Kurosaki Satsuki was pulled into the room by Chu Lian. Seeing the rather empty space inside, she suddenly felt unsure of what to do.
"What's wrong?" Chu Lian asked, noticing her uneasy expression. She wanted to laugh but held it back, not wanting to hurt the girl's pride. Instead, she pretended to speak seriously.
"N-Nothing…" Kurosaki Satsuki couldn't possibly tell her that she was recalling what had happened in this very room yesterday—the punishment Chu Lian had given her. Thinking about how much her life had changed in just a single day, she couldn't help but sigh at the unpredictability of fate.
"This was the place where we first met, wasn't it?" Chu Lian said suddenly—not to tease her, but simply to ease her tension.
This girl, stripped of her mask, was at her core someone who feared human contact—a broken soul afraid of reaching out to others. Though she didn't show it around Chu Lian, her interactions with anyone else made it clear what kind of person she was.
In short, her fear stemmed from her childhood—from the day her family was destroyed and she was forced onto the path of survival. Since then, she had carried a deep resentment toward the world.
If Chu Lian hadn't forcefully broken through her defenses at her most vulnerable moment, she might still be an enemy rather than a friend today.
Chu Lian's kindness toward her came partly from sympathy, and partly from shared pain. After all, her own situation wasn't that different—she was just a bit luckier.
Chu Lian could see it clearly. Without their encounter, Satsuki would likely have died while being hunted… or survived, only to spend the rest of her life consumed by revenge.
In the most extreme case, she might even have awakened her mysterious SSS-level skill, At God's Side, and brought about destruction on an unimaginable scale.
For several dozen seconds, that divine power could annihilate everything. Even Chu Lian herself would have no choice but to avoid it—coming into contact with even a fragment of that power would mean certain death.
"There's no need to be so tense," Chu Lian said softly. "Healing your wounds is nothing special. If you don't take care of your body, how will you train? At your current age and state, every day of cultivation brings immense progress."
"You still have your purpose—your unfulfilled vow. Your parents, your family, everything you once had—they were all destroyed by them. If you don't stand up and grow stronger, how will you ever avenge them?"
"Do you plan to just rely on us? I don't mind helping you, but aren't you ashamed to think that way? Your enemies aren't ordinary people—they're clans and races from the Otherside. From what I saw, at least seventeen tribes and races took part in that massacre."
"Seventeen tribes and races. Do you understand what that means?"
"That's millions of experts—each one at least at the High Human rank or above. Some of their strongest might even reach the legendary Heaven rank."
"You know my strength. At full power, I can reach the peak of the Spirit rank—but only for a short while. The gap between the Spirit and Earth ranks is vast—greater even than the difference between mortals and cultivators. Dozens of Spirit-ranked fighters couldn't defeat even one Earth-level opponent."
"And those of the Heaven rank… they can't be overcome by numbers alone. Even a hundred Earth-ranked masters working together could barely hold off a Heaven-level being's attack, much less wound them."
"A Heaven-ranked fighter is already close to godhood. Though not a true deity capable of creating worlds with a thought…"
She paused, her voice soft yet solemn.
"One smile can stir the seas. One anger can shatter the heavens. One sigh can turn dawn to dusk. One gesture can summon the storm."
"For them, such feats are nothing extraordinary. Do you think you can take revenge as you are now? If that's what you want, then train. Only through strength can you crush everything standing in your way."
"So relax. Close your eyes and leave everything to me. When you wake up, your wounds will be healed—and who knows, you might even break through to the next level. I can tell—you're right on the verge of it."
Leaning against the wooden window, Chu Lian gazed at the quiet courtyard below as she spoke calmly of the hidden truths of the cultivation world. These weren't things she had learned herself—they were fragments of knowledge that had surfaced from deep within her memories.
She knew that even if she hadn't said all that, the white-haired girl would have eventually agreed to her treatment. But whether her mental state would hold up was another matter entirely.
That was why Chu Lian had spoken so much—to rekindle her fighting spirit and help her truly recover, body and soul.
What she hadn't expected, though, was that Kurosaki Satsuki's will had already reignited long before this moment. After seeing the massive crater left behind from Chu Lian's battle the previous night, her determination had already been burning fiercely.
Her hesitation now was due not to fear—but to embarrassment. Of course, the white-haired girl would never admit that.
Still, listening to Chu Lian talk was fascinating. Many of the secrets she spoke of were things Satsuki had only vaguely understood before. The cultivation world, once shrouded in mystery, now seemed to open a new door to her—one that allowed her to glimpse a few of its hidden truths.
Even though most of what Chu Lian said was general knowledge, realizing just how far she still had to go to become truly strong only made Satsuki more eager to train, to reach higher, and to one day catch up.
"If I hadn't met you, I probably wouldn't have lived to see today's sunrise." The white-haired girl's heart gradually calmed under Chu Lian's gentle words.
"Then I'll leave it to you…" She bowed slightly, then closed her eyes and severed all her senses. Moments later, she slipped into a deep, trance-like sleep.
To fall into such a vulnerable state in front of someone else—without hesitation, without fear that Chu Lian might use the chance to harm her—spoke volumes about her trust.
Seeing this, Chu Lian couldn't help but smile softly. Beneath her icy exterior, this girl's heart was still pure white. Despite the darkness and blood that had stained parts of her soul—tainted by vengeance and that mysterious power—her true essence had never been lost.
That was why Chu Lian had chosen to help her. A person's nature is something that rarely changes; once it takes shape, it lasts a lifetime.
Perhaps it was because Satsuki's soul remained so clear that Chu Lian couldn't bear to see her consumed by revenge and grief. Maybe this, after all her years of wandering and running, was the best reward fate could have given her.
Spiritual energy began to flow between Chu Lian's hands. She gently lifted the girl's body so that she floated a few inches above the ground.
Withdrawing one hand, Chu Lian reached for the Key of Seven Illusions resting at her chest. Channeling her spiritual power into it, a surge of divine energy radiated outward.
A faint hum—shing—and a long bow materialized from nothingness in the air before her. It was beautiful, like a piece of sacred art. Chu Lian extended her hand, and the moment her fingers wrapped around it, a holy light burst forth, pure and radiant, dispelling every trace of corruption in the room.
Suddenly, black flames erupted from Kurosaki Satsuki's body. A demonic shadow rose above her—its form hazy, its presence suffocating—as it tried desperately to resist the light of the Seven Illusions Bow.
"So this is… the being that granted her power? What terrifying energy… Judging by this aura, its true body must be at least peak Heaven-rank—maybe even beyond. Otherwise, there's no way it could bestow a divine-level skill like At God's Side."
The sight of the shadow startled Chu Lian. She hadn't expected it to appear in the middle of treatment, and she didn't know what would happen if she stopped or tried to force the process forward.
But before she could decide, the Seven Illusions Bow pulsed in her hand, releasing an even brighter burst of light that instantly overwhelmed the dark presence.
The black specter let out a silent roar, its twisted form spiraling wildly as countless dark energy orbs shot from its body, colliding against the white radiance pouring from the bow.
In that moment, the room became a battlefield between night and day—half drowned in white light, half cloaked in darkness.
Yet while the shadow raged and thrashed like a cornered beast, the Seven Illusions Bow remained calm and steady, methodically suppressing it while simultaneously purging the corrupt energy within Satsuki's body.
A foul gray-red aura—like the stench of decayed flesh—rose for an instant, only to be completely obliterated by the bow's divine light, leaving no trace behind.
The Seven Illusions Bow seemed almost protective, as though worried that such foul energy might harm Chu Lian. It sought to eradicate every threat, every trace of corruption, before it could even take shape.
Its relentless pressure left the black specter writhing in agony, its twisted form distorting further as its power flared desperately in resistance.
But no matter how fiercely it struggled, it was futile. The divine light from the Seven Illusions Bow advanced steadily, compressing the darkness inch by inch until the shadow was forced into a tiny corner.
At last, the black entity gave up. It released a pulse of threatening intent—a warning, a declaration—and then sank back into Kurosaki Satsuki's body. No matter how the bow's light continued to shine upon her, it did not emerge again.
Perhaps its brief appearance had been meant to assert its presence, to warn Chu Lian that Satsuki was under its control, that she should not interfere.
If not for the Seven Illusions Bow, that tactic might have worked. But compared to this mysterious and overwhelmingly divine weapon, the phantom—merely a projection, not even a true body—was no match at all.
Had the Seven Illusions Bow not chosen to spare it at the last moment, offering it a path to retreat, its true body would likely have suffered severe backlash.
Chu Lian had already formed a few guesses about what that shadow really was. But now wasn't the time to dwell on it—the white-haired girl's healing came first.
Seeing that the bow's radiance had driven out all traces of the suppressive energy, Chu Lian knew she could finally begin restoring Satsuki's physical wounds.
She closed her eyes, sinking into her spiritual sea. There, she extended her left hand toward the girl sitting and hugging her knees.
Hare Menjou looked up at her, no longer burdened by sorrow. Smiling softly, she reached out and clasped Chu Lian's hand. As Chu Lian turned back, she gently drew Hare out of the spiritual sea.
The unclothed girl floated behind her, arms outstretched in an embrace as a white ribbon emerged from the void at her chest, drifting into Chu Lian's waiting hand.
And once again—the wings of light unfurled…