The mountain greeted dawn with a quiet it had not known for days.
Mist drifted between jagged peaks, pale gold light spilling over stone and shattered ground. Where fear had once clung to every breath, there was now only exhaustion—and fragile relief.
Feng Lihan stood at the edge of the battlefield, crimson wings folded tightly behind him. The demonic beast's corpse had already begun to be dismantled by the warriors, its scales harvested, its bones separated with reverence and caution. Nothing of such a creature would be wasted.
Yet his attention was elsewhere.
Lin Yue.
He walked toward him slowly, boots crunching against broken stone. Lin Yue noticed only when Feng Lihan's shadow fell across him. He looked up, eyes still rimmed with lingering shock.
"It's really over," Lin Yue said softly, as if afraid the mountain might hear and object.
Feng Lihan reached out without thinking, fingers closing around Lin Yue's wrist—warm, steady, alive. Only then did his own breathing finally slow.
"Yes," he said. "It's over."
Lin Yue swallowed, gaze dropping to their joined hands. Feng Lihan realized what he was doing and loosened his grip—but Lin Yue didn't pull away.
"I thought…" Lin Yue's voice trembled despite his effort. "When the cave collapsed—I thought I'd never see you again."
Something tightened painfully in Feng Lihan's chest.
"I told you," he said quietly. "I will always come back."
Lin Yue nodded, but his eyes shone. "Then don't say it so calmly next time."
For a brief moment, something almost like a smile touched Feng Lihan's lips.
Behind them, Mo Shan sat cross-legged on a flat stone, the demonic core fragment resting in his palm. Emerald light pulsed faintly beneath his skin as he guided the energy inward, sweat beading on his brow. The air around him vibrated, pressure building, then—
Crack.
The ground beneath him splintered.
Mo Shan sucked in a sharp breath as power surged through his meridians, raw and violent. His golden eyes flared bright, then slowly stabilized.
When he finally opened them again, the aura around him had changed—denser, sharper.
"A breakthrough," one warrior whispered in awe. "Four-star…?"
Mo Shan exhaled and stood, rolling his shoulders. "Not yet," he said with a grin. "But close enough to taste it."
Feng Lihan inclined his head slightly. "Good."
Mo Shan met his gaze, expression serious for once. "The stone was refined on purpose. That beast didn't just stumble into our territory."
The words cut through the lingering calm.
Feng Lihan's eyes darkened. "You think it was driven here."
"Or released," Mo Shan said. "Either way, someone wanted the Hawk Clan tested."
Around them, the warriors fell silent.
Lin Yue felt a chill crawl up his spine. "Then this won't be the last time."
"No," Feng Lihan agreed. "It won't."
He turned toward the mountain path leading back to the inner territory. Smoke rose faintly from damaged structures. Warriors moved quickly, repairing barriers, reinforcing formations. The clan was wounded—but standing.
"We'll fortify the borders," Feng Lihan commanded. "Double the patrols. Any unusual movement—report it directly to me."
"Yes, Chief!" voices rang out in unison.
As the clan dispersed, Lin Yue lingered beside Feng Lihan. "You're thinking about war."
"I'm thinking about preparation," Feng Lihan corrected. Then, after a pause, "Fear makes people careless. I won't allow that."
Lin Yue looked at him—at the blood still staining his armor, at the wings that had shielded an entire mountain.
"Then let me help," Lin Yue said quietly. "Not just hiding behind you."
Feng Lihan studied him for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"Then stay close," he said. "Things are about to change."
Above them, the mountain stood firm beneath the rising sun.
But somewhere beyond the peaks—
Something had already begun to move.