A cold wind swept across the rooftop of Tianyuan Spiritual Academy, rustling the long black robe worn by the man who stood at its edge. Li Xuantian gazed at the stars, his eyes reflecting a distant glimmer beyond the mortal realm—a gate that shimmered faintly, barely perceptible even to the sharpest senses.
He could see it because he had once walked close to it.
The Divine Realm, where the cycle of cultivation reached its zenith. Where immortality was no longer a dream, but a burden.
"It has opened… only slightly," he murmured, his voice a whisper that only the wind could hear. "And yet, it's enough to awaken what's been dormant for a million years."
Suddenly, a presence approached from behind.
"You shouldn't be here," came a sharp female voice. "This area is restricted to instructors and inner court disciples."
Xuantian didn't turn.
"And yet, here I stand."
The young woman furrowed her brow. She wore the silver-trimmed uniform of a third-year student. A spirit sword floated behind her, humming with controlled energy.
"I've seen your evaluation." She eyed him cautiously. "Qi Condensation… and somehow you shattered the assessment crystal. Who are you, really?"
Li Xuantian finally turned. His gaze, though calm, made her breath hitch. There was no arrogance in his eyes—only depth, as if he had seen the rise and fall of empires.
"Does a realm define power?" he asked.
The woman was silent for a moment before composing herself.
"My name is Yan Ruyue, top-ranked student of the inner court. I've trained under three elders and ranked fifth in the last Grand Combat Trials." Her tone carried pride, but also a hint of curiosity. "You're hiding something."
Li Xuantian gave a faint smile. "You're not wrong."
"And I'll find out what it is."
With that, she turned and disappeared down the stairs.
---
The following day, news spread through the academy like wildfire.
The shattered crystal.
The Qi Condensation anomaly.
The unknown student.
Some dismissed it as a fluke. Others whispered theories. A few began watching Li Xuantian from afar. But he paid no attention to their eyes.
Instead, he focused on something far greater—the disturbance in the Heavenly Tapestry.
During a meditation session under the academy's spirit tree, he opened his mind to the Celestial Web—an ancient sensing technique lost to modern cultivators. Threads of fate, energy, and time revealed themselves like glowing veins in the sky.
"Something is waking," he murmured.
He saw the shifting tides of destiny.
In the north: a forgotten tomb awakening beneath the snow.
In the west: demonic energy corrupting a sacred mountain.
And above… the gate to the Divine Realm pulsing with faint light.
But before he could probe further—
BOOM!
The spirit tree exploded into leaves and wind as a massive force descended.
A boy in golden armor landed before him, surrounded by cheering students.
"Here he is! The Crystal Faker!" the boy laughed.
His name was Fang Wuji, grandson of the academy's Vice Headmaster. Born with a golden spirit root and enhanced by heavenly pills, he was the embodiment of privilege and arrogance.
"I've come to test your so-called power," Fang Wuji sneered. "Or are you afraid to duel?"
Li Xuantian rose slowly.
"Afraid? No. But… what would I gain?"
The crowd roared.
"He's dodging!"
"He knows he'll lose!"
Fang Wuji's eyes narrowed. "You broke academy property. I'm just here to punish a liar."
Without warning, he launched forward. His fist, clad in spiritual flames, shot like a meteor toward Xuantian's face.
But the moment it reached him—
It stopped.
Frozen.
Fang Wuji's entire body locked in place. Muscles refused to move. Breath caught in his lungs. Spiritual energy scattered like frightened birds.
Xuantian stood still, hand raised lazily in the air.
"You are strong," he said softly, "for this era. But strength without discipline… is wasted."
He tapped Fang Wuji's chest.
A wave of force exploded outward, sending the golden-armored boy crashing into a tree across the courtyard.
Gasps erupted.
"Did… did he even move?"
"He stopped Fang Wuji's attack with a single touch!"
"He's still Qi Condensation, right?!"
Xuantian turned and walked away in silence.
That night, his name spread beyond the academy.
---
Meanwhile…
Deep beneath the Jianghai mountains, an ancient altar trembled.
Candles flickered. Dust fell from the ceiling.
In a hidden chamber guarded by talismans and seals, an old man with white eyebrows sat before a crystal orb.
His eyes widened.
"The aura has returned… the Eternal One breathes again."
He stood, robes billowing.
"Summon the Council. The heavens are stirring. The gate is loosening. The one who was sealed outside the path… has reentered it."
---
Back at the Academy…
Yan Ruyue sat alone in the Moonlight Pavilion, her spirit sword hovering beside her. She replayed the scene again and again in her mind—Fang Wuji's defeat, Li Xuantian's calm.
No fluctuation of energy. No buildup. Just a single movement.
"What cultivation technique is he using?" she whispered. "No realm… but immeasurable power."
She clenched her fist. "I must know."
That night, she visited the library's restricted section, using her status to gain access. Row after row of ancient scrolls, cultivation manuals, and historical records lay dormant in silence.
Then she found it.
A dusty jade slip, buried beneath a stack of forbidden tomes.
"The Forbidden Path: Cultivators Who Transcend Realms."
She scanned the text.
"There once existed a sect known as the Eternal Heaven Sect… whose master never advanced past Qi Condensation. He cultivated for thousands, then hundreds of thousands of years… and eventually, disappeared into legend. It is said that he defied the very concept of realms and sought to break into the Divine Realm directly…"
Yan Ruyue's heart stopped.
Li Xuantian.
It couldn't be… could it?
She looked toward the window. Outside, the clouds shimmered with lightning in the distance, a storm forming far beyond the city.
Something was coming.
And Li Xuantian was at the center of it all.
---