Xin reached the southern swamps at dawn.
The location was a clearing surrounded by dead trees. The mass's dormant energy hung in the air like fog. His skin crawled.
Sen's crystal was in his pocket. Empty. Waiting.
He stepped into the clearing.
The energy pulled at him immediately. Not the mass. Something else. Something that had been waiting for him.
"Hello, Dragon Warden."
Xin turned.
A man stood at the edge of the clearing. Sixth Gate. Cultivation signature Xin did not recognize. Old face. Young eyes.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Jie. I trained Wei Long."
Xin went still. "You trained him?"
"Sixty years ago. Before the mass. Before the extraction schools." Jie walked closer. "I taught him everything he knew. Then he stole my techniques and disappeared."
"You are the original."
