The secondary line ruptured at dawn.
Xin felt it through the Chorus while riding east with Zhou. The line's energy spiked past critical threshold. White fire containment failed. Three villages lost spiritual grounding simultaneously.
Two thousand people.
Xin pushed his horse harder.
*****
Dao Chen reached the cultivation school at mid-morning.
The school was a walled compound in eastern Liang territory. Sixty years old. Sixty students. One master.
The master was not there.
Dao Chen entered through the main gate. Students saw him. Recognized him from the Liang Council identity.
"Where is your master?" Dao Chen asked.
A senior student pointed east. "The extraction site. He said today was the final day."
Dao Chen turned east.
The student grabbed his arm. "Minister Dao. What is hap
