Chapter 30 – The Eye of the Celestial Scholar

In the days that followed, the Silent Soul Sect was wrapped in a strange silence.

It wasn't fear.

It was anticipation.

As if the very foundations of the world were holding their breath.

Shen Mu reappeared at the edge of the sacred lands, where the mist of the Broken Abyss slowly receded beneath his steps.

No one saw him arrive.

And yet… everyone felt him.

 [Karmic Link Detected: Partial Activation of the Eye of the Celestial Scholar]

[Origin: Temple of a Hundred Vows – Sect of the Ethereal Lily]

[Probability of Physical Manifestation: 87%]

[Risk to Host: Moderate]

[Opportunity: High]

Shen Mu's gaze shifted slightly to the east.

His expression remained calm.

But within, a fragment of memory trembled.

Not a personal memory, but an echo.

An ancient pact.

Bound to a vow his soul had yet to make… but which someone else had once carved through him.

The Eye of the Celestial Scholar did not merely see the world.

It iscerned forgotten oaths, and truths buried beneath intentions.

And that gaze… had just fallen upon him.

Meanwhile, in the distant mountains of the Ethereal Lily, an old man slowly folded a jade banner.

Around him, ten thousand scrolls floated in the air, softly vibrating.

— The bearer of the Void has moved.

His disciples immediately knelt.

— Master… is it him? asked the youngest.

The old man closed his eyes.

Then reopened them.

A pale golden circle lit up in his left pupil.

— Nihila.

— That name… should never have been spoken.

[System Update]

[Karmic Oath Fragment Detected]

[Trigger: In 3 days, at the summit of the Mountain of Vows]

[Potential Reward: Awakened Soul Fragment – Memory of an Ancient One]

Shen Mu closed his eyes.

He could feel destiny's call.

But he also felt the poison laced within it.

The gaze of the world had turned to him.

And some of those gazes… were not meant to be endured by the living.

He knew it.

Yet he moved forward anyway.

Not by choice.

But because something within him had always walked toward the abyss.

And now that Nihila had awakened… that step had become inevitable.