Gwendolyn walked past Jared and stopped in front of him, facing the void.
"Step back."
Jared paused for a moment, then stepped back a few paces anyway.
Gwendolyn raised her right hand.
The motion was so casual it looked like she was brushing away a mosquito flying past.
She didn't even stir any spiritual power.
She only gave her hand a light wave.
Just that one motion.
The void looked like it had been torn open by some invisible giant hand. Right in front of Jared, a massive crack burst wide open, a full 3 yards across.
The edges of the crack were smooth as mirrors.
There wasn't the slightest ripple from space around it. Not even a shrill sound.
It simply hung there in silence, as if someone had sliced a sheet of white paper with a paper cutter.
Clean. Precise. Effortless.
Beyond the crack, he could vaguely make out a vast stretch of land.
That was level thirteen.
Jared stood there staring at the crack.
Everything in his head had gone blank.
He had thrown everything he had into it. Three strikes, and the widest crack he managed was only 2 feet. It hadn't even lasted a breath before snapping shut.
But Gwendolyn had only lifted a hand and casually waved, and a passage 3 yards wide opened just like that.
Steady. Broad. Unhurried. As if tearing through the barrier of space was no harder for her than breathing.
The gap between them wasn't just one level or two.
It was the distance between heaven and earth.
"Let's go," Gwendolyn said as she turned and looked toward Sidney and Cadence in the hollow. "The passage will only hold for 30 breaths."
Sidney and Cadence supported each other as they walked out of the hollow.
Together, they came to the crack.
Sidney turned back and looked at Jared.
Too much sat in that look to put into words.
"Mr. Chance..." His voice caught. "I won't insult this by saying thank you. Once we get back, we'll cultivate properly. One day, we'll repay you."
Jared shook his head. "Senior, don't say that. After you get back, focus on healing up. Don't put yourselves in danger again."
Sidney nodded, kept hold of Cadence, and stepped into the crack.
The two of them moved quickly farther and farther away inside the crack.
Their figures shrank fast, until at last they vanished into the land of level thirteen.
The crack slowly sealed shut, and the void went still again.
It was over.
Jared stood where he was and said nothing for a long while.
Then he turned and looked at Gwendolyn.
"Your strength... how strong are you, really?"
Gwendolyn didn't answer. She only gave him a calm look.
Her eyes were quiet as water, but under that gaze, Jared had the sharp sense that nothing about him had stayed hidden.
"You don't need to know," she said.
Jared fell quiet for a moment, then asked, "Then who are you, really?"
Gwendolyn lifted a brow a fraction. "Don't you already know? I'm the Master of the Celestial Palace."
"No. That's not what I'm asking." Jared held her gaze. "I'm asking about your identity. Master of the Celestial Palace is just your position. I'm asking where you come from, what bloodline you carry, who you really are."
Something in Gwendolyn's eyes shifted.
The change was so slight it was nearly impossible to catch, but Jared caught it.
There was a trace of surprise there. And a trace of caution.
"Why are you asking all that?" Her voice stayed as even as ever, but a faint distance had slipped into it.
Jared didn't answer right away.
Then something hit him.
Back in level ten, he had met someone.
A woman.
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