Rai City.
Haan Di. Dadangar Subcontinent.
A few weeks after Aksai's Aether cultivation breakthrough into the Wisp Mastery realm.
The sky above Rai City was painted in soft orange and gold as the sun dipped low on the horizon.
The wide stone streets of the city bustled with life. Merchants shouted over one another to sell their goods. Spirit beasts, tamed and collared, walked beside their masters.
The scent of roasted meats, strange herbs, and wet stone filled the air. Adventurers, mercenaries, and cultivators of all kinds moved about, each carrying their own stories and scars.
Aksai stepped out of the grand gates of the city administration office. He looked like any other drifting cultivator returning from a difficult mission into the Wild Devil Lands.
He didn't look back. But he didn't need to.
Aksai's eyes drifted toward the crowd ahead, though his mind was focused behind him.
Four of them. Quiet steps, steady breath, disciplined aura.
Spirit Refining realm?
