Immediately they settled down inside the car, their whole playfulness and aura of laziness disappeared completely, the air suddenly turned solemn, their expression cold and hard, like a storm is brewing.
"What happened to Zhao lengxuan? It shouldn't be that difficult right?" Chen kaelun finally voiced out
"I lost connection with my shadow that I sent out yesterday, something is strongly wrong" Mei xuelian cold voice rung out startling them
"What? Even you lost your shadow?" Now Lin Feng face is so dark it could cause a storm
"Let's get to the mansion and contact him, if it's more than we think, Chen kaelun would go join him and if it's beyond anyone...I'll go myself " he said and a heavy silence fell on them. The atmosphere was heavy till they got to the mansion.
The mansion felt unusually quiet when the six returned from school—quiet in the way only worry could create. Their steps echoed lightly across the marble floors as they walked into the central hall, robes gone, bags slung over tired shoulders. Even their usual laughter felt thinner, restrained.
Because one of them was missing.
Zhao Lengxuan—Leon—still hadn't called.
Lin Feng (Logan), walking at the front, slowed the moment they entered the meeting chamber. The faint, warm glow of lanterns lit the carved wooden table where they always gathered. But tonight, the room felt colder, as though the air itself sensed something wrong.
"Still no message?" lora asked, folding her arms.
"No." Caleb shook his head. "Leon never goes radio silent like this."
Jason sat down quietly, his fingers lacing together nervously. "He left at dawn. He should've contacted us when he arrived."
Susana exhaled sharply. "I'm calling him. I don't care if he's mid-flight or mid-fight."
Ethan tried to keep his voice even. "Let's not panic. Let Feng handle it."
Logan said nothing for a moment. He had already pulled his phone out. His thumb hovered over Leon's contact, jaw tight. He was rarely visibly tense—he was the kind of leader who could face a collapsing mountain without blinking. But tonight, the silence from the North was digging under his skin.
He pressed the call button. The speaker crackled softly.
One ring.
Two.
Three...
A click.
Then a sharp breath.
Static.
And finally, Leon's voice, rough and strained.
"...Logan?"
Six heads snapped toward the phone at once.
Logan's voice sharpened. "Lengxuan. Report."
There was a long pause, too long.
Then Leon sighed slowly. His tone was calm, but underneath was something else… exhaustion.
"The disturbance is worse than expected."
Jason muttered under his breath. "Of course it is."
Leon continued.
"It's not just corrupted qi. There's a nest forming beneath the northern ravine—you wouldn't believe how deep it goes. Someone built it intentionally."
Susana frowned. "A demon?"
"Not just one."
Leon's breathing shifted, heavier.
"Two demon cultivators of Immortal Ascension realm. Mid-stage."
The silence in the room dropped like stone.
Even Logan froze.
Jason whispered, "That's impossible… mid-stage Ascension demons don't exist on Earth anymore."
"They're not supposed to," Leon murmured. "But they're here."
Caleb swallowed. "Are you safe at least?"
A soft, humorless laugh came through the speaker.
"Define 'safe'."
Logan straightened immediately.
"Lengxuan. Are you injured?"
The pause was answer enough.
But Leon still answered.
"Yes."
"One of them had a blood-binding technique. I managed to kill him."
Susan gasped. Jason flinched.
"The second escaped. Barely. But… I took some damage. I'll stabilize it."
Logan's knuckles whitened around the phone. "How bad?"
Leon exhaled, the sound brittle.
"Bad enough that I need two days to finish clearing the place before the wound becomes a problem."
Lora muttered sharply, "He's downplaying it. You can hear it in his breath."
Caleb and Ethan, standing near the door, exchanged worried looks even if they said little.
Leon continued, voice low.
"I'll finish it. Don't come here. I'm closing off the entire valley with talismans so no qi leaks out. The world won't notice a thing."
Logan's jaw flexed once—anger, worry, decision all battling silently.
He didn't raise his voice.
He didn't panic.
But every immortal in the room knew what that silence meant.
"Lengxuan," Logan said quietly. "You shouldn't be handling two mid-stage Ascension demons alone."
Leon chuckled under his breath.
"Shouldn't, but did. And halfway succeeded."
"Enough." Logan's voice turned into steel.
"Hold your position. I'm coming."
The reaction from the room was immediate.
Jason stood. "You can't go alone."
Caleb grabbed the table. "We can support you."
Suzy's eyes widened. "Logan, if Leon said it's dangerous..."
"It is." Logan cut in smoothly. "That's why I'm going."
Leon immediately objected.
"Logan—don't."
"I can handle the rest. If two of us go missing from the school, the target on the kids increases. Stay with them."
Logan inhaled slowly through his nose.
"You're injured, Lengxuan."
"I've been injured before."
"Not like this."
Leon didn't respond.
The silence spoke for him.
Logan turned to the others. "I'll leave immediately. Gather energy supplies for me...high-grade cores and talismans."
As they scattered to prepare, Logan looked at Ethan.
Wu Mingyu stepped forward, calm and steady.
"Leader."
Logan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If anything happens here...anything at all,you contact me. No delay. You understand?"
Ethan nodded. "Yes. I'll watch the mansion, the disciples, and the qi fluctuations. I won't let anything slip through."
Logan's eyes softened slightly—a rare thing.
"I'm trusting you."
Ethan bowed lightly. "And I won't fail you."
Logan returned to the phone.
"Lengxuan."
Leon's voice softened.
"Yeah?"
"…Hold on. I'm coming."
There was a long silence on the other end.
Then Leon breathed out, tired and sincere.
"Alright. I'll wait."
The call ended.
The room remained still for three heartbeats.
Then Logan moved.
He grabbed his cloak, strapped on his immortal blade, pocketed talismans, and pushed open the back door leading into the moonlit courtyard.
The night air was cold.
Heavy.
Expectant.
Lora watched him go. "Be careful."
Logan didn't look back.
"Always."
Then he vanished, his figure dissolving into wind as he shot northward, a streak of silver qi slicing across the sky.
The mansion trembled in the silence that followed.
Because they all knew
If two mid-stage Ascension demons were here…
Then this was only the beginning.