"I can't believe I'm finally coming home after twenty whole years…"
Guang muttered to herself before stretching her arms high above her head.
Her movement paused the moment the sprawling rice fields came into view beneath her.
"Ohhh…?"
"They're still around?"
Slowly, she descended from the sky without even using her sword.
Behind her, the two other disciples, Ling Shixian and Ran Lui—followed nearly a kilometer away.
Both watched as Guang effortlessly landed on her feet, her flowing robes settling around her in elegant layers.
"…Shi-shi?"
"What is it, Ran?"
Ran Lui glanced toward Shixian before looking back at Guang, who had already crouched beside the rice paddies without the slightest concern for her surroundings.
"Is Senior Sister Guang truly already at the Nascent Soul Realm?"
Shixian raised a brow slightly while they continued descending.
His hands rested behind his back as the wind drifted through his long dark hair.
"She is," he answered calmly.
"One does not even need to see her true cultivation realm directly."
"Flying without one's sword… floating naturally during movement…"
"Those are habits cultivators of the Emperor Realms gradually develop over time."
Their feet touched the earth with a soft *tak,* dust briefly scattering beneath them as they began walking toward Guang.
She was now staring toward the distant mountain paths, her robes swaying behind her like flowing embers.
"And she does it so effortlessly…" Ran Lui muttered under his breath while shaking his head slightly.
His gaze remained fixed on Guang.
"Does that mean Senior Sister may have already surpassed the Nine Realms and stepped directly into the Divine Emperor Realm…?"
The wind brushed softly against their skin beneath the bright blue sky overhead.
Shixian slowly shook his head.
"I may be mistaken…"
"…but from what I can sense, Senior Sister's energy has only recently entered the Nascent Soul Realm."
"She has not yet stepped into the latter four realms."
He paused briefly.
"But…"
"She certainly skipped past the Golden Realm entirely."
Ran Lui immediately fell silent.
A lump formed in his throat as his voice trembled slightly.
"Skipping the Golden Realm and directly reaching Nascent Soul…"
"…No wonder she became an Inner Disciple and one of the Ten Pillars in barely twenty years."
"It was Sect Master Zhou who personally took her in as well," Shixian added while the two entered the forest path leading toward the old impact site.
Tall trees stretched overhead, their leaves rustling softly above them.
"Sect Master Zhou Shuxuan…" Ran Lui muttered.
"The cultivator who stands only a step away from the Divine Emperor Realm?"
Shixian nodded once.
"And Senior Sister Guang addresses him as 'brother.'"
Ran Lui practically recoiled.
His eyes widened for a moment before he hurriedly regained composure.
"Isn't that practically disrespect…?" he whispered while frantically shaking his head.
"Sect Master Zhou Shuxuan is a living legend who has survived for over three thousand years…"
"And Senior Sister calls him… brother?"
Silence settled between them afterward.
Only the rustling of leaves echoed overhead.
Far ahead, Guang was already nearly two kilometers away from them.
From this distance, she looked no larger than an ant.
Then she suddenly turned around and waved enthusiastically toward them.
"…How is she already that far away?" Ran Lui muttered weakly.
Shixian merely nodded toward him before continuing forward. Meanwhile, Guang had already resumed walking toward the place where her childhood home once stood.
As well as the impact site from twenty years ago.
—
Later.
After climbing over a grassy hill covered in blooming flowers, Guang stopped with her arms folded across her chest.
Her eyes quietly swept across the landscape.
Then—
They landed on the remains of her old home.
Only ruins remained.
Guang fell silent for a moment.
…Right.
Mom and Dad moved away.
She slowly shook her head, salmon-pink strands swaying gently around her face as she began walking again.
Only to stop when voices suddenly called out from behind her.
"Senior Sister… please…"
Ran Lui hunched forward while desperately trying to catch his breath.
"Your current pace is… far too fast for us to keep up…"
"Agreed," Shixian added.
Sweat rolled down Shixian's forehead despite the composed expression he desperately tried to maintain.
"Senior Sister moves like a heavenly being without limits whatsoever."
Guang paused briefly before scratching the back of her head awkwardly.
A dry laugh escaped her lips as she dipped her head apologetically.
"Ah… sorry, sorry."
"I'm usually working on my own, so I kinda forgot I was traveling with other people."
Shixian and Ran Lui exchanged a quick look before forcing small smiles of their own.
Dry laughter escaped them shortly afterward.
"One can certainly tell…" Shixian trailed off while Ran Lui continued trying to catch his breath beside him.
Noticing the state they were in, Guang casually held out one hand.
A faint yellow-white glow immediately enveloped both disciples.
Their eyes widened.
"?!"
Ran Lui stared down at his own hands in shock before looking toward Shixian beside him.
"The exhaustion… it's disappearing…"
Shixian also raised a brow as his body gradually began feeling lighter.
He slowly clenched one hand into a fist while staring at it.
"…Amazing."
The two disciples immediately turned toward the salmon-haired woman standing before them.
A faint glimmer of awe flickered within their eyes.
"Senior Sister…"
"What exactly did you just do?"
Guang frowned slightly at the question, almost as though they had asked something strange.
"A simple Dao transfer?"
"…Why?"
"Dao transfer?" the two repeated simultaneously, confusion immediately crossing their faces.
Guang let out another sigh before scratching her head again.
"I don't really understand the mechanics behind it either…"
"Senior Brother Zhou just told me to imagine myself transferring life energy toward something else."
"Plants, animals, people…"
Her gaze shifted toward the distant impact site not far from where they stood.
"I was only doing what I was taught."
"It's not really anything special."
Then she glanced back toward them over her shoulder.
"Enough talking."
"Let's continue the investigation already."
"That way we can return as soon as possible so I can slee—"
Both disciples immediately raised their brows.
Guang froze mid-sentence before quickly clearing her throat.
"I mean…"
"…so we can report back to Master sooner."
She lightly shook her head afterward before continuing toward the impact site as though she hadn't almost revealed her true intentions in front of her fellow disciples.
Behind her, Ran Lui and Shixian exchanged a brief look before following after her.
The two quietly watched Guang walk ahead with effortless grace while occasionally glancing around at their surroundings.
After some time, the three finally arrived at a small meadow surrounded by dense trees.
Yet—
There was no crater.
No traces of Dao.
Not even the slightest hint of demonic or foreign energy.
"The same place where I used to watch ants twenty years ago…" Guang quietly muttered under her breath.
Her gaze slowly swept across the blooming flowers scattered throughout the meadow.
"How strange…" Shixian spoke up while lowering himself toward the grass.
His fingers lightly brushed against the ground beneath them.
"That event from twenty years ago was witnessed and recorded by multiple sects across the Fan Continent…"
"…so why is there nothing here?"
Guang paused briefly before turning toward him.
For the first time since arriving, her expression shifted into something noticeably more serious.
"Wait."
"What exactly did the event look like?"
Shixian blinked once before looking back at her in confusion.
"It appeared as a trail of every color we've ever seen…"
"…and even colors humanity has yet to name."
He frowned slightly afterward.
"Senior Sister lived here during that period, yes?"
"How could you not—"
WHOOSH!
Guang instantly turned.
Her hand lifted sharply, and a dark blade abruptly stopped mere inches away from the three of them.
The weapon hovered motionlessly in the air, its black metallic sheen reflecting beneath the sunlight.
Ran Lui immediately stepped forward while smoothly unsheathing his own blade and taking a defensive stance.
At the same time—
Guang casually snapped her fingers.
The suspended sword instantly reversed direction before violently shooting back toward where it had come from.
A wet squelch echoed from the forest.
Then—
A pained grunt followed from somewhere behind the bushes. Guang's brows furrowed slightly as the underbrush rustled.
"Show yourselves."
Her voice came out calm.
Cold.
Dozens of spiritual blades suddenly manifested behind her. They formed a floating halo overhead, each sword aimed directly toward the surrounding forest.
Ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Behind her, Shixian and Ran Lui stared wide-eyed at the sight.
Shixian's voice nearly squeaked out in disbelief.
"No incantation…"
"…not even an activation seal?"
The bushes rustled once more.
Then—
tak… tak…
The sound of sandals stepping against dry soil echoed through the meadow.
A woman slowly emerged from the underbrush.
She wore flowing white robes with long sleeves, intricate eastern patterns woven elegantly into the fabric. Beneath them rested a deep red skirt, the signature attire of maidens from the lands where the sun rose.
"Fascinating," the woman murmured softly.
She slowly drew a black blade edged with silver polished enough to reflect the sunlight.
"The previous sects only sent useless rejects."
Behind Guang, both Shixian and Ran Lui visibly flinched.
Their gazes sharpened immediately as they carefully watched the woman's every movement.
A sharp shing echoed through the meadow as the sword fully left its scabbard.
The woman held the blade casually with one hand while positioning her body sideways toward them in a practiced stance.
Careful.
Measured.
Watching.
At the same time, the spiritual blades floating behind Guang remained poised to strike the instant the woman moved.
"What are the people of Shunjin Yamato doing all the way in the northeast?" Guang asked calmly.
Her silk robes swayed softly alongside the wind.
The woman gave no immediate answer.
Instead, a faint smile slowly curved along her lips.
Thin frost gradually spread across the scabbard resting in her free hand.
Guang's eyes narrowed slightly.
A dual wielder?
"That is hardly important, is it?" the woman finally replied.
"I was merely tasked with eliminating disciple after disciple."
Her gaze slowly settled onto Guang.
"But…"
"…you are quite the peculiar one, salmon head."
Guang's expression immediately twitched.
Her brows furrowed while Shixian quietly muttered under his breath after briefly glancing toward her hair before hurriedly looking away again.
A vein nearly twitched along Guang's forehead.
"We literally just met."
"And you're already being annoying?"
The woman merely tilted her head slightly.
The smile on her lips never once reached her eyes.