The High Council Hall of the Silver-Moon Citadel was an architectural marvel of obsidian and silver, but at this moment, it felt like a tomb. The air was thick with the scent of ancient incense and the suffocating pressure of a dozen powerful auras. At the center of it all stood Alpha Khan—a one-armed mortal from another world, facing the most powerful beings of the Werewolf Clan.
The Clan Leader stood up from his moonstone throne. His presence was like a mountain—calm, yet capable of crushing everything beneath it. He looked at the bickering elders and then let out a single word that shook the very foundations of the hall.
"SILENCE!"
The word didn't just ring in their ears; it echoed through their very souls. The elders, some hundreds of years old, instantly froze.
The Leader turned his piercing, amber eyes toward Alpha. "Alpha Khan. Because this tragedy occurred due to a member of our clan, we shall take full responsibility. We do not wish for the name of the Great Silver-Moon Clan to be stained by the cowardice of a rogue. You will be granted a chance at the Lunar Pool. If you possess the will to survive, your arm shall be restored, and an opportunity beyond your mortal comprehension will be yours. But..."
The Leader paused, his gaze turning grim. "If your spirit is weak, you will not leave that pool. You will be consumed. Do you accept this gamble?"
Alpha looked at his empty sleeve. He remembered the feeling of the teeth tearing through his bone, the cold laughter of the beast, and the helplessness of being a 'stray dog.' He looked back at the Leader, his jaw set firm.
"I didn't survive a dimensional rift just to die as a cripple," Alpha replied, his voice echoing with a newfound steel. "I accept."
"Very well," the Leader nodded. "Bring in the accused!"
The heavy doors groaned open. Two guards dragged in a figure bound in silver chains. It was Xiao Mu. The arrogant predator from the cave was now a shivering wreck. The moment his eyes met the Clan Leader's, he collapsed to his knees.
Seeing his grandson in such a state, the Great Elder—a sharp-faced man with eyes like flint—stood up. "Clan Leader! Please, I beg for mercy. Xiao Mu is but a child... he was reckless, nothing more."
"A child?" The Leader's voice grew dangerously low. "Do you realize the gravity of his 'recklessness'? He hunted a human near the Forbidden Zone. He could have ignited a war with the Seven Human Clans!"
The Great Elder gritted his teeth, his eyes flickering toward Alpha with hidden venom. "The treaty protects normal humans, My Lord. Look at this boy. He survived the Forbidden Zone where even our scouts fear to tread. How can he be 'normal'? Xiao Mu likely sensed something unnatural about him."
"Then tell me," the Leader countered, "what was your grandson doing in the Forbidden Zone in the first place?"
The Great Elder went silent. He had no excuse. The Leader continued, "The reason the monsters fled that night was that we, the High Leaders, were tracking a phenomenon. A 'Heaven Defier' had crossed the realms. The energy was so immense that every beast within a hundred miles went into hiding. Your grandson took advantage of that silence to hunt for sport. For this crime, I sentence Xiao Mu to death!"
The hall erupted in gasps. Xiao Mu let out a pathetic whimper. Knowing there was only one way to save his bloodline, the Great Elder moved.
SHINK!
In a blur of silver light, the Great Elder's sword unsheathed and struck. A spray of crimson blood hit the cold stone floor. Xiao Mu let out a blood-curdling scream as his own right arm was severed clean at the shoulder.
The Great Elder knelt, his head bowed, his hands shaking. "I have taken his limb myself! I have balanced the debt! Please... Clan Leader, spare his life. I will personally ensure he never sees the sun again until his penance is served."
The Leader watched the twitching limb on the floor for a long moment. The justice was brutal, but it followed the ancient laws of the pack. "Since it is his first offense and his kin has performed the execution... his life is spared. But he shall be imprisoned in the Abyssal Cells for three years. Take him away!"
As the guards dragged the half-conscious Xiao Mu out, the criminal's eyes locked onto Alpha's for one final second. There was no remorse in them—only a promise of a slow, agonizing death.
The Leader then turned to Alya. "Take the boy to the Secret Space. Prepare the Lunar Pool."
As Alpha and Alya left the hall, Elder Xiao Ming stood up, looking confused. The Leader sent a direct telepathic message into his mind. [Brother, do not be fooled by his lack of cultivation. His name is Alpha Khan. Remember the Prophecy of the Shattered Gate?]
Xiao Ming's eyes widened, a flicker of profound realization and joy crossing his face. He sat back down, his heart racing.
The Secret Space: The Lunar Pool
Alya led Alpha through a series of twisting obsidian corridors until they reached a shimmering wall of light. They stepped through, and the world changed. They were now in a grotto filled with glowing blue crystals. In the center was a pool of liquid that looked like molten silver, radiating a thick, ethereal mist.
The air here was different. Every breath Alpha took felt like drinking ice-cold water.
"Can you really do this?" Alya asked, her voice softer now, devoid of its usual frost. "The Lunar Pool is not a healing spa, Alpha. It is a concentrated essence of the Moon. Even for me, a Nascent Soul cultivator, the pressure of this room is suffocating. The scent alone can numb a man's brain until he forgets his own name."
Alpha looked at the silver liquid. "I have to. But Alya... if I'm going to survive, I need to know what I'm fighting for. Tell me about the power of this world."
Alya sighed and looked at the glowing pool. "Fine. If it helps you keep your sanity, listen well. Power here is divided into ten great stages."
"It begins with Spirit Awakening (3 levels), where you first stir the energy within your soul. Then comes Blood Tempering (3 levels) and Marrow Transformation (5 levels). These stages are meant to rebuild your mortal body into something that can hold true power. Only after your body is refined can you reach Core Formation (3 stages)."
She paused, gesturing to herself. "Then comes the Nascent Soul, a stage where your spirit is born anew. Beyond that is Spirit Severing (8 levels), where you must cut away your mortal attachments. If you survive that, you enter the realm of legends: Half-Immortal (3 levels), Heavenly Immortal (5 levels), and the Immortal King (8 levels)."
She looked Alpha in the eye, her expression solemn. "At the very peak of existence sits the Immortal Emperor. A being who can shatter worlds with a thought. That is the path you are stepping on today."
Alpha repeated the names in his head, memorizing the ladder he had to climb. He took a final, deep breath, the mist of the pool swirling around his feet like a silver shroud. He stepped toward the edge.
"Thank you, Alya," he whispered.
And with that, Alpha Khan stepped into the liquid silver.