After obtaining what he needed from the mortal world, Han Tian Yi returned to the Han Clan without delay.
Zhang Zhi and Zhang Xing’er followed quietly behind him as he entered his residence, their steps cautious against the polished floor.
He did not immediately sit. Instead, he turned to Zhang Zhi and extended two jade manuals, their surfaces faintly glowing.
“Your master will enter closed cultivation first, Zhang Zhi.” he said, his voice calm and gentle, yet leaving no room for disobedience. “This one suits your constitution. The other is for your sister. If there's something you don't understand, seek my little brother. He will guide you.”
The boy received the manuals with both hands, head lowered. “Yes, Master!”
Han Tian Yi watched the way Zhang Zhi held the manuals as if they were treasures, the reverence in his posture, the trust in his eyes. Only after memorizing that reaction did he turn away.
With the blessed constitution essence now secured within his grasp, the lingering risk that once plagued his breakthroughs no longer existed. Advancement would no longer mean regression.
He entered the stone cultivation chamber.
The door closed with a low, heavy sound. Cold walls surrounded him, silent and unmoving, swallowing even the faint fluctuations of his aura. The stillness suited him.
He sat.
Breath slowed. Energy circulated.
Once again, he chose isolation.
No interruptions.
No distractions.
Only a relentless ascent, pushing his fragile, talentless body forward through sheer repetition, destruction, and reconstruction of his spiritual core.
Time passed.
Years slipped by in silence.
Inside the chamber, his core shattered and reformed again and again, each cycle more dangerous than the last, each success bought through calculated risk rather than natural talent.
When the door finally opened, twenty years had already passed.
“Ha…”
His voice was hoarse from not using it for so long.
“What a trash body.”
He stepped out, sunlight falling across his face for the first time in decades. The warmth lingered on his skin, almost unfamiliar.
At fifty years old, his expression remained composed, his posture straight, as if the twenty years of torment had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
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“Even a mortal body would be better than this.” he muttered under his breath.
Servants in the distance bowed deeply as he passed. None noticed the faint curve at the corner of his lips.
His divine sense brushed across the clan grounds.
His little brother had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage.
Not a trace of envy surfaced. Not a hint of inferiority.
Only a thin, eerie smile.
“It’s finally time.” he said softly.
When he returned to his residence, two figures were already waiting.
“Welcome back, Master!” they greeted in unison.
Zhang Zhi and Zhang Xing’er stood upright, their auras stable at the early Foundation Establishment Stage. Their eyes carried admiration, discipline, and absolute loyalty.
Han Tian Yi’s gaze swept over them slowly, measuring, evaluating, and confirming their cultivation stage.
“Good.” he said with a gentle smile. “You did not disappoint this Master.”
They reported what happened in the clan when Han Tian Yi was still in seclusion one by one. Zhang Zhi spoke steadily. Zhang Xing’er supplemented quietly when needed. Han Tian Yi listened without interruption, nodding occasionally, his expression mild.
Yet every word they spoke was stored, categorized, and assessed in silence.
After dismissing them, he washed his hands in a polished basin. Cold water ran over his fingers, washing away the faint scent of medicine he devoured when he was still cultivating.
He changed into a fresh robe, its flowing fabric refined and dignified, perfectly befitting a cultivator at the Core Refining Peak Stage.
Only then did he leave his residence.
His steps were unhurried as he headed toward his younger brother.
Han Tian Shi stood beneath a pavilion, no longer the child from years ago. His aura was calm, steady, and vast.
He was now thirty.
“Congratulations, Big Brother.” he said respectfully.
Han Tian Yi paused for a brief moment before laughing softly.
“Ha… I can’t pat my younger brother’s head anymore.” His tone was warm, almost teasing. “You’ve grown into a fine man, Little Shi. Reaching the Nascent Soul Stage at this age… you truly made your big brother proud.”
A faint flush spread across Han Tian Shi’s face.
“B-Big Brother, don’t say that! I’m still your younger brother… Y-You can still pat my head…” he stammered.
Han Tian Yi laughed again, clear and gentle, and lightly patted his head anyway. His palm lingered for a fraction longer than necessary, as if savoring the familiarity.
“Come with me.” he said calmly. “Big Brother has something to give you.”
“Okay, Big Brother!”
They walked side by side, conversation light and natural. Han Tian Shi spoke freely, unaware that every word, every reaction, every tone was being quietly observed.
Han Tian Yi listened attentively, nodding at the right moments, asking small questions, guiding the flow of conversation until they reached the study room.
The door closed behind them.
The atmosphere shifted.
Han Tian Yi’s expression slowly lost its softness. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the air inside the room grew heavy, as though an invisible pressure had sealed the space itself.
He looked directly at his younger brother.
“Do you… trust me, Little Shi?”
His voice was calm. Too calm.
“OF COURSE, BIG BROTHER!” Han Tian Shi replied instantly, without even a moment of thought.
No hesitation. No doubt.
Just pure trust.
Silence followed.
The room felt smaller. Denser.
Han Tian Shi blinked once.
Twice.
The warmth in his eyes gradually dimmed, like a candle being covered by an unseen hand. His pupils lost focus, his expression turning blank, hollow.
Han Tian Yi did not move.
He simply watched.
Years of guidance. Years of patience. Years of carefully maintained warmth and kindness.
All of it converged in this single moment.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Inside the sealed room, a sudden burst of laughter echoed violently against the isolation array he had long prepared in advance.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”
His shoulders trembled slightly as he laughed, the sound sharp, manic, and filled with mockery.
“Oh, Heavens… how stupid of you.”
He tilted his head upward, eyes blazing as if staring beyond the ceiling.
“If you truly wanted to stop me, you should have sent your chosen one far away from me.”
His voice dropped, turning cold and razor-sharp.
“You humiliate me, suppress me, give me a talentless body… yet you forget one thing.”
His smile twisted.
“I will always find a way to make what you did not grant me… mine.”
Laughter erupted again, wilder than before.
“You place your chosen one right beside me and expect me to do nothing? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
His gaze burned with frenzy before slowly cooling, madness receding into a chilling stillness.
“You are powerful. You sit above all beings… yet you are nothing more than an unconscious entity that moves by instinct.”
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Silence returned.
He inhaled slowly, forcing his breathing to stabilize. When he opened his eyes again, all madness had vanished, leaving only a cold, emotionless calm.
His gaze fell upon Han Tian Shi’s hollow figure.
“Act as you always do.” he said softly. “Go to our parents. Tell them you wish to travel to the higher realm with me for one month.”
The tone was gentle.
Absolute.
Han Tian Shi’s body trembled faintly. Then, like ripples smoothing over still water, the emptiness in his eyes faded. Warmth returned. Awareness returned.
He bowed deeply.
“Forgive me, big brother… I just remembered that I have something to do.”
He turned and left the study, the door closing quietly behind him.
Inside his mind, the sealed room, the laughter, the command—everything vanished without a trace.
"Yeah… I almost forgot. I really did plan on going outside with big brother."
Excitement bloomed in his chest as he walked faster.
"I’ll surprise him after his successful breakthrough. I should ask Mother and Father right away!"
With light steps and a bright heart, Han Tian Shi hurried toward his parents’ residence—
completely unaware that his will no longer belonged to him.
