A cloaked figure.
No one paid attention to it at first. In a place like this, masked and hooded cultivators were common enough.
But instead of passing by, the figure stopped, pulled a chair, and sat down.
Right next to Hero.
About a meter away.
Hero's hand, which had been resting near the table, paused slightly.
He didn't move immediately, just turned his head a little to the side, looking at the person sitting beside him.
Something felt off.
'Old man, anything?'
'i can't quite tell, but whatever this gentleman has in his thoughts, he doesn't seem to be that friendly'
The spiritual aura, late-stage Qi refining realm, clear enough, but the way the man sat there, head lowered, not moving at all.
Lucien noticed it too.
His gaze shifted from the book to the figure. He didn't speak, but his posture straightened slightly, attention fully drawn.
His tea over the table was still haven't been touched. The hot taste no longer lingered there, and the still surface reflected his face over it.
'Strange.. '
The figure didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just sat there, head lowered as if looking at the floor.
Lucien glanced at Hero.
Hero exhaled softly and turned his body a bit more toward the figure.
"Fellow here," he said, tone even, not too polite but not hostile either, "is there something wrong?"
Around them, people still moved normally. A servant passed by with dishes, a couple at another table laughed quietly, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"This fellow?" Hero asked again, confused.
...
1 second...
2 seconds...
Then the figure spoke.
Low.
Raspy.
"You two…"
Hero frowned slightly.
"I sense something… familiar… from you two."
There was a short pause.
Hero's brows tightened a bit.
"What are you talking about, friend?"
He leaned back a little, keeping his tone steady, though the situation felt increasingly strange.
Lucien stayed silent.
His eyes didn't leave the figure.
The man moved again.
Very slightly.
His head tilted to the right, just enough for them to catch a glimpse of his face under the hood.
At the same time.
The pressure changed.
Hero's eyes widened.
'Brat! Run!!!'
The old man's voice exploded in his head.
Lucien's expression darkened, his hand already sliding under his cloak toward the sword at his waist.
But before either of them could act.
The figure moved.
No warning.
A surge of aura pressed down instantly.
"Stay here for me."
"I have a question to ask."
Boom.
The table shattered under the pressure. The floor cracked, and the force spread outward in the same direction as the wall.
"ARGHH—!"
People were thrown off their feet before they even understood what was happening. Some slammed into walls, others were blown aside along with broken furniture.
The entire restaurant couldn't hold it.
Wood snapped.
Walls split.
In a moment, the whole building collapsed into debris.
Hero and Lucien were thrown out along with the impact, their bodies carried through the air before crashing across several buildings.
Hero rolled to a stop, coughing, his chest rising and falling as he pushed himself up.
Lucien landed not far from him, steadier but clearly affected.
Both of them noticed it at the same time.
A faint golden glow.
Their bodies were covered in it.
Hero reached into his pocket and pulled out the card. It was emitting that same golden light, thin, like a layer protecting him.
Lucien did the same.
"…What the hell?"
Hero muttered, still catching his breath.
"Golden core?" he said, looking back in the direction of the restaurant. "Since when did I offend someone like that?"
Lucien didn't answer. His gaze stayed forward for a moment before he spoke.
"Doesn't matter."
He lowered his hand slightly, still holding the card.
"The card protected us."
Then he turned slightly toward Hero.
"Run."
No hesitation in his voice.
No room to argue.
Hero didn't waste time.
Both of them moved immediately.
Too many things were happening at once.
The cards in their pockets were still glowing, faint.
A Golden Core expert had just appeared out of nowhere and attacked them without warning. Nothing about it made sense.
And behind them.
People had died.
The earlier crash alone had taken out several buildings, and with it, dozens of mortals who had no way to react in time.
Unfortunate.
But neither Hero nor Lucien had the space to think about it.
Right now, survival came first.
They moved.
Lucien's hand slipped into his storage ring as he ran, pulling out a teleportation talisman in one smooth motion.
His figure flickered, closing the short distance between him and Hero almost instantly.
Hero caught on immediately.
No words needed.
He stepped in without hesitation, already prepared.
The talisman activated.
Light gathered.
Then, just before it completed.
Both of them looked up.
A shadow fell over them, "Those lights just now, what are they?!"
Their eyes shrank.
Above them, the sky distorted slightly as a massive palm print began forming, growing larger by the second.
The wind picked up, pulling dust and debris into the air as pressure built rapidly.
And there.
High above.
The same cloaked figure stood, looking down at them without emotion.
Cold.
Unmoving.
The air tightened.
For a brief moment, everything felt like it slowed.
Then.
They vanished.
The talisman completed its effect, and both figures disappeared from where they stood.
A split second later.
The palm descended.
Boom.
The impact crushed everything beneath it.
The ground caved in instantly, forming a massive depression as buildings collapsed under the force.
Walls shattered, rooftops were torn apart, and debris was flung outward in all directions.
The shockwave followed.
It spread like a ripple, tearing through the surrounding streets. What remained standing cracked under the pressure, windows burst, wooden structures splintered, and loose materials were thrown into the air.
People were lifted off their feet, some thrown back, others sent tumbling across the ground with no control.
Dust surged upward, mixing with fragments of stone and wood, turning the entire area into a cloud of debris.
From farther within the city, people stopped.
Heads turned.
Necks craned toward the direction of the explosion.
A low vibration reached them first, but enough to make the ground feel unstable for a brief moment.
Murmurs spread.
Confusion.
Unease.
Then.
A deafening clap echoed across the sky.
Boom!
The sound rolled outward, followed by a strong gust of wind that swept through the streets, carrying dust and loose debris with it.
The air rioted for a moment.
Before gradually settling again.
Elsewhere, Liam picked up on the disturbance through the cards almost immediately.
His eyes, which had been closed for a long time, slowly opened.
He didn't rush to move, only turning his head slightly as his gaze settled toward one direction beyond the courtyard walls.
Then the impact reached him.
Boom…
A wave of force brushed past the courtyard, rattling the walls for a brief moment before fading. The pond beside him rippled, the surface trembling before gradually calming down.
From afar, voices started to rise.
Shouts, confusion, people calling out to each other.
Even from where he sat, Liam could hear the shift in the city's atmosphere.
Cultivators began moving, figures leaping over rooftops, heading toward the source of the disturbance.
He remained seated, his awareness spread outward.
Several auras rose into the air.
Among them, two stood out clearly.
"…So even they came out."
Liam murmured under his breath, recognizing the presence of the two Golden Core elders,Li Hongyu and Cao Ren.
His expression shifted slightly, the ease from before fading into something.
"And someone else stepped in."
He leaned back a little, eyes narrowing as he looked toward the affected area.
This wasn't part of what he arranged.
The Golden Core monk that appeared wasn't his.
If not for the cards reacting on their own, Hero and Lucien would have taken the full impact earlier.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest once as he thought it through.
Originally, everything had been planned out. A group of foundation building puppets would push the two, and at the right moment, one of his golden core puppets would step in to end it cleanly. Enough to show strength, enough to warn others.
But now, someone had moved ahead of him.
And did it without holding back.
'From the major forces?'
His thoughts shifted briefly to Verdant Hollow Sect and Blazing Feather Temple.
Still, it didn't quite add up.
Sending a Golden Core expert directly like this didn't feel like a normal test.
"…Or trying to force me out?"
He said it quietly, more to himself than anything else.