The days passed quietly in Kael's mansion at the Vorn Estate.
Lira and Garrett returned from their assignment with comprehensive intelligence reports—Draven clan movements, resource allocations, communication patterns. Kael filed the information away without urgency. It would be useful later, when the time came to deal with Cassius permanently.
For now, he had other priorities.
16 Soul Vein Crystals arranged in a precise hexagonal pattern on the floor of his private cultivation chamber. Each crystal pulsed with concentrated soul force. More soul power than Kael could have gathered in years of normal cultivation.
He sat at the center of the formation, legs crossed, eyes closed.
The Mantra of the Void Sovereign began to flow through his consciousness—not just through his meridians, but through something deeper. The upgraded mantra created a dual circulation loop, mana and soul force feeding into each other in a continuous cycle.
