Xin reached the western fortress at noon.
The place was empty. No guards. No workers. Just broken stone from the Hollow battle.
He walked to the main chamber.
The Keeper was waiting.
He was tall. Bald. No cultivation signature at all. That was impossible.
"You are not real," Xin said.
The Keeper smiled. "I am a projection. You did not think I would meet you in person?"
"Where are you?"
"Close enough." The projection walked in a circle. "Wei Long told me about you. The Dragon Warden who rebuilt the network in thirty-six days. The man who sealed the Hollow. Killed the mass. Destroyed the Old One."
"I had help."
"No. You had tools. There is a difference."
Xin looked around the chamber. Searching for the real Keeper. "You wanted to meet. I am here. Talk."
"The extraction network wi
