Lian turned his face away from the peephole, his expression twisted with open disgust. The sight below had become unbearable — grown men and women reduced to panting, flushed creatures, bodies squirming under the influence of a single woman’s scent. The lower sections were especially pathetic. Cultivators clutching their seats, faces red, breathing like animals in heat. Some had completely lost control, eyes glazed, dignity stripped away in seconds. The strong toyed with the weak, and the rich watched it all like entertainment.

He hated it.

He hated how clearly it showed him exactly where he stood in this cruel galaxy.

With a sharp exhale, Lian pushed himself away from the observation hole and walked to the far corner of the cramped hidden compartment. The space was dusty and tight, old metal panels cold against his back as he slid down and sat cross-legged on the uneven floor. He closed his eyes. No words left his mouth. No explanation to Elara. Just silence.

He tried to meditate.

He focused inward, feeling the new density of his Qi. Core Condensation Realm — Late Stage. The energy inside him felt heavier, more condensed, like liquid metal flowing through his meridians instead of gas. His core pulsed steadily, stronger than before, but still far from where he needed to be. The breakthrough under the pressure of the two VIPs had been real, yet it felt hollow now.

As he breathed slowly, another thought rose in his mind.

That other self... is he still inside me?

He remembered the inner domain — that dark, endless arena where he had first encountered the mocking double who looked exactly like him. The version of himself that had beaten him bloody, broken his bones, and laughed while doing it. The one who had said:

“You created me.”

And later, during their brutal fight:

“Get stronger... and we will both get what we want.”

Lian’s jaw tightened. The more he grew, the stronger that other version seemed to become. He wondered if it was still lurking somewhere deep inside his soul, waiting. Watching. He needed real information about inner domains, about that place, about what exactly that double represented. Was it a split personality? A manifestation of his Star Forge Core? A remnant of the Harvest Path? Or something far more dangerous?

He had too many questions and almost no answers.

In the quiet corner, his breathing remained steady, but his mind churned with dark calculations. Power. Resources. Knowledge. He needed all of them. The auction below had shown him the brutal truth once again — without enough strength and wealth, he would always be the one looking up, never the one looking down.

Elara stood a few steps away, leaning against the cold metal wall. Her blue cybernetic eyes were fixed on Lian. She had noticed the drastic change in him the moment the chaos below began. His usual cold calmness had cracked, replaced by something darker and heavier. Disgust. Greed. A deep, burning dissatisfaction with his current position in the world.

She tapped her foot repeatedly against the floor — a soft, rhythmic sound in the quiet compartment. Her alloy fingers flexed at her sides as she searched for the right words. She wanted to lighten the mood, to pull him back from whatever dark place his thoughts had gone. But she knew Lian. Words rarely worked on him when he was like this.

Still, she tried.

“Lian...” she started softly, her voice calm but careful. “We’re still alive. Still moving forward. That’s more than most people down there can say.”

She paused, watching him. He didn’t respond. His eyes remained closed, face impassive. But she could feel the tension radiating from him.

Elara continued tapping her foot, slower now, thinking. She remembered the boy she had first met — the scarred ghost who survived on nothing but rage and willpower. He had changed so much since then. Grown stronger.

She shifted her weight against the wall, the faint whir of her internal systems barely audible.

“You know... watching them makes me remember why we left the academy,” she said quietly. “All that pretending. All those fake smiles while stepping on anyone weaker. At least out here, we don’t have to pretend.”

She hoped her words would reach him. Even a little.

Lian stayed silent for a long time. The only sound was the distant murmur of the auction below, muffled through the thick walls and their hiding spot. Eventually, he opened his eyes slightly, the blue void gaze distant.

“The world doesn’t care if we pretend or not,” he said finally, voice low and cold. “It only cares who is stronger.”

Elara didn’t reply immediately. She simply continued leaning against the wall, watching him. The tapping of her foot slowed until it stopped completely.

The compartment fell into heavy silence once more.

Outside, the auction continued. New items were being brought onto the stage. Bids rose and fell.

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1. A new breakthrough.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

Eternal Veil Syndicate: A powerful organization with higher-ups at Nebula Dominion and at least one Void Ancestor- level.

The Four Pillars: the most powerful organizations in the lower core universe — ancient, influential, and dangerous beyond measure.

Keep it as reminders