Ge Qiu looks at his teammates, and the same solemn expression is reflected in every face.
While returning to Heavenly City, the Divine Mind cultivators had spoken openly about changing to the Wizard Way. That had been their intended direction after consolidating their martial foundation. But Kong Wuya's breakthrough into the Third Stage of Transcendence shattered that plan before it could even begin.
A god now stands ahead of them.
The path has changed.
Ge Qiu breaks the silence.
"I am entering deep retreat," he says evenly. "I will not come out until I advance to the Jin Dan realm."
The Jin Dan realm is the third stage of the Martial Art Way.
They obtained their cultivation method from their swords. To advance, one must first refine True Qi into Gang Qi by absorbing evil energy from the depths of the world. This Gang Qi is then continuously tempered and condensed until it forms a core. When that core is completed, the cultivator reaches the peak of the Gang Qi realm—equivalent to the Second Stage of Transcendence.
Ge Qiu is already at that peak.
But according to the laws of the world, to step into the Jin Dan realm, he must draw in corresponding Heavenly Qi to balance and elevate his evil energy.
And their world has none.
Faced with this dead end, Ge Qiu and his companions calculated, derived, and ultimately forged a new path. If Heavenly Qi does not exist, then it must be replaced. Their solution is brutal but effective—absorb greater quantities of evil energy and refine the Gang Qi core directly with it, using spirit power and vitality as stabilising anchors.
Ordinarily, this would be impossible. The world contains little ambient evil energy, and what exists can only be drawn out through their swords, a process that would take years. If they waited, they would remain the only nine martial artists of their kind in the world, stagnant and isolated.
But fate intervened.
World War began.
On the battlefield, where tens of thousands die every day, evil energy is no longer scarce. Three distinct forms saturate the land: Blood Evil Energy, Corpse Evil Energy, and Killing Evil Energy. Amid endless slaughter, these energies condense naturally.
Ge Qiu and his teammates have gathered enough.
They support Ge Qiu's breakthrough not only because he is ready, but because he is the holder of the Spirit Sword. His spirit is stronger than theirs, capable of bearing the backlash. The three types of evil energy are dangerous—volatile enough to drive cultivators into madness—but Ge Qiu is the best candidate among them.
One of his teammates speaks firmly.
"Don't worry. Break through."
Another nods.
"We'll protect you."
Ge Qiu inclines his head once in acknowledgement, then turns and leaves the room, his resolve unshaken.
—
Similarly, after leaving Kaelan, Isla does not return to her office.
Instead, she goes to her hiding place.
Her identity has already been exposed. She can no longer continue as Jin Yinji. Too many eyes are now fixed on her, watching, measuring, trying to judge how far she has progressed on the path toward True Godhood. She does not want to answer their questions, nor can she afford to.
The closer she draws to True Godhood, the less trust she places in others.
At this level, enemies and allies blur together. She no longer knows who might betray her at the critical moment.
Yet she needs someone she can rely on.
When the time comes to perform the ritual to ascend into True Godhood, she will be at her most vulnerable. During that ritual, her power will be sealed, her authority dormant, her body as fragile as that of a mortal. She will be unable to defend herself.
She will need protection.
And not just anyone.
That protector must be strong enough to face gods, and their interests must not conflict with hers.
The other three innate gods are immediately excluded.
Nyxarin is an enemy—there is no room for discussion there. Issac and Nyra are also unsuitable. Once Isla advances to True Godhood, she will no longer be the Goddess of Day, but the God of Light. And like her, all innate gods of this world draw their power from the Law of Light. Their paths overlap too closely. Cooperation would inevitably turn into conflict.
That leaves only one option.
Kong Wuya.
His authority is elemental storm, while hers is light. Their domains do not overlap. On the surface, they do not conflict. But that alone is not enough. There is no guarantee that Kong Wuya would not stab her in the back if it suited him.
She needs more than neutrality.
She needs alignment.
The best way to ensure that their interests move in the same direction is simple.
She must become a wizard.
If she enters the Wizard Way, her fate and fortune will be tied to it. Her growth will strengthen the Wizard Way, and the Wizard Way's expansion will, in turn, reinforce Kong Wuya's luck. If she advances to True Godhood through the Wizard Way, then Kong Wuya's chances of advancing to True Godhood himself will increase as well.
Only then will betrayal make no sense.
Only then will protecting her also mean protecting himself.
With that decision made, Isla settles down and begins recalling every wizard book she has ever read. Spell theory, meditation structures, visualisation maps, elemental balance, spirit foundations—she goes through them all, one by one.
She is not going to follow an existing path.
She is going to create her own meditation guide.
And her own visualisation map.
---
Time continues to flow.
Across the entire human territory, the Wizard Way takes root and spreads without resistance. News of Kaelan's ascension to demigodhood moves faster than armies ever could. Wizard Associations spring up city by city, province by province, until their banners become as common as marketplaces and courts. The Nine Gang Qi martial art sects, sensing the inevitable, withdraw from human lands entirely and establish their bases along the frontlines of the war, abandoning the interior without protest.
One by one, all spiritual nodes within human territory are transformed into magic nodes. A thin haze of magic energy settles over the land like a second sky, gentle yet pervasive. Martial artists and Qi refiners either adapt or fade away. Many divine mind–level demons secretly acquire wizard meditation guides and visualisation maps, abandoning their old paths to cultivate the Wizard Way instead.
Slowly, unmistakably, the world tilts.
If nothing interrupts this trend, every cultivation system in this world will eventually be replaced by the Wizard Way.
Then, one day, thunder roars on the outskirts of Tang Capital.
The tribulation is unmistakable—thunder meant not for cultivation, but for the refinement of a true spiritual treasure. The entire world's attention snaps back to the Tang Kingdom. Ever since Kaelan's breakthrough, anything that happens near Tang Capital carries weight.
The news spreads quickly.
Veena is refining a real spiritual treasure.
Thunder crashes again and again, tearing through the sky. When it finally disperses, pale white light descends. A bone mask, smooth and ancient, floats silently in the air before falling into Veena's open palm.
She lifts it and places it over her face.
The world changes.
Death reveals itself with terrifying clarity. Lines, layers, inevitability—everything becomes visible to her senses. Life and death are no longer abstract concepts but structures woven directly into reality.
Jade-colored wings beat through the air as Li Xueyao approaches her.
"Are you going to break through the third stage?" Xueyao asks.
Veena nods. "All preparations are complete. Once the mask fully merges with my body, I can attempt the breakthrough."
Xueyao nods in return, then hesitates.
"But first," Veena adds, "I need to meet Ka… Kong Wuya."
A trace of sadness passes through Xueyao's eyes.
"Three months have passed," Veena says quietly. "He still hasn't come to see you?"
Xueyao shakes her head. "It isn't his fault. It's mine. I'm still too weak."
Veena studies her for a moment, then says calmly, "I'll talk to him."
Minutes later, Veena appears outside Kaelan's new wizard tower.
She pauses.
The overwhelming pressure she expects is gone.
"He might have sealed his power," she murmurs.
She extends her perception carefully, then opens her eyes again.
"No… the power is still here," she realises. "It's just controlled—still strong enough to injure those at the first stage of transcendence."
Before she can probe further, Kaelan's voice echoes directly in her mind.
"Are you ready?"
Before Veena can answer, the rule network of the world ripples violently.
From the west, a shockwave spreads—familiar, heavy, unmistakable.
Another ripple rises from the east.
Then one from the north.
A fourth ripple erupts from the west again, far closer than the first.
Four people.
Four attempts at breaking into the third stage of transcendence.
Kaelan appears beside Veena in an instant. Before she can react, his power wraps around her, gentle yet absolute. Space bends, and they vanish.
Moments later, they reappear above the marshland near the eastern border of the Chen Kingdom. The land below is empty, scarred only by old battle marks and lingering magic residue.
Kaelan releases her and gestures downward.
"Break through here," he says.
Veena takes a slow breath.