A faint blush dusted Huang Ling's cheeks, but she said nothing, choosing instead to sink into the warmth of his embrace.
But as Dao Wei's gaze shifted beyond her, his expression hardened.
His eyes flickered toward the ruins of the Sword God Sect, taking in the sight of burning halls and the lifeless bodies scattered across the once-glorious land. The once-magnificent stronghold, a place he'd always longed to belong, had been turned into a graveyard.
His internals twisted. His aura flared, surging uncontrollably.
Rage. Anger. Hate.
The emotions clawed at his chest, demanding release. His hands trembled—not from weakness, but from the sheer restraint it took to hold himself back. The air around them grew suffocating, and the very heavens seemed to darken in response.
Sensing the shift in his energy, Huang Ling's face turned solemn. She saw the pain in his eyes. The burden. The fury.
Before she could stop herself, she placed her hand gently on his chest.
"Y-You... really are my hero."
Her words barely carried through the wind, yet they reached him like an anchor, grounding him in the moment. The tempest raging inside him settled, if only slightly.
Dao Wei blinked, his fiery gaze meeting her own. For a moment, he was silent, the weight of her touch and words washing over him like a cooling tide.
"T-Thank you, Wei'er." Huang Ling whispered, her fingers tracing over the fabric of his robes. "You're really strong… incredible."
Then—Her expression changed. A teasing glint flashed in her eyes.
She giggled softly, her fingers lightly pressing against his chest. "Your chest… it's so firm. Hard, even. Very unlike a woman's..."
A faint smirk tugged at Dao Wei's lips, though his brow arched slightly in question.
"I like it," she murmured, her voice laced with amusement. "Your chest is hardened like armor, but it's also warm and…"
Dao Wei's thoughts spiraled. 'What is she on about?' he wondered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Yet, despite himself, a chuckle escaped his lips.
'At least she managed to calm me down. I wonder what sort of destruction I would have caused otherwise.'
He exhaled, glancing down at her. Her complexion, once pale and weak, had begun to regain its color, and her breathing had steadied.
'She's getting better.'
But before he could say anything, he noticed her staring at him. Her face—once serene—suddenly turned a deep shade of red.
"W-What are you looking at?" she whispered, embarrassment evident in her voice.
Dao Wei chuckled, shifting his grip slightly. "Can you stand?"
Huang Ling hesitated. "Y-Yes, I think I can."
But despite her words, she made no effort to move.
She remained nestled in his arms, completely at ease, enjoying the rare comfort his presence provided. After all… it was surprisingly comfortable.
With the grace of a god descending from the heavens, Dao Wei floated down, his celestial presence casting an overwhelming shadow over the battlefield.
As his feet touched the scorched ground, the air around him trembled, as if the very world acknowledged his return.
With care, he gently placed Huang Ling down. She took a shaky breath, her legs still weak, but she managed to steady herself.
Dust still lingered in the air, illuminated by the soft golden radiance emanating from Dao Wei's form. His celestial presence loomed over the shattered ground, but instead of addressing the chaos or destruction, his gaze fell on his brothers—Wei Jun and Lu Shen—both battered and barely standing.
Then, with an air of complete nonchalance, he spoke. "Wow. You guys look like you've been having fun."
Wei Jun scoffed, wiping the blood from his lip. "Oh, shut up."
Lu Shen groaned, "Second Brother, you absolute bastard…"
Dao Wei smirked. "I just asked how you were doing. No need to get all emotional."
Wei Jun shot him an incredulous look before shaking his head, his expression suddenly turning dead serious. "Enough jokes, Second Brother. What… the hell was that?"
Dao Wei raised a brow. "What was what?"
"Don't play dumb!" Lu Shen snapped, voice still hoarse from exertion. "That power—! That presence! Just what realm have you reached?!"
Dao Wei sighed as if the question was completely irrelevant. "Peak Nascent Spirit."
An eerie silence filled up the space.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
Wei Jun and Lu Shen stared at him, waiting for him to take it back, to correct himself.
Huang Ling blinked. "…Excuse me?"
Wei Jun narrowed his eyes, searching Dao Wei's face for any hint of deceit. "Peak Nascent Spirit?" he repeated slowly, as if making sure he had heard correctly.
Dao Wei nodded casually. "That's what I said."
Lu Shen's mouth opened, then closed. Then opened again. "Second Brother… do you take us for fools?"
Wei Jun took a deep breath, rubbing his temple as if trying to process the sheer absurdity of the statement. "Dao Wei… your aura alone is stronger than someone at the Fourth Change of Nirvana."
Lu Shen exhaled sharply. "Stronger?! Try overwhelmingly superior! You nearly collapsed the remnants of the damn Peak just by breathing!"
Huang Ling, still struggling to stand properly, clutched her chest as if trying to steady herself. "T-That's right… even when I was in your arms, your energy was completely unlike anything I've ever felt before. There's no way… No way you're still in the Nascent Spirit Realm."
Dao Wei yawned. "Well, I am."
Silence stretched once more, this time heavier, filled with disbelief.
Then—
"Blasphemy!" Wei Jun suddenly roared, pointing an accusatory finger at Dao Wei. He completely ignored the fact that he was on the brink of death, "You're telling me that the heavens allowed a mere Nascent Spirit cultivator to radiate the power of a Nirvana realm monster? Are you trying to defy the fundamental laws of existence?!"
Lu Shen grabbed Wei Jun by the shoulders and shook him. "Third Brother, it's worse than that! This is absolute heresy against cultivation itself! Even immortals would cough up blood hearing this!"
Huang Ling could only stare, still pale from shock. "…Impossible. Completely impossible."
Dao Wei sighed dramatically. "Look, I didn't make the rules. I'm just…there."
Wei Jun clenched his fists, his frustration reaching its peak. "No, no, NO! You can't just 'exist' like this! People train for centuries to reach Nirvana, yet you're standing here as a damn Nascent Spirit cultivator breaking the very fabric of reality! How does that even work?!"
Dao Wei shrugged. "Beats me."
Wei Jun let out an exasperated groan, running a hand down his face. "Heavenly laws be damned… This isn't right. This isn't right at all."
Lu Shen shook his head, still unable to process it. "So you're saying you're still… 'technically' at Peak Nascent Spirit?"
Dao Wei smirked. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Huang Ling exhaled. "…Then the Heavens are blind."
Wei Jun and Lu Shen both nodded in absolute agreement.
Dao Wei simply chuckled.
Scanning the place, his expression suddenly darkened. The surrounding area was in ruins, the land deformed by battle. Deep craters marked the earth, evidence of violent clashes between powerful cultivators. The acrid scent of blood and burning debris filled the air, mixing with the distant echoes of clashing swords and agonized screams.
Dao Wei's jaw clenched. "What in the Five Hells is going on here?"
Wei Jun, breathing heavily, summoned what little strength he had left. He wiped the blood from his mouth before speaking. "The Halls attacked us."
Dao Wei's eyes narrowed. "The Halls?"
Wei Jun nodded. "They came under the banner of justice, claiming our sect harbored a traitor—claiming that you were a danger to the world."
Dao Wei's fingers twitched slightly, his gaze hardening. "Me?"
Huang Ling stepped forward, her voice laced with urgency. "They said you were an anomaly… a demonic threat to the balance of power. They used it as an excuse to attack us. But…" she hesitated before continuing, "…it felt too personal. Too… calculated."
Wei Jun's face twisted with frustration. "It wasn't just some righteous crusade. It was an execution. They knew you were in the Tower and took advantage of it. This wasn't an attack—this was a purge."
Dao Wei remained silent, his gaze dark and unreadable.
A whisper of a thought gnawed at the edges of his mind. 'Could it be… the Shado-Jin?'
The mere thought sent a ripple of unease through him. He had long suspected that remnants of his past would come back to haunt him, but this… this was different. How much had been exposed? How much did they know?
If the Mortal World had caught wind of certain truths, then his return would not only threaten his sect… it would shake the very foundations of power.
His fingers tightened into a fist. No. He wouldn't let it come to that.
A sudden voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Are you even listening?!" Wei Jun barked, clearly irritated.
Dao Wei blinked, shaking away his thoughts. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, though the disturbance in his voice did not go unnoticed.
Then, a weak voice—one barely above a whisper.
Lu Shen pointed a trembling finger toward the distant horizon.
"S-Supreme Elder…"
Dao Wei's gaze snapped in the direction Lu Shen pointed.
His eyes flickered with deadly intent.
Poof!
Without hesitation—he vanished.
A mere breath later, he was gone, a streak of gold and black light tearing through the sky toward the Supreme Elder's Peak.