Shen Haoran stood on the rooftop of a pagoda, his golden eyes reflecting the violet-and-gold chaos of the sky.
The wind, whipped into a frenzy by the celestial pressure, tugged at his midnight-blue robes, but he remained as immovable as an ancient mountain.
He watched Shangguan Mu'er's transformation with a look of clinical appreciation, and a faint, amazed smile touching his lips.
"That demonic form," Haoran mused, his voice smooth despite the roaring thunder. "In that state, she could probably trade blows with a 3rd Stage Spirit Ascension realm expert, couldn't she?"
Qing'er, standing a half-step behind him, did not look away from the spectacle, her red eyes were glued to the pulsating, pitch-black hole that had manifested in Shangguan Mu'er's stomach—a void that seemed to tug at the very light of the world.
A flicker of recognition, perhaps even a trace of ancestral memory, crossed Qing'er's stoic face.
