Kael left the arena without looking back.
The cheers behind him slowly faded.
But the man's smile remained in his mind.
He remembered me.
That was impossible.
At least, it should have been.
Kael had died seven times.
Every time, his life had ended differently.
Yet the same people seemed to appear again and again.
Black Lotus.
The masked cultivator.
And now—
The man from his seventh life.
“Kael.”
Luo Chen's voice pulled him back.
“You're bleeding.”
Kael looked at his shoulder.
The wound from Zhou Han's axe had already begun closing.
“I'll be fine.”
Luo Chen stared at him.
“You surrendered when you had the match won.”
“I changed my mind.”
“That's not an answer.”
Kael looked toward the arena.
“It was necessary.”
Luo Chen frowned but didn't push further.
A moment later, the tournament bell rang again.
Another match had begun.
Kael watched carefully.
Not because he cared who won.
He was studying the fighters.
Their footwork.
Their breathing.
Their Qi.
Their weaknesses.
If he couldn't become stronger quickly, he would have to become smarter.
Then he noticed something.
A contestant wearing white robes entered the arena.
A silver crescent was embroidered on his chest.
Ruined Moon Sect.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
The young man drew his sword.
The crowd became strangely quiet.
“Luo Chen.”
“What?”
“Who is that?”
Luo Chen's expression became serious.
“Lin Yue.”
“Cultivation?”
“Qi Gathering First Layer.”
Kael watched the young man closely.
Something felt familiar.
Then Lin Yue looked directly at him.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Lin Yue's expression changed.
He looked surprised.
Then afraid.
Kael stood.
Why is he afraid of me?
The match began.
Lin Yue defeated his opponent in three moves.
Fast.
Precise.
Almost identical to a sword technique Kael had seen before.
His seventh life.
Kael's eyes widened.
That technique.
He remembered dying beneath a moonlit mountain.
Someone had used that exact sword technique against him.
But the person in his memory wasn't Lin Yue.
It was someone older.
Someone wearing the same sect robes.
Kael's Human Flame suddenly flickered.
Pain shot through his head.
A memory tried to surface.
He grabbed his temple.
“Kael!”
Luo Chen reached for him.
“Don't.”
Kael forced himself upright.
The memory disappeared.
But one sentence remained.
“The Moon Sect was never your enemy.”
Kael stared at Lin Yue.
Then Lin Yue slowly walked toward him.
He stopped several steps away.
“Are you Kael?”
“Yes.”
Lin Yue swallowed.
“I was told you were dead.”
Kael's heart tightened.
“Who told you?”
Lin Yue looked around.
His voice dropped.
“Your father.”
Kael froze.
“My father?”
Lin Yue nodded.
“Ren Hao came to our sect seventeen years ago.”
He reached inside his robe.
Then pulled out a small silver pendant.
Kael recognized it immediately.
It was the symbol carved into the stone tablet at the ruined sect.
Lin Yue placed it in Kael's hand.
“Your father told us that one day, you would return.”
Kael stared at the pendant.
“Why?”
Lin Yue's face became pale.
“Because he knew someone would come looking for you.”
“Black Lotus?”
Lin Yue shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward the balcony.
The man in black robes was still there.
Lin Yue whispered—
“Something much older.”
Kael looked up.
The balcony was empty.
The man had disappeared.
And for the first time since entering Lushan City—
Kael felt afraid.
Not because an enemy had appeared.
But because someone had been waiting for him.
For seventeen years.