Lee San's courtyard had finally regained a fragile calm.
Soft sunlight filtered through the swaying branches, casting warm patterns across the ground. Inside the quiet room, the mysterious infant—found deep within a forest where even seasoned cultivators feared to step—rested peacefully in Su Yan's arms.
She held him gently, almost instinctively, as if she had done so her entire life.
The baby's tiny breaths were steady, light, warm against her arm. His earlier cries, filled with fear and confusion, had faded completely. Now, his small hands occasionally curled or relaxed in sleep, giving him an oddly serene presence.
Outside, several elders whispered in heated tones. Their discussions carried suspicion, curiosity, fear—but Su Yan didn't spare them a single glance.
Her attention belonged entirely to the child.
When Lee Min finally entered, weary from endless discussions in the hall, Su Yan looked up at him.
"Min," she said softly, almost like she didn't want to disturb the sleeping baby. "Look at him… he barely cried today."
Lee Min's eyes softened for a brief moment before returning to their natural sternness.
"The elders are still unsettled by—"
"I know what they're thinking," Su Yan cut in gently, her tone quiet but unwavering.
She held the baby closer, protective yet tender, as though shielding him from the world.
"And I've already made up my mind."
Lee Min's breath paused. "You… have?"
Su Yan's gaze lowered to the sleeping infant. The corners of her lips curved in a soft, almost maternal smile.
"This child shouldn't be tossed between uncertainty and fear. He shouldn't be treated like some anomaly everyone whispers about."
Her voice trembled with emotion—not fear, but conviction.
"He needs a home… warmth… people who won't look at him like he's a risk to manage."
Her fingers brushed the baby's tiny hand.
"A child abandoned in such a dangerous place… how could I possibly leave him drifting in the dark? If he has no one—then let us be that someone."
She leaned down slightly, her face illuminated with a gentle tenderness that even surprised her.
"No matter where he came from, he's still just a baby. And I want to give him a home."
As if sensing her warmth, the infant stirred. His small eyes opened just a little—cloudy, unfocused, but filled with innocent curiosity. His tiny mouth curled in something between a yawn and a smile.
Su Yan's heart melted at the sight.
Lee Min released a long breath, the last of his hesitation fading.
"…Alright," he said quietly, nodding. "Then we will raise him as our son."
A soft smile lit Su Yan's face. She gently brushed the baby's forehead, her eyes warm.
For the first time since the child entered this courtyard… peace settled like a soft blanket over the air.
Far away—
in a secluded valley veiled in drifting mist and ancient silence—
Diviner Qing sat cross-legged on a stone platform. His eyes were closed, but his mind churned with the remnants of the vision that had shattered reality before him.
Two fates intertwined.
Two families illuminated.
A calamity vast enough to swallow the world.
Those scenes refused to fade. They clung to his consciousness like persistent shadows.
His eyes finally opened.
"…It is time."
With a flick of his fingers, spiritual ink gathered in the air. Strokes materialized from nothing, shaping themselves into words with elegant precision.
To Patriarch Zhou Ming,
I request an audience regarding your daughter.
Her destiny, and that of your family, requires discussion.
—Diviner Qing
The ink shimmered, folding into a letter-like form. With another gesture, a spirit messenger manifested—a small, glowing creature of wind and light. It carried the message upward and vanished into the mist.
Diviner Qing rose slowly.
The valley wind stirred his long robe, making it ripple like flowing water.
"The wheels have already begun to turn…" he murmured, eyes narrowing.
"Whether the world is ready or not."
Two months later—
The Heavenly Martial Sect buzzed with quiet tension.
Inside the main hall, elders stood in a wide circle. Their expressions were a mix of caution, curiosity, and undisguised apprehension.
At the center stood Su Yan, holding the infant—now two months old.
He looked more alert, more aware of the world, though still unable to speak. His gaze drifted from face to face with a calmness no infant should possess.
"We must see whether he reacts to spiritual energy," an elder said, brows knitted.
"More importantly," another added, "whether he contains any hidden traits."
Lee San, still recovering from his injuries, stepped forward.
"When he cried during my breakthrough, the sound reached me through that entire forest—something no ordinary baby could accomplish. We must understand exactly what he is."
Lee Min gave a subtle nod.
"Begin."
Elders extended their hands.
Thin, gentle strands of spiritual energy drifted toward the baby like glowing ribbons.
The child watched them with slow, curious blinks.
The first strand touched his skin—
Whum—
A ripple pulsed outward.
The spiritual energy dissolved instantly, vanishing like smoke in sunlight.
Gasps filled the hall.
"He didn't absorb it…"
"No… the energy is being pulled toward him, but it can't enter."
"What kind of body rejects energy like this?! It defies every known constitution—"
The baby blinked again, completely indifferent, as if bored with the entire display.
Lee Min's eyes tightened.
"This behavior… is beyond anything our sect has ever recorded."
Su Yan instinctively hugged the baby closer, her arms tightening protectively.
Meanwhile—
In the Zhou Family's ancestral estate, Patriarch Zhou Ming paced anxiously beneath the carved beams of his courtyard.
Every day, he checked on his daughter—a girl born with a rare, dormant constitution no healer could understand.
Today was no different.
But then—
A sudden gust of wind swept across the courtyard.
Mist swirled downward, gathering and condensing—
until a single figure stepped forth.
Diviner Qing had arrived.
Zhou Ming's face lit with a mixture of hope and fear.
"Senior Qing, please… this way."
Qing nodded, his eyes already drifting toward the girl's chamber. The aura emanating from within was faint yet unmistakably unique.
"So this is the child whose fate is bound… to the one in the Heavenly Martial Sect," he murmured under his breath.
The very air around him shivered slightly, as if fate itself bowed to his words.
"The threads have begun to move," he whispered.
"And soon… these two destinies will meet."