## Liam''s Perspective


    Pain washed over me in waves as Holmes''s attack struck my dantian. The force sent me flying off the edge of the Dragon Vein cliff, my body tumbling like a discarded rag doll.


    "Goodbye, Liam Knight," Holmes''s voice echoed from above, fading as I plummeted into darkness.


    Wind whipped past my face. My broken body hurtled downward, hitting rock outcroppings. Each impact brought fresh agony. My consciousness flickered like a dying candle.


    Is this how it ends? After everything?


    Thoughts of Isabelle shed through my mind. I''d promised to save her. To bring down the entire Guild if necessary. Some savior I turned out to be.


    I mmed into the ground with bone-crushing force. Darkness enveloped mepletely.


    ---


    "Hey! Hey! Are you dead?"


    A voice pierced the void. Irritating, persistent. I wanted to stay in the peaceful darkness.


    "If you''re dead, can I take your belongings? Fair is fair."


    My eyes cracked open. A blurry figure loomed over me. As my vision cleared, I recognized the ridiculous mustache.


    "Oh good! You''re alive!" The Man with the Mustache grinned. "That means we can still split the treasure!"


    I tried to speak, but only managed a groan. Every part of my body screamed in protest.


    "Holmes... destroyed my dantian," I finally croaked.


    The Man with the Mustache clicked his tongue. "That''s what they all think. Let me check."


    Without warning, he jabbed a finger into my chest. Pain exploded through me, but something else happened too—a flicker of golden light erupted from within.


    "Ha! Just as I thought!" he eximed. "Your dantian isn''t destroyed. It''s protected by some golden energy. Never seen anything like it."


    I focused inward. He was right. My dantian was severely damaged but intact, encased in a thinyer of familiar golden light.


    Father''s protection. Again.


    "How did you survive the fall?" I asked, slowly pushing myself to a sitting position.


    He winked. "I didn''t fall. I jumped before Holmes attacked. I''m no fool—knew that situation was heading south fast."


    Typical. The Man with the Mustache was nothing if not a survivor.


    "So what brings you down here?" I asked, testing my limbs. Broken, but healing.


    His eyes gleamed with excitement. "The secret, of course! The real treasure!"


    I stared at him nkly.


    "Oh, don''t y dumb," he said. "You fell down here on purpose, didn''t you? To find the other half!"


    Other half? I decided to y along.


    "Yes... the other half," I replied carefully. "But I''m surprised you know about it."


    He preened, twirling his mustache. "Please. I''m the foremost expert on ancient sites in three provinces. Of course I knew! Why else would I be here?"


    I managed to stand, wincing. "So... fifty-fifty split?"


    "That''s the spirit!" He pped me on the shoulder, sending fresh pain through my body. "Follow me. I''ve already found it while you were busy being unconscious."


    We moved deeper into the cavern beneath the Dragon Vein. The Man with the Mustache led confidently, apparently unbothered by the darkness.


    "Holmes thinks he''s so clever," he muttered. "The tablet above was only half the equation. The real key is down here."


    After several minutes of walking, we entered a smaller chamber. In its center stood a stone tablet identical to the one above, except this one was pitch ck.


    "There!" The Man with the Mustache pointed proudly. "The ck Tablet! The counterpart to the White Tablet above!"


    I approached it cautiously. The tablet radiated a cold energy, opposite to the vibrant power of the one Holmes had destroyed.


    "Yin and Yang," I murmured, understanding dawning. "The tablets bnce each other."


    "Exactly!" He nodded vigorously. "The white tablet controls the Yang energy of the Dragon Vein. This ck one governs the Yin."


    My mind raced. If Holmes had destroyed the White Tablet to unleash the Yang power...


    "The bnce is disrupted," I said aloud.


    "Precisely! The Dragon Vein''s full power can''t manifest with both tablets intact. But with one gone..." he trailed off meaningfully.


    I ced my palm on the ck Tablet. Cold energy seeped into my skin, but it didn''t reject me. Instead, it seemed almost weing.


    "What happens if this tablet is also destroyed?" I asked.


    The Man with the Mustache''s eyes widened. "Theoretically? Complete release of the Dragon Vein''s power—both Yin and Yang. But that would be catastrophic! The energy would—"


    "Would flow uncontrolled," I finished. "Creating chaos above."


    He nodded frantically. "Exactly! It would make what Holmes is doing look like child''s y!"


    I smiled grimly. "Perfect."


    "Perfect? Are you insane?" He grabbed my arm. "That kind of release would affect everyone up there! Not just Holmes!"


    I met his gaze steadily. "Holmes thinks he''s won. He believes I''m dead or crippled. This is my only chance."


    "But—but—" he sputtered. <cite ss="meta-ref-static">Find the source of this chapter at *.</cite>


    "You have two options," I said calmly. "Help me harness this power, or leave now."


    His mustache quivered with indecision. Finally, he sighed dramatically.


    "Fine! But if we die horribly, I''m ming you in the afterlife!"


    I turned back to the ck Tablet. My golden light began to stir within me, responding to the tablet''s energy. The sensation was strange—like two opposing forces recognizing each other.


    "Holmes wanted to use the Dragon Vein to reach Martial Marquis," I said. "Let''s see how he handles true chaos."


    I pressed both hands against the cold stone. My golden light spread from my fingers, seeping into the ck surface.


    "Wait!" The Man with the Mustache cried. "How will you control it? The Yin energy alone could tear you apart!"


    I closed my eyes, focusing on my Chaotic Body. "I don''t need to control it. I just need to direct it."


    The tablet began to vibrate under my touch. Cracks appeared on its surface, spreading like spider webs.


    "If you''re going to do this," the Man with the Mustache said, backing away, "at least try to absorb some of the essence first! It might help you survive!"


    I nodded and concentrated harder. My golden light pushed deeper into the tablet, seeking its core. There, I found it—a swirling mass of pure Yin energy, the counterpart to what Holmes now wielded above.


    "Come to me," I whispered.


    The energy resisted at first, then gradually yielded. It flowed into my hands, up my arms, and toward my damaged dantian. The cold was excruciating, like liquid ice in my veins.


    My body convulsed as Yin and Yang energies collided within me. My Chaotic Body, designed to bnce opposing forces, strained under the pressure.


    "It''s working!" The Man with the Mustache eximed, watching in amazement as the tablet''s energy flowed into me.


    I gritted my teeth against the pain. The golden light around my dantian expanded, attempting to contain the influx of power.


    Memories shed before me—Isabelle''s smile, Mariana''s guidance, my humiliation at the hands of the Sterling family, and now Holmes''s arrogant dismissal.


    No more. I would no longer be underestimated.


    The tablet cracked further, its energy pouring into me at an rming rate. My body trembled, muscles straining as they transformed to amodate the power.


    "Enough!" The Man with the Mustache shouted. "Any more and you''ll explode!"


    I pulled my hands away, gasping. The tablet continued to crack on its own, destabilizing rapidly.


    "We need to move back!" he urged, pulling at my arm. "It''s going to shatterpletely!"


    I stood my ground, watching the fractures spread across the ck surface. Above us, Holmes and his followers would be harvesting herbs, congratting themselves on eliminating me.


    Their celebration would be short-lived.


    "Holmes wanted power?" I said, my voice deeper, resonating with new energy. "Let him taste true power."


    The tablet gave a final groan before shatteringpletely. A column of dark energy shot upward, sting through the rock ceiling toward the chamber above.


    The Man with the Mustache dove behind a boulder. "You''repletely insane! I like it!"


    My body hummed with the absorbed Yin energy. Combined with my golden light, it created something new—a swirling purple aura that enveloped me entirely.


    "Now," I said, my eyes fixed on the hole above us, "let''s go pay Holmes a visit."


    The Man with the Mustache peered out from behind his boulder. "You''re going back up there? After what he did to you?"


    I flexed my hand, watching purple energy dance between my fingers. "Holmes taught me a valuable lesson today."


    "What''s that?"


    My lips curled into a cold smile. "In this world, power truly is everything."


    The rumbling intensified as the Dragon Vein''s full might awakened. Through the hole above, I could hear shouts of rm.


    "Are youing?" I asked, preparing to ascend.


    The Man with the Mustache hesitated, then stepped out with a resigned sigh. "Wouldn''t miss it for the world. If we survive, this will make an excellent story."


    As I gathered energy beneath my feet to propel us upward, I felt a strange connection forming—like the Dragon Vein itself was responding to my will.


    Holmes wanted to harness this power? He was about to learn what happens when you awaken a sleeping dragon.