rt of the official sect layout. They didn't appear on any map, nor were they mentioned in any handbook. Yet every Inner Circle disciple knew of them—the place where secrets were buried under layers of silence and shadows.
To find the Archives, Lin Feng was instructed to head past the Whispering Bamboo Forest, through a glade where no birds sang, and descend into a ravine lit only by moonlight—even during the day. There, hidden behind an illusionary wall, was a staircase carved into obsidian stone.
He descended.
Deeper than he thought possible.
Spiritual pressure thickened with each step. Cold air curled around his robes like a living thing.
Finally, the staircase opened into a vast cavern lined with flickering jade lanterns. Tomes, scrolls, memory crystals, and soul-bound tablets floated mid-air, each sealed with talismans of suppression.
At the center stood a single figure, garbed in black and gray, their face hidden behind a porcelain mask shaped like a fox.
"You came," said the figure—neither male nor female, but something in between. The voice was distorted.
"I was summoned," Lin Feng replied. "Are you Elder Yan?"
The masked figure tilted their head.
"Elder Yan is a myth, a name for convenience. I am merely... the Eye."
The Truth Beneath the Ashes
The Eye raised a finger, and a memory crystal floated toward Lin Feng, pulsing with restrained spiritual energy.
"Touch it," the Eye said.
The moment Lin Feng's fingers brushed the crystal, a flood of sensation and memory overtook him.
He stood—not as himself—but as a ghostly observer over a scene from the past.
Willowshade Village, burning.
Men in black robes, marked with an ashen spiral, cut down villagers with cruel precision. Screams echoed, children cried, blood soaked the earth.
And then, standing atop a mound of corpses, was a man. Silver hair. Crimson eyes. A scythe crackling with purple flame.
"No survivors," the man barked. "We must erase all traces of the Sealed Line."
He turned… and Lin Feng's heart stopped.
The man's face—
It was nearly identical to his own.
The illusion faded.
Lin Feng gasped, staggering back. Cold sweat beaded his brow.
"What… what was that?!"
The Eye watched silently, then spoke.
"The Ashvein Sect believed your village was hiding a remnant of a bloodline thought extinct."
"My bloodline," Lin Feng whispered, trembling. "Why? Who were they trying to kill?"
"You," the Eye said softly. "Or someone you were meant to become."
Legacy of the Sealed Line
The Eye gestured, and another scroll floated toward him.
It was wrapped in blood-threaded silk, sealed with golden wax shaped like a six-pointed star.
"Your father," the Eye said, "was once known as the Heavenbreaker, a cultivator who walked the line between mortal and divine. He vanished decades ago, hunted by the major sects and clans who feared what he carried—the Godseed of the Astral System."
Lin Feng's breath caught.
"The… Astral System? You mean—"
"Yes," the Eye said. "The System you now wield."
Silence stretched between them, thick with revelation.
"So my father is alive?"
"No one knows," the Eye said. "But the System activated when your life neared its end. Perhaps he tied it to your bloodline. Perhaps the artifact awoke of its own accord."
Lin Feng looked down at his hands, which trembled now—not with fear, but with clarity.
"Then my fate… it was never random."
"Your fate was shattered and re-forged in blood," the Eye replied. "You are a target, Lin Feng. But also a key."
The Offer
A small silver token appeared in the Eye's hand.
A black eye etched into its center.
"This grants you access to classified missions under the Eye's banner. Missions too sensitive for the Sect to acknowledge publicly. Accept, and your rewards will exceed what any elder can offer. But know this…"
The Eye leaned closer.
"You will walk among assassins, spies, and shadows. You will become a blade forged in silence."
[System Alert: Side Faction Invitation Received – "The Eye of the Sect"]
[Accept? Y/N]
Lin Feng stared at the token.
Then clenched it tightly.
"I accept."
Return to the Light
By the time Lin Feng emerged from the Archives, the sun was rising. Mist rolled across the mountains like an ocean of dreams.
His steps were slow, steady.
He was no longer just a rising disciple of the Inner Sect.
He was a hidden heir of a forgotten bloodline.
A target of those who once razed his home.
A blade wielded by shadows.
And somewhere, out in the world, perhaps still alive, was the man whose blood flowed in his veins—a man called Heavenbreaker.