Chapter 97: Meeting Lucan Again

Chapter 97: Meeting Lucan Again

The faint pulse from the Ancient Palace faded, but the tension it left behind did not.

For several seconds, no one moved.

The soldiers stationed around the research base remained frozen, their weapons raised toward the distant structure. The younger cultivators stood in guarded silence, while the four faction leaders watched the palace through the windows of the command hall.

Nothing else happened.

No attack followed.

No door opened.

No ancient voice echoed across the land.

The palace simply returned to silence.

And somehow, that was worse.

Inside the command hall, Professor Sy slowly lowered his hand from the holographic array.

The projection had stabilized, but several sections of the image were now covered by static-like distortions.

Lucan stared at the flickering image.

"What caused that?"

Professor Sy didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the symbol that had appeared for only a brief moment.

The circular mark surrounded by four beast-shaped forms had already vanished from the projection, but its image remained burned into his mind.

"I’m not sure," he said eventually.

Lemo Drackar slammed his palm against the table.

"Not sure?"

The impact caused several papers to flutter.

"You gathered the strongest people in the region and still can’t explain a simple fluctuation?"

Professor Sy glanced at him.

"It was not a fluctuation."

Lemo’s expression darkened.

"Then what was it?"

Professor Sy adjusted his glasses.

"The palace reacted."

Silence returned.

Estelle Argon leaned forward slightly.

"Reacted to what?"

"That is what we need to determine."

Professor Sy raised his hand, and the image above the table shifted.

The Ancient Palace appeared again, this time surrounded by several layers of energy currents.

"These formations have remained dormant since the palace appeared. Until now, their activity was stable, even if we couldn’t understand the structure."

He pointed toward the palace’s outer walls.

"But during the pulse, every layer of the formation briefly synchronized."

Lucan’s expression became serious.

"Could it have been responding to our presence?"

"Possibly."

"To the military convoy?" Roan asked.

"Perhaps."

Lemo scoffed.

"You’re making this sound more complicated than it is. The ruin sensed the presence of powerful cultivators. That’s all."

Professor Sy glanced at him.

"If that were true, why did the formation remain inactive when the first expedition approached?"

Lemo had no immediate answer.

The first team had included several Level 5 and Level 6 cultivators. The palace should have reacted to their energy as well.

Yet it had only swallowed them.

Nyren quietly studied the projection.

"What if it wasn’t reacting to cultivation?"

Everyone’s attention shifted toward her.

Nyren continued.

"What if it was reacting to something else?"

Professor Sy’s eyes sharpened.

"Such as?"

She looked toward the palace.

"Bloodline. Soul signature. A particular energy type."

The room became silent again.

Lothe and Seana stood outside the building, hidden among the soldiers and supply groups.

The Concealment Talismans distorted the attention of everyone around them. People looked in their direction and immediately forgot them.

Inside the command hall, the discussion continued.

General Ashford folded his arms.

"We will not send anyone into the palace today."

Jules Drackar immediately frowned.

"What?"

"The first expedition disappeared within minutes," General Ashford said. "We still lack enough information about the outer formation. Entering now would be irresponsible."

"We didn’t come here to stare at a building," Jules replied.

"No," General Ashford said calmly. "You came here to survive long enough to return."

Jules’ face darkened.

Justin glanced at his younger brother.

"Let him finish."

General Ashford activated another section of the holographic array.

This time, the projection showed the area surrounding the Ancient Palace.

Several red points appeared across the map.

"These are the locations where we detected unusual energy activity."

The points were scattered around the palace in a wide circle.

"What are those?" Estelle asked.

"Energy surges," Professor Sy answered. "They appeared at irregular intervals after the palace manifested."

Roan narrowed his eyes.

"Are they connected to the palace?"

"We don’t know."

General Ashford zoomed in on one of the points.

A massive crack appeared in the image.

It was not a physical crack in the ground. The image showed a tear in the air itself, surrounded by distorted energy.

"Three hours ago, a spatial rift appeared here."

"Another one?" Lemo asked.

"Yes. But unlike ordinary dimensional rifts, this one remained open for only seventeen seconds."

"What emerged from it?" Nyren asked.

General Ashford’s expression became grim.

"Nothing."

That answer made the room even quieter.

Professor Sy added, "But something went through."

Lucan turned toward him.

"How do you know?"

"Because the energy signature on the other side changed."

Professor Sy tapped the edge of the table.

"Something entered the rift from our world, crossed into the unknown space, and then returned."

"Did you see it?" Adrian asked.

"No."

"Then how do you know it returned?"

Professor Sy looked toward the palace.

"Because the energy signature appeared again near the Ancient Palace."

A cold feeling spread through the room.

Something had already been moving around the palace.

Something that could use the spatial rifts.

Something they had not detected.

Lothe listened from outside, his expression becoming more serious.

Seana leaned closer.

"Do you think it was one of those people?"

"Maybe."

"Or something inside the palace?"

Lothe didn’t answer.

Both possibilities were dangerous.

A voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Are you two lost?"

Lothe’s body tensed.

Seana’s hand moved subtly toward her weapon as they turned.

A young man stood a few steps away.

He wore dark-gray robes, and his long hair was tied loosely behind his head. A pair of strange circular blades hung at his waist, each one slightly smaller than a human palm. Their edges were lined with thin metallic teeth, while faint Qi flowed through the grooves carved across their surfaces.

The young man looked relaxed, almost casual.

However, his sharp eyes revealed that he had been watching them carefully.

Neither Lothe nor Seana recognized him.

They had seen him briefly during the academy incident, but at that time, the battlefield had been too chaotic for them to pay attention to every survivor.

The same was true for Lucan.

He had seen Lothe and Seana among the students during the outbreak, but he had never spoken to them directly. Their current appearances had also been altered by the Veiled Identity Talismans, making recognition even more difficult.

Lothe quietly activated [Inspect].

Ping!

[INSPECT]

[Name: Lucan Veir

Race: Human

Class: Circular-Blade Adept

Rank: Level 5, Tier 1

Core Superpower: Light Refraction

Combat Specialty:

• High-speed circular blade manipulation

• Light-based concealment

• Refraction-based movement

• Long-range reconnaissance

Threat Level: Moderate]

Lothe’s gaze briefly shifted toward the two blades at Lucan’s waist.

Light Refraction...

That explained why the young man had approached without making a sound. He had bent the light around his body, making his presence difficult to notice.

Lucan noticed Lothe’s gaze and smiled faintly.

"You recognized the blades?"

"Not really," Lothe replied calmly. "They just look unusual."

Lucan’s fingers brushed against one of the circular weapons.

"They’re called Refraction Rings."

With a subtle movement of his wrist, one of the blades detached from his waist and floated beside him.

It was perfectly circular, with a hollow center and a razor-sharp outer edge. Fine lines covered its surface, forming a pattern that resembled overlapping rays of light.

"I can control them from a distance," Lucan explained. "They also help me bend light around my body."

Seana glanced at the weapon.

"Useful for reconnaissance."

Lucan’s smile became slightly more amused.

"That’s what most people say before one cuts them."

Lothe remained silent.

Lucan looked from him to Seana.

"You two aren’t part of any of the four great sects."

It wasn’t a question.

Seana’s expression remained calm.

"And you are?"

"Lucan Veir."

He tapped the second circular blade at his waist.

"I work with Professor Sy."

Lothe’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Professor Sy’s assistant?"

"That’s one way to describe it."

Lucan glanced toward the Ancient Palace.

"Although lately, I’ve been doing more fieldwork than assisting."

A quiet silence settled between them.

The three of them stood near the edge of the military base while the rest of the cultivators argued inside. The Ancient Palace loomed in the distance, its dark walls hidden beneath layers of mist.

Lucan’s gaze returned to Lothe.

"You were watching the palace."

"So were you," Lothe replied.

Lucan’s smile widened.

"Fair enough."

The circular blade floating beside him slowly rotated.

A faint shimmer passed over its surface, bending the morning light.

"I’m not interested in who owns the palace," Lucan said. "I only want to know why the energy around it keeps changing."

Lothe’s expression remained calm.

"And have you found an answer?"

"Not yet."

Lucan glanced toward the palace again.

"But I’ve confirmed that something is moving inside the outer formation."

Seana’s eyes narrowed.

"Something alive?"

"Possibly."

"Or someone?" Lothe asked.

Lucan’s gaze sharpened.

"That’s what I’m trying to determine."

The faint ringing of metal echoed through the air as his circular blade returned to his waist.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Lucan’s eyes drifted toward the entrance of the command hall.

"You should be careful."

"Why?" Seana asked.

"Because the people arguing inside are already preparing to kill one another over what might be hidden in that palace."

His expression remained calm, but his voice carried a faint warning.

"And once people begin fighting over treasure, they stop caring who stands in their way."

Lothe glanced toward the command hall.

His [Spatial Perception] spread outward.

Inside, Jules Drackar was speaking quietly to someone.

Lothe couldn’t hear the words, but the hostility in the young man’s aura was unmistakable.

Seana noticed the change in his expression.

"What did you sense?"

"Nothing good."

Lucan followed their gaze.

Then the Ancient Palace pulsed again.

HUMMMMM.

The air trembled.

The circular blades at Lucan’s waist began vibrating.

His relaxed expression disappeared.

"That’s new," he murmured.

Lothe’s eyes narrowed.

Far beyond the military base, something moved inside the palace.

For a brief moment, the darkness around the gates seemed to ripple.

Then it vanished.

Lucan looked toward the structure, his grip tightening around one of his Refraction Rings.

"The palace is reacting to someone."

Lothe and Seana exchanged a glance.

None of them knew that the presence the palace had sensed was not one of the cultivators inside the command hall.

It was something else.

Something that had been moving through the spatial rifts.

Something that had entered the palace before any human expedition had arrived.​