Wu Jian wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he entered the isolation room for training. He knew neither how long it took to break through, how long he spent stabilizing his cultivation, nor the time it took to research his newfound powers.

Entering the Human Limit Realm had vastly increased the amount of chi at his disposal. His reserves were nearly three times larger than what they had been before. Now it made sense why so many people had been shocked that he’d defeated someone at the Human Limit Realm in one on one combat. The average cultivator would never be able to defeat people above their cultivation level like he could.

The problem was that he gained nothing more than raw power after breaking through. Having more power was all well and good, but it meant nothing if he couldn’t control that power. It had taken him what felt like days of meditation just to regain control over his own chi. It was only after he regained control that he began experimenting with what he could do.

After Wu Jian stabilized his cultivation, he learned that the biggest boon he gained was the power of teleportation. He could teleport short distances away by warping the space between himself and wherever he wanted to teleport. Sadly, this power wasn’t very useful. He could only teleport about two dozen chih from his current position and he could only teleport once a day. It also required almost all of his concentration, which meant he gained tunnel vision when teleporting. He was left completely vulnerable to attack when using it.

In short, there was no way he could use it in combat.

He had not gained any other abilities, but he had been experimenting with all of his current techniques. The power of his techniques had increased proportionately to his reserves. Spatial Folding and Spatial Severing were both several times more powerful. He hadn’t attempted to, but he had a feeling he’d be able to slice through the walls of this isolation chamber now. Even Nihility, which before he could only use for a few minutes at a time, could now remain completely active for over an hour before he ran out of chi.

The only disappointment he felt was that he hadn’t been able to activate another drop of Byakko’s blood. He had assumed he’d be able to, but his assumptions had turned out wrong. That meant he needed another catalyst to activate it. Did he need to gain even more power? Or was there something else he needed? Wu Jian was going into this blindly, which sadly meant he didn’t know what he needed to increase the amount of blood he could use.

While he hadn’t been able to activate any more blood, he was able to draw out more of the blood’s power. It seemed the power he had been using before was not the full extent of what it was capable of. Wu Jian had learned that after pouring his chi into the currently active drops. He had entered an extremely powerful state that he called Transformation of the Heavenly Beast of Wind.

Byakko was associated with the element of metal, autumn, and the color white. He was said to represent the virtue of righteousness and controlled the wind.

While Wu Jian was in this state, his body became many times more durable, his strength increased, and his reflexes and speed also received a massive boost. He hadn’t been able to fully test out his newfound power. He hoped to do that once they made it back to the Shang Kingdom.

After doing everything he could inside of the isolation chamber, he left. He learned from one of the maidservants that two weeks had passed and Zhou Lihua was still inside of the cultivation chamber. They had been set to leave after a week. The fact that they had stayed for another two worried him.

He didn’t have much to do while waiting for Zhou Lihua to emerge. The Alchemist Association had a vast library, so he would borrow a book every so often and read in front of her chamber while waiting. He wasn’t allowed to read anything about alchemy or cultivation. However, they did have some fiction books. Nobody else read them, so the librarian had allowed him to borrow them.

During his time waiting for Zhou Lihua, Wu Jian had also noticed a change come over the capital. An unsettling sense of tension had come over Kěnéng. The people were more tense and there were more soldiers traveling through the streets. He had asked around to see if anyone knew about what was happening, but everyone he spoke to expressed just as much confusion.

It was just as he began to suspect something that Zhou Lihua emerged.

“Welcome back. You’ve been in there for a long time,” said Wu Jian. He hadn’t left the Alchemist Association since he did not feel comfortable leaving Zhou Lihua alone.

She smiled. “It was worth it, though. I feel much stronger and the Heavenly Ghost Flame has been fully integrated into me.”

“I can tell. Congratulations on your breakthrough.”

“You as well. You’ve become so much stronger than before. Let’s head back to our residence.”

They left the Refining Hall and traveled back toward their resident. Zhou Chao, Master Wong Jiu, and the other members of Zhou Lihua’s retinue were present. All of them were greatly relieved when the pair appeared before them.

“I’m so glad you two are back. We need to hurry up and leave soon,” said Zhou Chao.

Zhou Lihua appeared befuddled. “You seem to be in an awful rush. Did something happen?”

“A lot has happened. I don’t even know where to start,” said Zhou Chao, running a hand through his hair. “I will tell you about it when we have time, but right now, we should leave. The sooner we can return to the Zhou Kingdom, the better.”

Neither Wu Jian nor Zhou Lihua knew what was going on, but they could sense the urgency in his tone. Something had happened, and whatever it was, it was serious. They decided to do as told. Once they had everything they needed, the group loaded up in their carriages and left.

***

Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua were not alone. He was sure Zhou Lihua would have found this vexing under normal circumstances, but they currently did not have the luxury of having time to themselves. Zhou Chao and Master Wong Jiu were both in the carriage with them.

“Explain the situation to me now that we’re on the move,” said Zhou Lihua.

Zhou Chao rubbed his face like he was tired but began talking anyway. “We only got this information two days ago but… the news going around is that the Yuan Peninsula has been destroyed by a magical beast invasion. According to what’s going around, the invasion was made up of thousands of magical beasts that appeared out of thin air. Du City has been destroyed and the magical beasts are currently crossing the borders into the Song Continent.”

Wu Jian felt his someone had thrown him into a frozen lake. His entire body went stiff. Zhou Lihua sucked in a deep breath.

The Yuan Peninsula was always under threat of magical beasts invading from the Da Continent, but that didn’t mean it had ever happened. Magical beasts would periodically invade every few days. They were typically taken care of by the cultivators living there. However, once in a while, a horde of magical beasts would make it across the canal separating the two continents, and the Three Celestial Sects would need to step in. That would have happened here, but according to Zhou Chao, the magical beasts had appeared without warning and destroyed Du City before they could even mount a proper defense.

Something strange is going on here…

“How could magical beasts appear out of thin air?” he asked.

Zhou Chao shook his head. “I don’t have the foggiest idea.”

“It was likely a powerful sealing array that summoned them,” Master Wong Jiu said, frowning. “But that would imply someone on the Xaio Continent was involved…”

“That does remind me of another rumor I heard,” Zhou Chao suddenly said.

“What rumor?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Zhou Chao leaned forward as though sharing a fearful secret. “There was a rumor going around that the Heavenly Sword Sect summoned the magical beasts here. It was just a rumor, so I didn’t really take it to heart, but maybe they really were responsible? I actually heard one more rumor saying that several elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect went to Divine Moon Hall and Supreme Water Palace. The rumor about that is they were trying to prevent the other two sects from interfering.”

Wu Jian crossed his arms. “I can’t see what they stand to gain by doing this, and that rumor makes even less sense. If you’re going to do something like this, you need to do so in complete secrecy and do it before anyone has a chance to react. Also, sending just a few elders into enemy territory like that is a horrible idea.”

Zhou Lihua nodded. “I can’t help but feel like something else is going on.” She cupped her chin. “What is the Heavenly Sword Sect doing now?”

“They have amassed their forces and are currently traveling to meet the magical beasts before they can attack Song Country,” answered Master Wong Jiu.

“Then it makes even less sense for them to be the culprit,” Wu Jian said.

“Maybe… but maybe not,” Master Wong Jiu’s response was vague.

Wu Jian narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

The old alchemist shrugged. “I mean it’s entirely possible they did this for the express purpose of meeting these magical beasts in battle. By saving a nation from destruction, they can further cement their reputation.”

“They have no need for that,” Wu Jian countered. “They’re already the strongest sect on the continent. There’s no need to increase their reputation, and besides, they didn’t rise to the position of strongest sect by being stupid. I cannot believe they’d make such a horrible blunder that people would actually begin to accuse them of being responsible.”

Master Wong Jiu slowly nodded. “Yes, perhaps you are right. It hardly matters anymore. A lot of nations are blaming the Heavenly Sword Sect for what happened, claiming they were responsible for summoning the magical beasts. The Heavenly Sword Sect is currently running damage control by bringing all their forces to confront the magical beast invasion.”

People were like sheep who could not think for themselves. They followed the herd and the herd followed the shepard. Whoever had the most power on the Xaio Continent was normally the shepard, but it sounded like the Heavenly Sword Sect’s position was now in jeopardy. He wondered if someone was spreading malicious rumors to discredit the Heavenly Sword Sect.

“There’s something else I wanted to share, but it’s got nothing to do with the magical beasts or Heavenly Sword Sect,” Zhou Chao’s suddenly announcement made Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua focus back on him.

“What is it?” asked Zhou Lihua.

“It’s about--”

Before the man could speak, the carriage they were in came to an abrupt stop, jostling the lot of them. Zhou Chao looked displeased as he exited the carriage, but he came back a few seconds later. His face was pale as a sheet.

“Young Miss…”

“What is it?” asked Zhou Lihua.

“We’re being stopped by a large force of soldiers. Um, Second Prince Cì Chuān is with them.”

Wu Jian had a horrible feeling about this, but he wasn’t surprised to hear Cì Chuān had stopped them from leaving. He hoped nothing would come of this. That said, he had no intention of letting this man do anything to Zhou Lihua.

The pair emerged from the carriage and found the situation to be exactly as Zhou Chao described. There must have been over a dozen soldiers. They were only at the peak Anima Realm, but Wu Jian could sense several Human Limit Realm cultivators hiding on the rooftops.

“Your highness, may I ask why you’ve barred passage?” asked Zhou Lihua. She gave him a martial bow, but it was minimal at best.

Cì Chuān just smiled. “I’m sure you’ve already heard, but a very dangerous situation has ocurred in Song Country. It normally wouldn’t affect us. However, this is an unprecedented problem. The entire eastern side of the continent is panicking. Several hundred thousand refugees from Song Country and the Han Dynasty have fled in fear of potential magical beast invasion. Some of these people have even passed through the Xia Dynasty and entered our country. We have done what we can to aid them, but… alas, we cannot help everyone and many have turned to banditry to survive. In light of that, I would prefer if you stayed here, where it’s safe.”

That’s a lie…

Wu Jian could tell the man was lying, but he could not say anything since that was what normally happened in a situation like this. In the event of a country’s destruction, the many refugees fled into other nations, hoping for salvation, but all they normally found was condemnation. A country only had so many resources to pass around. Most could not afford to take in a sudden influx of homeless refugees. They were often turned away at the door, but because they had nowhere to go and the lack of food made them desparate, they turned to banditry to survive.

“I appreciate your concern, but this news is all the more reason I must hasten to return home,” said Zhou Lihua. “As you know, Her Highness Hou Jingshu is my dear friend, and I’m sure she’s also dealing with the situation. I wish to be by her side during this time.”

Cì Chuān closed his eyes like he was disappointed. Wu Jian saw it, however, the grin he flashed. It happened so fast he almost missed it.

“I understand. Your friendship with her highness is quite beautiful. I won’t stop you from leaving, but please take care on the road. We unfortunately cannot spare any soldiers to escort you as most are dealing with the current refugee problem.”

“I understand. Thank you for the warning,” said Zhou Lihua, and while she smiled on the outside, Wu Jian knew she was thinking the same thing he was. The situation was troubling, especially because Cì Chuān was not being honest with them.

They could only hope the trip back home would be smooth, but neither of them were naive enough to believe nothing would happen.