The Feilun Sect was quiet that night.
Lanterns still glimmered faintly along the courtyards, and faint murmurs of disciples finishing their meditation drifted in the air. But deep within the secluded mountainside chamber granted to him by the Sect Master, Tian Shen sat cross-legged, still as stone.
His breath came in long, measured draws. His qi had long since stopped flowing in a calm rhythm — instead, it churned like a storm bottled within flesh and bone. Every inhalation dragged raw spiritual essence into his meridians. Every exhalation sent sparks of golden light flickering across his skin.
The Core Reinforcement Realm—his current cultivation—was no longer stable. The core inside him throbbed violently, cracks running through its surface. He knew the signs. He was standing before a precipice, one that most cultivators hesitated to face.
The Utopian Core Realm.
