The rhythmic beeping of medical monitors filled the room like a soft, persistent echo.

Sterile air. White walls. Dim lights.

And silence — heavy and motionless — as if the world itself was still reeling from what had just happened.

Kenneth groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open. His throat was dry, his head pounding as memories started trickling back — flashes of light, the collapsing building, and that suffocating aura that had pressed down on his soul like the weight of an ocean despite the person who owns such aura left him a while ago.

He exhaled shakily. "I'm… alive?"

His voice came out hoarse and faint.

He blinked several times, the blurry outlines of the room slowly sharpening — white curtains, the scent of disinfectant, and a body lying motionless on the bed beside his.

Jake.

His arm was bandaged, his chest rising and falling steadily. Relief softened Kenneth's expression.

Then the door slid open with a soft hiss.

"Ken!"

Ling Fei's voice sliced through the silence, a mixture of relief and restrained panic. She was the first to rush in, followed closely by Vivian, Everlyn, Veronica, and a tall, tanned man in a fitted black shirt — Ling Fei's personal bodyguard.

Kenneth blinked again, managing a weak smile. "Ling… Fei?"

Ling Fei reached his bedside immediately. "Thank heavens. You finally woke up. Do you have any idea how close you were to dying?"

Vivian folded her arms tightly, her usual confidence replaced by genuine worry. "The medics said the whole agency collapsed on top of you. I thought—" she stopped herself, shaking her head.

Everlyn exhaled lightly. "I told them you're too stubborn to die that easily."

Kenneth gave a weak laugh — then winced, clutching his ribs. "You're not wrong."

The tanned bodyguard gave a slight nod. "You're lucky, sir. Not many survived that catastrophe."

At that, the entire room fell silent for a brief moment — the weight of that word still fresh and cold.

Finally, Veronica spoke up from the corner, voice trembling. "Jake… is he going to make it?"

Kenneth's gaze softened as he looked at his unconscious friend. "Yeah. I can feel that he's stable. Just needs time."

Ling Fei sat down by his bed, her eyes sharp but gentle. "Then tell me. What exactly happened at the Hidden Eye Agency?"

Kenneth's expression darkened. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke, voice low.

"It was just after noon. We detected a massive energy fluctuation outside the agency. Then the alarms went off — one after another. Before we could even react, he appeared."

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "The Harbinger."

Kenneth nodded grimly. "His presence alone shattered the defensive barriers like glass. The ground trembled just from his steps. It wasn't just spiritual pressure — it was… something darker. He kept asking for one thing, over and over again…"

He looked up, meeting Ling Fei's eyes.

"Where is Hutton Maxwell?"

The words hung in the air like a curse.

Everlyn's arms crossed. "So they're officially moving against him."

Vivian frowned deeply. "If the Harbinger himself was sent… then Hutton's existence is shaking the entire hierarchy."

After hearing that, Veronica couldn't help but clenched her fist so tight it began to wihten. Coincidentally, Vivian caught that scene which immediately prompted her to hold that hand along with keeping an encouraging smile on her face.

Seeing this, Veronica finally relaxed while smiling at Vivian.

As for Kenneth, he sighed. "Whatever the God Crystal really is… it's not just a treasure. It's a beacon. And Hutton's at the center of it."

Ling Fei leaned back, fingers tapping the bedside gently as her expression grew thoughtful. "Then we have to find him before they do."

Just then, a ping sounded from the TV mounted above them. It flickered on automatically — displaying the bold letters BREAKING NEWS across the screen.

The group's attention shifted instantly.

"We interrupt this program to bring updates on the catastrophic explosion that occurred earlier today in the outskirts region of Blinding Town…"

Everyone froze.

Kenneth's brow furrowed. "Blinding Town?"

"Local authorities have confirmed that a large portion of the outer forest near the town has been completely destroyed following what witnesses describe as a 'divine clash.' Massive energy readings were detected moments before the explosion, leveling terrain within a two-mile radius. No civilian casualties have been reported due to the area's restricted access."

The reporter's voice trembled as aerial footage appeared on-screen — showing a wide crater where forest and fog once stood, glowing faintly with golden embers that refused to die out.

"Experts are baffled by the traces of unstable mana still present in the air. The government has sealed off the site, and representatives from multiple Super Families have been spotted arriving at the scene. Speculations suggest the event may be linked to the ongoing national search for fugitive entrepreneur Hutton Maxwell."

Ling Fei's fingers went still.

Vivian's eyes widened. "That's… him."

Everlyn's lips pressed into a thin line. "So he's alive — but it's begun."

Kenneth's pulse spiked, his voice tight. "You mean— that power signature—"

"—it's Hutton," Ling Fei finished quietly. "I am pretty familiar with how his cultivation works."

The broadcast continued in the background, the reporter's words fading under the tension in the room.

Ling Fei slowly stood up, her expression unreadable, eyes fixed on the burning crater displayed on the TV. "Blinding Town," she murmured. "He's been there all along."

Everlyn tilted her head slightly. "You're sure?"

Ling Fei turned to face them — resolve hardening her tone. "Positive. And now that the world knows, that place won't stay hidden for long."

Vivian frowned. "Then what do we do?"

Ling Fei looked out the window — the lights of Cornerstone flickering in the night.

"We move before the others do," she said. "Because by the time they arrive…"

She paused, her eyes narrowing as her spiritual aura subtly flared — calm but commanding.

"…there might not be a Blinding Town left to find."

The room fell silent again — the kind of silence that meant only one thing:

the storm was about to emerge.

Meanwhile....

The once fog-veiled Blinding Town was now anything but quiet. Reporters swarmed the streets like vultures around fresh prey, their cameras flashing through the lingering mist as they shouted into microphones about the "unprecedented explosion and clash of high-level cultivators." Police barricades surrounded the ruined outskirts, and military transports rolled through the muddy roads, their tires crunching over broken stones and shattered bits of the old cave that had once concealed Hutton and his group.

Drones hovered above, projecting live feeds to countless TV channels and online networks across the country. The entire area pulsed with tension—police, federal investigators, and specialized aura detection teams moving about as the fog shimmered faintly under the clash of residual qi and mana.

At the center of the commotion—the battlefield where Hutton had faced the mysterious young master—a small perimeter had been set up. The ground was scarred, forming circular craters as if lightning and flame had been fused into the soil itself.

Four figures stood within that perimeter—each wearing long, flowing robes embroidered with family insignias of the Super Families of the United States.

The Crimson Fangs, known by other cultivators for their mastery of fire cultivation.

The Silvercrest, famed for their advancement in technology.

The Franklin Family, their representative a calm, bespectacled man in a grey suit who seemed more scholar than warrior.

And the Helion Clan, whose the cold-eyed steward exuded faint killing intent as she studied the ruined terrain.

But it wasn't them that drew the most whispers.

At the far end of the cordoned area stood two men dressed in deep navy robes marked by a gold insignia while someone stood behind each of them— the World Class families' representatives. Their presence alone caused the military officers nearby to stand straighter and bow in respect.

One of them, a tall man with long dark hair and sharp blue eyes, kneeled briefly as he pressed his palm against the cracked ground. His spiritual sense surged outward like a wave, reading the lingering traces of energy. His face shifted instantly—from calm curiosity to disbelief.

"This… this qi signature…" he muttered, his hand trembling slightly as faint sparks of residual energy danced across his fingertips. "I know this essence."

The one standing behind him, older and calmer, gave him a sharp glance.

"You've found something?"

The younger man rose slowly, his jaw tightening.

"Yes… Part of this energy belongs to him."

A silence followed that statement, one heavy enough to make even the nearby guards avert their gaze.

"Are you saying—" the elder began.

"—that the Head's son was involved in this incident," the younger finished grimly. "There's no mistaking it. The qi pattern is distinct. The young master was here."

The elder's brows furrowed deeply.

"Then this… this could spiral beyond containment."

The younger man looked toward the crater again, his expression darkening.

"When the Head learns that his own son's actions nearly exposed the family's hidden operations in this town… I can't imagine his fury."

The camera drones circled above, unaware of the storm brewing beneath the calm faces of these powerful figures.

As soldiers secured the last fragments of the battlefield and the fog began to roll back in, the younger representative whispered under his breath:

"Whatever happened here… it's no longer a small matter. The tides are shifting. And I fear this will force the Alliance's hands to move."

The faint echo of his words carried into the mist—an omen that this single battle in a forgotten foggy town was about to shake the very foundation of both Super and World Class families alike.