He returned to the sect grounds not as a hero — not even as a disciple. But as a ghost. No announcement. No herald. No recognition.
Lin Feng stood before the outer sect registry stone, where disciples' names shimmered in golden script.
> But his name was gone. Not removed, Erased.
Han Yu appeared beside him, arms folded. He said nothing at first. Then, with a dry smile: > "You've become too real for records."
> "What does that mean?"
> "That the sect's trying to hide you… even from itself."
---
A New Residence – Far From Others
The new quarters were far from the dorms. A quiet cliffside chamber built into the mountain's shadow, with no neighbors and no lights. No guards.
Only one sentry ward: a carved talisman pulsing with an unfamiliar seal. Inside, the air was still. A table, bed, A meditation altar.
And his broken sword — placed carefully atop dark silk, as if someone had cleaned it in his absence. He hadn't brought it here.
---
That night Lin Feng lit no lanterns.
But as midnight approached, the sword began to glow faintly on its own — that same crack pulsing not with heat or light, but with memory.
He touched it and his mind was yanked into another world.
---
He stood in a battlefield of glass mountains and shattered heavens. Ash rained like snow. Armies — divine, demonic, monstrous — clashed across the horizon.
And in the center, someone stood with that same broken sword. Only now… it was whole.
And it sang as it moved — each strike echoing like the cry of a dying star. > "That's not me," Lin Feng whispered.
But the figure turned. And beneath the helm of bone and light…> It was him.
Not older, Not younger, Just emptier. And the blade whispered: > "We were broken to seal the end. You were the one who chose it."
---
Back to Reality
He woke with blood on his palms — and the sword humming softly beside him. A knock came at the door softly.
Unassuming, But Lin Feng's instincts sharpened instantly...> "Who is it?"
No answer, Just the door creaking open slowly.
A girl stepped inside. Moonlit robes, Long white hair, Eyes like frost....Not Lan Xueyin.
But someone from the same place.
The Hidden Moon Pavilion.
She bowed, but her eyes didn't lower.
> "They sent me to see if you are truly… untouched by what lies beneath."
> "And if I'm not?"
She smiled faintly. > "Then I'm to leave you here… before they come for you."
---