The next day, while Lux was practicing intermediate-level defensive formations, a servant came with an unexpected message Sect Master Klahan requested his presence immediately.
Lux's heart pounded. A direct meeting with the Sect Master always meant something important or dangerous.
As he entered Klahan's study, Lux saw the Sect Master's face was more serious than usual.
"Lux, sit down," Klahan said, his voice gentle but firm.
Lux obeyed, feeling a mixture of worry and curiosity.
"First, you do not need to worry about your parents," Klahan began, as if reading his mind. "Since the war began, we have assigned two peak Core Forging Realm cultivators as their hidden protectors one for your father, one for your mother. They are safe."
Lux breathed a deep sigh of relief. That was the best news he could hear.
"But now, the sect needs your help, Lux."
Lux froze. "Help... me? But I am only Qi Nurturing Realm, Sect Master. Direct disciples usually do not take missions until Foundation Establishment."
"I know. But this is not an ordinary mission." Klahan explained the situation in Crystal Valley, the stalemate, and how Lux's unique abilities might break it. "We want you to try to analyze and disrupt the enemy's defensive formations. Only analysis. You will not fight."
Lux was silent, processing all the information. He was only 11 years old. He should be practicing, joking with his peers, not being sent to the battlefield.
But he also remembered his parents who were there. Remembered his promise to become strong enough to protect them. And now, that opportunity came earlier and more dangerously than he imagined.
"You will be accompanied by Protector Ming, one of our strongest cultivators, and Kyle, our best concealment expert. Once you are finished or if there is danger you will retreat immediately. Whatever the outcome."
Lux looked at the Sect Master, then looked down. "I understand, Sect Master. I... I will do my best."
"Prepare yourself. You will depart tomorrow morning."
As Lux left the room, his heart was filled with fear, doubt, but also a little... just a little enthusiasm. This was his chance to really make a difference. To help his parents. To prove that his gray meteor heritage and Mobius's abilities were not a curse, but a gift that could save lives.
The "Star Child's" mission had begun.
POV (Lux)
Dawn broke with a palette of red and gold across the Burning Sky Sect's headquarters, but for Lux, this morning felt different. The fresh air he usually breathed on the Peak of Rising Flame now felt heavy with the burden of responsibility he was about to bear. In Sect Master Klahan's private courtyard, three figures had gathered.
Lux, with a posture that had grown taller in the past year but still clearly a child of eleven, wore a simple black and white travel robe with black and red patterns. This robe, as Klahan explained, had been crafted by the sect's best formation experts and possessed camouflage and protection abilities.
Beside him stood Kyle, the master of concealment. This average-sized man with an easily forgettable face exuded an almost undetectable aura, as if he were part of the surroundings. Lux, with his measurement ability, could sense the reality coefficient around Kyle deliberately lowered to almost 0.99900—a level that made him almost invisible to ordinary spiritual sensors.
And last was Protector Ming. This living legend looked like an ordinary old grandfather, but when Lux tried to measure his reality coefficient, all he got was emptiness and he could barely measure it. Not because Ming wasn't there, but because his existence was so integrated with the reality around this world that it didn't cause any measurable distortion. It was the first time his measurement ability had experienced this, and it filled him with awe and trepidation.
"Ready, Star Child?" Ming asked, his voice as soft as the morning breeze.
Lux nodded, swallowing hard. "Ready, Protector."
Klahan gave Lux a small red crystal amulet. "This is the Phoenix's Tear. If you are in extreme danger, break this. It will summon and teleport another protector. But remember, it is a last resort."
Lux gripped the amulet tightly, feeling the warmth of the energy within.
"Go. And return safely," Klahan said.
Kyle nodded to Ming, then raised his hand. A complex energy diagram formed in the air, enveloping the three of them. The world around Lux suddenly vibrated, the colors faded, and the sounds disappeared. They were still in the same place, but as if now behind a thick layer of glass.
The Nascent Soul Level Concealment Spiritual Art had been activated.
"We'll move fast," Kyle whispered. "Don't release your spiritual energy at all."
Ming nodded, then with a gentle movement, he raised his hand and tore the space in front of them. Not a harsh, noisy tear, but more like opening a fine curtain. Behind it lay a shimmering tunnel of energy.
Long-Distance Teleportation. Only mid-high level Nascent Soul cultivators were capable of it.
Lux felt a strange sensation as they stepped inside. It was as if his entire being was snatched from reality and thrown into a vortex of energy. The world around him blurred, colors blended into long streaks, and time lost its meaning.
"Don't resist the sensation," Ming's voice was clear amidst the chaos of energy. "Let the energy carry you."
The journey itself was a valuable lesson for Lux. With Mobius, he could feel how the structure of reality was folded and stitched back together. The reality coefficient in this teleportation tunnel fluctuated wildly, from 0.95000 to 0.99999, creating patterns that were almost impossible to understand.
"Fascinating," Mobius murmured in his mind. "This world creates stable reality bubbles within interspatial chaos. The principle is similar to Distortion, but on a much larger scale."
After a journey that felt like hours but was perhaps only minutes, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. Kyle immediately strengthened his camouflage formation as they stepped out.
Lux blinked, adjusting his vision. They were now in a simple stone room inside Wildfire City. The air here felt different hot, dry, and filled with the remnants of battle energy. The average reality coefficient here was around 0.99950, lower and less stable than at headquarters.
"Welcome to the front lines, Lux," greeted a woman who was already waiting in the room. She was Nera Ironshield, a previous generation Direct Disciple who now led the city's defense.
Nera looked at Lux with an analytical gaze. "So you're the Star Child that so many people have been speculating about."
Lux bowed respectfully. "Senior... Direct Disciple Nera."
"Forget the formalities," Nera interrupted. "We have work to do. Grand Elder Bram and Young Master Raiden are already waiting in the command room."
~
The Wildfire City command room was the nerve center of the defense. A giant energy map was projected in the middle of the room, showing the positions of all sect forces and the estimated positions of the enemy. Here, the auras of several Nascent Souls mixed, creating a spiritual pressure that made it almost difficult for Lux with his Qi Nurturing level to breathe.
Grand Elder Bram Ironshield and Young Master Raiden Voltaris were standing in front of the map, their faces serious. As Lux, Ming, and Kyle entered, all eyes turned to them.
"Lux Noctis," Bram greeted, nodding. "You're taller than I expected."
Raiden looked at Lux suspiciously. "Can this kid really help us? He hasn't even reached Foundation Establishment."
Ming stepped forward. "His abilities are unique, Young Master Raiden. Let's give him a chance."
Lux, feeling nervous among these giants, focused on the energy map. With Mobius's help, he began to analyze the data displayed.
"Can you explain the enemy formation situation?" Lux asked, his voice a little shaky but full of determination.
Nera nodded and pointed to three different areas on the map. "The Shadow Viper and Hugo Clan are building poison and illusion formations here, on the southern slopes. The GaleFord Clan and Red Lotus Empire are forming a complex wind and earth formation here, on the western plains. And here, in the eastern canyon, they have the most dangerous combined formation a combination of all elements."
Lux approached the map, his eyes focused. With Mobius, he didn't just see images he saw energy patterns, qi flows, and fluctuating points of stability.
"Can you sense anything?" Bram asked.
Lux nodded slowly. "I need time to analyze in more detail, but... their formations aren't perfect. There are desynchronizations in some connection nodes. Unstable coefficients."
Raiden raised an eyebrow. "Coefficients? What do you mean?"
Lux realized he had said something he shouldn't have. "I mean... the energy flow is unstable at some points."
Ming looked at Lux meaningfully, as if understanding more than was said.
"The enemy's strongest defense is in the eastern canyon," Nera said. "If we can cripple that formation, Bram and Raiden can lead a decisive attack."
Lux studied the eastern canyon formation. With Mobius, he could see small gaps in the energy structure points where the reality coefficient fluctuated more wildly than it should.
"I think... I can do something," Lux said finally. "But I need to get closer. At least within 500 meters of that formation."
Bram sighed. "That's very dangerous. That's already within their sensor range."
"Kyle and I will watch over him," Ming said calmly. "We'll get him close enough, give him time to do what he needs to do, then withdraw immediately."
Raiden was still hesitant. "This is very risky. If the enemy detects us, if Protector Ming is forced to fight..."
"We have no other choice," Bram interrupted. "We've tried everything. This may be our only chance."
The final decision was made. Their mission would be carried out tonight, when energy activity on the battlefield usually decreased and Kyle's camouflage formation would be most effective.