Wang Chen watched the Thousand Soul Flag hover in midair, utterly still.
The air around it had grown dense—unnaturally so—cold enough to prickle against his skin, as if the space itself had briefly forgotten how to breathe.
"Hm… it really worked…"
He muttered the words softly, genuine relief threading through his voice. No matter how confident he had sounded earlier, until this moment it had all been nothing more than theory. A gamble dressed as certainty.
Then—
The banner rippled.
Like water disturbed by something swimming beneath its surface, the Thousand Soul Flag surged violently, its fabric twisting as if something inside was trying to break free.
Swoosh!
A muted glow burst outward, and in the next instant, a familiar figure emerged.
Mo Huyan stepped out of the banner as if crossing an invisible threshold.
