"Master accepted another disciple!!"
Lin Huang muttered aloud, an unfamiliar emotion stirring within him. He wasn't sure what it was—excitement at gaining a junior? Nostalgia from a life already lived? It was strange, for he had once stood above countless disciples, yet this moment tugged faintly at something buried deep within his chest.
Meanwhile, Li Mei, who had just finished serving tea, happened to catch sight of Lin Huang from the corner of her eye.
For a heartbeat, her entire body froze. The tray in her hand trembled. Her gaze locked onto his calm figure—sword-shaped brows, cold aura, dignified bearing—and a violent shudder ran down her spine.
"How... how can he be here?"
Her pupils shrank. Alarm bells rang furiously inside her mind. There was no mistaking that face. No one could forget it once seen. That young man was—without question—the cold-hearted monster of the upper realm… Lin Huang, the Destroyer of Realms.
Memories surged like a flood. Tens of thousands of years from now, a single man would rise and turn the heavens upside down. Wherever he walked, empires burned. Ancient clans that had ruled for millions of years crumbled to dust overnight. Divine races—once untouchable—hid trembling in the depths of the void whenever that human silhouette appeared.
A walking calamity.
A god-slayer in mortal skin.
Li Mei had seen that figure once, from a distance so vast that her knees had nearly buckled. Yet even across that gulf, the oppressive aura had seared into her soul. Now, seeing that same face up close, her lips turned pale.
There was no mistake. The youth before her—her so-called senior brother—was that man.
And if the legends were true...
He was born here. In this very world—the Seven Convergence Cloud World.
Li Mei's breath hitched. Once, she had laughed off such rumors, arguing with her peers for three nights straight that the Destroyer of Realms couldn't possibly come from their insignificant lower world. Yet now, staring at the living proof before her, she unconsciously swallowed hard.
Cold sweat trickled down her back. The terror she had once felt upon witnessing the Realm Destroyer's wrath resurfaced, raw and suffocating. Her heart pounded violently as she turned her gaze away, forcing her trembling hands to still.
Wang Chen, who had been quietly observing his new disciple, noticed everything. The faint twitch in Li Mei's fingers, the way her eyes darted—none escaped his attention.
"Don't tell me… Lin Huang becomes a powerhouse in the future…" he murmured under his breath. Then his expression subtly shifted, a flicker of excitement gleaming in his eyes. "Good. Good! That means his fate might not be sealed at thirty-five after all."
Wang Chen coming to such conclusion was only normal, Li Mei herself had to be an heaven bending figure, if seeing someone could such an exagerated reaction it had to be another monster.
But almost instantly, his mind steadied. "No… The future is unpredictable. I must tread carefully. Perhaps she's mistaken. The smallest ripple could alter everything."
The butterfly effect—he knew it well. Even a single deviation could send destiny spiraling into chaos. With a quiet breath, he calmed his heart and composed himself.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he turned toward Li Mei. "Mei'er, rise. Let me introduce you to your senior brother."
Li Mei hesitated. Her body obeyed, but her heart was still caught in whirlwind of emotions. Slowly, she lifted her head, her gaze flitting toward Lin Huang.
And then Wang Chen spoke again—words that struck her like a hammer.
"This is my eldest disciple, Lin Huang, and your senior brother from now on. He'll guide you through the rules of the Phoenix and Dragon Dojo. If you have any doubts about cultivation—"
He paused mid-sentence, a thought flashing through his mind. Li Mei's cultivation was higher than Lin Huang's current level. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he turned to his first disciple.
"Lin Huang," he said with meaning, "you'd better start working harder. Your junior sister has already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm."
Lin Huang, who had been calm and poised, suddenly stiffened. His eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise breaking through his mask of indifference.
So high already?
His gaze swept over Li Mei, and the faintest trace of admiration flickered in his eyes. Yet when he tried to sense her spiritual fluctuations, he found nothing—an unsettling silence, like staring into a bottomless well.
Li Mei, however, wasn't thinking about cultivation at all. Her thoughts were elsewhere—buried deep in dread. It really is him…
She knew it. No level of denial could change the truth. That terrifying man, that being who had once extinguished divine races like candle flames, now stood before her as her "senior brother."
But another, more chilling question surfaced in her mind.
If he's truly our Master's disciple... then why has Master's name never been mentioned in the upper realm?
Not once had any record spoken of a teacher who guided the Realm Destroyer. For a man so powerful, his origins were shrouded in deliberate silence.
Whispers had filled the heavens. Some said Lin Huang was the incarnation of Heaven itself. Others claimed he was a fallen god, reborn into mortal flesh. Yet among the countless speculations, one theory had always stood out—one that sent chills down Li Mei's spine even now.
"The benefactor of all races... the Dao Ancestor…"
Just thinking the name made her soul tremble. Could it be…?
Her throat tightened, and her palms grew clammy. The very idea sounded absurd, and yet—why did her instincts scream that it was possible?
The Dao Ancestor was a mythical being, the one who first taught all living things how to cultivate. He existed at the dawn of existence itself. The gap between his era and Lin Huang's was trillions of years. Yet somehow… people believed.
"Maybe he hasn't met the Dao Ancestor yet," she whispered, forcing reason into her trembling thoughts. "Maybe... that connection hasn't formed."
A flicker of confidence returned to her eyes, though faint and fragile.
But then another thought struck her—one so horrifying that her blood ran cold.
What if the Dao Ancestor is watching him right now? Evaluating him… testing whether he's worthy of apprenticeship?
Her body froze. Her breath hitched. Cold sweat rolled down her temple.
Before her panic could spiral further, a gentle voice cut through the storm.
"Little Mei, Mei'er, are you alright? Your face looks pale."
Wang Chen's voice was calm, filled with concern.
Lin Huang's gaze also shifted toward her, his expression softening slightly. Despite the bitterness festering in his heart since the Ten Thousand Sword Sect incident, a sense of responsibility stirred within him. She was his junior sister now—his duty to protect.
Feeling the sincerity in her master's tone, Li Mei's expression eased a little. Yet for some strange reason, her gaze drifted once more to Lin Huang's face.
And in that instant—her vision blurred.
The serene courtyard dissolved into a nightmare. Rivers of blood flowed beneath Lin Huang's feet. Corpses of myriad races piled high into mountains, their hollow eyes staring at her. The heavens burned crimson, and in the center of it all stood Lin Huang—his expression calm, his eyes cold and infinite.
Li Mei's fists clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms. Her heart thundered in her chest like a war drum.
Regret seeped into her bones. Maybe... I shouldn't have been so quick to accept this apprenticeship.
The phantom image flickered, then vanished. Only the calm courtyard remained, and Lin Huang stood there, silent, unreadable.
And Li Mei… could no longer meet his gaze.