Path of the Forgotten.

The mountain wind howled that night.

Not loud — but thin. Like breath drawn through teeth.

Lin Feng sat alone in the secluded chamber near the cliff's edge. The same one where the assassin had entered… and never left.

He didn't remember the moment clearly.

Only that something inside him had moved before he could.

> Something ancient. Something older than thought.

The body had vanished — no blood, no bones, only silence.

The sect hadn't questioned it.

But now… they watched him differently.

Even the trees seemed to lean away from the path when he passed.

---

Inside the Chamber

He gritted his teeth, shirtless beneath the moonlight, sweat dripping across his bare chest.

> Crack.

A bone realigned under his skin.

> Crunch.

Tendons rewove themselves.

He wasn't cultivating with Qi anymore.

He was forcing his flesh through the grindstone of pain, dragging his mortal body toward something unnatural — not spirit-tempered, but nothing-born.

His blood ran hotter.

As if the warmth had to be generated by will alone, not nature.

He struck his palms together, again and again.

Until the sound echoed like drums of war.

> What am I becoming?

No answer.

Only the coldness of the moon against his spine.

---

Somewhere in the Forest – A Hidden Pavilion

Lan Xueyin knelt within a snow-white chamber, deep within the mountain's side.

She had watched him.

From the arena.

From the rooftops.

From above the clouds.

> "That body…" she whispered. "It shouldn't exist."

She closed her eyes. Her spirit sense extended — sharp as a blade, silent as mist.

Across trees. Through walls. Through time itself.

It landed in Lin Feng's chamber.

And paused.

> His body was… resisting her gaze.

As if it simply did not belong to this world.

Her eyes narrowed.

> "No wonder the moon flickers when he breathes."

She stood, robes whispering like flowing ice.

And stepped outside.

---

A Moment Later – Lin Feng's Chamber

He felt it.

A presence. Cold. Regal. Watching.

No words. No killing intent.

Just… observation.

He looked toward the window. No one.

But the air was different.

Sharper. Cleaner.

And in that moment, something shifted inside him.

> A second heartbeat.

Brief. Deep.

Then gone.

He staggered forward, clutching his ribs.

His breath misted — despite the heat.

> "Who…" he muttered.

But he knew.

Not her name.

Only her rank.

A watcher. A shadow above shadows.

> And for the first time… he wasn't alone in hiding things.

---

Elsewhere – Han Yu's Quarters

The stars churned above.

He smiled faintly.

> "So she's made her move."

He traced a constellation with his finger. Then looked south.

> "Then I suppose I must act as well."

He stood, robes flickering with faint silver edges.

> "It wouldn't be right for me to miss the reunion."

---

Back at the Outer Sect Grounds – The Next Day

The disciples murmured more boldly now.

Wei Zicheng was still crippled.Lin Feng had reappeared — quiet, unshaken.

Rumors swirled.

> That he had awakened a demon bloodline. That an ancient spirit now possessed him. That he hadn't survived at all — and the one walking now was something else.

But Lin Feng didn't respond. He walked through them.