The world outside Xuánlóng Shénjìng was still trembling.
When Tiān Lán and Yao Xiangyi stumbled through the collapsing portal, the roar of the realm's dying heartbeat chased them like thunder. A gale of fractured qi howled across the cliff, carrying fragments of crystal and streams of elemental light. The mountain beneath them shuddered as if the realm's last breath had shaken the very bones of the continent.
They landed hard on fractured stone.
For a long heartbeat there was only the hiss of settling dust and the sharp taste of metallic qi in the air.
---
The cliffside lay in chaos. Trees were splintered, rocks torn asunder, rivers of elemental energy twisting violently around the ridges. Tiān Lán knelt amidst the wreckage of his failed medicine experiment—the same mixture of Spirit Crystal resonance and Primordial Artifact fusion that had nearly torn the realm apart. His Nascent Soul Peak cultivation had kept him alive, but every muscle trembled with exhaustion. The cold burn of lightning still threaded through his veins.
Yao Xiangyi approached cautiously, her sword still humming with residual power.
"Are you… okay?" she asked, voice tight with both awe and fear. "That surge—no formation could have contained it."
Tiān Lán's fingers shook as he steadied the Primordial Artifact against his knee.
"I'm alive," he said at last, his voice a low rumble against the restless wind. "But this… this is bigger than I imagined."
Above them, the Guardian of Synthesis—no longer bound to the collapsing realm—hovered in a corona of pale light. Its presence radiated calm, slowly drinking in the wild qi until the air grew breathable again.
> "You have unlocked potential few can touch,"
the Guardian's voice resonated directly in Tiān Lán's mind.
"The energy you released has echoed beyond this mountain. Only twenty cultivators across the continent can sense it clearly, but every sect will feel the tremor. Your name will spread among them immediately."
Tiān Lán exhaled, tasting iron on his breath.
"The continent…" His eyes narrowed to a glacial focus. "Everyone will know."
The morning sun cut through the dissipating mist.
A ripple of qi surged outward from the mountain like a silent gong strike, visible even from distant valleys. Cultivators far and wide felt the shockwave—a fusion of Nascent Soul Peak power, Primordial Artifact resonance, and the raw chaos of experimental medicine.
Within hours, news leapt across the land like wildfire.
Elders in their secluded palaces stirred from meditation.
Grandmasters opened their eyes to sudden dread.
Even the twenty hidden paragons of the continent paused, sensing an unfamiliar presence rising to challenge the order of the realms.
---
By dusk, the mountain had stabilized, though the landscape remained scarred by their ordeal. Tiān Lán led the way down through blackened pines and shattered terraces. Each step was heavy, but his mind moved faster than ever, already weaving plans from the Guardian's cryptic words.
At the base of the range, disciples of the Frostveil Sect waited in anxious ranks. They had felt the surge hours earlier and feared the worst. When Tiān Lán appeared, robes torn but eyes alight with strange brilliance, a murmur of relief and disbelief swept the crowd.
"Senior Brother Tiān… survived?"
"He carries the artifact…"
"The qi around him—it's… terrifying."
Protective formations around the sect flared instinctively, reacting to the lingering pressure of his cultivation. Even the elders standing at the forefront tightened their grips on their spirit talismans.
Yao Xiangyi walked at his side, shoulders squared though her breathing betrayed her fatigue. Together they crossed the final bridge toward the Sect Master's hall, the Primordial Artifact glowing faintly like a captured star.
---
The Frostveil Grand Hall was already filled when they entered.
Three Grand Elders sat upon crescent-shaped thrones of glacial jade; the Sect Master himself stood before the altar, robes billowing with suppressed power. The air smelled of cold iron and mountain snow.
"Tiān Lán," the Sect Master said, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Reports speak of a cataclysm. Explain."
Tiān Lán bowed with measured calm, then recounted the collapse of Xuánlóng Shénjìng, the fusion of the Spirit Crystal with the Primordial Artifact, and the uncontrolled medicinal experiment that had triggered the surge. His words were precise, but the images they conjured—floating bridges collapsing, elemental storms devouring the sky—sent visible shivers through the assembled elders.
When he finished, silence reigned.
Finally, Grand Elder Yunqi leaned forward, eyes sharp as drawn steel.
"The pulse of that power reached the Southern Realms. Even the Heavenly Sword Pavilion sent an inquiry before this meeting began. Do you grasp what you have done, child?"
"I do," Tiān Lán replied evenly. "And I accept the consequences."
Another elder, the silver-haired strategist Li Shuang, studied him with unreadable eyes.
"Consequences are inevitable. Opportunities, rarer still. You have revealed a path toward Spirit Realm advancement that defies known theory. There are paragons who will seek you as an ally… and those who will kill you to dissect the method."
The Sect Master's gaze softened, just slightly.
"Yet you returned alive, artifact in hand, with the Guardian itself recognizing you. That is no small miracle." He turned to the elders. "This achievement deserves recognition, not punishment."
Yunqi frowned but said nothing.
Li Shuang tapped her jade scepter against the floor, sending a crystalline chime through the hall.
"Protection must be our priority. Until Tiān Lán reaches Spirit Realm, he remains vulnerable to ambush. I propose sealing the mountain passes and assigning elite shadow guards to his side."
Murmurs of agreement spread through the chamber.
Yao Xiangyi stepped forward, blade resting lightly against her palm.
"With respect, Elders, I will remain as his personal guard. I was there. I witnessed the Guardian's acceptance. My sword will not waver."
The Sect Master nodded.
"Granted. From this moment, Tiān Lán is to be regarded as the sect's highest-priority disciple. His research into artifact synthesis will continue under direct supervision. Any sect that dares to provoke Frostveil will answer to us all."
A ripple of approval swept the hall, though beneath the surface Tiān Lán sensed the hidden calculations of each elder—alliances forming, rivalries sharpening, political tides shifting around the weight of his newfound power.
---
Hours later, after the formalities ended, Tiān Lán stood on the balcony overlooking the moonlit training grounds. The mountain air was sharp with winter frost, carrying whispers of distant sect messengers racing to spread the news.
The Guardian of Synthesis hovered silently beside him, a faint halo of light reflecting in his eyes.
> "Your creation has rewritten boundaries,"
the Guardian murmured.
"Few have the capacity to survive such power, let alone control it. You have marked yourself as a cultivator unlike any other in history. Rivals will come. Allies will seek you. The continent will tremble."
Tiān Lán rested a hand on the cold railing, feeling the pulse of qi in the stone beneath.
"Then let them come," he said quietly. "The Spirit Realm is my next step. By the time they reach for it, I will already have mastered it."
Behind him, Yao Xiangyi joined him, her presence steady as a drawn sword.
"No matter who comes," she said, voice firm despite the night wind, "we'll face them together."
He glanced at her, a rare smile touching his lips.
"Exactly. This is only the beginning of the new era."
Above them, the stars blazed like distant spirit lamps.
Across the continent, sects whispered, elders plotted, and messengers flew through the dark.
A storm of anticipation was gathering, unseen but undeniable.
Tiān Lán lifted his gaze to the heavens, the Guardian's glow reflecting in his eyes.
The world would remember his name—not merely as a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator, but as the one who defied every limit, awakened an impossible power, and dared to reshape the destiny of the realms.
"Let them come," he whispered to the silent mountains.
"I am ready."