On the eighth day, the air in the medical bay shifted. The rhythmic humming of the healing arrays suddenly spiked, then fell silent.

Ethan’s amethyst eyes snapped open. He didn’t gasp or struggle; he simply sat up with the fluid movement of a panther. Within seconds, the alarm chimes echoed through the White-Rhino.

In less than two minutes, the room was no longer a sanctuary. Twenty elite marines stood in a tight perimeter, their hands resting on the hilts of their spirit-tempered sabers. The air was thick with the suffocating pressure of their combined auras—every single soldier was at the Spiritual Sea Realm. Standing at the front was Commander Malphas, whose presence radiated the terrifying, unshakable weight of the Golden Core Realm.

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, naked from the waist up, his flawless skin glowing under the runic lights. He felt the sheer gap in power. To these men, he was a lamb standing amidst a pack of hungry dire-wolves. He was two entire Great Realms below them; a single flick of Malphas’s finger could likely end him.

Understanding the futility of resistance, Ethan remained perfectly still, his expression a mask of cold tranquility.

"You’re remarkably calm for a man who was nearly a corpse a week ago," Malphas said, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed Ethan’s lack of fear. "Most people wake up screaming after what the Crimson Sect did to them. Why are you so composed?"

Ethan looked him in the eye, his voice steady. "Because I am certain you are not of the Crimson Sect."

"Oh?" Malphas tilted his head. "And why is that?"

"The hatred between us is absolute," Ethan replied, his voice raspy but clear. "If I were in their hands, they wouldn’t have spent high-grade potions to heal my flesh. They would have spent that time finding new ways to make me scream before finally letting me die."

"Astute," a melodic voice interrupted. Major Isabella stepped through the line of marines, her golden eyes scanning Ethan’s chiseled physique with a clinical, yet lingering, interest. "Do you know who we are, then?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Ethan looked at her, then back at the soldiers. "I do not. My apologies."

Malphas frowned, pointing toward the large white banner hanging on the far wall—a golden dragon roaring toward the heavens with wings unfurled. "You do not recognize the symbol of the sovereign of these seas? The Soaring Dragon Kingdom?"

"I am sorry," Ethan said simply. "I do not know it."

"Did you live under a rock?" the Commander snapped, offended by the boy’s ignorance of the Kingdom’s glory.

"You could say that, sir," Ethan replied, a bitter shadow crossing his face. "I only recently discovered that my entire world was nothing more than a giant dome—a cage designed to keep us trapped like lab rats."

Under Isabella’s intense gaze, Ethan began to weave his story. He spoke of the dome, the arrival of the Crimson Sect, and how he had personally killed the grandson of Elder Su. He explained that a powerful, ancient defense matrix on the island had dealt a catastrophic blow to the Invictus, leading to his eventual capture amidst the chaos. He described the systematic genocide of his people—the fire that rained from the sky until 99% of his world was ash.

He was careful, however, to remain a "victim of circumstance." He omitted every detail regarding his Void essence, the Devouring Flower, and the white Lightning Seed currently humming silently within his core. To them, he was merely a talented native who had struck a lucky, desperate blow against a sect official.

The room remained silent for a long moment after he finished. The marines exchanged looks of disbelief.

"So," Isabella said, stepping closer until she was only a foot away from the bed. "You destroyed an Elder’s lineage and survived a Crimson inquisitor’s mask. You are either the luckiest man in the sea, or the most dangerous."

Ethan looked up at her, his amethyst eyes reflecting the gold of her own. "At the moment, Major, I am just a man without a home."

Isabella leaned in, her scent a mix of sea salt and expensive perfumes, her eyes searching Ethan’s as if trying to peel back the layers of his soul.

"My intuition tells me you are hiding something," she whispered, her voice low and dangerous. "I simply haven’t decided what it is yet. Your cultivation level is quite respectable—an Initial Phase Spiritual Core realm. For someone who looks as young as you, it’s impressive. Tell me, boy... if I were to set you free this instant, what would you do?"

Ethan didn’t blink. "I would seek vengeance, Your Grace."

Isabella’s lips curved into a faint, challenging smile. "And what if we were their allies? What if I had to stop you?"

Ethan tilted his head slightly, a cold, mocking edge creeping into his tone. "Then I could only blame my own blindness for failing to notice such ’close’ allies."

The air in the room seemed to sharpen. It was a bold statement—a thinly veiled declaration that he knew the Kingdom and the Sect were anything but friends. The marines shifted, their hands tightening on their hilts at the boy’s insolence, but Isabella merely chuckled.

"Very astute," she said, straightening her back. "You’re right about that as well. It’s the reason we pulled you from that wreck. We wanted to know who deserved such ’special’ treatment—to have an Invictus sent just to collect them. Now that you claim to have murdered Elder Su’s grandson, it sounds quite probable. It fits the temperament of that senile old goat perfectly."

She turned to Malphas, her golden eyes flashing with a new light. "He’s a thorn in the side of the Crimson Sect, and a talented one at that. A man who can kill a Sect Leader’s kin while living ’under a rock’ is a man with potential."

"Major," Malphas intervened, his voice cautious. "He is still an unknown variable. We should put him in the dampening cells until we reach the capital."

Isabella waved a dismissive hand. "No. Give him a room and some decent clothes. I want him presented to my father as a ’survivor of Crimson tyranny.’ If he’s going to be a weapon against our enemies, he might as well look the part."

She looked back at Ethan, her gaze lingering on his amethyst eyes. "Don’t make me regret my hospitality, Ethan. In this Kingdom, we reward talent, but we bury traitors even deeper than the Crimson Sect does."

Ethan watched her walk away, his expression unreadable.

"I understand, Major," Ethan said quietly to her retreating back. "I’ve already been buried once. I have no intention of going back."

-------------------

From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.

Body Refinement Realm

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??