The mist lifted slowly.
The wind carried the metallic smell of blood and ashes.
Li Ze's body lay upon the ground, his face twisted in that one last reflex of disbelief.
Jun Tian did not move; he stood still, staring straight into the horizon.
And the purplish glow within his spear pulsed softly, like the heart of a sleeping beast.
And Yue Lian once more appeared in his mind.
Her voice was crystalline bells, ringing far off, soft and profound.
"You could have let him live. He had already lost everything."
After a few moments of silence, Jun Tian spoke in a voice cold as a blade.
"Lives that cannot continue on their path are a burden to the world. He decided to be an enemy to me."
"...So this is how you approach cultivation. A ladder made of corpses."
— "If necessary." — he replied without hesitation. — "The path of ascension is not paved with flowers, but with bones."
Yue Lian did not respond.
In her spiritual form, she watched him. The flames of his determination seemed to consume even the sky itself.
At some point, the power-seeking youth had transformed into something more — someone who accepted the weight of blood without averting his gaze.
The surrounding spiritual light began to react.
The air vibrated, and Jun Tian looked up.
Thin lines of golden energy began to form in the cloudy sky of the Secret Realm, merging into archaic symbols.
— "This is…"
"A reconnaissance formation," Yue Lian explained. "The Secret Realm reacted to your act. The ancient laws of the sect that built this place still echo. Killing within its domains awakens the spiritual records of the place."
Jun Tian watched calmly.
The symbols moved slowly and then dissipated.
Then silence returned, yet something invisible stayed behind-as if the Secret Realm itself took cognizance of him.
He took a deep breath, sheathed his spear, and turned his back to the battlefield.
Yun Xiang was still there, watching from a distance.
Her expression was tranquil, but her heart raced.
Since the competition started in the Secret Realm, she had watched dozens of cultivators fight, but never anything like this.
It was terrifying how Jun Tian fought without hesitation, emotion-never anything but absolute precision.
She walked slowly toward the site of the confrontation where the ground still vibrated with remnants of the power that was released from Li Ze's artifact.
Yun Xiang's gaze fell upon the body of the dead young master.
"Even in death. his energy is still unstable. The artifact drained more than the body could bear."
She leaned forward, laying two fingers on the dead man's chest.
The spiritual energy still floated, like embers.
Rising, she saw something glinting in the light near the fissure in the ground—a shard of dark crystal, pulsating weakly.
"A condensation core.", she murmured.
But it was not ordinary.
The fragment released a purple glow, the same color as Jun Tian's spear.
She carefully guarded it.
Then she looked in the direction where Jun Tian had disappeared.
"Jun Tian… who are you, anyway?"
The question echoed only in her mind.
However, in her heart, she felt something-that man was not a simple cultivator of the Establishment Realm.
Something much deeper was in his soul, something of ancient times, a dormant force which at the right moment would surge.
Meanwhile, Jun Tian continued through the inner forests of the Secret Realm.
The trail began to grow stranger: trees changed shape, and the earth seemed to pulse, breathing with the world.
Yue Lian closely watched the energy fluctuations.
"The Qi density here is much purer. This is the core of the Secret Realm. There is something sealed nearby."
Jun Tian stopped in front of a valley enveloped by bluish light.
The air seemed to vibrate with a low hum, almost like some far-off chant.
In the heart of the valley stood a black stone monolith, covered with writings that shimmered.
The power emanating from it was ancient: cold, unfathomable.
He approached slowly.
"Wait," warned Yue Lian. "I sense a living presence within the seal.
But Jun Tian had already reached out.
His fingertips touched the monolith.
And suddenly, a wave of spiritual energy enveloped him and his body rose into the air.
Ancient symbols surrounded him, luminous currents.
The spiritual form of Yue Lian emerged, appearing to float beside him.
Her eyes shone with urgency.
"It's a trial array. Created to test the successors of the ancient sect. If you fail, your body will be destroyed!"
Jun Tian gritted his teeth and kept calm.
"Then… I will destroy it before it destroys me."
With a low roar, he channeled all of the Qi from his dantian.
Though the spiritual currents tightened, the gleam in his eyes deepened.
The spear appeared in his hand and was wrapped in spiritual flames. Yue Lian, feeling his intent, stretched out her hands, infusing some spiritual energy into the weapon, to help shift the pressure waves of the seal.
The air quivered.
The seal tried to struggle free, releasing thousands of flaming symbols that assaulted it like blades.
But Jun Tian attended.
His blow pierced through space, destroying layer upon layer of the ancient matrix.
The sound was deafening, the world seemed to shatter.
Finally, the monolith cracked and a gray energy spread across the valley.
He fell to his knees on the ground, his lips dripping blood, while his eyes blazed with determination.
"You… broke a seal that has been in place for millennia," Yue Lian whispered, astonished. "Even I did not expect that."
"Nothing is eternal," he replied, wiping the blood. "If something prevents me from moving forward, then it must be destroyed."
She gazed upon him with a mix of fascination and fear.
"You are becoming something the whole world will fear."
Jun Tian didn't answer.
The ground began to tremble again.
From the crack opened by the seal, a golden light emerged, forming a floating pearl.
It pulsed like a living heart, radiating power.
— "A Primordial Spiritual Pearl…" — whispered Yue Lian. — "Treasure of the ancient sect. It can rebuild spiritual veins and expand the dantian!"
Jun Tian raised his hand, and the pearl came to him.
The touch was gentle — but the energy that entered his body was like a raging sea.
He clenched his fists.
Spiritual Qi spiraled around him, and his aura instantly rose.
His meridians pulsed, expanding.
"Your body is holding up… incredible. You really are…" — Yue Lian hesitated. — "…a monster."
Jun Tian opened his eyes.
A new light shone within them—cold and deep.
— "A monster that climbs step by step to the top of the sky."
Meanwhile, in the outer areas of the Secret Kingdom, chaos spread.
The disciples who were still alive began to feel abnormal fluctuations in the air.
The spiritual energy of the world was shifting.
And, above the sect's palace that observed everything from the outside, the elders began to grow alarmed.
One of them, with a silver beard, stood up abruptly.
"The main formation of the Secret Kingdom... has been breached!"
Another exclaimed:
"What?! That's impossible! Even the Patriarchs would need days to touch that seal!"
But the observation orb clearly showed: the seal had been broken, and in the center of the valley, a young man in a gray robe held a spear, surrounded by golden light.
A heavy silence fell over the elders' chamber.
The Patriarch slowly opened his eyes.
"Jun... Tian."
The name echoed like thunder.
Back in the valley, the mist began to dissipate.
Jun Tian looked at the now-dormant pearl in his hand.
It had partially merged with his Qi, becoming part of his own body.
Yue Lian approached spiritually, observing the faint glow on his chest.
"You are further and further from the limits of this world. I can feel it. There is something inside you… that doesn't belong here."
Jun Tian looked at her.
For a brief moment, his cold gaze softened.
"And yet, you remain here."
"I am part of your path now," she replied, smiling slightly. "And if necessary, I will burn my power so that you continue walking."
He looked away, turning to the horizon.
The sky within the Secret Realm was shifting.
The spiritual energy trembled, as if two different worlds were trying to merge for an instant.
Yue Lian noticed the phenomenon, surprised.
"This… shouldn't be happening. The Secret Realm is connecting to another spiritual dimension. Something is approaching this world."
Jun Tian frowned.
"Then the real test is only beginning."
The wind blew, raising golden dust around.
The gleam of his spear flickered, reflecting a distant light—as if another reality responded to his awakening.
And overhead, for an instant, between the clouds, a purple moon showed itself and then watched.
Yue Lian looked at it and recognized the symbol.
"The gaze of the purple moon…" she whispered, "the same omen that precedes the merging of worlds."
Jun Tian didn't move. He looked at that wisp of a glow.
The premonition was clear—something was about to change, not only in the Secret Realm but in all existence.