After Max disappeared into the portal with the mysterious egg, Su Yang stood frozen, confusion clouding his eyes.
> "Max just used his teleportation ability... but where did he go?"
He scanned the area, trying to sense his companion's presence. A moment later, a ripple passed through his consciousness. Su Yang's spiritual senses flared—someone had entered his spirit land.
He closed his eyes.
Within the tranquil plane of his spirit land, a blue portal hovered gently above the grass. From it, Max emerged, the large green-and-purple-striped egg still in his mouth.
> "So that's where you went," Su Yang muttered.
Driven by curiosity and concern, Su Yang activated his mental power and instantly pulled himself into his spirit land.
He arrived to find Max at work—digging into the fertile, energy-rich soil with enthusiastic determination. Dirt flew behind him, and the egg lay nestled beside him.
Su Yang stepped closer. "Why are you digging the ground, Max?"
Max paused and gave Su Yang a glance, then gently placed the egg into the small pit he had created. He began covering it with soil, leaving only the top half exposed.
"Are you… burying the egg?" Su Yang asked, puzzled.
"Woof!" Max barked happily, clearly proud that Su Yang had understood.
As the final handfuls of soil were patted around the egg, it began to emit a soft purple glow. Su Yang's eyes widened.
> "This egg… it's drawing in energy from the spirit land," he thought. "It needs the purest energy to hatch—and this place is perfect for that."
He watched in silence. Max walked over, sat beside him, and stared at the glowing egg. Su Yang looked down at him.
"Want me to stay with you?" he asked softly.
"Woof."
Su Yang smiled and sat beside Max. The small dog climbed onto his lap, curling up comfortably. Su Yang gently stroked his fur.
"You ready for a nap, huh?"
Max gave no reply, already breathing peacefully, eyes closed. His warmth and presence offered a strange comfort to Su Yang.
As Max slept, Su Yang quietly reached into his robe and pulled out a letter—the one left behind by Lu Ying. He hadn't read it until now, afraid of what it might say. But the moment had come.
He unfolded the paper and noticed the elegant, flowing handwriting.
---
> "I know you must be confused, maybe even angry. You didn't see me when you woke up, and it might feel like I abandoned you. But please believe me—I didn't.
I'm thankful, deeply thankful, for everything you did. The truth is, my grandmother told me that my body had become unstable after the awakening. I needed to leave immediately to begin stabilization. I didn't have time to explain.
You… you were the first person to help me without expecting anything. You've saved me again and again, even when it cost you blood and pain. I saw how badly you were hurt—yet you never gave up on me.
When I was absorbing the ice-origin blood and my body began to break apart, I wanted to scream. I was terrified. But I couldn't move. Couldn't open my mouth or my eyes. Just when I was about to lose consciousness… I heard your voice.
You said, 'I'm sorry. I have to do this.' And then… I felt your warmth. It saved me."
---
Su Yang clenched the letter in his hand, emotions swirling in his chest.
> "She didn't leave me behind. She… trusted me."
He remembered vividly the moment her body had started to fall apart—her meridians, dantian, even her soul, all on the verge of collapse from the overwhelming power of the ice-origin blood.
> "She would have died," he whispered. "If I hadn't used the Karma Fire Body… she wouldn't have survived."
That realization struck hard.
Using the Karma Fire Body, he hadn't just stabilized her physical form—he had tempered her soul as well. Something few in the world could do.
> "Even I didn't fully understand what I was doing," he admitted. "But it worked."
Tempering the soul was among the most dangerous, complex procedures in existence. It usually required divine martial techniques or priceless heavenly treasures. And even then, the risk of failure—and death—was high.
Yet his flame had done it effortlessly.
His eyes drifted toward the letter again.
> "Now, her body is stronger. But… that strength came with a cost. Her constitution is mutating."
A mutation in the Extreme Ice Body… What could that mean? Something rare? Something dangerous?
It explained why her grandmother acted so quickly—why she didn't allow any delay. If Lu Ying didn't receive proper guidance, the transformation might destroy her from the inside out.
But another thought crept into Su Yang's mind.
> "Her grandmother… who is she really?"
She had appeared out of nowhere inside an ancient legacy site, had knowledge of the ice-origin blood, and had taken Lu Ying to a place unknown. She wasn't just some ordinary elder. She was someone powerful. Someone who could walk through sealed inheritances like wind through grass.
And she had watched Su Yang help Lu Ying. Had seen his Heavenly True Fire Art, his use of natural law to heal… and yet, hadn't taken action against him.
> "Why? Was it mercy? Or calculation?"
He didn't know.
But he did know this: he had shown too many cards. Too early.
In this cultivation world, people slaughtered their own family for power. Secrets like the Karma Fire Body could easily invite death. He had been lucky that time. He might not be next time.
> "I need to grow," Su Yang murmured. "I need martial arts to sense people. To detect even those hidden in void or legacy realms. Otherwise, one day I'll be walking blind into death."