The terrain of the Allheaven Expanse was never fixed. Islands drifted, paths shifted, and what had once been a dense canopy of towering trees gradually gave way to open sky as Lin Yi moved along the invisible currents that threaded through the world. The transition was subtle, almost imperceptible at first, until the humidity thinned, the scent of soil disappeared, and the horizon opened into vast, uninterrupted space.
By the ti he stopped—
He was no longer standing on land.
Beneath his feet was a qilin.
It walked through the sky.
Each step it took did not land on anything visible, yet the air itself seed to solidify beneath its hooves, ripples of faint light spreading outward with every motion. Its body shimred with soft, multicolored radiance, scales reflecting fragnts of the distant astral rivers above. Its mane drifted like flowing starlight, trailing behind it in slow, weightless motion.
It had not resisted.
From the mont Lin Yi approached, it had simply acknowledged him.
No contract was spoken. No system notification confird the bond. Yet the connection existed, quiet and unquestioned, as though the creature had accepted his presence by a logic beyond ordinary understanding.
Lin Yi stood calmly atop its back, hands loosely at his sides, gaze directed forward as the qilin carried him across the expanse.
Below them, islands drifted like fragnts of a shattered world, so barren, so filled with strange terrain, others occupied by distant figures engaged in their own struggles. Above, the sky remained alive—astral rivers flowing endlessly, constellations shifting in patterns that seed deliberate yet incomprehensible.
And within this world—
The system still functioned.
Lin Yi’s gaze flickered slightly, a faint interface appearing within his vision.
Level progression had not halted.
Even here, within the Allheaven Expanse, the rules of growth remained intact. The monsters that inhabited certain regions, the creatures that road between islands, even the environntal entities that could be challenged—all of them still granted experience upon defeat.
This was not separate from the system.
It was integrated.
"...So it overlaps," Lin Yi said quietly, more as confirmation than speculation. "A world layered onto the frawork."
The qilin beneath him continued its steady pace, unhurried, its path seemingly guided by instinct rather than direction.
Lin Yi did not interfere.
For now, movent alone was sufficient.
Ahead, the expanse shifted.
A cluster of floating islands began to converge, drawn together by unseen forces, forming a loose archipelago suspended in midair. So were connected by broken stone bridges, others by narrow streams of energy that flickered in and out of visibility.
And on one of those islands—
Movent.
Two figures.
Lin Yi noticed them first.
They noticed him second.
"Hey—! Wait!"
The voice carried across the open space, slightly strained but clear.
The qilin did not slow.
Lin Yi’s gaze shifted downward slightly, focusing.
A boy and a girl stood near the edge of a mid-sized floating island, both looking up toward him with visible urgency. Their clothing bore signs of travel—dust, minor tears, traces of battle—but neither appeared severely injured.
Siblings.
The resemblance was imdiate.
The boy stepped forward first, raising a hand.
"Senior! Over here!"
Lin Yi did not respond imdiately.
The qilin continued forward for several more steps before he gave a slight shift of intent.
The creature reacted instantly.
Its direction adjusted, its path curving downward in a smooth arc as it descended toward the island where the two stood waiting.
The landing was silent.
The mont its hooves touched the invisible surface just above the ground, the surrounding air seed to stabilize slightly, as though accommodating its presence.
The boy’s eyes widened.
"...A spirit beast," he said under his breath, awe slipping through his composure.
The girl beside him elbowed him lightly, though her own gaze lingered on the qilin just as long.
"Focus," she muttered. Then, stepping forward, she cupped her hands slightly in greeting. "Thank you for stopping, Senior."
Lin Yi stepped down from the qilin’s back.
His expression remained calm, unreadable.
"You called out," he said. "Why?"
The question was direct.
No unnecessary courtesy.
The siblings exchanged a brief glance before the boy spoke again, this ti with more restraint.
"Senior, my na is Luo Cheng," he said, straightening slightly. "This is my sister, Luo i."
Luo i gave a small nod. "We entered the Allheaven Expanse together. We’ve been moving between the lower and mid-tier islands for the past few days."
Lin Yi said nothing.
Luo Cheng continued, though his tone carried a hint of careful enthusiasm now.
"We... actually heard sothing," he said. "Information. About a place."
Lin Yi’s gaze settled on him.
"Speak."
Luo Cheng took a breath. "There’s a mountain region not far from here—well, ’not far’ by this place’s standards," he added quickly. "A cluster of high-altitude islands that have partially fused together. People are calling it the Fragnted Peak Range."
Luo i picked up the explanation smoothly. "According to what we heard, there’s a large concentration of celestial jades there. Possibly left behind from whatever existed in this world before it beca... like this."
Her eyes flickered briefly to the sky, then back.
"The problem," she continued, "is that the region isn’t empty."
Luo Cheng let out a quiet laugh. "Far from it. The hunters who’ve gone there either haven’t co back... or ca back without anything."
"Monsters?" Lin Yi asked.
"Not just monsters," Luo i said. "Environntal pressure, unstable terrain, and sothing else. We couldn’t get a clear description. The survivors didn’t stay long enough to explain properly."
Luo Cheng scratched the back of his head. "We were planning to check it out ourselves, but..." He glanced at the qilin again, then back at Lin Yi. "...that was before we saw you."
There was a brief pause.
Then he smiled, a little more openly now.
"Senior, you have a spirit beast. Not just any spirit beast—a qilin that can traverse the sky currents. That alone changes everything."
Luo i nodded. "With its mobility, we can bypass the more unstable regions. Avoid unnecessary encounters. Reach the core area faster."
Lin Yi remained still, listening.
Luo Cheng continued, his tone turning slightly more earnest. "We’re not asking you to carry us for nothing. If we find the celestial jade deposit, we split it. Fairly."
"How fairly?" Lin Yi asked.
Luo Cheng hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then—
"Three parts," Luo i said calmly. "One for each of us."
Her gaze t Lin Yi’s directly.
"No tricks. No hidden conditions. We share the risk, we share the reward."
The forested island around them remained quiet, the distant hum of the Allheaven Expanse ever-present in the background.
For a mont, no one spoke.
Luo Cheng shifted slightly, unable to fully hide his anticipation. "Senior... what do you think?"
Lin Yi’s gaze moved between the two.
Then, briefly, to the horizon.
The ntion of a concentrated celestial jade region was not insignificant. In this place, resources were not evenly distributed. Large accumulations implied either historical significance... or ongoing convergence.
Either way—
Value.
And beyond that—
Opportunity.
Experience.
Conflict.
Progression.
His thoughts aligned quickly, efficiently, as he spoke "...Lead the way."
Luo Cheng blinked, and Luo i’s eyes sharpened slightly.
Lin Yi’s tone remained even.
"I’ll help."
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