Yuelan waits in the garden, standing rigid beneath the trees, when a crow lands nearby and caws sharply.
A voice enters her mind.
"A masked man from the Night Dynasty is fleeing with your son… heading toward the Black Mountain Range."
Her mind blanks for a heartbeat.
The Night Dynasty.
Why would they target Chen Juan?
He is only five years old.
He holds no authority, no cultivation, no value in the eyes of power.
And yet—
A bitter thought rises.
She wants her son to influence Kong Wuya.
She wants Chen Juan to matter to him.
But how much she wishes he did not, because she knows the truth better than anyone.
Kong Wuya does not care about her son.
Not truly.
Not deeply enough for this to make sense.
That realisation hurts more than she allows herself to show.
She stands abruptly.
"I'm going to get my son back."
The crow caws.
"I will take you there."
Its body swells rapidly, bones cracking softly as feathers spread, growing until it is large enough to carry her.
Yuelan climbs onto its back without hesitation.
With a powerful beat of its wings, the crow takes off, soaring under the blazing summer sun, the land racing away beneath them.
—
Chen Zhenhai runs.
He carries his five-year-old son tightly against his chest as he flees toward the Black Mountain Range.
Above him, shadows circle.
Crows.
Dozens of them.
Watching.
Tracking.
A voice rings out, sharp and cold.
"Stop there. You cannot escape."
Chen Zhenhai does not answer.
Mana floods his legs, lifting him just above the ground as he skims forward in long, desperate strides.
Even after Kong Wuya converts the spiritual nodes, Chen Zhenhai does not flee.
He remains behind.
He practices the Wizard Meditation Guide and successfully derives mana.
He acquires books on runes, weapon refining, and life engineering from the Wizard Association and studies them in secret.
Within the Divine Puppet Sect, he reaches the Earthly Official Realm, equivalent to a Spiritual Wizard.
Then he destroys that cultivation with his own hands.
His strength plunges.
His control over the Blood Scale Lizard body parts grafted to his arms and legs weakens, movements growing rough and unbalanced.
Even so, his raw physical power still exceeds that of an average Bronze Wizard.
He keeps running.
Faster.
Harder.
Refusing to slow down.
—
Minutes pass.
To Yuelan, they feel like hours.
The wind tears at her clothes as the crow descends, spiralling lower.
Then she sees him.
A cloaked, masked figure is sprinting across the land below.
And in his arms—
Chen Juan.
Her chest tightens violently.
Fear, rage, and a desperate, aching resolve crash together.
Her fingers clutch the crow's feathers as her gaze locks onto the fleeing figure.
This time, no matter who stands behind him—
She will take her son back.
"Stop him!" Yuelan shouts.
The cloaked man stiffens for a fraction of a second, instinctively reacting to the sudden pressure in the air, but then he grits his teeth and continues to run.
Her heart clenches as she sees her son hanging against the man's back.
Chen Juan twists his head around.
"Mother!" he shouts.
Yuelan's voice breaks through the wind.
"Son, don't worry, I will take you back!"
Her son's next words strike her harder than any blade.
"Mother, I will not go back!"
She stiffens atop the crow, disbelief flashing through her eyes.
She draws closer, the wind roaring in her ears, confusion flooding her thoughts.
Then Chen Juan shouts again, his voice desperate but resolute.
"Mother, come with us! You don't need to serve that man anymore. Come with us, and we will be a family once more!"
Her breath catches.
For a moment, her mind goes blank.
Has he been deceived?
Did this man tell her son he is taking him to his father?
Did he twist a child's longing into a weapon?
Yuelan does not answer.
Her jaw tightens.
She urges the crow forward, faster, harder, her gaze locked on the fleeing figure.
Then the light changes.
A vast shadow sweeps across the ground.
Yuelan looks up.
A familiar flying ship glides overhead, dark and silent, its presence pressing down on the land.
The ship surges ahead, curves smoothly through the sky, and turns to face the running man.
At the bow, a lone figure steps forward.
Kaelan.
His eyes are calm.
His voice carries effortlessly across the distance.
"Dark Cage."
Darkness ripples outward.
Planes of condensed shadow form instantly in the air, intersecting at precise angles.
They lock together with a dull, heavy resonance, sealing space itself.
The cloaked man slams into the invisible barrier as if striking a wall of iron.
Dark planes snap shut around him from all sides, enclosing him completely.
Gravity reverses inside the cage.
The ground drops away.
The man is lifted helplessly into the air, suspended and immobilised.
Yuelan does not hesitate.
She leaps from the crow midair, lands lightly, and tears Chen Juan from the man's grasp.
She pulls her son close, holding him so tightly that her arms tremble.
Through the dark bars of the cage, she reaches out and rips away the man's hood.
Her breath stops.
"Zhenhai…"
Shock drains the colour from her face.
Later, Yuelan and Kaelan's first clone flies toward the Tang Kingdom.
The main body remains in deep retreat, so the clones decide that Yuelan will stay in the Tang Kingdom for now.
Li Xueyao is there as well.
She can accompany Yuelan.
She can help.
On the deck of the flying ship, the wind blows softly.
Kaelan's first clone stands at the railing, gazing ahead.
Yuelan walks up and stops beside him.
After a moment, he asks quietly,
"Why did you allow your son to be taken by him?"
Yuelan lowers her eyes.
"He is the father," she answers softly.
"He also has some rights."
Kaelan nods.
He does not ask anything further.
Chen Juan does not concern him.
Not truly.
His only concern in this world has always been singular.
To become a God.
And now—
The successful birth of his child.
For the first time, he will be a father.
The feeling inside him is unfamiliar, vast, and difficult to put into words.
Jubilation.
Exaltation.
Something deeper still.
Yet his main body does not leave retreat.
After the child is born, he must protect them.
And right now—
His strength is not enough.
So in absolute silence, with complete focus, his true body continues to comprehend the Fire Path.
Because the world is already moving.
Three months pass in silence.
Within the sealed retreat, Kaelan fully comprehends the Fire Path.
Fire elemental energy becomes transparent to his will, refined, compressed, and finally transformed into Fire Divine Energy.
Yet he does not emerge.
He continues deeper.
Wind Path becomes his next focus.
While the main body remains in retreat, Kaelan's third clone departs from the Wizard Academy island and flies toward the mainland.
His destination is Adran City.
Before reaching the city, he retracts the flying ship and enters on foot, aura suppressed, presence low-key, leaving no trace that would reveal his identity.
He walks through familiar streets and arrives at the Golden Sparrow Pavilion.
Stepping into the lobby, the air hums softly with activity.
A female attendant notices him immediately.
Recognition flashes in her eyes, but she keeps her composure.
She approaches and bows slightly.
"Lord Kong, what do you need?"
Kaelan hands her a prepared list.
"Bring me this."
She accepts it respectfully.
"Alright, Lord Kong. Is there anything else?"
Kaelan asks, "Is your manager present?"
The attendant smiles.
"Yes. Manager is in her office."
"Then I'll go meet her."
He walks past the lobby, through the inner corridors of the inn, and stops before Jin Yinji's office.
He knocks.
"Enter."
He steps inside and sees Yinji seated behind her desk, brows lightly furrowed as she works.
She looks up.
"Oh," she says flatly, "it's you."
Kaelan moves forward and sits down casually.
"How is your reaction so calm?" he asks. "Do you know how many people want to meet me but can't?"
Yinji snorts without looking at him and continues writing.
"What brings you here?"
Kaelan leans back.
"I came to drink with my drinking buddy."
"I don't have time," Yinji replies. "Headquarters is pressing us for more resources."
Kaelan raises an eyebrow.
"Even here, the war's effects are felt?"
Yinji nods faintly.
"They want more dried fish," she says. "But both the Giant Shark Clan and the Lightning Whale Clan have joined the Night Dynasty."
She exhales.
"Going into deep waters is dangerous now."
Hearing this, Kaelan understands.
That explains why the Sound Dolphin Clan has been moving around his island.
Why does their clan head personally come to meet him?
They are not wandering.
They are seeking protection.
Kaelan's eyes narrow slightly as the pieces fall into place.
The war on land has already reached the sea.
And the Night Dynasty's shadow continues to spread.