While Yu Yue was making her exit, the Clan Leader, Lin Yang, was preparing for his own departure.
A massive Void Ship, carved from dragon-bone and floating on anti-gravity formations, waited at the dock.
"Brother," Lin Feng stood by the ramp, looking dejected. "Are you really leaving now? The ceremony just ended."
"Time waits for no one," Lin Yang said, adjusting his travel cloak. "Yan'er turns nine next week. I must be in the Human Greatland to oversee her awakening. Her bloodline is crucial for the clan's future."
He looked at Lin Feng, noticing his brother's sour mood. "Why so sullen? Because of the boy?"
"He humiliated me," Lin Feng spat.
"You are childish," Lin Yang scoffed. "He is your seed. If the crop is bad, the farmer is to blame. But enough of that. While I am gone, you are the Acting Clan Leader. Manage the elders. Keep the supply lines open."
"I will," Lin Feng nodded. Then, he hesitated. "Brother... about Yu Yue."
Lin Yang paused. "What about her?"
"Before... in the hall... she stopped me. Her cultivation... brother, I felt fear. Genuine fear. She is hiding something massive."
Lin Yang's eyes narrowed. "I told you. She is dangerous. But right now, I cannot deal with her. I have to secure that part from the Xin branch first. Once I return... we will confront her. For now, do not provoke her. Do not do anything foolish."
"I won't," Lin Feng promised, though his eyes shifted uneasily. "But you... you are going to the Human Greatland alone?"
"I am the Clan Leader," Lin Yang said arrogantly. "The number of people that match me can count only in single digit here not in that wasteland."
"Still, take the Shadow Guards," Lin Feng insisted. "For safety."
Lin Yang rolled his eyes but waved his hand. "Fine. Two Shadow Guards are already on the ship. Happy?"
"Safe travels, brother."
Lin Yang boarded the ship. The engines roared, tearing a hole in the fabric of space, and the ship vanished into the void, heading for the distant, lower-tier continent.
Thousands of miles away, across the Limitless Ocean and through the dimensional barriers, lay the Human Greatland.
The Qi here was thin—a mere fraction of the density in the Azure Heaven. The sky was a pale, washed-out blue, and the buildings were made of stone and wood rather than spirit jade.
In the small city of Cloud Reach, within the courtyard of the local warlord's estate, the sun was shining brightly.
"Big Brother! Good job!"
A girl's laughter rang out like a bell.
Lin Yan'er, now nine years old, clapped her hands. She was beautiful, even in the simple robes she wore to blend in. Her skin was like porcelain, a stark contrast to the tanned, rougher skin of the locals.
Standing opposite her was a boy of ten. He had a decent face—average, but with a kind smile. He was sweating profusely, panting as he finished a basic punching routine.
This was Xin Yuan. The son of the local City Lord.
"Did... did I do it right, Sister Yan'er?" Xin Yuan asked, wiping his forehead. He was at the 3rd Stage of Mortal Foundation. In this city, at his age, that was considered a genius.
"Perfect!" Yan'er giggled, handing him a towel. "You finally got the stance right. You're so talented!"
Xin Yuan blushed, scratching the back of his head. "It's all thanks to you. You teach me better than the city instructors."
"Let's go eat!" Yan'er grabbed his hand naturally. "I'm starving. What's for lunch?"
"Your favorite," Xin Yuan beamed. "Spicy Spirit Chicken."
"Yay! You're the best, Big Brother!"
As the two children ran off toward the dining hall, hand in hand, a figure watched from the shadows of a nearby tree.
It was an old woman—the Nanny who had served Yan'er since birth. She was a Shadow Guard of the Lin Clan, her cultivation suppressed to avoid detection, but her senses were sharp.
She sighed, a sound filled with worry.
'Alas...' she thought, watching her Young Miss fawn over the local boy. 'The Wheel of Fate plays cruel jokes.'
She remembered the mission. Yan'er was sent here to retrieve the Token. She was supposed to infiltrate, steal it, and leave. But instead, she had been charmed by the simple, rustic life. She had fallen for Xin Yuan, believing him to be a hero because he saved her from a wild dog when she first arrived (a dog she could have vaporized with a sneeze).
'She is delaying,' the Nanny thought. 'She begs me every month not to report her progress. She wants to stay here 'just a few more years'.'
The Nanny's mind drifted to the Azure Heaven. To a boy with black and red hair.
'Young Master Lin Kai...'
She remembered how Yan'er used to follow Lin Kai everywhere. How Lin Kai was a true genius, reaching the 4th Stage at age five. Compared to Lin Kai, this Xin Yuan was like a mud pit compared to a star.
'If Young Master Kai knew...'
She shuddered. She remembered the threat Yan'er had made a year ago when the Nanny tried to send a message to the Clan Leader.
"If you tell my father I'm playing around... if you tell him I like Xin Yuan... I will shatter my own meridians! I'll die! And you will be blamed!"
The Nanny feared for her life. So, she kept silent. She didn't tell Lin Yang about the romance. She didn't tell him that the mission was stalled.
'The Clan Leader is coming soon for the Awakening,' the Nanny thought, gripping the bark of the tree. 'When he arrives... when he sees this...'
She looked at the laughing couple in the distance.
'And Young Master Kai... surely he awakened a 10th Grade bloodline today. He is a Dragon. When he finds out his fiancée has discarded a Dragon for a toad...'
The Nanny closed her eyes, sensing the storm brewing on the horizon.
'Heaven help us all.'