Void Cultivation

The middle-aged woman did not linger for even a single second.

With a faint snort, she transformed into a brilliant streak of light and shot across the sky, heading directly toward the harbor where her enormous spirit vessel was anchored.

One after another, the remaining Sect Masters glanced at Shin Riku, who still maintained his respectful bow.

Many of their expressions were filled with displeasure.

Although they had agreed with his judgment and acknowledged that it was the correct decision, they still disliked the fact that the Sky Mist Sect had humiliated a disciple from the Sects Alliance. Such an incident had tarnished the reputation of the Bizarre Broken sect within the alliance.

To them, the disgrace could not simply be erased because justice had ultimately prevailed.

However...

Not every Sect Master shared the same thoughts.

A select few looked at Shin Riku with entirely different expressions. Their gazes held traces of admiration and approval.

One of them even gave an almost imperceptible nod before silently turning away.

Regardless of their opinions, none of them spoke another word.

Within moments, streak after streak of light ascended into the heavens as the Sect Masters departed in different directions, disappearing beyond the horizon.

Throughout the entire process, Shin Riku maintained the same indifferent expression.

His face remained emotionless, while his lifeless eyes revealed neither relief nor satisfaction.

Only after the final aura had completely disappeared did he slowly straighten his back.

His gaze drifted toward the Detective Agency.

More precisely...

Toward the exact location where the Bizarre Broken Sect Master had cast his final hateful glance before leaving.

His eyes lingered there for several moments before he quietly shook his head.

Without saying another word, he stepped into the void.

Ripples spread beneath his feet as his figure gradually disappeared into the sky.

With his departure...

The confrontation between the various sects officially came to an end.

---

Meanwhile...

Deep within Sky Mist City, in a place untouched by sunlight and swallowed by endless shadows, silence reigned supreme.

The darkness there was unnaturally dense, almost as though it possessed a life of its own.

At the center of that silent world sat two figures across from one another.

Between them rested an ancient stone table.

Upon it was a strange board covered in black and white squares, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the game of chess.

One of the players was an ancient-looking old man.

His weathered face was lined with countless wrinkles, while his white hair cascaded over his shoulders like flowing snow.

Strangely enough...

There was not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy surrounding him.

He looked no different from an ordinary elderly man nearing the end of his lifespan.

Opposite him sat a young woman.

Her beauty was breathtaking, yet her expression remained as cold and emotionless as a frozen lake.

Every movement she made was graceful and precise.

Neither of them spoke.

Only the occasional sound of chess pieces landing upon the board echoed through the endless darkness.

Clack.

Clack.

Time passed quietly.

Suddenly... The young woman reached forward.

Instead of placing her next piece upon the board, she calmly raised her hand set one of the old man’s piece outside the battlefield.

It landed softly beside the board.

The old man merely glanced at the discarded piece before giving a faint nod.

Without showing the slightest surprise, he calmly made his next move.

The game continued.

After another exchange, the young woman finally broke the silence.

"Your king is now in danger." Her voice was calm and devoid of emotion.

"Can you see the approaching checkmate?"

The old man did not answer immediately. Instead, he quietly observed the board before him.

Several long moments passed before a faint smile finally appeared on his aged face.

"I won’t deny it." He gently moved another piece.

"Your foresight is truly extraordinary."

"You’ve successfully turned the game in your favor."

His voice remained gentle, carrying neither frustration nor admiration. It was as though he were simply stating an undeniable fact.

"But..."

His fingers lightly tapped one of the abandoned pieces lying beyond the edge of the board.

"The piece I sacrificed was never part of the center."

"It merely served as a catalyst."

"A catalyst that will eventually give birth to something far greater."

Silence once again filled the room. The old man spoke no further. The young woman’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She did not dismiss his words.

On the contrary... She pondered them with the utmost seriousness.

Her icy eyes swept across the board repeatedly, as though attempting to see beyond the present game.

After what seemed like several minutes, she finally reached out and placed another piece onto the board.

The instant her fingers left it...

Her body quietly dissolved into countless specks of darkness.

Without any spatial fluctuations... Without any spiritual disturbance... She simply vanished, as though she had never existed from the very beginning.

The old man remained seated alone.

His eyes never left the unfinished chessboard.

Neither victory nor defeat interested him.

He simply continued contemplating every possible future that could arise from the current arrangement of pieces.

A long silence passed. Only then did he slowly rise from his seat.

The chessboard remained unfinished. Neither side had claimed victory.

As he took a single step forward, the endless darkness around him rippled gently.

When he emerged once more, he was no longer the frail, ancient man from before.

His aged appearance slowly melted away. And his wrinkles disappeared.

His bent back straightened. Snow-white hair darkened into flowing black strands.

Within moments, a refined and handsome middle-aged man stood where the old man had once been.

There was not the slightest resemblance between the two.

His hands rested calmly behind his back as he leisurely strolled through the bustling streets of Sky Mist City.

Countless cultivators and mortals passed by him.

Yet...

No one noticed his existence.

It was as though he had become invisible to the world itself.

Even those whose shoulders brushed against his robes unconsciously stepped aside without ever realizing someone had been there.

Among the countless pedestrians was Grey.

His gray hair and equally gray eyes remained concealed beneath a hood of dark clothing.

His expression was vigilant as his sharp senses constantly observed everything around him.

He walked past the middle-aged man without noticing him in the slightest.

The handsome man slowed his steps.

For the first time since appearing on the streets, genuine emotion surfaced within his calm eyes.

He silently watched Grey’s retreating figure.

A trace or nostalgia, helplessness and regret flashed through his eyes before vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.

He let out a quiet sigh.

Then, as though nothing at all had happened, he continued walking into the endless sea of people until his figure was swallowed by the crowd.