Entering the core room of the wizard tower, Li Xueyao frowns.
"Where is he?"
She looks around but finds no sign of Kong Wuya. The room is quiet, the central arrays humming steadily, the holographic projections idling in low-power mode.
"Did he leave?"
Only a few minutes ago, a servant had informed her that Kong Wuya had emerged from retreat. The moment she heard that, she wrapped up her immediate work and came here without delay.
She had come to complain.
She wants a child.
Ever since seeing Qi Mei, her thoughts have been consumed by it. The sight of the baby, the way Yuelan holds her, the quiet warmth of that small existence—it has taken root in Xueyao's mind and refused to leave.
And the ministers have not helped.
Again and again, they bring up the matter of an heir to the throne. Their thinking is stuck in the past, chained to bloodlines and succession. That part does not matter to her.
What matters is that she wants a child herself.
Finding the room empty, Xueyao exhales softly and turns toward the control platform. With a thought, she manipulates the core interface, and the holographic screen blooms to life. The knowledge section unfolds before her eyes, layers of structured information hovering in the air.
She advanced to the Silver Wizard realm a few months ago.
Gold Wizard is within reach.
She knows it.
Kaelan has already designed the magic circuit for her. She only needs to adjust certain details before engraving it into her body. The path up to Gold Wizard is clear and stable.
But Spiritual Wizard—
That is different.
Kaelan cannot help her there.
That path must be walked alone.
And preparation cannot wait.
The greatest obstacle she will face is the same one every cultivator faces at that stage: perceiving the power of heaven and earth.
According to Kaelan, there are two ways.
Master a fourth-tier spell.
Or create one.
Her gaze sharpens.
She opens the fourth-tier spell list and begins reviewing it carefully, one entry after another. Complex models rotate slowly, each spell's structure, rune flow, and elemental interaction laid bare.
Her eyes pause on one entry.
Fourth-tier Wind Spell: Blade Hurricane.
Creator: Kong Wuya.
She studies it for a long moment, understanding every part of its design.
Then she shakes her head.
No.
The spell does not match her.
Her mana is a hybrid—Wood and Wind elemental energy interwoven into a single system. In the existing spell list, there are wind spells and wood spells, but nothing that truly integrates both. A true hybrid spell does not exist.
She leans back slightly, thoughts turning inward.
"Should I ask Kong Wuya to create one for me?"
The idea surfaces naturally.
Then she dismisses it just as quickly.
She shakes her head.
"If I ask him even for this," she says quietly, "then I will truly become dependent on him."
She already sits on the throne because of Kong Wuya. That is a fact she does not deny. But if she cannot even walk her own cultivation path without relying on him, then she will lose something far more important than pride.
She will lose herself.
Her expression steadies.
She closes the fourth-tier list and instead opens the zero-tier spell sections for Wind and Wood elements. Simpler. Fundamental. Pure.
She reads.
She compares.
She imagines.
Gradually, an image takes shape in her mind.
Small bamboo leaves.
Light.
Flexible.
Yet razor-sharp.
Caught in spiralling wind, multiplying endlessly, cutting from every direction.
Not brute force.
Not overwhelming destruction.
But persistence, refinement, and inevitability.
A spell is born in her thoughts.
She does not need to create a new spell for every tier.
She can create one spell—
And continuously refine it.
From zero-tier.
All the way to the fourth tier.
Her lips curve slightly.
She looks around the room, finds paper and ink, and pulls them toward her. With practised movements, she opens the rune index for Wind and Wood elements side by side.
Then she begins to draw.
Lines form.
Runes connect.
A zero-tier spell model takes shape beneath her hand.
Name: Bamboo Leaf Blades.
The first step is complete.
Li Xueyao is still immersed in her thoughts when the door to the core room opens. Kaelan and Veena step inside, their presence breaking the quiet rhythm of her creation. Xueyao looks up, momentarily startled, then notices the rune lists still open across the holographic screen.
"Oh, you're here," she says.
Her gaze shifts to Veena, and she inclines her head politely. "Lord Veena."
Veena returns a light nod, her eyes already drifting to the paper and the glowing runes. "Are you creating a spell?"
"Yes," Xueyao replies. She hesitates for a breath, then extends the paper. "Could you take a look?"
Kaelan answers without slowing his steps. "Later. We have something important to do."
He walks straight toward the core array. Xueyao's fingers tighten slightly around the paper. After a moment, she asks, uncertain, "Should I leave?"
"It doesn't matter," Kaelan replies casually.
He places his hand against the array and links his consciousness to it. The holographic screen shifts instantly, expanding and reorganising. An image appears—Kaelan himself, and beside him, his third clone in the form of the flying ship.
The projection begins to play.
The flying ship trembles, then starts to shrink. Its massive hull compresses inward as runes slide, rotate, and reconfigure themselves with mechanical precision. Plates of metal dissolve into light. Framework collapses into symbols. Slowly, the ship loses its shape.
It becomes smaller.
Denser.
Then humanoid.
The outline sharpens until a figure stands where the ship once was.
Kaelan.
Then his holy spirit emerges.
A luminous form pulls free, separating cleanly from the clone's body. It enters the newly formed figure without resistance. The image shifts again.
The holy spirit transforms, taking the shape of the crow-man, then breaks apart into countless cells of light. The body responds in kind—its own cellular structure unfolding, aligning, merging. Spirit cells and physical cells overlap, fuse, and rewrite each other.
Layer by layer, the process completes.
In the end, a single crow-man remains.
It shifts once more.
Human.
Kaelan turns away from the screen.
"This is the method," he says. "The first step is optional. You can skip it if needed."
Veena watches intently, her expression focused.
"You need to refine a spiritual treasure," Kaelan continues, "one that can act as a carrier. Then merge it with your holy spirit form, and finally merge that whole into your body."
Veena considers his words carefully. "And what does this achieve?"
Kaelan answers directly. "If you follow this process and then cut the chains, it won't result in complete destruction of your body."
He gestures lightly toward the projection. "Your body data will be retained."
Veena's thoughts move quickly.
She has no immediate urgency to break through. Cutting the golden chains is dangerous, and the price is still unclear. If she follows Kaelan's method, then even if her original cells are destroyed when the chains are severed, her body's data will persist—anchored to the natal treasure, preserved through the merged structure.
Recovery would be possible.
Far easier.
And most importantly, a physical body would remain.
She exhales softly and nods.
"All right," Veena says. "I'll listen to you."
Kaelan inclines his head once.
Beside them, Li Xueyao lowers her gaze to the paper in her hands. The bamboo-leaf runes are still fresh, the ink barely dry. She does not interrupt, but she understands one thing clearly.
The distance between her and them is no longer only one of status, but of paths that are beginning to diverge.
The discussion shifts.
What kind of spiritual treasure should Veena refine?
Suggestions surface one after another.
A flag to command death energy across a wide area.
A bone crown, to impose authority and enhance dominance over the Law of Death.
A staff, to serve as a conduit and anchor for large-scale techniques.
They examine each option carefully, weighing function, compatibility, and long-term potential.
In the end, they settle on a bone mask.
A mask would not only amplify Veena's control over death energy but also sharpen her perception of the Law of Death itself. It would sit close to her consciousness, influencing thought, comprehension, and resonance rather than raw projection alone.
Then comes the question of materials.
The mask may appear small, but the bone cells required to refine it will exceed the total contained in Veena's current body. The refinement must allow for vast accumulation, extreme compression, and constant replenishment.
There is only one suitable place.
All three of them speak the same word at the same time.
"The battlefield."
Veena frowns.
Kaelan notices immediately. "Why are you frowning?" he asks. "You should leave for the battlefield."
"What about the Chen Kingdom?" Veena asks.
"I'll make arrangements," Kaelan replies without hesitation. "Your refinement of the spiritual treasure is far more important—for you, and for the Wizard way."
If Veena breaks through to the Third Stage of Transcendence, she will become the first of the mortal races to do so. The support this would bring to the Wizard Way would be unprecedented.
After a brief conversation with Li Xueyao, Veena departs.
Two days later, Kaelan's third clone arrives.
Kaelan gathers all three of his clones together and reclaims his consciousness. The process is swift and decisive. The clones collapse into light and vanish, leaving behind only three miniature flying ships resting quietly on his table.
As his separated consciousness returns, Kaelan feels an unprecedented clarity wash over him. His perception of the laws sharpens dramatically, and even the materialisation of his consciousness surges past eighty per cent.
With this renewed unity, Kaelan returns to his cultivation chamber.
It is time to complete his elementisation.