Lucas opened his eyes slowly. They gleamed with a subtle flame, a glimmer of raw power that hadn't been there before.
He had ascended.
Adept Rank was no longer his ceiling.
Now, he stood on its peak—First-stage Expert—and the second stage Expert Rank no longer seemed so far away.
He exhaled, chest rising and falling with quiet satisfaction.
There was still more Yin energy left—he could feel it—but he would refine it slowly, carefully.
Lucas was deep in meditation, eyes closed, the aura around him still pulsing from his recent breakthrough. The room was thick with Qi—dense and heated, like the air before a storm. He was stabilizing the last surge of energy, balancing the raw power now coursing through every inch of his body. His breath was steady, slow and measured, as the energy circled through his meridians like a perfectly tuned system.
Then, without warning—BAM!
The door burst open.
Lucas's eyes snapped open.
