The hours passed in quiet intensity, the steady rhythm of the carriage wheels rumbling against the earth the only sound that dared intrude upon their deep cultivation. Outside, the sky shifted slowly from the burnished hues of afternoon to the softer shades of approaching dusk. Shadows lengthened, and the horizon bled with the promise of night, yet within the carriage the atmosphere was charged, thick with the overlapping breaths of four cultivators driving themselves into deeper states of focus.

The girls were each immersed in their own progress. Lira's face was calm and serene, her lashes lowered as though she were asleep, yet her Qi churned steadily, her Yin energy weaving and knitting itself tighter with Lucas's Yang within the bond they shared. Selene's brows were furrowed, but her lips quirked slightly, betraying her quiet satisfaction at how smooth her cultivation had become compared to her past struggles. Princess Nyx sat in complete stillness, a faint glow clinging to her skin, the unique refinement of her royal bloodline blending perfectly with the momentum Lucas had gifted her. All three of them felt their progress flowing easier, steadier, like a river whose course had been cleared of stones.

But at the center of it all, Lucas burned like a hidden sun. His breath was slow, steady, yet each inhale carried the weight of a storm, each exhale bent the air in the carriage ever so slightly. His dantian throbbed with power, stretched nearly to its limit, his meridians alive with streams of Qi so intense they vibrated against his flesh. Every cell in his body pulsed, a unified chorus of energy straining against the threshold that loomed before him. It was a precipice few ever dared to stand on, the invisible veil separating Master from Grandmaster, and now he stood balanced at its edge.

The vibrations within him grew stronger. The hum of his soul grew louder. The carriage itself seemed to respond, its wood creaking faintly, as if straining beneath the unseen pressure. The girls felt it too through the bond, their cultivation suddenly swept by a powerful tide. Lira's eyes snapped open for a moment, her chest tightening with awe, but she quickly closed them again, forcing herself to trust him. Nyx's lips parted in a silent gasp, though she dared not speak. Selene's heart thundered, excitement and disbelief mingling in equal measure.

Then it happened.

A sudden surge, like a dam shattering.

"Booooooom."

The sound was not of wood nor steel, but of energy breaking free, a resonance that shook the carriage and rolled outward into the night air. Lucas's aura erupted with terrifying force, flooding the confined space with raw, unbridled Qi. It was like a tempest had been unleashed, one that threatened to devour everything in its path. His body glowed faintly, the air around him shimmering with heat and power, his presence now heavier, broader, undeniable.

His eyes flew open, blazing with a brilliance that was not of this world. Bright white light poured from them, piercing through the dimness of the carriage as though they were windows to some higher plane. He drew in a final, thunderous breath, and the power settled into him, no longer raging outward, but coiled, contained, and entirely his.

Lucas Graves had broken through. He had stepped into the Grandmaster rank.

The moment Lucas's breakthrough erupted, the world outside the carriage did not remain silent. The horses at the head of the convoy reared back on their hind legs, their neighs shrill and panicked, their reins straining in the hands of the riders guiding them. The sudden wave of suffocating power had rolled out like a shockwave, pressing against every living creature in the vicinity. The carriages trembled, their wooden frames groaning as though a storm had descended upon them, though the sky was calm and the night unbroken.

The guards, disciplined though they were, could not stop their instincts from flaring. Many of them leapt to their feet, hands reaching for their weapons out of habit, their eyes darting about as though expecting an unseen enemy to appear from the shadows. The captain at the front barked an order, but even his voice cracked with strain as he felt the crushing weight of the aura. His body trembled, his knees buckled slightly before he steadied himself, realizing only one thing could produce such a presence...a Grandmaster had just revealed his power.

The men exchanged quick glances. Some looked toward the carriage carrying Lucas with a mixture of awe and confusion, while others stared wide-eyed at the woods around them, as if waiting for an explanation that would not come. None dared to move until the pressure relented. The horses stomped nervously, snorting and shifting, and it took every ounce of control from their handlers to keep them from breaking free entirely.

In the rear of the convoy, the carriage where the crippled grandmaster was locked rattled violently. Inside, the man sat slumped in bitter silence, his mind as dark as the shadows that clung to him. But when the aura reached him, his entire body jolted as though he had been struck. His eyes widened, the dull lifelessness that had haunted them giving way to raw disbelief. He knew this feeling, he had chased it, bled for it, sacrificed for it, only to fail.

"No…" he muttered hoarsely, his fists clenching against his useless legs. The surge of power was unmistakable. He could taste it in the air, could feel it resonate against the marrow of his bones. The boy had done it. Lucas had broken through to the Grandmaster realm.

The crippled grandmaster's throat tightened. His mind reeled back to his own years of cultivation, the endless nights of pain and failure, the battles that had left his body ruined, the hope that had been crushed beneath the weight of his limitations. A lifetime spent clawing at a wall that would not break, and now this… this boy, scarcely more than a youth, had walked past it as though it were nothing.

His mouth twisted, bitterness and awe warring in his chest. He spat weakly to the side, though his hands trembled against his knees. "Impossible," he whispered to himself, though the truth weighed heavily on him. He could no longer deny it. Lucas had achieved in months what had cost him decades, and he had nothing left but the sting of his own failure.

In that moment, all the guards, all the servants, even the crippled grandmaster locked away in shame, knew it. The balance of power in their world had shifted, and it had shifted around Lucas.

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