a sacred shrine for the ancestors, filled with an aura of reverence and majesty. Even the air itself became charged with a different energy, as if history had been rewritten.
But before he could catch his breath, he felt his body being pulled by a mysterious force, and suddenly…
He found himself behind the sect!
He didn't understand how it happened, and he wasn't the only one shocked. His three disciples stood with mouths agape, unable to comprehend what they had just seen.
Even the Heavenly Dragon, who had witnessed everything, seemed stunned for a moment before narrowing its eyes and saying slowly:
"Who granted you this reward?"
Before Rayan could respond, a silhouette of energy appeared in the sky, and an ancient, wisdom-filled voice echoed:
"I am… the Ancestor of Formations."
The Heavenly Dragon's eyes widened, then it chuckled softly.
"So this was the third strongest technique of that crazy old man…"
And the dragon burst into laughter.
Rayan, still trying to comprehend what had happened, realized one thing…
A new era for the Heavenly Sect had begun.