Chapter 51 – Search for Power
In the Luminous Peak Sect, the flames in the Hall of Souls dimmed.
A single lamp—Reivan's soul lamp—flickered violently and went out.
The silence that followed was absolute. Elders who had come to check on the status of their inner disciples stared in disbelief. Whispers turned into gasps, and within moments, the hall erupted.
"No… not Reivan…"
"He was at the peak of the Initiate Realm!"
"Impossible. He was supposed to be one of the future heirs!"
Messages were sent, alarms rung, and within minutes, the Sect Head of Luminous Peak—Elder Malric—stood before the extinguished soul lamp. A storm churned behind his eyes.
He extended his hand.
Mystic runes glowed in the air as he began a high-tier divination ritual. One that could pierce veils and rewind time itself to reveal the cause of a soul's extinguishment.
And yet…
The moment he reached out, his expression changed.
The runes cracked. His pupils dilated.
The backlash came not with a scream, but with a silent wave of force that sent him staggering backward. Blood trailed from the corner of his mouth as his aura trembled.
"Something… interfered," he said, barely believing it. "Something from beyond the planes of this world."
Even with his late-stage Grandmaster cultivation, Malric had failed.
Reivan's killer was invisible to fate itself.
---
Deep Inside the Grand Ascension Realm
Beneath an obsidian cliff beside a spring infused with every elemental essence, Jin sat in the lotus position.
A soft glow radiated from his skin.
Flames danced across his shoulders one second, vanishing into mist the next. Wind whirled gently through his fingers before turning into hardened spears of earth. Around him, elements flowed with near-sentient rhythm.
Gorr snored on a boulder beside him, his body wrapped in shimmering spatial currents.
Jin opened his eyes slowly. Three years had passed.
His cultivation had remained at early-stage Adept Realm, yet everything else had transformed. His body, soul, and elemental control had undergone grueling refinement.
"Skills and tecniques alone aren't enough. Not in this world. Not with Varek still breathing." Jin realised this from the battle with reivan, only in front of absolute power will they all bow. His eyes turned with passion for more power.
He clenched his fists.
He had focused on his Titan Vein Tempering Manual—a brutal body cultivation path that involved reshaping his muscles with elemental force. Each muscle fiber was now dense, flexible, and reinforced for both speed and durability.
He had spent months enduring spiritual torture just to activate five key pressure points across his body to begin muscle modification.
"Almost there. Another step and I'll unlock the speed circuit…"
But his soul cultivation had advanced the most. He had mastered the Soul Prism Mirror Technique, allowing him to delve into the last five minutes of memory before death from corpses.
"One day… Elder Varek will fall. And I'll watch every moment of it."
At the edge of his small cave, a glowing strand of Gorr's hair, still stained faintly with blood, was sealed inside a jade ring. He had given it to Lyra before going into seclusion.
"If you're ever in danger, scan it with your spiritual awareness. We'll come."
She never did.
It surprised him, but also reassured him. Either she was safe—or she was playing her hand carefully.
He stood and rolled his neck.
A pulse of invisible energy swept across the clearing. Birds in the distance scattered. Even Gorr woke, blinking sleepily as his aura surged.
"Yawnnn… That was refreshing!" Gorr stretched, golden light dancing in his pupils. "Oh? Looks like I broke through again!"
Jin's brow twitched.
"You… what?"
Gorr flexed casually. "Yep. Mid-stage Adept Realm now."
Jin stared. "You slept for three years."
"Best cultivation method ever," Gorr grinned smugly. "You should try it sometime."
Jin sighed and turned away. "I need a ruin."
"Huh?"
"I need a treasure to break through. I've absorbed enough essence. Perfected my elemental transitions, strengthened my body and soul. But I'm still stuck." His voice dropped into a whisper. "And tricks are worthless in front of true power."
"I need… more."
---
Elsewhere in the Realm…
Lyra walked silently through a blood-stained corridor in a ruined tower, flames flickering from her palm. Three corpses lay behind her—rogue cultivators from the Blazing Phoenix Sect who had tried to force her into submission again.
She burned them without a second thought.
She held the jade ring close to her chest, eyes glowing softly.
"Not yet. I can handle this. But soon…"
---
Back at the Secluded Cliff
Jin stepped onto a flat ledge and scanned the valley below. His senses, sharpened over years of training, picked up the faintest tremor in the air—a ruin lay nearby. Its elemental pulses were wild and chaotic. Untouched.
Gorr floated beside him. "So, where to?"
Jin's aura surged as all four of his elements pulsed in unison—fire, water, wind, and earth. The ground beneath him cracked faintly.
"We hunt."
He leapt forward, vanishing into the wild unknown.