After a whole year locked in a glowing egg-shaped cultivation chamber, Shen Hao stepped out like a man reborn.
Hair longer. Eyes sharper. Stomach louder.
"…I feel powerful," he whispered, stretching with dramatic flair. "Like I could slap a comet."
A robotic street sweeper immediately ran over his foot.
"OW—what the—?!"
So much for the dramatic return.
He brushed himself off and stepped back into the glowing bustle of Void Gate City, expecting someone—anyone—to notice the new aura he radiated.
Instead, a toddler alien offered him a melted ice cream cone.
"…Seriously?"
The place hadn't changed a bit. Floating taxis still honked at pigeons, holographic billboards still advertised "50% Off Instant DNA Buffs!" and some guy was still playing bagpipes badly on the corner. One whole galactic year had passed, and the city didn't even flinch.
"Guess I'm not that special," Shen Hao muttered. "Even the bagpipe guy's still off-key."
Eventually, he made his way to the Hunter's Palace, the big ol' building that looked like a medieval fortress fused with a spaceship and got stuck in fashion limbo.
As he stepped through the grand doors—
"WELL LOOK WHAT THE BLACK HOLE SPAT BACK OUT!"
Zerak, the front desk guy with sarcasm levels classified as hazardous, popped up from behind his desk like a surprised meerkat.
Shen Hao blinked. "…You haven't moved from that spot in a year?"
"I feed off chaos and caffeine. Welcome back, rookie." Zerak tossed a paper plane that exploded into confetti. "Congratulations on surviving cultivation hibernation."
Then a new voice thundered from deeper inside.
"SHEN HAO?!"
Deran appeared, arms wide, as if Shen Hao had returned from war rather than glorified nap-time.
"You're ALIVE! I thought you fell into a dimension made of soup or something!"
Shen Hao chuckled. "Thought about it. Soup dimension sounded peaceful."
Deran practically bear-hugged him into a second coma. "You BROKE THROUGH TWO LEVELS?! Level 9 PEAK? In ONE YEAR?!"
"You monster," He muttered with admiration. "You vanished after one mission! You know what they call you around here?"
"…Please tell me it's something cool."
"The Legendary Vanishing Rookie!"
"…Okay that's kinda cool."
But then—
BOOOOMMMM.
The front gates of the Hunter's Palace creaked open—not like a normal door, but like a 1,000-year-old vault unsealing ancient secrets. Shen Hao half-expected ghost pirates to float in.
Instead, they came…
Seven of them.
Dressed in long white robes with glowing blue patterns, walking like synchronized dancers in an overdramatic space opera. The designs shimmered subtly, not flashy—just enough to scream "We're mysterious, and probably overpowered."
They entered the hall in perfect formation.
Even the wind seemed to follow them.
Zerak glanced up, sighed, and pulled out popcorn.
Deran's entire vibe shifted. His usual goofy smirk faded into something… ancient. Like he remembered a memory and a tax bill at the same time.
The white-robed squad stopped ten feet away.
Shen Hao stood still. So did Deran.
Then, without warning—
SWOOSH.
The tallest of them, clearly the leader, vanished like a ghost.
"HUH?!"
SWOOSH!
Deran vanished too.
Shen Hao spun around just in time to see—
BANG!!
A shockwave exploded overhead, sending gusts of wind strong enough to flip a small scooter (RIP Zerak's lunch).
There they were.
Deran vs. Mystery Man, locked in hand-to-hand midair combat… INSIDE the palace. Above the front desk.
Qi burst like fireworks. Footwork like ancient martial arts mixed with interpretive dance.
Deran shouted, "TASTE MY SEVEN-GRANDPAS PALM!!"
The man shouted back, "FIVE-UNCLES HAMMER TECHNIQUE!"
Shen Hao ducked. "WHAT KIND OF FAMILY TREE ARE YOU PEOPLE FROM?!"
Zerak munched popcorn. "This is better than last week."
A spinning aura of Hot Tea Qi appeared, then transformed into a giant spoon.
"TEA SPOON STYLE!"
The other countered with—
"LEFTOVER NOODLE STRIKE!"
BOOM!
They collided midair. Sparks flew. Shen Hao screamed.
Even the chandelier above began sweating from the intensity.
Meanwhile, the other six white-robed figures just… stood calmly, watching.
One adjusted their sleeve.
Another checked their nails.
Shen Hao blinked at them. "You're not even concerned?!"
The tallest among them yawned.
"I'M CONCERNED!!" Shen Hao shouted, using Zerak as a human shield.
Zerak didn't budge. "Meh. Last time they did this, they shattered a desk. I billed them."
High above, the fight reached its climax.
The white-robed leader blasted Deran down with a final echoing slap.
Deran groaned, now on one knee. "FINE. I admit it. Still can't beat you."
The man floated down and offered his hand. "Don't say that. You've improved, brother."
Shen Hao's mouth dropped open. "BROTHER?!?"
Deran accepted the hand, got up, and pulled the man into a bro-hug. "Hahaha! You still hit like a meteor."
"I've missed your face, even though it's still ugly."
The other six white-robed strangers raised fists in salute.
"Good to see you again, Captain Deran."
CAPTAIN?!
Zerak sipped his tea. "Bet you didn't see that coming."
The white-robed leader turned toward Shen Hao…
…and began walking toward him.
With a smile.
Shen Hao: "I hate this already."
The mysterious white-robed leader continued walking toward him—tall, calm, eyes twinkling with unreadable mischief.
"This is it," Shen Hao thought, standing frozen. "He's going to vaporize me for existing."
Step.
Step.
Step.
Then—BAM!
A hand shot out.
Shen Hao flinched. "I KNEW IT—!"
But instead of getting punched into another realm, the hand landed square on his shoulder.
Hard.
Too hard.
SLAP!
"Ack—my shoulder bone!"
SLAP!
"There goes the other one!"
The man laughed heartily, still hammering Shen Hao's shoulder like he was kneading cosmic bread. "You're way different than I expected!"
He was grinning ear to ear, eyes warm, as if Shen Hao was his long-lost cousin from a barbecue dimension.
SLAP!
"You've got that good energy, kid!"
Shen Hao's soul left his body for half a second. "I HAD good energy... now I have mild whiplash."
The rest of the white-robed squad behind him chuckled softly—yes, even the one who looked like he hadn't smiled in a century. Zerak was cackling behind his desk like it was stand-up night.
"Just so you know," Zerak chimed in, "That's Captain Deran's old friend. You're lucky he likes you."
Shen Hao, trying to rub his shoulder back into existence, blinked. "Wait… what?"
Zerak grinned. "Yep. The guy giving you chiropractic trauma is none other than the captain of Squad Six."
"Squad… Six? As in one rank above ours?"
Zerak nodded dramatically. "Exactly. Squad Six — the legends who made fighting dragons look like a cooking class. He's one rank above your own Squad Seven."
"Wow," Shen Hao muttered, staring at the tall man still smiling down at him like a proud uncle. "I was expecting fire and brimstone… not a free massage."
The Squad Six captain gave Shen Hao a final hearty slap and turned back toward Deran.
Meanwhile, Shen Hao looked at Zerak with raised eyebrows.
"You've changed," he said. "You were so snarky before. Rude, sarcastic, borderline allergic to kindness. Now you're… chill?"
Zerak leaned back and exhaled. "Yeah, well… stuff happened. In my family. Nothing you need to worry about. Just… some personal things. They make you think. You grow. Or you stop."
Shen Hao nodded slowly. "…That's actually really deep."
Zerak sipped tea. "Heard it from an old merchant once. Sounded wise, so I kept it."
Just then, Deran clapped his hands and motioned Shen Hao over.
"Alright, enough awkward shoulder-punching and emotional whiplash," Deran grinned. "Let me introduce this man properly."
The captain of Squad Six stepped forward again, posture straight, expression now a little more formal.
"This here," Deran said, "is Captain Auren of Squad Six. And trust me… there's a lot you don't know about him."
Shen Hao looked between the two of them.
Deran added with a playful smirk, "Let me explain everything—"
TO BE CONTINUED...