Merin grips the broken staff, the Spirit Bead still fixed to its crown.
A pulse runs up his arm, dense and cold, and his eyes gleam as he tastes the energy sealed within.
The Spirit Bead can power the portal, he thinks, a flicker of triumph carefully buried behind calm eyes.
He lifts the staff and offers it to his master. "Master, take this."
The Sect Master studies him, then shakes his head. "You keep it. You are now stronger than I."
Merin lowers his gaze, masking the spark in his eyes with hesitation. "This… disciple is unworthy."
One of the elders smiles faintly, convinced by the act. "Yu Feng, hold it for now. We'll discuss when we return to the sect."
Merin exhales as though reluctant, then sighs. "Yes, Master. Elders."
The Sect Master's tone sharpens. "And that fire technique you unleashed at the end—what was it?"
Merin tilts his head, his expression calm. "A technique I devised, Master. To digest the energy of demon beasts quickly."
One elder narrows his eyes. "It seemed more than digestion."
Merin shrugs, a faint curve at the corner of his mouth. "That was the plan. But it grew into something more."
The three great eagles descend onto the scorched earth.
Merin steps down lightly, his gaze scanning until it catches on two figures approaching—his junior sister Yu Mei, and beside her, a young man draped in new robes, a ring gleaming on his finger.
Merin's eyes pause on the ring, then on the robe—details no one else would notice.
The Sect Master follows his glance and smiles. "That is your new junior brother, Lou Yuan."
Merin inclines his head, calm and unreadable. "Understood."
The Sect Master beckons. "Yu Mei, Lou Yuan—come."
Lou Yuan feels the weight of his senior brother's eyes on him, fixed not on his face but on his ring.
His heart skips. Devil… did my senior brother notice you?
From the ring, the voice curls through his mind. He shouldn't be able to.
Lou Yuan swallows. So you are not sure.
"Brother, Master is calling us," Yu Mei urges softly.
Lou Yuan nods, though tension twists in his chest. His secret may already be bleeding through.
They bow first to their master, then to Merin.
Merin studies him for a beat too long before asking, "Junior brother, from which city do you hail?"
Lou Yuan glances at the Sect Master, then at the elders. The exchange is wordless but heavy.
Merin tilts his head, a faint crease in his brow. "Does junior brother come from a secret land, perhaps?"
Yu Mei's eyes widen. "Yes, Master—you scolded me last time I asked, saying you would tell me when I reached Qi Refiner Great Master. Now Senior Brother has reached that level—you must tell him."
The Sect Master and elders share a sigh, their silence telling more than words.
"When we return to the sect," the Sect Master says at last, his voice low. "Then you will know."
Merin rises, his voice steady. "Our work here is finished. Let's return."
The Sect Master scans the ruined city, then nods. "Yes. Before more demons come."
One by one, they mount the three great birds and rise into the cold night sky.
As the wind whips past, Merin glances at Lou Yuan. "Junior brother, did your fiancée break the engagement?"
Lou Yuan blinks, startled. "No."
Merin's gaze narrows. "Then perhaps someone betrayed you. You fell from a cliff… had an adventure?"
Shock flashes across Lou Yuan's face. Their master and elders turn toward them, puzzled by the strange line of questioning.
Lou Yuan forces a laugh. "No."
But Merin feels the ripple of nervous qi, faint yet sharp—an unspoken yes.
He nods once, satisfied, and turns his eyes back to the ground below. Wilderness and cities slide by under the moonlight, mountains casting long shadows across the plains.
Lou Yuan swallows hard, then blurts, "Brother… why are you asking me this?"
Merin's voice is distant, detached. "Nothing."
Three days later, they returned to the Lanshan Sect's mountain.
After a day of rest, Merin enters the main hall chamber alone, where his master and the elders await.
His master's gaze is solemn. "Merin, what I am about to tell you—you cannot share with anyone."
Merin nods.
"We humans," his master says, each word heavy, "are not from this land."
The confusion he once carried clears in an instant. He had long noticed the gaps in the historical records—when cultivation techniques first appeared, when the Human Alliance was formed, how the sects and cities were established. None of it ever explained the beginning.
His master studies his face. "You are not surprised."
Merin shrugs. "I saw the missing points."
A faint smile touches his master's lips. "You were always sharp."
He continues. "We came from the Shenyuan Continent."
Merin's eyes flicker. "Lou Yuan is from there."
"Yes," his master confirms.
Merin frowns. "I don't see why this should remain a secret."
An elder leans forward, his voice low. "Because if the demons learn where we came from, they may follow us back. If that happens, the true homeland of our people will fall into disaster."
The chamber grows silent, the weight of the revelation pressing down like stone.
Merin breaks it first. "Why? The Shenyuan Continent doesn't only contain us."
His master's gaze deepens. " Yes, we are not alone there."
"Shenyuan is ten times the size of this Wild Continent. Countless races live there, and among them, our human race is small."
Merin nods slowly, piecing it together.
"Now," his master says, voice turning deliberate, "do you wish to go to the Shenyuan Continent?"
"I can go," Merin answers without hesitation.
"The Alliance sends two kinds of people," his master explains. "Those who have refined their Qi five thousand times… and those who reached Qi Refining Great Master before thirty years of age."
Merin's lips curve faintly. "And I accomplished it before twenty."
His master studies him, then nods. "So, do you want to go?"
"Yes."
For Merin, the choice is clear. In Shenyuan, strength would rise faster, truths would not stay buried, and the breadth of the world would finally open to him.
"Then," his master says at last, "I will send your request to the Alliance."
The elders sigh in disappointment, their shoulders sinking.
Merin frowns. "Why do you all look disappointed?"
One elder speaks softly. "We wished to keep you for the sect competition, two years from now."
Merin tilts his head. "I can prolong my stay until then."
His master shakes his head firmly. "No. That would be selfish on our part. The sooner you go to the Shenyuan Continent, the better it will be for your cultivation."
The other elders nod in agreement, though their eyes still linger on him with reluctance.
"Master," Merin asks, "how is the Shenyuan Continent different from the Wild Continent?"
His master's expression grows thoughtful. "You don't know because we, too, were born here. But the ancestors who founded our sect came from Shenyuan. They left behind a record."
Merin's eyes narrow with curiosity. "Can I see that record?"
Then a thought stirs in him, and he continues before his master answers. "Or perhaps… I can ask Lou Yuan. His knowledge of Shenyuan would be more recent than any old record."
His master shakes his head. "Lou Yuan's memory of the Shenyuan Continent is under seal. He cannot share it with anyone."
Merin exhales slowly, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Inwardly, he thinks, the alliance doesn't leave any loopholes.
"Then," he says calmly, "I'll have to make do with the record."
His master nods. "It will take two days to unseal it. After that, you may study it."
Merin inclines his head. "Understood."
A few minutes later, he leaves the main hall and returns to his cave.
There, silence surrounds him, yet his mind is far from still. Questions circle endlessly—about the Shenyuan Continent, about its vastness, its races, its cultivation methods. But for now, he can do nothing but wait for two days to pass.