The Azure Cloud Forest grew darker as night fell. Moonlight filtered through the canopy in thin silver blades, painting the ground in shifting patterns. Xiao Lin and Yue Ning moved silently, their footsteps barely disturbing the fallen leaves.
Yue Ning's breathing had steadied after absorbing the Spatial Void Crystal. Her pale violet eyes glowed faintly in the dark, allowing her to see clearly where mortals would stumble. She glanced at the small boy walking ahead of her—his black hair catching the moonlight like polished obsidian, his posture unnaturally straight for a six-year-old.
"How far are we going?" she asked softly.
"Until we find a safe place," Xiao Lin answered without turning. "Or until they find us."
"They will," Yue Ning said. "The sect's Moon Shadow Tracking Formation is carved into my bloodline. As long as I breathe, they can follow."
Xiao Lin stopped.
He turned to face her.
"Then we make them regret following."
Before Yue Ning could reply, the air rippled.
A wave of killing intent washed over the forest—sharp, cold, suffocating.
Seven figures materialized from the shadows, surrounding them in a perfect crescent formation.
All wore the silver crescent robes of the Silver Moon Sect.
This time, the leader was different.
An old woman in her sixties, hair white as frost, eyes like frozen lakes. Her cultivation fluctuated at the peak of Foundation Establishment—ninth layer, half a step from Core Formation. In her hand floated a silver moon disk the size of a shield, edges razor-sharp and humming with moonlight qi.
Behind her stood six elite disciples—five at late Qi Condensation, one at early Foundation Establishment.
The old woman's gaze locked on Yue Ning first, then shifted to Xiao Lin.
"So this is the little monster who devoured three of my juniors." Her voice was dry, like wind over dead leaves. "And the cauldron who thought she could escape."
She raised one wrinkled hand.
"Take the girl alive. Kill the boy. Slowly."
The six disciples moved.
Moonlight qi surged—blades of crescent light, chains of silver threads, illusory clones flickering in and out of existence.
Yue Ning stepped forward instinctively, violet spatial light flaring around her palms. She formed a small barrier, trying to shield Xiao Lin.
But Xiao Lin placed one hand on her shoulder.
"Stay behind me."
He stepped past her.
The first disciple—a young man with a chain whip—lunged, silver links whipping toward Xiao Lin's throat.
Xiao Lin didn't raise his hand this time.
He simply walked forward.
The chain whip met his body—and passed through.
No—not through.
The links bent inward the moment they touched his skin, collapsing into nothingness, devoured before they could strike.
The disciple's eyes widened in horror.
His arm followed—sucked into the void starting from the fingertips, folding in on itself like burning paper.
He screamed.
The scream cut off as his entire body vanished in a single inhale.
The void in Xiao Lin's dantian spun faster, greedier.
The other five disciples hesitated.
The old woman's expression changed—shock, then fury.
"Formation—Moon Devouring Array!"
The six remaining disciples (now five) formed a circle around Xiao Lin. Moonlight qi connected them in a glowing ring. The old woman floated above, silver moon disk spinning rapidly.
A massive illusory moon appeared overhead, pressing down with crushing weight. Moonlight turned into countless needles, stabbing toward Xiao Lin from every direction.
Xiao Lin looked up at the false moon.
His black pupils reflected its glow—and then swallowed it.
He raised both hands.
The void ripple expanded—not a small pulse this time, but a wide, silent wave.
The moonlight needles reversed mid-flight.
They flew back toward their casters.
Screams erupted.
Five disciples collapsed inward simultaneously—bodies, qi, souls, even the moonlight qi they channeled—all devoured in an instant.
The illusory moon flickered, destabilized.
The old woman spat blood, staggering in mid-air.
"Impossible… what kind of monster—"
Xiao Lin appeared in front of her.
One small hand pressed against her chest.
She tried to detonate her dantian—self-destruction to take him with her.
The void didn't allow it.
Her cultivation base leaked out like water from a broken dam, pouring into Xiao Lin before she could trigger the explosion.
Her body folded inward.
Last to go was her horrified expression—frozen in disbelief.
When it ended, only her silver moon disk remained, floating quietly.
It trembled once, then flew to Xiao Lin's hand.
He crushed it.
Moonlight qi scattered, then streamed into his dantian.
The forest fell silent again.
Xiao Lin exhaled slowly.
His body had grown again—now he looked closer to eight years old, though still childlike. His meridians were wider, his bones denser. The surge pushed him past Body Tempering entirely.
Early Qi Condensation—first layer.
He turned to Yue Ning.
She stood frozen, violet eyes wide, hands still raised in the half-formed barrier she never got to use.
"You… didn't even break a sweat," she whispered.
"I don't need to," Xiao Lin said.
He walked to her.
Reached out.
Gently took her hand—the one with the black thread tattoo.
It pulsed warmly.
"You're safe," he said.
Yue Ning stared at their joined hands.
Then she looked up at him—really looked.
Not as a monster.
Not as a child.
As something else.
Something hers.
"I think…" she said quietly, "I'm starting to understand why the void chose you."
Xiao Lin didn't reply.
He simply kept holding her hand.
In the distance, more lights flickered—distant sect signals, reinforcements coming.
But for now, the night belonged to them.
Xiao Lin looked toward the deeper forest.
"We need a place to rest," he said. "And to begin."
Yue Ning's cheeks flushed faintly.
She nodded.
"Begin… the dual cultivation?"
Xiao Lin met her gaze.
"Yes."
He started walking again, still holding her hand.
Yue Ning followed without resistance.
The moon above watched in silence.
The Ruthless Void Sovereign's first true step toward supremacy—and his first destined union—drew near.
**End of Chapter 4**