The supervisors did not attack immediately.
They evaluated.
The stranger stood calmly at the base of the spiral, hands behind his back.
No visible weapon.
No insignia.
But his presence was heavy.
Too steady.
Too prepared.
"This valley is sealed," the lead supervisor said coldly.
"How did you enter?"
The stranger tilted his head slightly.
"The same way your disciple did."
His eyes shifted toward Lin Xuan again.
"And perhaps for the same reason."
The core pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Stronger.
The claw restraints glowed faintly, resisting.
Chen Wei whispered, "He's provoking it…"
Lin Xuan felt it clearly now.
The stranger wasn't forcing the core.
He was resonating with it.
Not as cleanly as Lin Xuan.
But enough.
The dragon's voice echoed within him.
He carries fragmented residue. Extracted forcefully.
Stolen.
That meant—
Someone had been experimenting.
The lead supervisor raised his blade.
"You will explain yourself."
The stranger sighed softly.
"I came for what was lost."
"And you?"
His gaze sharpened on Lin Xuan.
"Are an unexpected complication."
Without warning—
The cavern trembled violently.
The core flared crimson.
The claw restraints cracked further.
A violent surge of pressure exploded outward.
The supervisors reacted instantly, forming a wind barrier.
But the stranger did not move.
Instead—
A faint red aura surfaced around his body.
Unstable.
Flickering.
Unlike Lin Xuan's controlled resonance—
This was jagged.
Forced.
The core responded violently to it.
Lin Xuan understood instantly.
"If he keeps pushing—"
"The seal breaks," the supervisor finished.
The stranger smiled faintly.
"Then stop me."
He moved.
Not flashy.
Not explosive.
One step—
And he was already within striking range of the nearest supervisor.
The clash was immediate.
Steel met compressed wind.
Shockwaves tore across the cavern walls.
Stone shattered.
The injured disciple was dragged further back.
Chen Wei engaged from the flank.
But the stranger anticipated it effortlessly.
His movements were surgical.
Not reckless.
He wasn't here to kill.
He was here to destabilize.
Lin Xuan remained still.
Watching.
Calculating.
If he joined too early—
Suspicion deepens.
If he waited too long—
The seal collapses.
The core pulsed harder.
Cracks spread across the claw restraints.
The dragon's voice sharpened.
You must interfere now.
Lin Xuan exhaled slowly.
Then stepped forward.
The moment his aura surfaced—
The core shifted.
Not violently.
But responsively.
The stranger's eyes widened slightly.
"So it truly chose you."
Their gazes locked.
For a brief moment—
The battlefield slowed.
Wind.
Stone.
Crimson light.
All suspended in tension.
The stranger's voice dropped lower.
"If you do not come with me, they will eventually cut you open."
The supervisors stiffened at that.
He continued.
"They don't understand what you carry."
A strike came from the lead supervisor, forcing the stranger back.
But the words lingered.
Lin Xuan did not respond verbally.
Instead—
He extended his aura.
Not toward the stranger.
Toward the core.
Stabilizing.
Suppressing the violent resonance triggered by the stranger.
The core dimmed slightly.
The claw restraints stopped cracking further.
The stranger's expression shifted.
From confidence—
To calculation.
"So you choose them."
"For now," Lin Xuan replied calmly.
The supervisor heard that.
And did not like it.
The stranger stepped back slowly.
He did not seem pressured.
He seemed… satisfied.
"This isn't the end," he said.
"You cannot suppress what is waking."
His gaze lingered one final second on Lin Xuan.
Then—
He threw something to the ground.
A small crimson fragment.
It shattered on impact.
A violent surge of red mist erupted.
Visibility dropped instantly.
The supervisors attacked blindly.
But when the mist cleared—
He was gone.
Silence returned.
Heavy.
The core pulsed weakly.
But still contained.
The lead supervisor turned slowly toward Lin Xuan.
"Explain."
Not a request.
An order.
And for the first time—
The air between them felt more dangerous than the enemy who just left.