The night was thick with tension.
Lianhua's breath came ragged, the weight of exhaustion pressing against her frame. Her injuries, though not fatal, slowed her movements. She had fought hard, too hard, in her desperate escape.
Now, her pursuers had caught up.
Yinmo counted six figures emerging from the shadows, their robes dark, their presence unmistakable. They were Foundation Establishment disciples—far beyond his current rank.
And yet… when he met their gaze, he felt nothing.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Only a strange pulse deep within his blood.
One of the disciples stepped forward, their voice dripping with arrogance. "Step aside, boy." His earth-infused blade glowed faintly under the moonlight, promising devastation with a single swing. "You're not worth our time."
Yinmo didn't move. His stance was steady, balanced—as if his body already knew the fight was inevitable.
Lianhua turned her head slightly, brows furrowing. Why isn't he running?
The disciple sneered at Yinmo's silence and rushed forward—too fast for a Qi Gathering cultivator to react.
Yet—Yinmo did.
His body shifted at the last second, evading the blade by mere inches.
It was instinct.
It was natural.
A second attacker lunged with a fire-infused palm strike—too fast.
But as Yinmo dodged, something within his blood stirred.
A pulse. A surge.
Power coursed through his veins—not borrowed, not external, but something from within.
Then—the shadows responded.
The Unfolding Power
"Tenebris Praelium."
The whisper cracked through the night.
From his fingertips, a swirling darkness unraveled, not wild like demonic magic, but controlled, almost refined.
The Foundation Establishment disciples hesitated—not in fear, but in sheer confusion.
Dark magic was unmistakable—it was chaotic, corrupt, twisted beyond control.
But what Yinmo wielded was not that.
It was different.
It was pure.
Lianhua's molten amber eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. She had seen the Father of All Demons' disciples before. She had fought them before.
Their magic was violent, an endless hunger for destruction.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
Her fingers curled tightly around her silver-threaded satchel, an unspoken question pressing against her lips.
But now was not the time to ask.
Not when Yinmo had already launched forward.
Chapter 26 – The Awakening of the Taboo (Expanded)
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
Yinmo's movements felt sharper, impossibly fast. His body responded as if it had already trained for this moment—as if it had always belonged to something greater.
A pursuer lunged with a wind-infused slash, cutting across the night air.
Yinmo did not block. He redirected.
His footwork shifted, his arms twisted at the precise angle necessary to throw off the incoming force. It was not skill—it was instinct.
His opponent stumbled, shocked.
Another enemy attempted to ensnare him with wood magic, thick roots surging up from the earth to bind him in place.
But Yinmo felt it before it even formed.
With a flicker of unseen energy, his body moved before his mind fully processed it—slipping between the bindings, his frame adjusting as if guided by something beyond simple Qi manipulation.
And then—he struck back.
The darkness at his fingertips answered his call, spiraling outward.
For the briefest moment—his pursuers faltered.
Lianhua watched everything.
She saw how his attacks were too refined for a Qi Gathering cultivator.
She saw how his movements weren't borrowed techniques—but something inherent.
She saw the magic, felt the strangeness of it, and knew this was not normal.
And yet—Yinmo himself did not seem aware of the depth of what was happening.
This was not cultivation.
This was not natural progression.
This was something awakening.
The Factions Begin to Move
As the battle raged, the world was already reacting.
The Father of All Demons received reports of the failed capture. A girl had slipped through his grasp—but worse, a strange force had appeared in battle, one that did not match his disciples' magic. His orders were clear: find the anomaly.
The Magical Beast Council gathered in secret, debating whether to send spies once more to the academies. The Taboo had stirred, but they did not yet know how or where.
Celestial Academy finalized its preparations for the arrival of its newest prodigies—Lei Xuan, Qingyu, Lianyun, Feng Tao, Heng Yi, and Lianhua—unaware that something beyond their comprehension had just taken root elsewhere.
And in the depths of the fading battle, Yinmo stood victorious.
Not by chance.
Not by luck.
But because, for the first time, his body had remembered what it was meant to be.
And the world would soon take notice.