# **Chapter 463 — The Southern Visitor**
The Northern Meridian morning was unusually clear.
A single figure stepped through the boundary array without announcement.
She wore crimson disciple robes trimmed in gold.
Her aura was restrained—yet precise.
Void King Realm.
First Stage.
Her eyes swept the Northern Pavilion calmly.
"I seek Yang Lin."
Her tone was polite.
But her presence was not a request.
Su Qinglan stepped forward first.
"You are?"
"Red Dust Pavilion."
That was enough.
Yang Lin descended the stone steps.
Their gazes met.
The air tightened—not from pressure.
From measurement.
---
# **Chapter 464 — A Simple Test**
They moved to the outer training field.
No crowd.
No ceremony.
The disciple bowed lightly.
"Please enlighten me."
Her cultivation was flawless.
Void King First Stage—yet her foundation was astonishingly stable.
Her first strike was not explosive.
It was refined.
A single palm that compressed space subtly.
Yang Lin did not evade.
He stepped once.
The palm dispersed.
No collision.
No impact.
Just misalignment.
Her eyes sharpened.
Second move—
A sword formed from condensed void essence.
Fast.
Precise.
Yang Lin lifted two fingers.
The sword trembled mid-air.
Then dissolved like mist.
Silence.
She lowered her hand slowly.
This was no ordinary Ascendant.
---
# **Chapter 465 — The Measure Behind the Measure**
She did not attack again.
Instead—
She bowed deeper.
"Thank you."
Her gaze lingered half a breath longer than necessary.
Not hostile.
Not respectful.
Calculating.
Then she departed the Northern Meridian without further word.
Yang Lin watched her leave.
He did not pursue.
He did not question.
But within him—
The Sea stirred.
---
# **Chapter 466 — The Sea of Consciousness**
Yang Lin's Sea of Consciousness was not darkness.
It was vast.
An endless landscape beneath a quiet sky.
Mountains suspended in stillness.
A boundless ocean reflecting no stars.
At the center—
A simple wooden house.
Like those built deep within ancient forests of the Inner World.
Unadorned.
Silent.
Before it—
A sword stood embedded in stone.
Its presence did not emit pressure.
Yet the Sea itself curved around it.
Inside the house—
She opened her eyes.
---
# **Chapter 467 — The Senior**
She stepped outside.
Light purple robes flowed gently around her.
Behind her—
A four-sided purple circle rotated slowly.
Ancient symbols shimmered across its surface.
Her cultivation was suppressed.
Heaven Immortal.
Tenth Stage.
Yet even suppressed—
The Sea trembled slightly in recognition.
She looked toward the distant horizon of Yang Lin's consciousness.
"He was tested."
Her voice was calm.
She could leave.
But she did not.
If she stepped into the Inner World—
The structure of the realm would fracture.
The Upper Inner Realm would collapse.
Even Heaven Immortal power was too heavy for it.
So she remained.
Watching.
Guarding.
---
# **Chapter 468 — Northern Wind**
Yang Lin stood alone after the disciple's departure.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Within the Sea—
The sword vibrated faintly.
Not in warning.
In acknowledgment.
He felt the presence outside the wooden house.
Calm.
Unmoving.
He did not enter.
He did not disturb.
Ascendant Third Stage remained his visible coordinate.
But his Sea was deeper than any Meridian.
---
# **Chapter 469 — Southern Reflection**
In the Southern Pavilion—
The Void King disciple knelt silently.
Fairy Han Chen listened without expression.
"No visible exertion," the disciple said softly.
"Void techniques dissolved."
Han Chen's veil stirred slightly.
"And his aura?"
"Contained."
A pause.
"Too contained."
Han Chen did not smile.
But something behind the veil shifted.
---
# **Chapter 470 — The Vast Silence**
Within the Sea—
The purple circle behind the senior rotated once.
Symbols brightened briefly.
"He is still patient," she murmured.
The wooden house creaked softly in the eternal stillness.
The sword remained embedded.
Yet its edge shimmered faintly—
As if remembering something older than realms.
The Sea stretched endlessly.
Mountains without peaks.
Water without waves.
A world within a mind.
And she remained there.
Because outside—
Even the Upper Realm could not bear her true step.
---
# **Chapter 471 — The South Watches**
Southern trade adjusted again.
Red Dust disciples moved more frequently across neutral zones.
Not aggressively.
But closer.
Closer to the Northern boundary.
Su Qinglan noticed immediately.
"They are probing," she said.
Yang Lin looked toward the horizon.
"Let them."
No tension.
No urgency.
The Sea within him remained still.
---
# **Chapter 472 — A Shared Awareness**
In the Southern Pavilion—
Fairy Han Chen stood beneath crimson banners.
She felt it again.
That quiet resistance across Meridians.
Not defiance.
Not ambition.
Containment.
Her veil shifted gently in the wind.
"Interesting," she murmured once more.
Across the vast Inner World—
Yang Lin felt her attention.
He did not respond.
But within his Sea—
The Heaven Immortal senior opened her eyes again.
And for the first time—
The sword emitted the faintest hum.
The currents had deepened.
The test had only begun.