The dwarf tilted his mug back with practiced ease, swallowing in great gulps. The liquid poured down, foam clinging to his beard as he drained it quickly.

Cattaleya followed.

Her movements were smooth, unhurried, yet just as efficient. She emptied her mug with ease, setting it down with a solid thud.

The dwarf slammed his mug down as well.

For a moment, they stared at each other.

Then...

The dwarf staggered.

His legs wobbled.

He tried to speak, but only a slurred sound came out before he collapsed backward, caught by the laughter of his companions.

"HAHA! Another falls!" someone shouted.

Cattaleya raised her mug again.

"Next?" she said.

More dwarves stepped forward.

One after another.

And one after another...

They fell.

The pile of defeated challengers grew, while Cattaleya remained standing, her expression bright and energized. Her laughter rang through the hall as she accepted each new opponent with enthusiasm.

"I told you," she said at one point, glancing toward Lin Mu from across the hall. "They cannot keep up."

The Fireforge dwarf who had brought them there shook his head, both impressed and slightly incredulous.

"This woman..." he muttered. "She drinks like a living furnace."

Meanwhile, Daoist Chu sat at one of the tables, a mug of dwarven liquor in hand. He sipped it slowly, savoring the warmth that spread through his body with each taste.

"This is quite refined," he said thoughtfully. "Strong, yet balanced."

The liquor carried a distinct character. It burned gently as it went down, leaving behind a lingering warmth that spread through the chest like a controlled flame. Unlike the ale, which was heavier and more filling, this drink felt focused, almost medicinal in its effect.

Elyon sat nearby, observing everything with calm interest. He held a mug of ale, taking slow, measured sips as his eyes followed the unfolding chaos of the drinking contests.

"This culture is... energetic," he remarked.

Meng Bai, on the other hand, had learned his lesson quickly.

He had taken a single sip of the stronger liquor earlier.

That had been enough.

His head had spun almost immediately, forcing him to steady himself against the table.

Now, he stuck firmly to a lighter ale.

Even then, he chose the weakest variant the dwarves offered. It still carried a rich flavor, deeper than anything he had tasted before, yet it did not overwhelm him.

"I will stay with this," he said, nodding to himself as he took another careful sip.

The dwarves around him laughed good naturedly.

"Wise choice, lad!" one of them said, clapping him on the back. "Your puny body cannot handle real Dwarven liquor yet."

Across the hall, Lin Mu sat with Jing Wei.

Compared to the chaos around them, their corner felt almost calm.

Lin Mu had sampled everything placed before him. The ale, the liquor, and even a few rarer brews that the dwarves had brought out upon hearing of his connection to the elders. Each one had its own character, yet all of them carried a level of craftsmanship that reflected the dwarves’ nature.

Now, his attention was fully on Jing Wei.

It had been too long.

"How did you end up here?" Lin Mu asked, his voice quieter now, carrying genuine curiosity. "Did you ascend after I left?"

Jing Wei leaned back slightly, holding his mug loosely as he stared into the liquid within.

"Yes," he said after a moment. "It happened sooner than I expected."

Lin Mu listened closely.

"A few months after you disappeared into that portal with Gu Yao," Jing Wei continued, "I began to feel it."

"The pressure?" Lin Mu asked.

Jing Wei nodded.

"It was overwhelming," he said. "I had already reached the Immortal Ascension realm, but I did not expect the call to ascend to come so quickly. I thought I would have years to prepare."

He took a slow drink before continuing.

"I tried to delay it," he said. "The world was still unstable after the battle. There was too much left to do."

Lin Mu’s expression grew serious.

"What happened after the fight?" he asked. "I never saw the outcome."

Jing Wei let out a quiet breath.

"We survived," he said. "But at a cost."

He spoke steadily, recounting the events.

"We tended to the wounded first," he said. "There were many. Entire sects had suffered losses. The battlefield was filled with the aftermath of destruction."

Lin Mu listened in silence.

"We held funerals," Jing Wei continued. "For those who did not make it. There were more than we had hoped."

A brief pause followed.

"After that, we rebuilt," he said. "Cities, sect grounds, infrastructure. Everything that had been damaged."

"How long did it take?" Lin Mu asked.

"Six months before things began to stabilize," Jing Wei replied.

Lin Mu nodded slowly.

"What happened to the Northern Tribes and the Great Zhou Empire?" he asked.

Jing Wei gave a faint, humorless smile.

"Well, you basically took care of most of the strong members. The rest surrendered easily once they saw ’that’ power. As for the Great Zhou Empire... it no longer exists," he said. "It was dissolved after the war. Its territories were still being divided when I ascended."

Lin Mu absorbed that quietly.

"I never saw how it ended," Jing Wei added. "My ascension came less than a year after the battle."

Lin Mu calculated briefly.

"That means..." he began.

"I have been in the Immortal realm for over seventy years," Jing Wei confirmed.

Lin Mu nodded.

"That sounds about right."

Jing Wei took another drink.

"When I ascended," he continued, "I appeared in a place I did not expect."

Lin Mu leaned slightly forward.

"A platform," Jing Wei said. "A large stone structure. I later learned it was an Immortal Ascension Platform."

"That is normal," Lin Mu said. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Jing Wei nodded.

"But what came after was not," he added.

He looked up, his expression darkening slightly.

"There was no city," he said. "No sect. No people."

Lin Mu frowned.

"Only a forest," Jing Wei said. "A vast one. Filled with beasts."

Lin Mu’s eyes narrowed.

"That is not rare," he said.

"Yes, but it was dangerous," Jing Wei continued. "My strength was insufficient. I had just ascended, and the environment was far beyond anything I had faced before."