Kaelan returns to his tower on the seven-elemental lake.
Veena will erect her own tower and remain within the marshland that has already come to be known as the Death Marshland. Before departing, Kaelan meets Lin Zian and his companions briefly. He invites Lin Zian and Minyu to return later for a deeper discussion about the Psychic Way. He does not linger. His presence alone warps the surroundings. Even now, with his power restrained, prolonged contact would erode life.
As he flies back, a quiet conclusion settles in his mind.
Even if he one day achieves perfect control, he will never again be able to walk freely through mortal cities. The radiation of his existence itself is lethal. Below the First Stage of Transcendence, no being can remain near him for long without suffering irreversible damage. This is the cost of standing above the world.
Inside the tower, Kaelan turns his thoughts inward.
The Psychic Way.
If the Wizard Way is open to all mortals, then the Psychic Way is not. Out of ten mortals, perhaps only one can awaken Spirit Light. Perhaps even fewer. Spirit Light is not merely refined spirit power—it is a higher expression of it, demanding conditions that cannot be trained into existence.
Kaelan closes his eyes and awakens it himself.
Or rather, he simulates it.
His case is special. His spirit has fully merged with his physical body. There is no longer a clean boundary between spirit and flesh. He cannot tell whether he was born with Spirit Light talent. But spirit power is born from the soul—and he now wields his soul directly.
Using soul force, he recreates the phenomenon.
He observes.
Dissects.
Reconstructs.
Spirit Light, at its core, requires two things.
First, absolute precision. Spirit power must be contracted into a singular core, perfectly stable, perfectly contained. This level of control cannot be achieved solely through effort. Talent is mandatory.
Second, there must be a hidden property within the spirit particles themselves. When gathered correctly, they emit warmth. Illumination. Radiance.
Yang.
Positive energy.
Kaelan pauses.
He senses it, but cannot yet fully define it. The moment stretches—then breaks.
A presence arrives outside his tower.
Kaelan opens his eyes.
The door opens on its own as he steps forward.
Isla stands there.
"Come in," he says calmly.
He leads her to a chamber with open sides overlooking the seven-elemental lake and the transformed forest beyond. As she sits, Kaelan prepares tea. He draws liquid from the elemental lake, blending the seven energies into a state of balance.
While the tea heats, he notices movement.
Beasts have returned to the forest.
Every one of them now carries elemental signatures. Magic beasts—born not through bloodline, but environment.
Kaelan pours the tea into two cups and hands one to Isla.
Steam rises gently between them.
As he sips the tea, Kaelan feels an unfamiliar calm settle into his body, his mana responding smoothly, almost eagerly. He sets the cup down and looks at Isla.
"Why are you here?"
Once, they had been friends—drinking companions who argued about the world and laughed at its absurdities. That ease vanished the moment her true identity was revealed.
Isla smiles faintly. "Can I not visit a friend?"
Kaelan nods. "You can. But I don't believe you came just to drink tea."
Silence stretches between them, broken only by the soft sound of the lake beyond the open chamber.
At last, Isla speaks. "I need your help. And I want to understand cultivation in the Wizard Way beyond the Third Stage of Transcendence."
Kaelan's gaze sharpens. "What kind of help?"
"I want to perform a ritual," Isla says evenly, "one that will loosen my connection to the world and allow me to advance to the True God realm."
Kaelan stills.
He releases his soul sense.
In that instant, Isla's mortal appearance dissolves. She becomes a figure of blinding radiance, light so pure it borders on abstraction. Her Law manifests like a celestial body—vast, serene, inevitable. It is no longer at the meteor stage.
It is at the moon stage.
In terms of scale, meteor and moon are not so different—both can influence an entire world. But the nature of that influence is fundamentally distinct. A meteor is fleeting, violent, and destructive. A moon is constant, enduring, shaping tides and rhythms over endless time.
Meteor-stage Laws devastate.
Moon-stage Laws create.
Kaelan withdraws his soul sense and leans back slightly, considering.
Isla's Law has already crossed the threshold. Her chances of advancing to the Fourth Stage are high—at least sixty per cent. The remaining risk lies in two tribulations: the human tribulation and the world's tribulation.
With him present, the human tribulation becomes meaningless.
That leaves the world.
And yet, Kaelan senses something else. The World Will needs a guardian. Both he and the Sword Immortal have damaged the world barrier. Threats loom beyond what most can perceive. Isla, the beloved daughter of the world, is the most natural candidate to stand as its shield.
The World Will bestowed upon her the authority over most of the Light Path at birth. It will not oppose her ascension.
It will support it.
Kaelan looks at her again. "When?"
"When my cultivation reaches the demigod stage," Isla replies.
Kaelan nods once.
He raises his hand, and a stream of information flows outward—structured, complete, refined. The cultivation method of a Great Wizard, adapted for her path, enters Isla's consciousness.
She exhales softly, relief and resolve flickering through her eyes.
After a brief exchange of words, Isla stands and leaves the tower, her presence fading into the transformed world beyond.
Kaelan remains seated, the tea long since gone cold, watching the ripples spread across the seven-elemental lake.
The next to arrive is Ariel.
The moment she steps inside the tower, Kaelan pulls her close and takes her to bed without preamble. Years ago, she had been the one who crossed that line first. This time, the roles are reversed. No words are needed. Power, desire, and unfinished history collide in silence.
Afterwards, as they lie together, Kaelan shares with her the cultivation method of the Great Wizard, explaining it without reservation. Ariel listens carefully, committing every detail to memory.
For a while, there is only the slow rhythm of breath.
Then Ariel speaks.
"You have a son."
Kaelan stills.
His eyes turn sharp. "Did you bring him here?"
Ariel shakes her head. "I left him with Soraya."
Kaelan's soul sense expands instantly, passing over the forest, the wizard academy, the river, and into the demon market. He finds them there—his son and his daughter—playing together in Soraya's garden.
He is not surprised.
His daughter spends most of her time in the demon market. Born human, she has already begun to transform, and within a year, she can take on a crow-human form similar to his own. Among human children, that form draws fear and pointing fingers. Even as his daughter, she is not spared from that cruelty.
Among demon children, it is different.
There, she is simply another child.
Kaelan withdraws his soul sense.
He wants to hold them. The impulse is sharp and sudden. But he does not move. He knows better. His presence alone is dangerous. Even restrained, the radiation of his existence can harm those below the First Stage of Transcendence.
As they lie together, talking quietly, Ariel's red earring suddenly flares and begins to buzz.
Her eyes widen.
She sits up at once.
"I have to go."
Her clothes reform around her body as she rises.
Kaelan looks up. "What happened?"
"The martial artists have launched an attack on our territory," Ariel says. "And there is no one there who can stop Ge Qiu."
Kaelan nods. "Go."
They move together to the rooftop. Before leaving, Ariel turns back once.
"Take care of Declan."
Then she rises into the clouds, heading north, her aura cutting a clean line through the sky.
Kaelan watches her until she vanishes.
He does not offer to follow.
The Demon Palace has not surrendered to the Wizard Way. More importantly, Ariel did not ask. And with her strength, stopping Ge Qiu is not difficult—as long as he does not unleash the full power of the sword.
That is the key.
Ge Qiu will not dare.
If he releases the sword's true power, the World Will will strike. The sword might survive, but Ge Qiu will not. Ariel understands this, and so does Kaelan.
In this world, only two things can truly kill him.
The nine swords.
And the World Will.
Until he can defend against both, he will not antagonise either.
Kaelan descends the stairs and returns to stillness.
He will wait for Lin Zian and Minyu.
After meeting them, he will enter a deep retreat.
And he will not emerge again—unless Isla calls for him, or he advances to the demigod realm.