Compared to the chaos below, the sky above the Imperial City—seat of the Song Family—was calm.

Clouds drifted lazily across a sea of blue, and at scattered points, whorls of spiritual qi condensed into brief heavenly phenomena—fleeting mirages shaped like phoenixes, lotuses, and sword shadows.

Rong Lua hovered above it all, high in the thin air, the wind fluttering his obsidian cloak. From a distance, he appeared the image of detachment—expression serene, eyes cold as polished jade.

If Song Po could have seen his face now, she would have fainted in disbelief.

The arrogance and charm he had displayed earlier were gone, peeled away like a mask. The man floating in the heavens now was not the coquettish subordinate who had bowed to her authority—but the cautious strategist of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, a predator wearing human calm.

Rong Lua's gaze drifted quietly toward the distant Phoenix and Dragon Dojo, his eyes still and unreadable.

"So the Sect Master wasn't lying after all," he murmured. "But if she thinks she can use me to deal with Ying Yue's Fate-Shattering Tribulation… hmph."

Cold light flashed within his eyes.

The Ten Thousand Sword Sect, for all its pride and prestige, was far from harmonious. Competition ran deep as bloodlines, and betrayal often served as a tool of advancement rather than a sin.

From the moment he joined the sect, Rong Lua had learned caution the hard way. He trusted no one—not brothers, not elders, not even his own master.

Only once he met Song Po had he allowed his guard to lower.

But now that he thought about it, Song Po was just a simple man. Just another puppet dancing on the strings of the sect leader, he mused darkly.

"If she believes I'll act like a dog and deliver the Thousand Souls Banner to her doorstep, she truly underestimates me," he whispered. "I, Rong Lua, bow to no one—not even the heavens."

He did not immediately act. Instead, he extended his consciousness across the cityscape below, searching for any lingering traces of his sect's spies. With Sect masters's cunning nature, taking extra precautions never hurt.

Soon enough, he detected faint signatures—two agents hiding among the city's mortal districts, one stationed near the western gates, another at a tavern near the city's heart.

He also sensed the crimson thread linking him faintly to the Thousand Souls Banner—and two presences at the Phoenix and Dragon Dojo: Lin Huang and Wang Chen.

Still, Rong Lua made no move. He simply hovered in stillness, eyes shut, waiting.

Why he waited, even he couldn't fully explain. Instinct told him the right moment hadn't come.

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit Wince Tavern, a man draped in a black robe sat alone before a mirror-like spiritual screen. Within its surface gleamed the reflection of Rong Lua's silent form, suspended among clouds.

The man watched for several breaths before reaching into his sleeve and retrieving a dull gray stone.

Muttering a string of coded syllables in an ancient dialect, he pressed the stone to his lips. A faint crimson light pulsed from within it, then vanished. Without another word, the man rose from his seat and slipped out of the tavern, moving like a shadow fading into the morning light.

Hundreds of meters above, Rong Lua's expression did not change, but his gaze flicked briefly toward the city's edge.

"I see you," he said softly, his divine sense trailing the black-robed silhouette until it left the capital altogether.

"Good. I'll wait a while longer. Once the last two leave…"

He turned his eyes toward the remaining corners of the city, a faint predatory gleam flickering within them.

"...then the true game will begin."

When his gaze fell once more on the Phoenix and Dragon Dojo, his lips curved into a thin smile.

"Interesting…" he murmured.

No matter how sharp his spiritual perception became, he couldn't read the dojo's fate. It was as if a veiled hand had wrapped itself around it, obscuring every thread of destiny.

Something in that place defied even the heavens' sight.

Phoenix and Dragon Dojo

"Creature of time…"

Wang Chen repeated the words softly, his expression calm though waves of unease rippled beneath his composure.

Creature of time—that title struck too close to something he'd seen before.

Does it have something to do with the Parasitic Time field in my status window?

An uneasiness stirred in his chest. That strange stat, [Parasitic Time], was both a curse and a gift—the force that had reborn him again and again, but also the reason he could get another life, another way to pursue his dreams.

No one should have known of it. Yet this eldritch old being had spoken the term casually.

Across from him, the ghostly figure's cracked lips spread into a grin.

Sui Zheng, sitting nearby, stared in dumb confusion. He saw their lips moving but couldn't hear a single word. The air between the two seemed utterly still, sealed by a soundless power.

He wanted to speak—but even his voice caught in his throat.

Meanwhile, Wang Chen studied the old ghost intently, repressing his instinct to strike. By now, he knew better than to ask rash questions. One wrong word to entities like this could expose fatal truths.

Instead, he asked what made the most sense.

"Why are you here?"

The apparition blinked, then let out a raspy chuckle. "Ah… rude of me indeed, boy. I forget manners easily after so long between realms."

Straightening, he smiled faintly, his translucent figure shimmering with ripples of silver qi. "When I still walked the Nine Myriad Realms, mortals called me the All-Seeing Immortal. Like you, I was born in the river of time itself."

His cracked fingernail pointed toward Wang Chen. "Hence, we are what they called—creature of time."

Wang Chen's pupils constricted.

Born from time?

He didn't yet grasp what those words fully meant. But one part resonated deep within him: Immortal. He recognized that term—the final realm of ascension, hinted at the upper realm, a place countless time dangerous than his current state.

And if this being truly came from such a place…

Wang Chen remained silent, mind sharp as a blade. Questions could wait. For now, survival was enough.

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