The atmosphere in the central administrative tower of the Jia Nan Outer Academy was taut with a silent, heavy urgency.
In a specialized strategy room overlooking the vast expanse of the Buffer Zone, several core figures stood around a massive, glowing topographical map projected onto a central crystal table. Deputy Headmaster Hu Gan, his hands clasped behind his back, watched the map with a grim expression. Beside him stood Elder Shu, and the scarred, imposing figure of Wu Qian, the Commander of the Law Enforcement Unit.
"Two months," Hu Gan murmured, his raspy voice breaking the tense silence. "It has been nine weeks since Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu registered their leave of absence and vanished into the outer perimeters."
"According to the patrol logs, they were last spotted near the outer ridges of Sector 7," Commander Wu reported, his voice crisp and professional. "After that, their trails simply disappear. No residual Dou Qi fluctuations, no campfires, no signs of combat with magical beasts."
Elder Shu stroked his grey beard, a deep frown carving lines into his forehead. "It is highly unusual. A C-Rank and a D-Rank student surviving independently for sixty days in the deep Buffer Zone without returning for supplies or reporting to a checkpoint is statistically impossible. Even our top A-Rank students struggle to survive a fortnight out there."
From the shadows of the strategy room, a sharp, frustrated scoff cut through the tense air. Zhan Yue, the Iron-Blooded Head of the Combat Department, stepped into the light of the glowing map. She wore her signature dark-violet cheongsam, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"He is not dead," Zhan Yue stated, her amethyst eyes blazing with absolute, unyielding certainty. "I have sparred with that boy many times. His combat instincts and survival mechanics are sharper than half the veteran mercenaries in the Black-Corner Region. If he went into the Abyssal Trench, it was a deliberate, calculated move to temper his blade."
She paused, her fierce expression betraying a rare sliver of genuine, deep-seated worry. "But... even a peerless sword can shatter if struck blindly against a mountain. The deeper Red Zones are completely unpredictable. If he stumbled into a hidden mercenary or a Rank 4 beast before his Dou Qi fully matured..."
"Which is precisely why we are acting now, Zhan Yue," Hu Gan agreed softly. The Deputy Headmaster remembered the terrifying Dou technique he had sensed on that duel, and the 'Beast Taming' incident reported by Ruo Lin. "Xiao Ning is an anomaly. And anomalies tend to attract danger."
Hu Gan leaned over the glowing map, pointing a wrinkled finger toward the dark, jagged lines representing the Abyssal Trench of Ten Thousand Trees.
"The higher-ups cannot ignore the prolonged absence of a genius with his potential," Hu Gan declared, his tone shifting into absolute command. "If he has stumbled into a high-tier beast nest, or worse, if a rogue mercenary band from the Black-Corner Region has crossed our borders and captured him... the loss to the academy would be catastrophic."
The Vice Principal turned his piercing gaze to Commander Wu.
"Commander, I am issuing a secret emergency directive," Hu Qian ordered. "Deploy three elite squads of the Law Enforcement Unit. Begin an extensive search pattern radiating outward from Sector 7. You are authorized to cross into the designated 'Red Zones' with less patrol coverage, starting from the outer deep forests and treacherous landscapes. Use tracking beasts if necessary."
"I am attaching my three best Combat Instructors to shadow your squads, Wu," Zhan Yue interjected firmly, slamming a hand on the crystal table. "If Xiao Ning and his sister are trapped in a high ranked beast nest, your standard tracking patrols won't have the raw firepower to extract them. I refuse to let this academy lose the most fascinating swordsman I have met in a decade."
Commander Wu straightened, his fist slamming against his armored chest in a sharp salute to both leaders. "Understood, Vice Principal. Head Zhan. Elder Shu. We will leave no stone unturned. If they are in the Buffer Zone, we will find them."
"Be discreet," Elder Su cautioned. "If the other factions realize we are mobilizing the Enforcement Unit for a 'C-Rank' freshman, it will raise unnecessary suspicions and rumors."
"My men are shadows, Elder," Commander Wu replied confidently before turning on his heel and striding purposefully out of the strategy room.
As the heavy doors closed, Hu Gan looked back at the glowing map, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. 'Where are you hiding, Xiao Ning? And what kind of monster are you forging yourself into?'
Miles away from the academy's frantic search, the hidden cavern behind the Silver Veil Falls remained an undisturbed sanctuary.
Miles away from the academy's frantic search, the hidden cavern behind the Silver Veil Falls remained an undisturbed sanctuary.
Yoriichi sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor, his crimson eyes focused intently on his sister.
Using the Transparent World, he analyzed the profound changes within Xiao Yu's internal structure. The birth of her liquid Dou Shi crystal had fundamentally altered her physiology. Her meridians, previously strained by the violent, icy power of her bloodline, had widened and fortified, taking on a faint, resilient silver sheen.
'Her Dou Qi absorption rate is now exponentially higher,' Yoriichi noted internally, comparing her flow to the data he had read regarding the top talents of the academy. 'She is drawing in worldly energy at a speed that rivals, and perhaps exceeds, the elite talents of the Academy.'
He shifted his focus to his own Dantian. The violent vacuum effect created by the opposing Yin and Yang elements within his cyclone had not slowed down; it continued to relentlessly pull in the ambient energy of the cavern.
'My progression remains accelerated, but I must remain vigilant,' Yoriichi concluded. 'Even though the essence of the Mystic Aqua Spirit Ginseng is low, it is still a potent, foreign element. Consuming it fully, requires careful calculation. If I tip the balance too far before my vessel is completely stabilized, the consequences will be fatal.'
He felt a deep sense of relief knowing that Xiao Yu's cultivation journey would now face far fewer hurdles. Her foundation was solid, her path clear.
Across the cavern, Xiao Yu finally opened her pink-red eyes, breaking her meditative trance. She looked at Yoriichi, noticing the subtle, yet undeniable thickening of the aura surrounding him.
"Ning'er!" Xiao Yu smiled brightly, pushing herself up from the stone floor. "You broke through again! Nine-Star? That's incredible!"
"It was a necessary adaptation," Yoriichi replied simply, his tone modest despite the staggering achievement.
Xiao Yu walked over to the supply corner, intending to start preparing their evening meal. The cavern was dim, illuminated only by the faint, silver light filtering through the waterfall and the newly lit campfire.
As she rummaged through their spatial rings, a slight frown creased her forehead. She turned back toward Yoriichi, holding up a half-empty sack of spiritual rice.
"Ning'er," Xiao Yu called out softly over the roar of the water. "We have a problem. I just checked the inventory. We have rations for less than a week remaining. We've been out here much longer than we planned."