Departure from Ash

The fires had died.

Bone-Fist Pavilion still stood—charred, cracked, changed. But its soul had shifted.

Disciples walked with heads bowed—not from shame, but reverence. They looked at Xu Shen not with mockery anymore, but awe. And fear.

He had killed five elite cultists. Broken a Soul Foundation cultivator's arm. And survived a red lotus spell that could have leveled the mountain.

Some whispered: "He isn't human."

They weren't wrong.

Xu stood before the sect gate, saber slung over his back, bag packed light.

"You're really leaving?" Elder Mo Lin asked quietly.

"I need to move," Xu said. "Before the next ones come."

Mo nodded. "The Flowing Sky Sect sent word. Elder Su Jing has offered to escort you into the Three Trials of the Outer Realm. If you survive them… you'll be permitted to enter the First Great Heaven."

Xu's eyes narrowed. "Realm crossing already?"

"You've grown faster than anyone I've ever seen."

Xu gave a faint smile. "I've had practice."

He turned toward the rising sun.

Behind him, Bone-Fist Pavilion had been rebuilt in more than stone.

Ahead—the path to the greater cultivation world. The realms where emperors rose and fell, where gods walked in secret, where techniques were forbidden for reasons no one remembered.

And somewhere… his next death waited.

"If I'm going to reach the peak," Xu whispered, "I'll have to eat the sky itself."

🌅 A week later — Realm Gate Cliff

Xu stood with dozens of outer realm hopefuls before a towering portal made of interlocking jade pillars. Lightning sparked across its surface. Beside it hovered a stone slate carved with glowing text:

Three Trials of the Outer Realm

Trial One: The Beast Labyrinth

Trial Two: The Broken Dao Bridge

Trial Three: The Mirror of Blood and Flame

— Only those with awakened souls may pass

"Xu Shen!" a voice called.

He turned.

It was Lan Qiu, a girl clad in silver sect robes, twin sabers on her back. Flowing Sky Sect's prodigy. Last year, she killed a flame tiger at Qi Sea level.

"I heard about Bone-Fist. You're lucky to be alive."

He studied her calmly. "Luck had nothing to do with it."

"Whatever," she said with a smirk. "Just try not to die in the first trial. I don't want to waste my time."

So she's the sect favorite this cycle…

He stepped forward.

Let's see how she handles a Devourer.

The portal glowed.

Xu stepped through.