Kyrian climbed the great stone stairway with calm and steady steps.
Each step was wide, ancient, and marked by countless sword marks and cutting energy left over the years by the disciples who trained there. The wind of the Cutting Leaf formation blew strongly, carrying a sharp air that made clothes ripple. For Kyrian, now at the peak of the Qi Liberation Realm, that wind was no longer botherso. It was familiar. Almost comforting.
He was not in a hurry.
As he climbed, he felt the gazes upon him. Internal disciples passing by stopped abruptly, widening their eyes as they recognized the simple black robe, the green-leaf sword emblem on his chest, and, above all, the green eyes with sword-shaped pupils.
"It’s him..."
"Kyrian... the forr direct disciple of leader Feng Yuan..."
"He really ca back..."
The whispers spread like fire in dry straw. A younger internal disciple, who was close to Mo Tianhai, widened his eyes and, without saying a word, turned and rushed up the stairs toward the central area of the sect. His steps were fast, almost desperate. The news was too big to keep.
Kyrian noticed the movent but did not care. He continued climbing with the sa calm, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips.
The news spread through the sect like an uncontrolled wildfire.
In less than half an hour, practically the entire Verdant Sword Sect already knew. Kyrian, the young man who had completely comprehended the sword intent of the ancestor, who had disappeared almost a year ago, had returned.
In the training arenas, strikes stopped mid-motion. In the residences of internal disciples, doors opened abruptly. In the markets and smaller pavilions, conversations ceased suddenly.
"Kyrian ca back..."
"The one who made the Leaf Sword Pavilion crack..."
"The first disciple that leader Feng Yuan accepted as a direct disciple..."
Excitent and curiosity took over every corner.
anwhile, in the central hall of the sect, Feng Yuan spoke calmly with i Ran and five elders about routine matters of the sect. The leader’s voice was serene, but carried natural authority.
Suddenly, the door of the hall opened forcefully.
Wu Jian entered almost running, his tall and broad body occupying much of the entrance. His heavy two-handed sword swayed on his back. He did not bow, did not wait for permission. The expression on his face was pure urgency.
"Sect Leader!"
Feng Yuan frowned upon seeing the interruption, but did not reprimand him. He knew Wu Jian’s direct temperant well. If he had entered like that, it was because sothing truly important had happened.
"What happened?" Feng Yuan asked, his voice firm.
Wu Jian took a deep breath, trying to recover.
"It’s Kyrian! Kyrian has returned to the sect!"
The silence that followed was absolute.
Feng Yuan stopped mid-motion. i Ran, who was beside him, widened her eyes. The other five elders stood up almost at the sa ti, with expressions of disbelief.
"What?!" Feng Yuan asked again, as if needing confirmation.
But he did not wait for the answer.
His spiritual sense exploded at full power, sweeping through the entire sect in an instant. He searched for a specific presence, a presence he would recognize anywhere.
And then, he found it.
A mortal climbing the stairway with vigor, without haste, but with an unmistakable presence.
Feng Yuan opened a wide smile, rare to see on his face.
"He really ca back."
Without saying anything more, the sect leader stood and headed toward the exit of the main hall. Not only he, but i Ran and the other elders also moved quickly, following right behind.
At the sa instant, in different parts of the central area, other figures appeared.
Long Xue, Mo Xia, Mo Tianhai, and Shen Yu, upon hearing the rumors spreading through the inner sect like fire, ran out of their courtyards in the sa direction.
They all t in the middle of the great stairway that connected the outer area to the central area.
Kyrian, who climbed with a small, calm smile, stopped as he turned a wide curve of the stairway.
Before him, the first familiar people appeared.
Mo Xia and Mo Tianhai were the first to appear, almost running. Behind them, Long Xue arrived together with Shen Yu, a little further back.
Kyrian looked at them.
Mo Tianhai seed the sa. Proud, competitive, direct. His sword intent was slightly released, as if it was always ready. He was the only one, besides Kyrian, who wore a black robe, which proved his position as the second direct disciple.
His sister, Mo Xia, still seed cold and provocative. She looked at Kyrian with her large violet eyes widened, as if she could not believe what she was seeing.
But the one who was most incredulous and happy was Long Xue. The young woman of striking beauty and purple hair. Her personality, once arrogant, now, after the incident with the black mass, had lost her mories. Kyrian rembered her shy and insecure, but now she seed well and looked at him with a fervor different from the others.
Shen Yu still seed the sa, calm, with a gaze even deeper than before. Kyrian imagined it was due to the fact that he had obtained part of the inheritance back then.
Kyrian looked at all of them and, before anyone spoke, simply said.
"Hello."
His voice made them all snap out of their trance. He had really returned.
Mo Xia and Long Xue smiled from ear to ear while Mo Tianhai jumped toward Kyrian.
"Man... you’re back."
He threw a strong punch at Kyrian’s shoulder, carrying a large part of his destructive sword intent.
Kyrian noticed and released a bit more of his own sword intent, easily defending against the blow. Mo Tianhai laughed even more after that.
"Good. Good. Looks like you didn’t go soft."
"WAIT WHAT?!"
He started in a low voice, but as he looked more closely at Kyrian, he ended up shouting loudly.
The others were startled, wondering what had caused such surprise, but upon looking at Kyrian more carefully, they imdiately realized.
He was, in fact, at the peak of the Qi Liberation Realm.
Kyrian, who had been the one with the lowest cultivation among them, had now not only caught up but completely surpassed them in a few months.
They could not help but be surprised.
But they did not ask at the mont how Kyrian had achieved that. They knew it was not the ti. Just seeing that he had returned well was already a good thing.
And it was at that mont that other people also appeared on the stairway.
Kyrian looked at them, noticing their presences.
Ignoring the elders for an instant, his gaze passed quickly and landed on Wu Jian, who arrived late. Then, it stopped on i Ran, the elder with an imposing fairy-like appearance, with two swords at her waist.
His gaze remained on her for a few seconds until it finally settled on the leader of the Verdant Sword Sect, Feng Yuan, who had co to receive him personally.
Feng Yuan stopped a few ters away. His deep green eyes analyzed Kyrian from head to toe. A genuine smile, rare to see, appeared on his lips.
"You really ca back, boy."
Kyrian slightly inclined his head in respect.
"Yes, leader. I ca back."
The cutting wind of the sect’s formation blew strongly between them, but no one moved.
Feng Yuan took a step forward and placed his hand on Kyrian’s shoulder, squeezing lightly, as if confirming that he was truly there and well.
"So... tell . What happened during these months outside the sect?"
Kyrian looked at the leader, then at i Ran, at the elders, and finally at the core disciples who watched him with expectation.
He took a deep breath.
"A lot. But... maybe it’s better if we talk in a more appropriate place."
Feng Yuan nodded, the smile still present.
"Of course. Let’s go to the central hall."
As the entire group began to climb the stairway again, Kyrian walked beside Feng Yuan.
Mo Tianhai, Mo Xia, Long Xue, Wu Jian, and Shen Yu followed right behind, still processing Kyrian’s return and his advancent in cultivation.
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