The oldest leader slowly crouched beside the paw.

His eyes examined every detail of the severed limb, the texture of the scales, the exposed bone, the remnants of ice still clinging to the flesh.

Then he lightly touched one of the cracks in the scales.

The next instant, his eyes flashed with spiritual energy.

"Ice Qi."

The others immediately approached, their own senses extending to feel what the old man had detected.

Even though the ice had completely melted days ago, traces of the energy that had created it were still present. Embedded within the beast’s flesh like lingering poison.

A cold and profound energy permeated the paw.

"An extremely powerful ice technique... See how the ice penetrated the scales? It wasn’t merely a surface layer. It destroyed the internal structure of the limb before even freezing it."

Another leader deeply frowned, his eyes scanning the surrounding terrain as if searching for answers hidden in the shadows.

"Who the hell did this?"

His expression turned ugly, a mixture of frustration and something closer to wounded greed.

"He stole our prey."

The greed in his voice was not hidden even for a moment. The Five-Horned Lava Lizard was a walking treasure, scales, bones, blood, beast core. Every part was worth a fortune. And someone had taken it before they arrived.

The oldest leader remained silent while observing the surrounding terrain, his eyes analyzing every detail.

"The battle happened several days ago... Judging by the state of the residual ice and the amount of ash accumulated over the ruins, I estimate between five and six days."

"Whoever did this is probably already far away." He paused, thinking.

"But..." another leader narrowed his eyes, his expression confused.

"Who in this region, besides us, would have the strength to face a Five-Horned Lava Lizard alone?"

The question lingered in the air. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The four leaders were the only Spiritual Awakening Realm existences throughout the entire Red Smoke City region. Anyone capable of confronting a beast like that should, at the very least, have been known to them.

Silence.

No one answered.

Then, once again, the oldest leader seemed to sense something. His spiritual senses detected a tiny vibration coming from a specific direction.

His head turned sharply.

The other three immediately did the same, their own senses extending in that direction.

Even though they could not see from that distance because of the volcanic smoke and the ash covering the sky, all of them could sense someone.

A presence standing still in that direction. Motionless. Watching.

And that presence... was weak compared to theirs. First stage of the Core Formation Realm. Insignificant, in theory.

"Let’s go." The old man said calmly.

Instantly, the four leaders advanced.

Behind them, hundreds of cultivators quickly followed, weapons ready, senses alert.

...

At the entrance of the small cave hidden among the volcanic rocks...

Kyrian remained standing silently.

His eyes calmly observed the distant group approaching closer and closer. Hundreds of silhouettes emerging from the smoke like ghosts. He did not need spiritual senses to see them, his own eyes were more than enough.

He had already noticed the spiritual senses of the four leaders passing over his body several minutes ago, when they were still kilometers away.

And he also perfectly understood one thing.

Trying to escape without being seen was useless.

Not with four Spiritual Awakening Realm cultivators at the same time. They would cover every direction, their senses extending over an enormous area. Kyrian might be fast, but he was not faster than those four.

So Kyrian simply waited.

The hot wind blew against his partially burned clothes as he remained motionless before the cave entrance. His expression was neutral, his blue eyes fixed on the horizon.

Soon after...

The silhouettes finally emerged through the volcanic smoke, at a distance where ordinary people could begin distinguishing shapes.

The four leaders were the first to appear, their imposing figures emerging from the clouds of ash.

Behind them came hundreds of cultivators and elders, marching in formation.

The instant the group saw Kyrian...

Several expressions changed.

Some disciples frowned in confusion. Why was a young man standing there alone before a cave, wearing burned clothes?

Especially one person.

Pan Zheng.

His eyes widened instantly. His heart stopped for a second, or at least it felt that way.

"Kyrian...?"

His voice came out almost as an incredulous whisper, so low that only those nearest to him could hear.

He had been absolutely certain Kyrian had died.

No. He had believed, deeply and painfully, that the boy had sacrificed himself to delay the lizard while everyone fled in desperation.

He had relived that moment hundreds of times in his mind. The image of Kyrian remaining behind alone, facing something that should never have been faced.

But now...

Kyrian was there. Standing before them. Alive.

Although part of his robe was destroyed and burned, with superficial burns still visible on his arms, he seemed practically unharmed.

His eyes were clear.

His posture was straight.

Pan Zheng felt his heart race. A mixture of shock, relief, and disbelief exploded within him all at once.

’He survived.’

’How?’

Meanwhile, the four leaders coldly analyzed Kyrian.

First stage of the Core Formation Realm. Two leaders noticed his age, very young. Perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old.

All four immediately realized there was something strange about him.

Two of them frowned upon sensing that Kyrian was both mortal and yet possessed cultivation.

That was strange.

Very strange.

Apparently, none of them knew about Innate Talents.

But none of them even considered the possibility that Kyrian had fought the lizard.

To them, Spiritual Awakening cultivators, the difference between the First Stage and the Peak of the Core Formation Realm was immense. Practically an abyss. And the beast was even stronger than an ordinary human at the same level because of its draconic bloodline.

A first-stage boy against a peak-stage beast? Ridiculous.

Still... his presence there was useful.

One of the leaders stepped forward. His presence seemed to intensify slightly, filling the surrounding space.