Jalen activated his Spirit Wind Art first technique: Breath like Dust. His body dissolved into a stream of qi so fine it mimicked the texture of air itself—light, formless, and elusive. Coupled with Dance Like the Wind and Luminous Light Step, both enhanced through Thread Fusion, he moved like a breeze across the terrain, unseen but not entirely unfelt.
As he passed through the outer formation of the Solar Clan compound, a subtle ripple disturbed the flow of energy. Though the array didn't trigger its offensive protocols, a few guards stirred, sensing something unnatural. One of them frowned, glancing toward the hills, but the disturbance faded before he could act.
Jalen was already gone.
To further mask his presence, he activated his third Shadow Art technique: Echo Twin Manifestation. Shadow Clones burst forth—each crafted with distinct appearances—some resembling wandering cultivators, others disguised as clan servants. They scattered across the compound, drawing attention and diverting patrols. Though they lacked refined techniques, they possessed enough strength and speed to serve their purpose. More importantly, Jalen could switch places with any of them in an instant, making them a convenient extension of his mobility and awareness.
He moved like a phantom, weaving through the terrain at near-light speed. Eventually, he reached the first hill—where Elder Talia had said Rana was being held. At its summit loomed a mansion sprawling like a small town, its silhouette etched against the night sky.
The formation surrounding it was far more sophisticated than the one guarding the compound. As Jalen attempted to pass through, the array responded violently. His aura, though suppressed, couldn't escape this formation. It flared, repelling him with a surge of elemental force.
Jalen didn't flinch.
He summoned Luminal Edge, a blade forged from condensed light and imbued with his Spirit Flame Art tenth technique: Nuclear, fused through Thread Fusion. With a single slash, he tore through the formation—a barrier said to withstand a direct strike from a Sky Limit Realm expert—shattering it like brittle glass.
The explosion of qi and light echoed across the hills, causing the ground to rumble.
Alarms flared.
Veyron, deep in meditation within his chambers, snapped his eyes open. So did the other Sage Realm elders—those stationed atop their respective hills and those roaming the flat terrain. But Jalen didn't wait for them to arrive.
He activated the final tenth technique of the shadow art Eclipsed Soul Vanishing, his body melting into shadow. In this form, he became one with the darkness, slipping through walls and corridors of the estate undetected.
Rooms passed in silence—empty chambers, guards, sealed vaults, meditation halls. He ignored them all.
Then he found it.
A chamber deep within the mansion, sealed but not secure enough to keep him out. Jalen slipped inside.
The air was thick with incense and glowing glyphs. Four Spirit Fusion Realm cultivators stood over a ritual platform, chanting in low voices. On the platform lay a young woman with white hair—her body pale and trembling, surrounded by glowing glyphs and smoke. Her breath was shallow. Her aura flickered like a dying flame.
Jalen's heart stopped.
It was Rana.
His mind raced. The cleansing ritual that Elder Talia told him would take place tomorrow was actually taking place right now as he thought. Her life hung by a thread. As for the child—he couldn't sense its qi. Whether it was suppressed, fading, or already gone, he didn't know.
But that uncertainty was enough.
Enough to make him snap.
The shadows around him surged, twisting violently as his suppressed aura erupted. The mansion trembled. Windows shattered. The ritualists froze, sensing a monstrous force descending upon them.
Jalen emerged from the darkness like a phantom of vengeance, his eyes glowing with fury. Ebon Severance, his supreme-grade shadow tool, materialized in his grasp. It sang as it moved—low and mournful, like the cry of a dying star. Shadows curled around its edge, devouring light itself.
In a blur of motion, he cut down the four Spirit Fusion Realm experts in an instant. Their bodies barely hit the ground before the shadows devoured them whole.
The cleansing glyphs shattered. The incense flames snuffed out. The ritual was broken.
Jalen absorbed Ebon Severance back into his body and rushed to Rana's side, cradling her fragile form in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open, barely able to focus.
"Jalen…" she whispered.
"I'm here," he said, voice trembling.
Tears poured down her cheeks. "I can't feel her…"
Those words shattered him.
From the moment he touched her, he had noticed it—no sign of life within her stomach. The child's qi was absent, silent. Obsolete.
Jalen's heart broke.
But he couldn't afford to collapse here. Not now. He needed to get her out, to heal her, to save what remained before he lost her too.
Before he could move—
Five Sage Realm experts appeared like ghosts, surrounding the chamber like wolves closing in on prey. Their qi surged, pressing down like a mountain, warping the air with sheer pressure. They ranged from early to peak stage, and at the center of them stood Veyron, the acting patriarch of the Solar Clan, his robes billowing with flame essence, his eyes burning with fury.
They raised their hands in unison, weaving their flame qi into a binding formation—threads of fire snaking through the air, converging on Jalen. The chamber trembled under the weight of their combined power, the walls groaning, the floor cracking.
But Jalen didn't flinch.
He held Rana tightly in his arms, her breath faint against his chest. His eyes narrowed, and his aura surged—not in defiance, but in warning.
"You will all pay for this," he said, his voice low, steady, and laced with fury. "Soon."
Before the formation could fully lock onto him, Jalen activated Flash Reversion—a teleportation pulse anchored to light-bearing surfaces. The chamber's lanterns, the polished glyphs, even the gleam of his blade—all shimmered as space remembered him. He vanished from the chamber, not with speed but with radiant reversion—rewinding his presence to a point just outside the compound, where the light still held his echo. The binding formation collapsed into itself, catching nothing but air and memory.
After all, he hadn't come to wage war. At least not yet. He came to rescue the woman he loved—and nothing would stop him.
The binding formation collapsed into itself, catching nothing but air.
Veyron's face twisted with rage.
"Find her!" he barked, his voice echoing through the mansion. "And kill that brat!"
The elders bowed without a word, their expressions grim. Then, like streaks of flame and wind, they vanished—scattering across the compound, the hills, and the city beyond, hunting for the woman who had defied them and the man who had shattered their pride.
But Jalen was already gone.
And the storm he carried was only just beginning.