In hidden places, sealed rooms, and distant worlds, people watched the recordings of the tournament again and again.
They slowed them.
They analyzed them.
They argued.
"What technique was that?"
"That physique is unnatural."
"He is not normal."
"No one is."
Plans were being made.
Eyes were opening.
Storms were quietly gathering.
But Lin Mu did not see any of that.
For him, the night was quiet.
He sat in a private courtyard reserved for champions, holding the Immortal Sandalwood box in his hands.
The Martial King Ascension Pill pulsed softly inside.
"Can you really push me forward?" he murmured.
Xukong observed from within him, silent but attentive.
Lin Mu did not take the pill yet.
He wanted to wait. He wanted to be fully stable. He wanted to understand his body after the fight. He wanted to analyze just how Blueback's Three Apertures Invoking Technique could help him learn.
