Almost everyone in the Dragon Roar Faction knew about Stan's condition. It hadn't always been like this. Stan used to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in their faction, especially given his title.
He was a Paragon who had managed to break through several stages of evolution and had been on the brink of reaching his seventh stage when tragedy struck.
Since that time, Stan had been unable to progress further in his evolution. Because of his position in the faction and the weight of his title, the others had also been unable to move forward.
Because of this, when Stan suddenly entered the room performing feats he should only be able to do if he had his qi core in action, it surprised everyone. They were left wondering what could have caused this change.
At the moment, the hall was being repaired. Although during the fight Stan had blocked the others' attacks as if they were nothing, in truth, his techniques seemed to have gained new effects that they didn't have before.
As usual, Alex and the three teenagers were left by themselves. And as expected, Alex was being bombarded with questions from the curious group.
Meanwhile, Stan, along with his siblings and Elder Rooney, had gathered in their private meeting space. The atmosphere was tense as everyone tried to piece together what had happened.
Stan's shoulder had stopped bleeding, and now, only a faint mark of the wound remained. This was clear evidence to the others that Stan had somehow regained his power, and for reasons unknown, it seemed to have changed.
The others watched closely, paying particular attention to how his wound had healed. Normally, when someone was injured using qi, the wound would take time to recover unless they had mastered qi manipulation to a higher level.
Typically, the qi within the wound would first need to be expelled before the person could heal naturally. Alternatively, they could use their own qi to accelerate their body's healing process, speeding up the recovery of their cells.
To Stan, who was supposed to have lost everything related to qi, the way his wound was healing was surprisingly fast. It was so quick that anyone watching would think a healer was secretly helping him.
After a short while, Stan finished recounting to the others how Alex had suggested a theory. They had both tested it, and to their surprise, it had worked. He went on to explain that this wasn't his original qi core, but rather one he had created, thanks to the peace energy Alex had given him.
"I don't really understand," Caspian began, sounding concerned. "Are you sure we shouldn't look into that boy's background? His level of anomaly is too much. It could be dangerous for you to keep him around without knowing anything about him."
Everyone was taken aback by Caspian's comment. Normally, it would have been Peter raising such concerns.
"That would be rude of us," Elder Rooney quickly replied, clearly opposing Caspian's suggestion. "That boy helped us. And now, you want to dig into his background just because he chose to help? What if it turns out he comes from somewhere we can't handle? Then what? Are you planning to kill him to repay his good deeds?"
"I was just suggesting, that's all," Caspian replied, slightly defensive.
"I can assure you," Elder Rooney continued, "he carries the faction's seal. He'll be loyal to us. He wouldn't do anything to harm the faction in any way."
Caspian fell silent, and the room quieted for a moment.
"Now, let's put that aside," Elder Rooney said, shifting the focus back to Stan. "We really need to understand what happened to you, Stan. According to the Pendragon Book of Knowledge, your new qi core is quite flexible. It can store up more qi than your current level should allow."
"The problem," he continued, "is that although this qi core can hold a large amount of qi, perhaps even comparable to those at stage 8 or 9, your body may not be able to handle that much energy. From what I understand, this new qi core isn't fully linked to your body. This means that while you can now perform techniques above your current stage, you're still just a peak stage 6 Paragon. You'll remain that way until your main qi core is recovered."
Stan sat in silence for a moment, considering Elder Rooney's words.
"Maybe the adjusting effect will kick in if I push my limits," Stan finally replied.
No one in the room spoke after that. The weight of the conversation lingered in the air, until Peter raised his hand to speak.
"I was wondering," Peter began carefully, "now that you've gotten your powers back, wouldn't it be right for you to take over the base seat as leader again?"
Even before Peter had finished speaking, Stan was already shaking his head in disagreement.
"You and I both know I can't run this faction as well as you have been doing," Stan said firmly. "I think it would be best for me to focus on learning more advanced techniques—to improve this faction's strength. No, to improve our strength as a whole."
"But first, something must be done," Stan said firmly. As soon as he spoke, he closed his eyes, and suddenly, his entire body started to glow softly.
As this glow covered Stan, the same light began to appear on everyone else's bodies in the room. It was as if they were all connected somehow, sharing the same strange energy.
Meanwhile, over in the training hall where Alex was being overwhelmed by questions from the three teenagers, everything suddenly changed. All at once, the teenagers stopped talking and moving. They just stood there, glowing brightly, their bodies shining with the same light.
Alex watched, amazed by the brilliance of the glow. But before he could react, he felt something stir deep inside him.
'This feeling... it's just like when I was in Stan's sea of consciousness,' Alex thought to himself. 'Is that my bloodline core? It's reacting again, but why?' He felt as though something inside him was trying to break free, trying to leap out of him.
Just as quickly as it had started, the bright light began to fade. The room returned to normal, but everyone could feel that something had changed.
"That was the work of the Key Breaker, right?" Gwen asked, turning to Merrick, her voice full of curiosity.
"From what I know, yes," Merrick replied, nodding. "It seems that whatever Alex and Uncle Stan discovered has been shared through our blood."
"But this feels different," Tamsin said, her brow furrowed in thought. "It's not like when a skill is shared. This is something else."
"Exactly," Merrick agreed. "Maybe we should go check what's going on."
Without wasting another moment, all four of them rushed out of the room, eager to figure out what had just happened.
Meanwhile, back in the meeting room, Stan had just finished what he was doing. The glowing had stopped, and everything seemed to return to normal, but there was a clear difference in how everyone felt.
"This feels... different," Peter said, breaking the silence.
"That's because it is," Elder Rooney explained. "This is the first time a Pendragon has learned to use peace energy, so we don't fully understand how it feels yet."
"It feels like... I'm free," Caspian said, sounding almost relieved. "I'd love to test this out on someone."
"I wouldn't mind a rematch," Stan offered with a grin.
"No, not you," Caspian said, shaking his head. "Someone like Graham will do. You know how cocky he's been ever since he broke through to stage 8."
"Speaking of Graham," Tharon chimed in, "I got a report that he'll be paying us a visit soon."
At this news, everyone in the room grew serious. The mention of Graham clearly had an impact on them, but there was one exception—Cressida. Instead of looking concerned, she wore a wild, excited smile.
"Why is he visiting? Is there a problem?" Peter asked, a frown forming on his face.
"I think it's best you hear the issue directly from me," a voice suddenly said from the shadows. Before anyone could react, a figure emerged from the darkness, stepping into the room as if they had always been there.
"You see that?" Caspian said, pointing toward the newcomer. "That's the cockiness I was talking about."
While Caspian continued to complain, someone else had already leaped across the room, practically flying over the table. Without hesitation, they rushed straight at the intruder and wrapped them in a big, tight hug.
"I still don't understand," Stan said, shaking his head. "Why is she the only one allowed to have some sort of romantic relationship with someone?"