In the coming days, the camp is subjected to sporadic attacks by the Night Dynasty.
At first, they come cautiously.
Testing strikes.
Measured pressure.
Then the restraint fades.
Two Spiritual Wizard–level enemies are deployed.
One of them is the same Earthly Official who led the first assault.
His form is no longer fully human.
From the waist down, his legs have transformed into the coiling tails of sand serpents, thick and layered, capable of crushing stone with a casual movement. His skin resembles that of a sand worm, rough and granular, absorbing impact and dispersing force. His hands have become those of a sand lizard, clawed and jointed in unnatural angles. Beyond that, no further transformation is visible, but the pressure he emits makes it clear that what remains unseen is far more dangerous.
The second is a demon beast of the Sand Wolf Clan.
Unlike the Sand Wolf King, this one radiates refined authority.
Its body is lean rather than massive, fur shimmering with faint golden runes, eyes cold and calculating. This is not a beast driven by instinct alone, but one that has walked the path of power for centuries.
Both are stopped.
Not by the camp.
Not by the barrier.
But by Lin Zian and Minyu.
The four clash again and again.
Above the plateau.
Beyond the barrier's reach.
Lin Zian's spirit-dominant energy collides with twisted sand-based laws, while Minyu's concentrated spirit-sun burns through demon pressure and corrupt formations. The battles are violent, short, and inconclusive. Every exchange shakes the desert, sending shockwaves rippling outward, flattening dunes and cracking stone.
Neither side can gain an advantage.
The Night Dynasty army below cannot break the camp.
The wizard tower's barrier holds firm, layered arrays humming constantly as they absorb impact after impact. Since the barrier came fully into being, the wizards suffer no personnel losses.
Not a single death.
But survival comes at a cost.
Every minute, their supplies dwindle.
Food can still be acquired.
The corpses of fallen demon beasts provide flesh, and wizard techniques allow purification, but cultivation resources are another matter entirely.
Magic crystals.
Refinement materials.
Array cores.
All of them are consumed steadily.
The entire output of the magic node beneath the camp is redirected to sustaining the barrier.
There is nothing left for replenishment.
Nothing left for growth.
The Night Dynasty does not relent.
Attacks come day and night.
Sometimes heavy.
Sometimes light.
Sometimes, nothing more than suppression waves meant to strain the arrays.
Lin Zian and Minyu cannot leave their positions.
The moment they shift focus, the two Spiritual Wizard–level enemies press forward, threatening the barrier directly. Any attempt at an offensive push would result in catastrophic collateral damage, harming both the camp and the wizards within.
So they wait.
Both sides remain locked.
Watching.
Guarding.
The aftereffects of their high-level clashes cause more damage to their own forces than to the enemy. Shockwaves knock Night Dynasty soldiers from their feet. Residual spirit pressure strains the wizard arrays. Neither side gains ground.
Days turn into weeks.
Weeks turn into months.
The repeated strain begins to show.
Runes along the wizard tower flicker more often.
Hairline fractures appear in auxiliary arrays.
Repair teams work constantly, burning through precious materials just to keep the barrier stable.
Every repair delays improvement.
Every reinforcement drains reserves.
The Night Dynasty tightens the net.
Supply routes are severed completely.
No reinforcements can break through.
No messengers can pass.
The camp becomes a lonely island in a sea of enemies.
A fortress that cannot fall.
And cannot move.
At this point, only a Divine Mind–level cultivator could truly change the situation.
Someone who could break the deadlock.
Someone who could tilt the balance.
But the Night Dynasty is not without Divine Mind–level cultivators or demons.
They have them.
They are simply not deploying them.
Not yet.
Both sides are showing restraint.
Until now, most battles have taken place below the Divine Mind level.
Everyone understands the implication.
Once Divine Mind cultivators enter the battlefield openly, the war will escalate irreversibly.
It will ring the bell for the final war.
A war that will consume continents.
Shatter gods.
Reshape the world.
Neither side is ready.
Both are still preparing.
Gathering strength.
Accumulating resources.
Testing enemies.
Waiting for the right moment.
Kaelan understands this better than anyone.
That is why he has not allowed the final war to begin.
Not now.
Not yet.
His own life is still in danger.
He has walked too far ahead of the world, but not far enough beyond it.
Only when his cultivation reaches the level of a demigod will he have the confidence to face the final war head-on.
Only then will he be able to survive the combined pressure of gods, Divine Mind cultivators, and foreign forces.
And now, his daughter has been born.
That changes everything.
Responsibility settles heavier than any realm pressure.
Where once he might have risked everything for acceleration, now hesitation creeps in.
Not from fear.
From care.
He will not ring the bell of the final war while his foundation remains incomplete.
He will not gamble his life when others depend on it.
So the stalemate continues.
The camp stands.
The Night Dynasty surrounds it.
High-level forces stare each other down.
And far away, inside sealed cultivation chambers and silent laboratories, the true preparations continue.
The world waits.
And so does Kaelan.
Inside the core room of the wizard tower, Lin Zian, Minyu, and Chen Qi communicate with him through a live connection.
After learning of the stalemate, Kaelan's three clones worked together to construct a long-range array capable of real-time visual and auditory communication between wizard towers. It is crude compared to true spatial transmission, but stable, and for the first time allows commanders separated by continents to speak as if standing face to face.
Through the shimmering projection, Kaelan listens in silence.
He already understands the situation.
The besieging Night Dynasty army can be defeated.
Whether the situation turns or collapses depends entirely on three people.
Lin Zian.
Minyu.
Chen Qi.
A single breakthrough.
A small leap in strength.
Any one of them stepping forward could flip the battlefield on its head.
For Lin Zian and Minyu, the path is clear.
From the initial stage of the Second Stage of Transcendence to the mid-stage.
For Chen Qi, the leap is far greater.
From Gold Wizard to Spiritual Wizard.
Kaelan's first clone studies them carefully before speaking, his gaze calm and precise as he offers guidance.
Chen Qi exhales slowly and shakes his head.
"Lord, I want to break through," he says honestly, "but I cannot borrow the power of heaven and earth."
He has met every requirement to advance to the Spiritual Wizard Realm except one.
He cannot draw upon heaven and earth to complete the final refinement of his mana and begin materialisation.
That missing step blocks the entire breakthrough.
Kaelan replies without hesitation.
"You should begin rebuilding your spell system from zero-tier spells."
"When you can create a four-tier spell," Kaelan continues, "you will naturally be able to borrow the power of heaven and earth."
In truth, engraving a four-tier spell would achieve the same result.
But Chen Qi's spirit space cannot accommodate such a spell in its current state.
To create enough space, he would have to remove all previously engraved spells.
That is dangerous.
Removing spells damages the spirit space unless the cultivator is either the original creator of the spell or has completely mastered it.
Healing injuries to the spirit space requires enormous time and resources.
Resources the besieged camp simply does not have.
Chen Qi's expression darkens.
"Lord… those runes," he says quietly, "they appear jumbled to me. I find it difficult to truly understand them."
Until now, Chen Qi has relied primarily on martial art techniques adapted into spells.
He engraved only one spell per tier.
In fact, he would not have engraved spells at all if martial techniques could fully express mana's potential.
Kaelan understands immediately.
Chen Qi lacks the foundation in runic theory.
He does not have the time needed to master runes deeply enough to design spells from scratch.
And in this situation, time is the one thing they do not possess.
Kaelan briefly considers a ruthless option.
He could abandon Chen Qi, select a more talented individual, and make that person his dependent instead.
But most truly talented people would never accept such a bond.
Kaelan's blood cannot give them anything they could not eventually achieve on their own, and those with confidence in their future rarely submit.
Minyu suddenly speaks.
"Then why don't you create something similar to an ultimate martial art technique?"
All eyes turn toward him.
Minyu continues calmly, "An ultimate martial art technique can also borrow the power of heaven and earth."
Realisation strikes Kaelan.
Chen Qi frowns slightly and says, "But martial art techniques do not perform well with mana."
Kaelan answers immediately.
"Then change the martial art technique so that it does."
Chen Qi's expression does not improve.
There is hesitation in his eyes.
Uncertainty.
And in that moment, Kaelan accepts a truth he has been avoiding.
Chen Qi is not suitable to lead his dependents in the long term.
He has strong management ability, but that is not rare.
In any moderately sized trading house, some people could manage better than Chen Qi.
What Chen Qi lacks is creative adaptability under extreme pressure.
Still, Kaelan cannot replace him now.
Doing so would take years.
A successor already exists in Kaelan's mind, but the timing is wrong.
So Kaelan makes the decision that fits the present.
"You have to do it," he says simply.
Chen Qi bows.
"Yes, Lord."
Without another word, Chen Qi turns and leaves the room.
Kaelan then looks at Minyu and Lin Zian.
"Minyu," he says, "this is the second time we have met."
Minyu's eyes widen, while confusion flickers across Lin Zian's face.
Minyu asks cautiously, "When?"
Kaelan replies, "On the streets of Silver City, when you were fighting."
Recognition dawns instantly in Minyu's eyes.
Lin Zian's expression tightens as he bows slightly.
"Master Kong, what advice can you give us?"
Lin Zian and Minyu have created something unprecedented.
They fused the paths of martial artists and Qi refiners into a new realm, one that corresponds to the Spiritual Wizard Realm.
Years have passed since then.
Their strength has increased.
But their cultivation realm has not advanced further.
Kaelan speaks slowly.
"Before moving forward, you must begin by walking backwards."
Both of them frown.
Minyu asks, "Lord Kong… what do you mean?"
Kaelan explains, "This new realm you created can be reached by both martial artists and Qi refiners."
They nod.
"You need to separate them," Kaelan continues, "and create corresponding realms that begin from the mortal stage."
Understanding flickers in their eyes.
Lin Zian speaks first.
"You're saying we need to build a true foundation before constructing the next level."
Kaelan nods and gives an analogy.
"Right now, your realm is like a new floor resting on two different foundations."
"The floor exists, but it is unstable."
"You need to build an entirely new foundation for it."
"Only then will it become a complete building of its own."
The communication ends.
Inside the silent room, Kaelan's first clone sends a message to the third clone.
Turn Dai Juan into a dependent.
Kaelan does not believe Dai Shilin or Meini will object.
They have been requesting a meeting ever since the Sound Dolphin Clan relocated here.
But Dai Juan is only two years old.
It will be several years before he can even begin cultivation.
There is no immediate urgency.
This is preparation.
For the future.
Three months later, a third Earthly Official arrives.
This one is even more distorted.
His skin is entirely metallic, seamless and cold, reflecting light like a forged weapon rather than flesh. The moment he appears, the pressure over the battlefield deepens, and with him come the other two Spiritual Wizard–level enemies.
Three.
All at once.
They attack the camp together.
Minyu and Lin Zian move immediately to intercept.
They have changed.
Kaelan's advice has taken root.
Their control is sharper, their energy more stable, their coordination cleaner than before.
The increase is real.
But it is small.
Enough to stop three enemies of the same cultivation level.
Not enough to sustain it for long.
High above the plateau, the sky fractures with violent clashes as spirit-dominant energy collides with metal law, sand law, and demonic authority. Shockwaves ripple outward, tearing clouds apart and grinding the air itself into chaos.
Inside the barrier, Chen Qi stands atop the tower wall.
Below the plateau, the ground is black with enemies.
They are everywhere.
Night Dynasty soldiers, puppets, and demon beasts swarm like ants, climbing the plateau walls relentlessly. Spells rain down from above, explosions ripping through ranks, bodies scattering, yet the tide does not slow.
If anything, it grows more determined.
They are willing to die.
They intend to take the camp.
Chen Qi clenches his spear.
He lifts his gaze toward the sky, toward Minyu and Lin Zian locked in battle, already showing signs of strain.
He understands.
If this continues, the barrier will fall.
Or they will.
A hard resolve settles in his eyes.
Chen Qi turns sharply and looks at Tian Ruyang.
Ruyang stands nearby, his presence transformed.
He has peeled away his old skin and replaced it with the preserved hide of the Sand Wolf King. Golden-black patterns crawl across his body, and a savage, wild aura rolls off him like heat from a furnace. His breathing is steady, his eyes fierce, no longer restrained.
Chen Qi speaks, his voice calm and absolute.
"Ruyang."
Tian Ruyang looks up.
"You are now in charge of the camp."
Ruyang freezes for a fraction of a second.
"Commander—"
Chen Qi does not wait for a reply.
Dark flames erupt from his back, condensing into wings of shadowed fire. His spear spins once in his grip as he steps off the wall.
The barrier parts.
Chen Qi soars upward.
Straight into the battlefield.
Toward the three Spiritual Wizard–level enemies tearing the sky apart.
Toward his own breakthrough.
Toward a point where retreat no longer exists.