StormHeaven Sect – One Day Before the Competition – Elder Pavilion
The entire StormHeaven Sect was silent, but beneath that silence, a wave of tension pulsed — the kind only someone could feel if they were about to step onto a battlefield where every smile might hide a blade.
Zeravon had just returned from training at the Tower.
Now, he sat quietly inside the Elder Pavilion. His face was calm, but his eyes held a deep focus — as if he were calculating something every second.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
Elder Jinyao Mei walked in — her robe fluttering gently in the breeze. In her hand, she held a small glowing silver token piece. A faint space-warping aura radiated from it — not the mark of a simple item, but the presence of a realm-warping key.
Zeravon stood and bowed respectfully.
> "Sit," Jinyao Mei said,
"Zeravon, the cultivation-hiding technique I gave you… you've mastered it well. Even I can't see through your level with my eyes."
Saying this, Jinyao Mei reached out and lightly touched Zeravon's finger to check his cultivation.
What she discovered shocked her — Zeravon was at the peak of the Sacred Veins Realm. More than that, he had already formed his own Core, and it was perfectly stable.
Jinyao Mei's eyes widened.
Creating a Core was something only cultivators at the Mystic Core Formation Realm could do. Yet Zeravon had accomplished this at the peak of Sacred Veins — something that should have been impossible.
Zeravon, noticing her shocked expression, asked:
> "Master… is something wrong with me?"
Jinyao Mei shook her head slowly.
> "No… but tell me something honestly — how did you create your Core while still in Sacred Veins?"
Zeravon had already anticipated this question. He followed his prepared plan and explained everything carefully, as he had rehearsed in his mind.
After listening, Jinyao Mei finally nodded.
> "I see… in that case, let me tell you what I came here to say.
I've come to share with you an old story… the real truth behind this upcoming competition."
---
10 Years Ago – The Sky Crack Incident
Jinyao Mei closed her eyes — and began speaking:
> "One day… without warning… a strange light flashed across the sky.
It wasn't a falling star.
It wasn't a treasure.
It was… a Token."
> "The moment it appeared, space-time began to crack.
Fissures tore open the sky. Gravity trembled.
Spiritual flow was distorted.
And then… every major sect's elders sensed it."
Zeravon remained silent — goosebumps ran across his skin.
> "Leaders from Dome of Heaven Sect, Mist Veil Sect, Obsidian Moon Sect, and Heavenly Lotus Sect all raced toward the Token.
And without warning… they began attacking one another."
> "That battle… tore the sky apart.
The Token, under immense pressure, shattered into seven pieces.
A blinding explosion followed — so intense that everyone went blind for a few seconds."
> "When their vision returned, they saw the Token's pieces scattered across the sky."
> "Dome of Heaven Sect received two pieces…
Mist Veil also got two…
Obsidian Moon and Heavenly Lotus received one each."
> "And then… in front of their eyes… a Box appeared in the sky.
The moment it arrived, space began collapsing in a billion-mile radius.
Mountains shook. Trees disintegrated."
> "When the leaders approached the Box, they saw words engraved on it: 'To open this vessel, the Token must return whole.'"
> "That's when they realized — these Token pieces were the keys.
But one piece was missing."
> "At that moment, the Female Leader of Heavenly Lotus Sect — Yun Xiao — made a proposal."
Jinyao Mei raised her hand and showed the glowing piece to Zeravon.
> "Yun Xiao said:
'There should be a competition.
Only disciples from sects holding a Token piece may participate.
Only cultivators at Mystic Core Formation Realm or below will be allowed.
The winner will receive all the Token pieces… and the Box.'"
> "All sects agreed.
And ever since then… this competition has been in preparation."
---
Back to Present – Pavilion
Zeravon slowly asked,
> "And the seventh piece?"
Jinyao Mei lifted her hand again, spinning the glowing piece in her palm.
Zeravon looked at it — his Astral Core vibrated faintly in response.
Jinyao Mei spoke:
> "This piece… I found it inside a beast.
And during that fight… I almost died."
> "Your father… he saved my life."
> "And now… you are his son, Zeravon."
> "No one in the sect knows I have this Token.
That's why you must go alone to the competition.
I will be there… but only as a spectator.
Everything else… you must do by yourself."
Zeravon took the piece.
It glowed in his fingers with a soft white-blue light.
A strange sensation rippled through his body.
---
Outside the Pavilion – Evening Sky
Zeravon stepped outside — the sky had turned red.
The competition was tomorrow.
Just one night remained.
He opened his palm — the Token piece rested there.
Inside him, lightning-like energy flowed through his Astral Core — quiet and smooth, but intense.
> "This isn't just a competition…"
"It's the first act of something far greater."
---
Heavenly Lotus Sect – Meanwhile
Elsewhere, within the Heavenly Lotus Sect, a massive floating arena was being prepared.
Amid pink clouds, a grand stage hovered — hundreds of female cultivators trained across it. Each one powerful. Focused. Deadly.
Among them, one girl looked up toward the sky…
> Her name was Lin Yue, and she cracked lightning arcs with her whip.
Another girl — Shen Mei — was so calm it was as if the world around her moved in slow motion.
Both spoke in unison:
> "Tomorrow… the true battle begins."
Their eyes shimmered with excitement.
---
Back in Zeravon's Room – Late Night
Night fell.
Zeravon lay asleep in his simple sect room.
Outside, soft rain pattered.
Then, the dream began.
> Before him — his old house engulfed in flames.
Screams echoed from within.
Zeravon stood frozen, unable to move — as if something held him in place.
Inside the flames, he saw his mother's burned body…
His father's hand reached out toward him — asking for help. But his eyes were closed.
Zeravon screamed. Tried to run.
But an invisible force locked him in place.
Then — a chilling, unfamiliar voice whispered:
> "This will all… happen again… soon."
Zeravon suddenly jolted awake — drenched in sweat, breath ragged, eyes red.
But again…
He remembered nothing of the dream — not the voice, not the flames.
He sat up.
Dawn was not far now.
---
New Disguise – Preparing for the Journey
Zeravon purchased new clothing:
Color: Matte charcoal black with faint silver-gray lining
Design: Slim-fit battle robe with a high collar — no sect insignia
Texture: Lightweight shadow-silk — absorbs light, slightly reduces visibility
---
> Was that… a black shadow laughing behind his house?
> Why was blood dripping from his hand… with no wound?
---
Zeravon was now ready.
Voidtrace Phantom Step
Astral Flow Disruption
And some other techniques…
Techniques he had never shown anyone before.
> "Tomorrow… I don't just want to show them shadows.
I want to shatter the light around them."
---
Outside Pavilion – Jinyao Mei's Final Words
Just before sunrise, Jinyao Mei approached him.
> "Zeravon… after tomorrow, everyone will either know your name…
Or they'll forget you ever existed.
In both cases, you must give it your all."
> "This competition is not a show.
It's a battle…
For a key that may be greater than even this world."
She looked into his eyes.
Zeravon said nothing.
His face was calm.
But in his eyes… lightning slept.
He looked up at the sky — it was red.
His core was still, but something distant was calling to him.
---
To Be Continued…