Darkness clung to Xu Wang’s consciousness like a suffocating fog. His body felt heavy, restrained. A dull ache radiated from his arms, his wrists burning from the cold bite of metal. His mind swam through the haze, piecing together scattered fragments of memory.

  Where am I…?

  His senses stirred. The atmosphere was thick with tension, the air heavy with an oppressive force. As his awareness sharpened, distant voices drifted into his ears.

  “How much longer do we have to wait?” a voice, sharp and impatient, cut through the silence.

  “Patience, Yang Rei,” came a calm, composed reply. “He must fully awaken after forming his Advanced Mudhara Core.”

  Yang Shen.

  Recognition jolted through Xu Wang’s foggy mind. He knew that voice—one of discipline and authority. But the tone was different now, devoid of the camaraderie from their training. This wasn’t a battlefield lesson. This was something else.

  Then, another voice—deeper, resonant, ced with a quiet authority that demanded absolute obedience.

  “What of the other two?”

  “The task is underway,” Yang Shen answered. “I sent my two grandchildren—Yang Fei and Yang Xue. They will handle it.”

  Xu Wang forced his heavy eyelids open, but his vision blurred. The room swam in shifting shadows and flickering torchlight. Slowly, his sight adjusted, revealing a grand throne room.

  At the center, a man sat on an elevated seat, his presence exuding sheer dominance. His aura was suffocating, like a beast crouched and ready to strike. Around him, the space was vast but eerily silent—save for the low crackle of torches lining the stone walls.

  Xu Wang tried to move.

  Cold steel cut into his skin. His arms were pulled apart, bound by thick iron chains stretching in opposite directions, rendering him defenseless. His wrists bore heavy shackles, restricting his movements, his energy flow disrupted.

  He struggled against the restraints, but they held firm.

  A sharp clink echoed as he shifted, drawing attention.

  “He’s waking up,” Yang Shen observed.

  Xu Wang’s gaze darted to his left. Yang Shen stood beside the throne, his usual calm demeanor intact, but something was off. There was no hospitality, no warmth—only an aura that sought to pierce through him like a dagger.

  Why?

  His head swam with confusion, piecing together the st thing he remembered—he had defeated the stone serpent, reached Advanced Mudhara Qi, and then—

  _Zhu Sun!_

  He had been in the Sun Cn courtyard. How had he ended up here?

  Xu Wang’s gaze moved again. Two guards, cd in bck, knelt before the throne, their faces entirely concealed by cloth wrappings. Their mere presence sent a chill through him.

  This wasn’t a casual meeting.

  This was an interrogation.

  “You finally achieved Advanced Mudhara Qi,” the man on the throne spoke. His voice rumbled like distant thunder. Yang Wei.

  The leader of the Yang Cn.

  Xu Wang’s body tensed.

  Yang Wei’s piercing gaze settled on him, and despite being restrained, Xu Wang felt as if an unseen force pinned him down even further.

  “Not even my ancestors reached this level,” Yang Wei continued, his tone unreadable. “But I am different. I also attained the Advanced level.”

  He leaned forward slightly, his purple eyes gleaming under the dim torchlight.

  “But you…” His lips curled, barely suppressing his contempt. “You surpassed even me.”

  Xu Wang gritted his teeth. His entire body screamed with tension, but the words struck deeper than the pain.

  “I suffered for decades to reach this level,” Yang Wei’s voice darkened. “You? You achieved it effortlessly.”

  A harsh silence followed.

  Xu Wang’s frustration boiled over. “What are you even talking about?” His voice cracked, the restraint on his Qi making his very breath bored. “I only have three cores!”

  Yang Wei’s gaze narrowed sharply.

  “Do you?”

  A pressure surged through the throne room. Xu Wang felt it before he saw it—a shift in Yang Wei’s aura, an overwhelming force that sent cracks crawling up the stone floor beneath his feet.

  Then, his eyes began to glow.

  Purple.

  A deep, unnatural luminescence, flickering like a star consuming itself from within.

  Xu Wang’s heart pounded.

  Something was wrong.

  This wasn’t a simple Qi technique—this was something else.

  His instincts fred. He needed to see through this—Ajna Qi!

  He focused.

  Summoning his Ajna Qi, he reached into the depths of his consciousness, willing the energy to rise—

  Nothing.

  Xu Wang’s breath hitched. He tried again, forcing his mind open.

  A single fsh.

  His right eye burned. The pressure pinned down his left, but his right eye finally broke through.

  The Ajna Qi activated—but only in one eye.

  And then, he saw it.

  The energy radiating from Yang Wei’s body wasn’t normal. His entire being pulsed with something unnatural, something woven into his very core.

  Something Xu Wang couldn’t comprehend.

  Yang Wei smirked, watching him.

  “Now you see it, don’t you?”

  Xu Wang’s stomach twisted.

  He had four cores.

  But he only knew of three.

  Then what was the fourth?

  His mind raced, fear coiling in his chest like a serpent.

  Yang Wei leaned forward, his purple eyes still glowing.

  "Tell me, Xu Wang—"

  His voice dropped to a chilling whisper.

  "Do you know what you really are?"

  ---

  To Be Continued….