Night fell over the Hawk Clan, but sleep did not come.
The territory was quiet—too quiet—as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Lin Yue lay unconscious in the inner hall, his breathing shallow but steady. Golden residue still clung faintly to his fingertips, refusing to fade even after the light had withdrawn. The clan's best healers circled him, helpless.
"He isn't injured," one finally said, voice tight with confusion. "His body is… depleted. As if he burned something fundamental."
Mo Shan's jaw clenched. "Life force?"
The healer hesitated. "Something close to it."
Outside the hall, Feng Lihan stood beneath the open sky.
His wings were folded, but power leaked from him uncontrollably—wind curling at his feet, embers drifting lazily through the air. Fire and wind no longer resisted each other. They answered him.
That terrified him more than the six-star beast ever had.
An elder approached cautiously. "Chief… your aura is still rising."
"I know," Feng Lihan replied.
He closed his fist.
The fire obeyed.
So did the wind.
Perfectly.
"…This core didn't just strengthen me," he said quietly. "It changed something."
The elder swallowed. "Dual-element awakening without madness… This has only appeared in records describing Beast Kings."
Feng Lihan's gaze darkened. "Then erase those records."
The elder stiffened. "Chief?"
"If the world learns too quickly what Lin Yue is capable of," Feng Lihan said, voice low and dangerous, "they won't wait to test him."
As if summoned by his words—
A sharp pressure rolled across the sky.
Not hostile.
Ancient.
Feng Lihan looked up.
Far beyond the clouds, something vast shifted.
Far Away — The Snake Clan Sacred Grounds
Deep beneath black stone temples, a massive eye snapped open.
Vertical.
Golden.
"So it finally appeared," a voice hissed, echoing through the underground chamber. "A purifier."
Kneeling elders trembled.
"Six-star corruption erased… dual-element harmony restored… and golden life light manifested in a living vessel."
The eye narrowed.
"Send observers. Quietly."
"Yes, Great One."
"And if the Hawk Clan resists?"
The pressure intensified.
"…Then we remind them," the voice said softly, "what happens when weak clans guard divine assets."
The Tiger Clan — War Council
Stone shattered beneath clenched fists.
"A purified six-star core?" the Tiger Clan Chief roared. "Impossible!"
"And yet it happened," an elder said grimly. "If Feng Lihan continues to grow, he will surpass every chief alive."
Another voice cut in, colder. "Then we don't target him."
Silence fell.
"…We target the source."
Back at the Hawk Clan
Lin Yue stirred.
His lashes fluttered as pain—deep, bone-weary pain—washed through him. Before he could even open his eyes, a familiar presence wrapped around him.
Warm.
Steady.
"You're awake," Feng Lihan said.
Lin Yue managed a weak smile. "Did… it work?"
Feng Lihan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he lowered his forehead to Lin Yue's.
"It worked too well," he said hoarsely. "And now the world knows."
Lin Yue's smile faded.
"…I didn't mean to cause trouble."
Feng Lihan's wings tightened around the bed like a shield.
"Then let me be clear," he said, voice iron-hard.
"From this moment on—anyone who wants to touch you…"
Fire flared.
Wind screamed.
"They'll have to step over my corpse first."
Outside, unseen by any of them—
A golden star flared briefly in the night sky.