Gu Jin’s fingers froze on the edge of the letter.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she looked up at Han Yue and asked, "Is he... alright?"
Han Yue hesitated. Then he said quietly, "He’s alive. But surrounded by enemies. I can’t say more than that."
Gu Jin didn’t ask further. She nodded once again and turned, walking up the stairs with the letter clutched in her hand.
Her room was quiet, with only the sound of the wind brushing against the windows.
She sat down at her desk and stared at the letter.
Slowly, she broke the seal and opened the letter.
Her brother’s handwriting was sharp, clean, and precise—like the man himself.
"Gu Jin,If you’re reading this, it means I can’t return yet. But know this: you were never forgotten. I’ve been watching from afar, protecting from the shadows.
You are more important than you realize, and the blood running in your veins... is not ordinary.
When the time comes, you’ll face choices that may shake everything you believe. But trust yourself. And don’t trust the face of kindness too easily.
If something happens to me... burn this letter. And don’t let anyone know we’ve made contact.
Gu Jin stared at the letter, heart pounding.
Does Gu Jishi know something that she didn’t?
The blood in your veins is not ordinary...
What does he mean by that?
Don’t trust the face of kindness...
And what does he mean by that?
Was he perhaps possibly referring to Wen Xue?
’Does he know something that I don’t?’ Gu Jin wondered.
She decided to investigate Wen Xue and called her subordinate.
"Investigate Wen Xue for me. He is related to a prophet clan. I want the result in the next 5 hours."
It was already dark when Mei Lin returned, slipping into the room like a shadow.
Gu Jin was sitting in the same spot, arms crossed, eyes closed. But she opened them the moment she sensed Mei Lin’s presence.
Mei Lin nodded, her face serious.
"I dug through clan records, military logs, and communication channels. What I found was... strange."
Gu Jin sat up straighter.
"Wen Xue does belong to the Prophet Clan," Mei Lin confirmed.
"But he’s not from the main branch. He’s from a hidden offshoot—one that was supposed to be wiped out thirty years ago during a clan rebellion."
Gu Jin frowned. "Wiped out?"
"According to what I found, the Prophet Clan’s main family accused this offshoot of trying to misuse prophecy rituals.
They were supposedly wiped out in a secret internal war. Only one or two children were rumored to have survived—and even that’s not confirmed."
"So Wen Xue might be one of them?" Gu Jin asked sharply.
"Most likely," Mei Lin replied. "But here’s the strange part. The elders of the Prophet Clan deny ever hearing of him. No birth record. No bloodline seal. Nothing."
"Which means either he’s lying..." Gu Jin murmured.
"Or someone is covering up his existence," Mei Lin finished grimly.
Gu Jin leaned back in her chair, her mind racing.
So he wasn’t who he claimed to be.
She wasn’t sure what was worse—that Wen Xue had lied about who he was... or that someone was hiding him from even the most powerful clan of prophets.
Either way, the ritual tomorrow night had just become much more dangerous.
Gu Jin stood slowly, her expression cold and focused.
"Mei Lin. Tomorrow night, I want you to follow me in secret. No one must see you."
"Yes, Second Miss," Mei Lin replied without hesitation.
Mei Lin was a powerful mage whom the Gu Family had hired for her.
In fact, she had a shadow squad of her own.
A Shadow Squad filled with mages above Super Rank.
The Gu family wanted to hire a Heaven Rank assassin for her, too. But Heaven Rank Mages only like to associate themselves with top families or seek higher cultivation, so almost no one could be hired by the Gu family.
It may seem an ugly truth, but the Gu Family wasn’t ranked in the top 5 families of the capital.
Gu Jin planned to bring glory to the family by ranking first in the International alchemy competition.
However, before that, she was planning to confront Wen Xue. Though she said that she was going to attend the ritual, she first needed to beat the f*cker for lying to her.
......................................
There were only five contestants.
Wei Lin, Zhao Ming, Shen Yue, Luo Fei, and Gu Jin.
The arena was filled with cheers and whispers as the five finalists stood on the elevated platform, the grand marble stage glowing softly under the late morning sun.
A judge in silver robes stepped forward, holding a small box in his hands.
"The rules are simple," he announced, his voice echoing through the magical amplifying crystal.
"Inside this box are five tickets. Four are white. One is gold. Whoever draws the gold ticket will be granted a direct entry into the semi-finals. The rest of you will battle to claim the remaining spots."
Each contestant stepped forward one by one.
Wei Lin drew first. White.
Zhao Ming followed. White.
Then Shen Yue. Another white.
When Luo Fei reached in and pulled out a white ticket, only Gu Jin was left.
The moment her fingers touched the last slip, the golden shimmer beneath her fingers made the crowd murmur.
"She got the gold one!"
Gu Jin slowly pulled out the ticket, lifting it up without emotion.
The judge confirmed it. "Gu Jin has drawn the gold ticket and will proceed directly to the semi-finals!"
A wave of chatter and whispers spread through the audience.
"She didn’t even fight, and she’s already one step away from the finals!"
"She won’t last in the semis. Did you see who she’ll have to fight?"
All eyes were on the remaining four: Wei Lin, Zhao Ming, Shen Yue, and Luo Fei—all of them Tier-3 Super Rank mages.
Everyone knew Gu Jin’s ranking wasn’t made public before.
Now, with one lucky draw, she had skipped the toughest part of the competition—and not everyone was happy about it.
After two intense duels...
Wei Lin was eliminated by Luo Fei.
Shen Yue lost in a stunning upset to Zhao Ming.
Now, only three contestants remained: Zhao Ming, Luo Fei, and Gu Jin.
The semi-finals match-up was quickly announced.
First match: Gu Jin vs. Zhao Ming.
Zhao Ming stepped into the center of the arena with a confident smirk. He wore black mage robes with golden embroidery.
He was the son of a high-ranking official, and everyone knew he wasn’t just strong—he was ruthless.
Across from him, Gu Jin stepped up, calm and quiet, wearing simple green and silver robes. She looked unbothered, her expression unreadable.
"Begin!" the judge called out.
Zhao Ming didn’t hesitate. With a loud roar, he slammed his hands together, summoning a wave of molten fire from the ground.
The flames surged toward Gu Jin like a living dragon, the heat instantly raising the temperature in the arena.
The crowd leaned forward, expecting Gu Jin to dodge or block.
Instead, she raised one hand gently, and the ground around her burst into life.
Vines. Thick, poisonous vines with thorns the size of knives shot up from the arena floor, weaving into a massive shield in front of her.
The fire hit them, but didn’t burn through. Instead, the flames sizzled and died, the poison in the plants eating away at the energy.
"Did she just use a plant element?"
"Wait... That energy... that control..."
An older professor stood up from the front row, eyes wide.
"That’s Emperor Rank! Her plant element is at Emperor Rank!"
The entire arena fell silent for a moment. Then the murmurs exploded.
"She’s just a student!"
Zhao Ming’s eyes narrowed. "So you’ve been hiding your real power..."
He charged again, this time using his metal element. Blades of silver shot toward her from the air like a rain of knives.
Gu Jin moved smoothly, extending her hand again.
This time, lightning crackled from her fingertips. Bright arcs of thunder shot out, disintegrating the metal blades before they could reach her. She wasn’t even breathing hard.
She didn’t need to show her fire or dark elements. Her plant and thunder elements were more than enough.
Zhao Ming clenched his teeth and summoned his ultimate fire spell—a blazing phoenix made of molten lava—but before he could release it, thorny vines burst from beneath his feet, wrapping around his ankles and exploding with poison energy.
He screamed, his spell collapsing.
Before he could recover, a final bolt of thunder crashed from above, hitting him square in the chest and blasting him out of the ring.
The judge raised his hand.
"Zhao Ming is unable to continue. Gu Jin wins."
The crowd was completely stunned. The silence was deafening.
Then, a slow clap began somewhere in the back, followed by another—and suddenly, the arena was filled with applause, cheers, and shocked voices.