Yun stepped forward.

That was all he did. One step.

But the illusion world shattered like thin glass.

There was no loud explosion, no dramatic light show like he expected. Just a soft cracking sound, like ice breaking on a quiet river. The sky folded inward. The ground dissolved into drifting ink. Every illusion layer he'd walked through peeled away one by one, not violently, but reluctantly, like they didn't want to let him go.

Yun didn't look back.

He didn't need to.

When his foot touched real stone again, the air felt different. He felt different too. Lighter in some places. Heavier in others. His breathing was steady, not rushed, not shaking like before. His face when Shen Yu saw it was calm. Too calm, maybe.

The destroyed temple stood silent around them, cracked pillars leaning like old men, ancient carvings half-erased by time. The illusion formation faded completely, its runes burning out one by one until they were nothing but dead lines in stone.

Shen Yu exhaled slowly.

"…You're back," he said.

Yun nodded once.

That was it. No relief, no tears, no collapsing to the ground. Just a nod.

Mu Qing, who had been pacing nervously near the edge of the formation, froze. "That's it? You don't… feel dizzy? Or insane? Or possessed by some ancient monster spirit?"

Yun looked at her. Really looked. His gaze was sharper now, focused, like he was weighing something unseen.

"I feel clear," he said. His voice was quieter than before, steadier. "Clear enough to know we don't have much time."

Lan'ruo sucked in a breath. "You feel it too?"

Yun closed his eyes briefly.

He did feel it.

The Calling wasn't a whisper anymore. It wasn't gentle. It was pulling, tugging at his blood, stretching across distance that didn't obey normal space. Something massive had shifted because of him stepping out. Something noticed.

And then

The sky split.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

A jagged line tore open above the ruined temple, black and silver light spilling through like torn fabric. The temperature dropped instantly. The air screamed.

Shen Yu cursed under his breath. "They're early."

From the¹裂口 stepped three figures.

Hunters.

Not the lesser scouts Yun had seen before. These were different. Their bodies were wrapped in dark armor etched with moving symbols, faces hidden behind masks shaped like screaming stars. The space around them bent slightly, as if reality itself didn't fully accept them.

One of them spoke, voice layered, wrong.

"Starborne confirmed."

Another tilted its head.

"Bloodline stable. Growth rate exceeds prediction."

The third raised its weapon—a long, crescent-shaped blade made of condensed void.

"Terminate before ascent."

Mu Qing's face went pale. "Three…? That's not a scouting unit. That's an execution team!"

Yun stepped forward before anyone could stop him.

Shen Yu's hand shot out. "Yun"

"I know," Yun said calmly. "I'm not reckless."

That alone shocked Shen Yu more than the Hunters.

Yun raised his hand slowly, fingers spreading. His bloodline responded instantly. His eyes shifted, pupils threading with faint starlight. Lines of perception unfolded before him—angles, flows, intent. He could see how the Hunters moved before they moved.

"Lan'ruo," Yun said, without turning his head. "Left flank. Delay only."

She blinked. "You trust me that much already?"

"I calculated," Yun replied. "You're fast enough."

Mu Qing swallowed. "And me?"

"Support Shen Yu. Don't chase. Don't hesitate."

Shen Yu stared at Yun, something unreadable in his eyes. "…You're issuing orders now?"

Yun finally looked back at him.

"I learned something in the illusion," he said. "Power without direction wastes lives. Including my own."

The Hunters moved.

Lan'ruo vanished in a blur of light and shadow, her illusion-based movement technique twisting space just enough to avoid the first slash. Mu Qing slammed her palms together, forming a defensive seal as Shen Yu stepped forward, aura erupting fully for the first time in days.

Yun didn't rush in.

He waited.

The execution Hunter lunged straight for him.

At the last possible moment, Yun stepped sideways—First Star Step, refined, silent. The blade passed where his head had been a breath ago.

Yun raised his hand and drew.

Not energy. Not light.

Intent.

The Brush Master's legacy stirred.

A phantom stroke cut across the air, invisible but absolute. The Hunter staggered, armor cracking, mask splitting with a sound like breaking glass.

Yun exhaled slowly.

"So this is how it feels," he murmured. "To choose the line before drawing it."

Far above, in the cosmic void—

Yun's parents felt it.

The moment he struck.

Empress Yueran's breath caught. "He used it… without fear."

Emperor Lianxing clenched his fists. "He chose clarity over emotion."

Behind them, the void trembled as more Hunters gathered, sensing the shift.

"The price," Yueran whispered, eyes wet. "He's walking the path we tried to spare him from."

Back in the ruined temple, the fight wasn't over.

It had only just begun.

And Yun

Yun was no longer just reacting to fate.

He was shaping it.

Author note:The most common English translations for the Chinese word 裂口 (lièkǒu) are:

Crack (like a crack in a wall or glass)

Fissure (often used for geological cracks or deep slits)

Rift (suggesting a wide or significant split, often metaphorical)

Gap or Opening (a general term for a break in continuity)

Cleft or Slit (often used for natural openings)

The best translation depends on the context.

For example:

墙上有个裂口 (Qiáng shang yǒu gè lièkǒu) \rightarrow There is a crack on the wall.

这条河形成了文化的裂口 (Zhè tiáo hé xíngchéngle wénhuà de lièkǒu) \rightarrow This river formed a cultural rift (or gap).

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