Evan Lin waited in his room. Lily Liang called the Rowe Patriarch, but no one answered.
He was probably busy.
Evan wasn’t in any hurry either.
Rooftop sky garden, Emperor International Hotel, Seahaven.
The main entrance had already been closed.
This time, a large glass round table was surrounded by a group of people.
Most of them looked to be in their forties or fifties.
Though they were just sitting there, each person radiated a terrifying, oppressive aura that made hearts race.
"This time, we’ve brought out the heavy treasure that our previous-generation clan leaders jointly retrieved from the Mysterious Ruin. The goal is to unleash its power and boost the strength of our Ancient Martial Clans."
"Even though each of us is now our own clan, if you trace back a thousand years, we’re still branches of the same tree. Over the past century, ties have faded and disputes have cropped up. This time, we’re here to resolve those issues. I trust nobody has any objections?"
At the head of the table sat an elder with half-black, half-white hair, who spoke first.
His voice was like a tiger’s—powerful and resonant. Even though he made no special movements, every word he spoke rang out with force, full of authority.
It sounded like a bell tolling.
There was a faint hint of mystery in his tone.
Everyone present was quietly moved.
"Congratulations to the Qin Patriarch. I’ve long heard that you broke through Pointing-to-Mystery and stepped into the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm. Now it seems your strength has pulled far ahead of the rest of us."
The speaker was Douglas Jiang.
He was about fifty years old. As the Jiang clan’s patriarch, he had been stuck at the peak of first-grade Pointing-to-Mystery for years.
He’d even spent ten years in closed-door cultivation, but still couldn’t advance further.
"Unlike us, trapped at the peak of Pointing-to-Mystery, never able to glimpse the gate of Heavenly Phenomenon."
Douglas Jiang’s words carried a hint of melancholy, his sense of defeat spilling out beyond his tone.
Above Pointing-to-Mystery lies Heavenly Phenomenon. But the gap between them isn’t just about strength—it’s about comprehension.
Every martial artist’s body starts out mortal.
First you temper your body with outer strength, then refine your organs with inner force. Vajra is the stage where both inside and outside reach their peak.
Pointing-to-Mystery is when you can borrow a sliver of heaven and earth’s power, channeling your qi to harness that force for yourself.
As you climb through these layers, the gap in strength can’t be closed just by training alone.
But above Pointing-to-Mystery, Heavenly Phenomenon is about truly understanding heaven and earth.
At this level, it’s said you gain the ability to communicate with heaven and earth.
While Pointing-to-Mystery lets you project qi outside your body and borrow a fraction of heaven and earth’s power, Heavenly Phenomenon doesn’t just borrow—it lets you draw that power directly into your body, breaking the limits of flesh.
In other words...