Lord of the void realm

Raizen crossed a barren stretch of land, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

To others, this area was just wasteland—no energy, no beasts, no ruins to explore. But Raizen wasn't looking for what others could see.

The void inside him whispered.

At the edge of a cliff where the wind didn't blow, he stopped. A jagged wall of stone stood ahead, unimpressive, plain.

But space here was different.

Not damaged. Not torn.

Empty.

He placed a hand on the wall.

There was no resistance. Just stillness.

He pushed with a thread of void energy—not enough to break, just enough to slide through.

The stone shimmered. Space folded inward. Then vanished.

Raizen stepped through the veil and into a realm untouched by time.

There was no sky, only shifting darkness far above. Crystalline trees floated in the air. The ground was made of translucent stone that glowed faintly beneath his feet. The air was heavy, not with spiritual pressure, but with the raw foundation of power itself—something older than qi.

This wasn't a cavern.

This wasn't part of the world.

It was a sealed realm, hidden between layers of space. No portals. No access from outside. Even strong cultivators wouldn't sense it existed unless they had the right key.

Raizen walked slowly.

Nothing attacked. Nothing moved.

He sat in the center of a floating platform and extended his hand. Void threads stretched out, touching the space around him—not to devour it, but to feel the rules that held it together.

It welcomed him.

He absorbed a small portion—no more than the realm allowed.

The energy didn't flow like spirit qi. It sank into his body like water into dry earth, reshaping him from the inside.

His spiritual core cracked, then dissolved.

Something stronger formed in its place.

Not brighter. Not darker.

Just... endless.

When he stood again, Raizen didn't release any aura. But the shift was real.

He had stepped beyond the reach of most cultivators in the lower world. Not supreme, not unbeatable—but in a one-on-one fight, only a rare few would challenge him and survive.

He looked around once more.

This realm would remain hidden. Untouched.

He sealed the entrance behind him and erased his presence from the path.

He didn't need the world to know what he found.

Not yet.