Once More to the Western Desert

After Shen Jin left, the small courtyard fell quiet again.

Xu Wuyi remained seated beneath the old locust tree, watching the weathered wooden door slowly close behind Shen Jin. He listened as the footsteps gradually receded down the alley, until they vanished completely into the city's clamor.

He maintained that posture without moving for a long time.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground. They swayed gently in the breeze, like a flowing painting.

Xu Wuyi's gaze rested on that painting, but his mind was occupied with entirely different matters.

The Astral Battlefield, the summons, strongholds, tens of thousands of civilizations, the Azure Star Realm, the True Dragon Star Realm, and that possibly existing unknown entity far beyond the Grandmaster realm...

There was too much information, and it was too heavy. Heavy enough that even he needed time to digest it.

After advancing to Grandmaster, he had indeed felt a brief sense of ease.

It had not been pride, nor complacency, but a feeling of having a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

After walking such a long road, enduring so many battles and trials, he had finally reached this step. He could finally catch his breath, if only a little.

But now, that sense of ease had completely vanished.

In its place was a deeper sense of urgency.

Shen Jin was right. Grandmaster was not the end, not even a waystation midway through the journey. It was a new beginning.

From this starting point, what he had to face would no longer be disputes among Xiantian Martial Masters, the Inspection Department's complicated cases, or the Federation's open and covert infighting.

He had to face the entire Second Astral Battlefield, tens of thousands of civilizations, opponents stronger than the Star