Storm Wings Over the Forsaken Domain
On this day, Leon left Athyst Summit Division and headed to the Erald Crest Division to hold a eting.
Morning clouds drifted low over the Academy Premises, brushing the mountain ridges like pale silk. A wind moved through old pine forests, carrying with it a strange restlessness, as if the world itself had sensed sothing ominous before n gave it words.
Leon’s midnight robes stirred lightly as he walked the stone path alone.
His pace was calm.
Unhurried.
Yet beneath those composed purple eyes, thought moved quietly.
The unease he had felt for days had not faded.
If anything... it had sharpened.
By the ti he arrived at Erald Crest Division, several peak masters had already gathered.
The great hall, usually grand and solemn, felt unusually heavy.
Even the incense burning in bronze vessels seed unable to soften the tension.
No one spoke loudly.
No one smiled.
Sothing had happened.
And everyone felt it.
In the main hall, Mike had a solemn expression. He looked at the letter in his hand and fell into deep thought.
His old fingers pressed against the bamboo slip as though it weighed a mountain.
That alone made the others uneasy.
Shera finally broke the silence.
"Sect Master, what happened? Why did you call us over in such a hurry?" Shera asked with a puzzled expression.
His voice held genuine concern.
Gone was much of the sharp arrogance he once carried.
Ever since that day, he had changed.
He was no longer as arrogant as before.
He beca humble and reserved.
No longer that smug blade always half-drawn.
This sudden change still surprised the other masters.
So had noticed it but never said it aloud.
Everyone understood that all his changes ca from one person.
Leon.
A silent pressure.
A living lesson.
And yet the person in question seed completely unconcerned.
Leon sat there silently and did not say a word.
One hand rested against the arm of his seat.
His expression unreadable.
Watching.
Listening.
Like a sword hidden in its sheath.
Mike looked around at everyone and said earnestly,
"This morning, our ssenger sent news from the foot of the mountain that... a few Primal Ancient Magical Beasts suddenly appeared at dawn yesterday."
The hall went still.
Even breathing seed quieter.
Mike continued.
"It was as if they were fighting over so mountain treasure. The battle caused the heavens to collapse and the earth to crack. The entire wasteland was in chaos and the people were struggling to survive."
His voice lowered.
"The flas of war spread outside Ashford City. All the villages scattered in the vast wilderness were killed without exception. Only a few villages that were further away retreated in ti to avoid the calamity."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire place fell silent.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind that follows horror.
Sowhere outside, wind scraped dry leaves across stone.
It sounded unnervingly loud.
Leon’s fingers tapped once.
Then stilled.
His gaze darkened.
Entire villages erased.
For cultivators used to life and death, even this carried cruelty beyond tolerance.
"Damn it! What kind of Beast is this? How dare he kill our people?" Maya clenched her fists and said angrily.
Her blue eyes blazed.
Mana trembled faintly around her sleeves.
It was not just outrage.
It was grief.
For naless mortals no one powerful usually rembered.
Leon noticed that.
And inwardly approved.
Apart from anger, they were also very curious.
What kind of mountain treasure could attract the attention of these giant beasts?
For beings of that level to descend and fight openly...
It could only an sothing extraordinary.
Sothing perhaps old as the Ancient age.
Mike shook his head.
"I heard that soone only saw a divine bird burning with flas above the sea of flas. It’s huge and extrely fast. According to the description, it should be an Inferno Swift Bird..."
"What?"
"Inferno Swift Bird..."
Everyone fell silent again.
This ti even harder.
The na alone carried shadow.
Legends.
Massacres.
Ancient terror.
This was a huge bird with a fierce reputation.
It devoured everything and was notorious.
It had once eaten thousands of people in one bite.
Its cultivation was at least at the peak of the Sage Realm.
Perhaps... it had already reached the Pinnacle Realm.
The possibility alone chilled the room.
Even Shera, who had always worn recklessness proudly, tightened his jaw.
There was once a period of ti when it was expelled into the uninhabited region by Cultivator Zeon alone with a sword.
It did not appear for a long ti.
Unexpectedly... it appeared again this ti.
The old legend resurfacing now was no coincidence.
Sothing had awakened.
Sothing pulling monsters out from ancient hiding.
Leon suddenly beca interested after hearing about the Inferno Swift Bird.
A spark moved in his purple eyes.
Back then, his Teacher seed to have ntioned this huge bird to him.
Fragnts of mory surfaced.
A younger Leon seated beneath moonlight.
An old sword immortal speaking while drinking.
Warnings spoken half as stories.
He had said that the Inferno Swift Bird’s strength was extraordinary.
Even though it was only at the peak of the Sage Realm back then, it was not weaker than an early-stage Pinnacle expert.
Moreover, it was extrely fast and cunning.
Once it realized that its opponent was too strong, it would fly away and not bother with him.
A predator with intelligence.
That was always worse.
Back then, Cultivator Zeon could only expel it and not kill it completely.
Leon’s thoughts stirred.
If such a creature appeared now...
Was it rely for treasure?
Or drawn by sothing deeper in the Black Rift?
Ancient tomb.
Old turtle.
Crack in the wasteland.
His instincts quietly connected threads.
Interesting.
Dangerous.
His lips almost curved.
To others, such news was calamity.
To him... perhaps opportunity too.
Shera seed to roughly understand, but he still frowned and asked,
"So, Senior Brother, why did you call us here?"
He leaned forward.
Wanting to hear Mike’s specific thoughts.
Others also lifted their eyes toward the Headmaster.
Even Maya’s anger cooled into sharp attention.
No one believed this gathering was rely to report tragedy.
There would be a decision.
Perhaps an expedition.
Perhaps war.
And under the hush of the great hall, with wind moaning faintly beyond ancient doors, everyone felt it.
Sothing larger than a eting had begun.
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