Riverford City Development District, Jiangnan Province, Sinovera.
At the height of summer, a late-June breeze brings a hint of coolness, scattering the oppressive heat. Around the greenery of Andrew Han’s residential community, children chase and play, seemingly unfazed by the scorching air.
In reality,
children are even more sensitive to the heat.
But today, the reason is simple: Miles Ning, dressed in black, sits nearby, smiling as he watches Lucy play. The remnants of his Internal Power swirl within him, conjuring a breeze that carries genuine coolness.
"I’m old now."
"Truly old, and useless. Back in my prime, making it snow in June would have been trivial." Miles Ning squints his cold, ruthless eyes. After all, he once stood above the Martial Lord Realm in the Law Realm—an immortal, almost mythic figure by ancient Sinoveran standards.
Summoning a breeze is nothing worth boasting about.
Yet no amount of fading strength can hide the smile on his face.
"Green Mountain Sect."
Miles Ning murmurs softly. Pain and regret entwine within him; he has tormented himself for twenty-two years, kept alive only by the burning belief that Green Mountain Sect would rise again.
By now, even Miles Ning has forgotten.
What is it that he truly desires? Countless sleepless nights—those three words, 'Green Mountain Sect,' echo through his organs and soul, resounding in his mind with a nearly pathological, blazing conviction.
"Green Mountain Sect has returned to the Sequence."
"Green Mountain Sect is rising again—soon to take office as an independent Elder of the Martial Arts Alliance, the acknowledged leader of Sinovera’s younger generation, is none other than a disciple of our Green Mountain Sect." Miles Ning slowly sits on a wooden bench in the community, his wrinkled face tinged with nostalgia.
For a moment, it seems as if the determined gazes of Green Mountain Sect’s elders and disciples flash before his eyes—those departed souls all shouting 'Green Mountain Sect' in unison, echoing through his memories.
And then there is his granddaughter.
Oh.
That’s right.
He also has heartless children, long dead these past decades.
"Did you see it?"
"You must have seen it." Miles Ning gently closes his eyes, afraid of tears, afraid of memories. The more ruthless he is in daily life, the softer he becomes at moments like this.
He only hopes for one thing.
To witness, in his lifetime, the Law Realm’s return, and to see Green Mountain Sect’s name truly restored.
If luck is on his side and he lives long enough, perhaps Andrew Han’s terrifying talent will one day raise Green Mountain Sect to the rank of a large Martial Arts Sect.
Suddenly, beside the wooden bench, a childish voice rings out.
"Grandpa Ning, catch this!"
With a thump, Lucy leaps with all her strength, smacking a crimson balloon toward Miles Ning.
"Lucy is so strong." Miles Ning opens his eyes with a smile, catching the balloon. Just as he is about to speak, his face twitches, his eye jumps, and he turns his head in disbelief.
Through a hundred meters of distance.
Through the thick curtains of Andrew Han’s bedroom.
Miles Ning’s eyes widen, as if witnessing a blazing sun rising from beneath the horizon, gathering infinite strength and suddenly soaring into the sky, illuminating the highest heavens.
Voom!
The air throughout the entire community trembles faintly, as if welcoming the dawn.
Ordinary people notice nothing. But Miles Ning’s pupils contract as he stares at a vortex nearly a hundred meters wide—a formless spiral of air, like the sky itself reversing.
"Five organs and viscera fully tempered—the air itself forms a vortex!"
"This is the hallmark of the upper Martial Lord Realm. If his body gains even a trace of energy-like qualities, he can step into the titled third-step Martial Lord Realm." Miles Ning stands up abruptly, lost for words.
Unbelievable!
Even as a former Law Realm Venerable, his emotions surge wildly at this moment.
"How long has it been?"