Villa, Fourth Day Noon.
A faint glow bathed the cultivation chamber in quiet gold.
Ren Wei slowly opened his eyes as the system's tone rang in his mind like a chime in a silent temple:
Ding! Golden Qi conversion reached 71%.
His breath came slower now — each inhale thick with Qi, each exhale tinged with golden mist. Sweat clung to his brow, but his skin shimmered faintly, a reflection of the transformation occurring deep within his meridians.
He muttered under his breath, voice hoarse but steady:
"It's getting harder… but I'm close."
With deliberate movements, he summoned the Heaven's Core Pill from his system inventory. The pill hovered in his palm — golden, radiant, and pulsing like a beating heart. His fingers tightened slightly, almost lifting it to his lips…
But he stopped.
"No," he whispered. "Not yet. Not until the Golden Qi reaches the Core."
Closing his eyes again, he placed the pill beside him and folded his hands in the lotus position. His aura grew denser once more, as silent determination pulled him back into the depths of cultivation.
Lian Sect, Night.
The hall of relics was dim, lit only by the cold shimmer of moonlight pouring through crystal-paneled windows.
Lian Xuanyan sat before the altar, unmoving, eyes half-closed as if he could hear the threads of fate stirring.
A robed elder entered, his steps cautious. "Patriarch," he said quietly, "the stars above our sect... they're dimming. Even the heavens are reacting."
Lian Xuanyan's voice was calm but sharp, like a blade sheathed in velvet.
"That brat… he's reshaping his fate so violently the sky has to watch."
The elder hesitated, then asked, "Should we intervene?"
Xuanyan turned slightly, revealing a rare glint in his eyes — not fear, but awe.
"No. Let him rise. But ready the sect. If he reaches Golden Core before the duel…"
He stood slowly, the weight of history behind him.
"It won't be just Wei Wuxian who should be afraid."
Villa, Fifth Day Dawn.
The faint rays of morning had yet to pierce the thick curtains of the cultivation chamber, but inside, the world had already begun to shift.
Ding! Golden Qi conversion reached 89%.
Ren Wei's eyes snapped open — not with surprise, but with the heavy breath of a man nearing the edge of transformation. Faint streaks of gold flickered in his pupils, and his entire body trembled under the weight of the energy he now contained.
His hands dug into his knees as he inhaled, his voice barely audible beneath the hum of gathered Qi:
"One more push… just one more…"
He could feel it — the flood of golden Qi pressing against the barrier of his Core. One more day, maybe less. The Heaven's Core Pill still pulsed beside him, untouched. Waiting.
Ren Wei clenched his jaw and shut his eyes. The world faded again, and the chamber vibrated with silent thunder.
---
The courtyard doors slammed open with no warning.
Gu Haoran stormed inside, his face uncharacteristically pale, breath caught between awe and fear.
"It's happening," he said simply.
Han Suiren was already standing at the balcony, his hands behind his back, his robe rustling faintly in the morning breeze.
"You feel it too?"
Haoran nodded. "Not even Wei Wuxian made the heavens react like this when he advanced."
Suiren remained silent for a moment, then turned to face the rising sun.
"We might be witnessing the birth of someone who stands above realms."
Haoran's gaze sharpened. "If he survives it."
They exchanged no more words. They didn't need to. The heavens had already begun to whisper his name.