The sun hadn't moved much since Lin Xuan left the arena, but the world felt… different.
In the past, he'd walked through crowds like a ghost. No one noticed him. No one cared. But now?
Heads turned.
Voices whispered.
Some pointed, trying to act discreet. Others didn't bother hiding their curiosity. Even those from other departments—pill scholars, formation engineers, tech cultivators—seemed to recognize him now.
"Is that really him?"
"Yeah. Shen Yi. The one who crushed Xue Jian without even activating a formal cultivation rank."
"That was no fluke. Did you see that last technique? It cut off qi circulation."
"Insane… I thought only elite clans could do that kind of meridian strike."
Lin Xuan didn't acknowledge any of it.
He walked calmly across the plaza, past a digital billboard that, just yesterday, wouldn't have spared him a pixel. Now?
His face was on it.
"Breakthrough Fighter in Core Arena: Shen Yi Defeats Iceflow Prodigy!"
He scoffed under his breath.
They really were fast with marketing.
Back in the Iceflow Pavilion, Xue Jian stood in silence, staring at a cracked training dummy.
He hadn't spoken since returning.
Around him, his juniors watched carefully. None dared to break the tension.
Until one finally spoke.
"Elder Brother… should we issue a formal challenge rematch?"
Xue Jian's knuckles tightened.
"No."
The answer shocked them.
"No?" the junior echoed.
Xue Jian turned.
"There's nothing to challenge. I lost. I wasn't outmatched in strength... I was outclassed in understanding. That man didn't beat me with force. He dismantled me. Technique by technique."
His eyes narrowed.
"And he hid a lot more than he showed."
At the same time, in the upper floors of Blackthorn Academy's administrative tower, several figures gathered around a holographic projection of the fight.
"Instructor Ren," spoke an older man in layered robes, marked with the Head of Combat Department's seal. "Your new 'recommendation' certainly made a splash."
Ren kept her arms folded, tone neutral. "I didn't recommend him. He forced his way in."
Another instructor, lean with steel-gray hair, squinted at the screen. "Shen Yi, huh? Strange movements. His foundation is absurdly solid, but not in any known modern curriculum. And that palm technique—he used it like it was engraved into his bones."
"Because it is," Ren muttered.
"Pardon?"
She looked up.
"Some students inherit talent. Some cultivate it. But there are a few… who return with it."
A heavy silence followed.
Then the head of the academy leaned back in his chair.
"Keep an eye on him. If he disrupts balance, we act. But if he flourishes…"
He smiled.
"Well. A beast in our walls is still our beast."
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan returned to his dorm and opened the door.
To his surprise, someone was already there.
A young man with orange-tinted glasses, spiky brown hair, and the emblem of the Formation Engineering Division on his jacket. He sat on Lin Xuan's bed casually, flipping through a data-slate.
"Yo."
Lin Xuan raised a brow. "You are?"
"The name's Wei Fan. You're Shen Yi, right? Of course you are. Nice fight earlier—super clean. Like slicing tofu with a laser saber."
Lin Xuan didn't answer. He simply shut the door behind him and approached slowly.
Wei Fan held up his hands.
"Relax, bro. Not here to fight. I'm here to offer you something."
"Go on."
"I run a small… let's call it a startup. Independent cultivators, engineers, even a contract beast tamer. We operate in the shadows of this overblown academy system. Projects. Challenges. Quests from the outer city. You feel me?"
Lin Xuan blinked. "A freelance squad?"
Wei Fan grinned. "Exactly! And we want you."
"No."
That wiped the grin off his face. "You haven't even heard the benefits."
"I don't care."
Wei Fan scratched his head. "Alright, alright. Can't say I didn't try." He got up and started for the door, then paused. "You've made waves, Shen Yi. But waves attract sharks. Don't swim alone too long."
With that, he left.
Lin Xuan stared at the closed door.
He wasn't worried.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the next wall.
Waiting for the next layer to unlock.
And he felt it coming.
The strain on his meridians was loosening. His bones were adapting. The vessel—this new body—was finally beginning to respond.
He sat down cross-legged.
And entered meditation.
Across the city, in the central sector of Cloud Harbor Media Tower, a giant holographic screen replayed the arena fight for the hundredth time.
In a sleek executive office lined with spiritual runes and LED lights, a woman in black heels and silver-rimmed glasses leaned against the wall, watching.
Long black hair. Red lips. Eyes that saw straight through people.
She sipped from a glass and narrowed her gaze at the slow-motion footage of Lin Xuan catching the Spirit Blade.
A voice came from her communicator.
"Director Liu? What's your take?"
She smirked.
"Find out everything about Shen Yi. Background. Guardianship. Entry test logs. I want every anomaly flagged and sent to me directly."
"Yes, ma'am."
She turned away.
"Let's see what kind of mask you're wearing, boy."
That night, Lin Xuan opened his eyes.
The second meridian gate was ready.
His body had fully adapted to Level Two flow.
It wasn't a large leap in modern standards.
But for him, it was everything.
With his cultivation path now restored—albeit slowly—he could begin recreating what he once lost.
He removed the standard academy bracelet on his wrist. Underneath, faint marks had begun to form.
Not tattoos.
Not scars.
But engraved seals, lines of spiritual resonance drawn by his very qi. Ancient runes, long forgotten by the current world.
He placed two fingers against the seal.
"Stage Two. Begin."
A quiet hum filled the room.
His pulse slowed.
His qi shifted.
Heaven-Splitting Manual: Spirit Compression Cycle – Initiated.
It would take hours.
Maybe days.
But when it finished—
He wouldn't just be a Core Tier cultivator.
He'd be something else entirely.
A hybrid of past mastery and present reality.
Meanwhile, at the edge of Blackthorn Academy's underground sector, a different type of gathering stirred.
A group of students with cloaks and hidden brands met in the shadow of a forgotten training hall.
Their leader, tall and quiet, stared at a grainy recording of the fight.
"Shen Yi," he muttered. "That's not his real name."
"Should we deal with him?"
"No."
The leader turned.
"Not yet. Let's see how high he climbs. Then we knock him down harder."
The others nodded.
And disappeared into the dark.
Back in the room, Lin Xuan's eyes flickered open.
The seal glowed softly on his arm.
Power flowed through his limbs—not wild, but dense. Refined. His breathing slowed to a near halt.
He was ready.
But as the silence settled, a faint notification blinked on his wall-mounted display.
[Mission Alert]
Your ranking has triggered a priority duel. Opponent: Song Renshu.
Time: 24 hours. Refusal will result in forfeit of arena access.
Lin Xuan stared at it.
And smiled.
"Another one already?"