Chapter 32 — The First Anchor

"Stay."

The gray Qi stayed.

Lu Chen's eyes widened.

Shen Yuan's narrowed.

Mo Tian stopped drinking.

For the first time, Primordial Chaos Qi entered Lu's wrist without exploding.

One inch.

Two.

Three.

The thin gray strand moved through the meridian.

Lu's breathing quickened.

"It worked."

Shen Yuan said nothing.

Something was wrong.

The gray Qi slowed.

Its color deepened.

The stone beneath Lu's feet trembled.

Mo Tian stood.

"Stop."

Lu immediately released the technique.

Too late.

The gray Qi changed.

It became heavy.

Dense.

Fixed.

A thin layer of brown crystal spread beneath Lu's skin.

His expression changed.

"Master?"

Shen Yuan moved.

Two fingers touched Lu's wrist.

His perception entered the meridian.

The Primordial Chaos Qi was no longer Primordial Chaos.

It had chosen.

Earth.

Shen Yuan identified the relationship before acting.

Command.

Definition.

Transformation.

Clear.

Only then did he cut.

The connection between Lu's command and the transforming Qi disappeared.

The brown crystal shattered.

Gray Qi escaped from Lu's palm.

Mo Tian caught it and dispersed it.

Silence.

Lu looked at his wrist.

Then at Shen Yuan.

"That was new."

"Yes."

"Better than exploding?"

Shen Yuan considered.

"No."

Lu sighed.

It was early morning.

Again.

Lu had apparently decided sleep was optional until his cultivation started making sense.

Shen Yuan had decided this was unacceptable.

Unfortunately, Lu had already begun experimenting before anyone could stop him.

Mo Tian crouched beside him.

"What did you do?"

"I told it to stay."

"Why?"

"Second Senior Brother said his Sword Qi returns."

"Returning and staying aren't the same thing."

"I know that now."

Mo Tian rubbed his forehead.

Shen Yuan inspected Lu.

[Primordial Chaos Spiritual Root: 19%]

[Primordial Chaos Body: 8%]

[First Anchor Conceptualization: 7%]

[Internal Circulation: Failed]

[Abnormal differentiation detected.]

[Cause: Conceptual command imposed upon undifferentiated Primordial Chaos Qi.]

Then another line appeared.

[Observation: Primordial Chaos responds to conceptual structure before elemental structure.]

Interesting.

Lu looked between them.

"So telling it what to do is bad."

"Not always," Mo Tian said.

"In your case?"

"Usually."

Lu looked offended.

Mo continued:

"Chaos isn't mindless."

"Neither is it obedient."

"It contains possibility before possibility chooses a form."

"If you impose a concept strongly enough, it may express that concept through whatever form is available."

Lu looked at his wrist.

"I told it to stay."

"And it became Earth."

"Because Earth stays?"

"Not exactly."

Mo Tian frowned.

"Your body interpreted stability through something it already understood."

"Earth."

Lu nodded slowly.

"So if I tell it to move—"

"No," Shen Yuan said.

Lu closed his mouth.

Good.

Progress.

Lin Yue arrived carrying Moonfrost.

Jian Wuchen arrived several breaths later.

Unlike Lu—

Jian had slept.

Briefly.

Then spent the remainder of the night inside the Sword Intent Tempering Hall.

Shen Yuan inspected him.

[Ninefold Heaven-Severing Sword Scripture]

[Second Fold — Sword Meridian Tempering]

[Sword Foundation — Middle Stage]

[Fourth Sword Meridian Stability: 41%]

Yesterday it had been thirty-four.

Seven percent overnight.

Jian's expression remained calm.

His eyes did not.

He was tired.

"How long did you cultivate?"

"Four hours."

"Sleep?"

"Two."

Shen Yuan stared.

Jian corrected himself.

"Almost three."

"Sleep tonight."

"Master—"

"That's instruction."

Jian bowed.

"Yes."

Lu looked delighted.

"Finally, someone else gets told off."

Jian looked at him.

"You exploded before breakfast."

Lu's delight disappeared.

Lin ignored both.

Shen Yuan inspected her.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining — Third Stage]

[Cultivation Progress: 91%]

[Nine-Yin Lunar Channels: 2/9 Awakened]

[Third Lunar Channel: Initial Resonance detected]

[Nine-Yin Immortal Body: Initial Awakening]

Ninety-one percent.

She had been cultivating too.

Of course.

Shen Yuan looked at the three.

"Does anyone on this mountain sleep?"

Chen An's voice came from behind them.

"I do."

Shen Yuan turned.

Chen An carried breakfast.

"Good."

"Usually."

Less good.

They ate outside.

Mo Tian explained Lu's mistake between mouthfuls.

Jian listened.

Lin listened.

Lu ate enough for the explanation to require repeating once.

When Mo finished, Jian said:

"You treated the command as the anchor."

Lu nodded.

"I thought if the Qi obeyed one thing, it would stop changing."

"It did."

"Into the wrong thing."

"Yes."

Lu frowned.

Then looked at Jian.

"When your Sword Qi returns to your Sword Heart, does the Sword Heart tell it what kind of Sword Qi to be?"

Jian paused.

"No."

"What does it do?"

"Receives it."

"That's all?"

"Refines it."

"That sounds like doing something."

"It doesn't decide what the Sword Qi is."

Jian placed two fingers against his chest.

"The scripture does not say the Sword Heart commands every cycle."

"It is the point the cycle recognizes as beginning and end."

Lu stopped eating.

Mo Tian stopped too.

Lin looked at Lu.

Shen Yuan remained silent.

There were moments when a master should answer.

There were others when answering would steal something.

This was the second kind.

Lu slowly put down his chopsticks.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"A point it recognizes."

Jian nodded.

Lu looked at his hand.

"My Chaos Qi doesn't need somewhere to stay."

"No."

"It needs somewhere to return."

"Maybe."

"But a dantian defines it."

Mo Tian said nothing.

"A meridian defines it."

Still nothing.

"My spiritual root produces it, so that's not the same thing."

Lu's eyes moved.

"My body..."

He stopped.

Mo Tian's expression changed slightly.

Lu looked at him.

"You made your whole body Chaos."

"Eventually."

"So Chaos could exist anywhere inside you."

"Yes."

"But then you couldn't separate yourself from it."

Mo Tian became very still.

That was closer than Lu realized.

Lu looked down.

"I don't want to do that."

Mo Tian smiled faintly.

"Good."

Training began after breakfast.

Lin went to the Nine-Yin Lunar Pool.

Jian returned to the Sword Intent Tempering Hall.

Lu sat in the Chaos Body Refinement Chamber.

Shen Yuan did not enter with him.

Neither did Mo Tian.

Lu noticed.

"You're not helping?"

Mo Tian sat outside.

"I am."

"How?"

"By not telling you my answer."

Lu looked at Shen Yuan.

"Master?"

"Same."

Lu frowned.

"This teaching method feels suspiciously convenient."

"It is."

The door closed.

Inside—

Lu sat cross-legged.

Gray mist drifted through the chamber.

The Primordial Chaos Scripture floated through his mind.

The scripture was strange.

Most cultivation methods told a cultivator exactly what to do.

Absorb.

Refine.

Circulate.

Gather.

Compress.

Break through.

The Primordial Chaos Scripture contained all of those concepts—

and none of them cleanly.

Its earliest section described Chaos as something before division.

Before Five Elements.

Before Yin and Yang.

Before spiritual attributes separated.

The problem was that Lu was not before division.

He had bones.

Blood.

Organs.

Meridians.

A spiritual root.

A soul.

A name.

Lu Chen.

He could not become undefined without destroying what already existed.

Mo Tian had tried.

It had worked.

It had also nearly killed him repeatedly.

Lu preferred a method with fewer misplaced organs.

He manifested a strand of Chaos Qi.

Five breaths.

Stable.

He brought it toward his wrist.

The gray strand hesitated.

Lu did not say stay.

He did not say move.

He did not tell it what it was.

He simply watched.

The Qi entered.

Immediately—

his meridian reacted.

What are you?

The Chaos Qi trembled.

Heat flickered.

Cold.

Wind.

Lu released it.

Failure.

Again.

This time he focused on his spiritual root.

The Qi entered.

His meridian reacted.

Lu held awareness of the root.

Return there.

The Chaos Qi moved backward.

For half a breath—

it worked.

Then the root pulled.

The Chaos Qi became denser.

It began collapsing into raw Chaos essence.

Lu released it.

Failure.

Again.

Dantian.

Failure.

Heart.

Failure.

Soul.

The chamber shook.

Lu stopped that one quickly.

Outside, Mo Tian looked at Shen Yuan.

"He's trying everything."

"Good."

"He'll eventually try something dangerous."

"You're here."

Mo Tian looked at him.

"I'm recovering."

Shen Yuan handed him tea.

"Then recover attentively."

Mo Tian stared at the cup.

"I understand why First Brother complained about masters."

At the Nine-Yin Lunar Pool—

Lin Yue cultivated.

The Nine-Yin Lunar Scripture circulated.

First Lunar Channel.

Second.

Return.

Again.

Spiritual Qi poured from the pool.

Her Immortal-grade root absorbed it with frightening efficiency.

The third Lunar Channel trembled.

Almost.

Lin pushed.

Moonfrost vibrated beside her.

"Wrong."

Lin stopped.

Not because the sword commanded her.

Because she had noticed something.

Every time she followed the scripture's circulation exactly—

Moonfrost objected.

Lin closed her eyes.

Again.

Nine-Yin Qi entered the first Lunar Channel.

Then the second.

The scripture instructed her to gather.

Compress.

Deepen the Yin.

Stillness.

Cold.

Accumulation.

Lin obeyed.

Moonfrost trembled.

"Wrong."

She opened her eyes.

"What?"

Silence.

Lin looked at the Lunar Pool.

Its surface reflected the pale morning sky.

Still water.

Then wind crossed it.

The reflection broke.

Several breaths later—

the water became still again.

The sky returned.

Lin watched.

Something occurred to her.

The Nine-Yin Lunar Scripture sought stillness.

Accumulation.

Deepening.

Yin becoming increasingly pure.

But the moon—

changed.

Waxed.

Waned.

Disappeared.

Returned.

Lin closed her eyes.

She circulated again.

First Lunar Channel.

Second.

But instead of gathering everything at the end of the cycle—

she released part of it.

The Qi receded.

Not dispersed.

Withdrew.

Then returned.

A cycle.

Moonfrost trembled.

Lin waited.

No word.

Her eyes opened.

Again.

Advance.

Recede.

Return.

The pool responded.

Frost formed.

Then melted.

Then formed again.

The third Lunar Channel pulsed.

[Self-derived circulation variation detected.]

Lin couldn't see the system.

Shen Yuan could.

From across Cloudveil, his attention shifted.

Interesting.

[Nine-Yin Lunar Scripture compatibility remains stable.]

[Variation does not damage cultivation foundation.]

[Third Lunar Channel resonance increased.]

Lin continued.

Her Qi Refining Third Stage cultivation reached its limit.

The barrier appeared.

Thin.

Ordinary.

Lin circulated once more.

Advance.

Recede.

Return.

The barrier broke.

No explosion.

No dramatic heavenly phenomenon.

Her spiritual energy simply expanded.

Qi Refining—

Fourth Stage.

The Lunar Pool rippled.

Lin opened her eyes.

Moonfrost floated from the ground.

The sword spirit stirred.

Lin waited.

It did not say wrong.

That was enough.

Inside the Sword Intent Tempering Hall—

Jian Wuchen breathed.

Thump.

Sword Heart.

First Meridian.

Return.

Second.

Return.

Third.

Return.

Fourth.

The Sword Qi entered farther than before.

Forty-one percent.

Forty-two.

Forty-three.

Resistance.

Jian stopped advancing.

Returned.

Again.

The Ninefold Heaven-Severing Sword Scripture circulated without pause.

Every cycle refined the Sword Qi.

Every return strengthened the Sword Heart.

Every attempt tempered the fourth route.

The Primordial Sword Stone released a faint pressure.

Jian accepted it.

His Sword Qi sharpened.

Fourth Meridian.

Forty-six.

Return.

Again.

Forty-eight.

Return.

Again.

Fifty.

Pain.

Jian withdrew.

He opened his eyes.

Sweat ran down his face.

Clear Wind rested beside him.

He looked at the sword.

Then toward the chamber wall.

Beyond it—

faintly—

he could sense Lu's repeated failures.

Jian closed his eyes again.

He remembered Lu's question.

Why return?

Because without return—

there was no cycle.

But there was another reason.

Every time Sword Qi returned to his Sword Heart—

it wasn't identical.

It carried something back.

Pressure from the meridian.

Resistance.

Intent.

Understanding.

The Heart refined it.

Then sent it out again.

Cultivation wasn't a straight line forward.

It was repetition that changed the cultivator.

Jian resumed.

Fourth Meridian.

Fifty-one.

Return.

Fifty-two.

Return.

Fifty-three.

The Sword Heart beat.

Something inside the Third Gate moved.

Blood.

Not literal blood alone.

Continuity.

Sword Qi entered the body.

The body changed.

The changed body altered the Sword Qi.

Return.

Again.

A cycle.

Jian understood a little more.

[Third Gate — Blood: Comprehension increased.]

[Sword Heart Awakening: 47% → 49%.]

[Fourth Sword Meridian Stability: 41% → 53%.]

No breakthrough.

Still Middle Sword Foundation.

Jian smiled anyway.

Then remembered Shen Yuan's instruction.

Sleep tonight.

His smile faded slightly.

Lu Chen had failed twenty-six times.

On the twenty-seventh—

he stopped.

Not because he had an answer.

Because he finally understood the mistake.

Every attempt had chosen a part of him.

Dantian.

Root.

Heart.

Soul.

Meridian.

Body.

Every choice created a center.

Every center told Chaos:

You belong here.

But Chaos didn't belong there.

Lu opened his eyes.

Gray Qi floated above his palm.

"What makes you mine?"

Nothing answered.

Reasonable.

He stared at it.

His spiritual root produced it.

But the root wasn't Lu Chen.

His body carried it.

But his body wasn't all of Lu Chen.

His soul?

Still only part.

His name?

That seemed stupid.

Lu frowned.

Then—

why did he think those things were separate?

Body.

Soul.

Root.

Meridians.

Thought.

Intent.

They were different.

But all of them were—

him.

Lu's expression changed.

Outside—

Mo Tian suddenly stood.

Shen Yuan looked toward the chamber.

Something had shifted.

Not power.

Recognition.

Inside, Lu closed his eyes.

He did not focus on his dantian.

Or his root.

Or his meridians.

He focused on himself.

Not one location.

Not one organ.

Not one concept imposed upon the Qi.

Just—

Lu Chen.

The Chaos Qi entered his wrist.

The meridian reacted.

What are you?

The gray strand trembled.

Fire flickered.

Water.

Earth.

Wind.

Lu did not command it.

He held one awareness.

Mine.

The transformations weakened.

The Qi advanced.

One inch.

Two.

Three.

Lu's breathing shook.

The strand reached his forearm.

His meridian demanded definition again.

The Qi trembled.

Lu did not tell it what to become.

He remembered Jian's Sword Qi.

Leave.

Return.

Changed.

Leave again.

The gray strand reached his elbow.

For the first time—

Primordial Chaos Qi existed inside Lu Chen without choosing an element.

His eyes opened.

"Master."

Outside—

Shen Yuan was already standing.

Mo Tian's face had become completely serious.

The gray Qi moved toward Lu's shoulder.

Then stopped.

Pain hit.

Lu clenched his teeth.

The meridian couldn't endure more.

He could force it.

He knew that.

One push.

Perhaps it would reach his chest.

Perhaps—

"No."

Lu whispered.

He withdrew.

The Chaos Qi moved backward.

Elbow.

Forearm.

Wrist.

Palm.

Then—

instead of dispersing—

it remained.

Gray.

Undefined.

Stable.

Silence filled the chamber.

The system appeared before Shen Yuan.

[Internal Primordial Chaos circulation achieved.]

[First successful partial cycle detected.]

[Primordial Chaos remained undifferentiated.]

[Analyzing principle...]

The notification paused.

Then:

[First Anchor identified.]

[Anchor Type: Self-Recognition.]

[First Anchor — Self: Initial Establishment.]

[Disciple Mission Progress: 86% → 91%.]

Shen Yuan smiled.

Inside—

Lu stared at his hand.

"I did it."

The door opened.

Mo Tian entered first.

Lu looked up.

"I did it."

"I saw."

"It came back."

"I saw."

"It didn't become anything."

"I saw."

Lu grinned.

Mo Tian stared at him.

Then hit him on the head.

"Ow!"

"Why did you stop at the shoulder?"

Lu rubbed his head.

"It hurt."

Mo Tian stared.

Then laughed.

Not mocking.

Relieved.

"Good."

Lu looked confused.

Mo Tian sat opposite him.

"That's the difference."

"What?"

"I wouldn't have stopped."

Silence.

Lu understood.

Mo Tian looked at the gray Qi.

"I thought surviving Chaos meant refusing every boundary."

"So I broke them."

"Body."

"Meridians."

"Root."

"Eventually even the distinction between where my cultivation ended and I began."

His smile faded.

"It made me strong."

"Very strong."

"But every breakthrough required me to destroy something and rebuild it afterward."

Lu looked at him.

"That's why your cultivation nearly killed you."

"One reason."

Mo Tian looked toward Shen Yuan.

"Your master was right."

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Say it again."

"No."

Reasonable.

Mo Tian looked back at Lu.

"Don't cultivate like me."

Lu nodded.

"I won't."

This time—

there was no disappointment in the answer.

The Primordial Chaos Scripture reacted.

Lu froze.

The scripture existed inside his consciousness as something unfinished.

Ancient.

Vast.

But incomplete.

Now—

one blank section changed.

Not words at first.

A sensation.

Recognition.

Return.

Self.

Then meaning formed.

FIRST ANCHOR

SELF

Lu's eyes widened.

Shen Yuan's system reacted simultaneously.

[Primordial Chaos Scripture has undergone autonomous evolution.]

[New cultivation structure generated by Disciple Lu Chen.]

[First Anchor Principle integrated.]

[Compatibility: 100%.]

[Note: Current structure differs from known Primordial Chaos inheritance.]

Shen Yuan stared at the final line.

Different.

Good.

He did not ask the system what that meant for ancient Cloudveil.

He did not ask whether Ji Cang had expected it.

He did not ask whether Mo Tian had once attempted something similar.

It belonged to Lu.

That was enough.

Another notification appeared.

[Recommended Investment Opportunity Detected.]

[Suitable Resource: Primordial Voidheart Crystal.]

[Estimated compatibility with current foundation: 93%.]

[Potential effect: Reinforce First Anchor.]

[Potential Cashback Tier: High.]

Shen Yuan almost reached into his storage ring.

Almost.

Then stopped.

"System."

[Awaiting Host query.]

"If I give it now, will it alter the foundation he just created?"

A pause.

[Probability of external resource influencing First Anchor development: 38%.]

Shen Yuan lowered his hand.

Later.

The system remained silent.

Mo Tian noticed.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

Shen Yuan looked at Lu.

"Do it again."

Lu's face fell.

"I just succeeded."

"Once."

"That counts."

"It counts as once."

Lu thought about arguing.

Then looked at Mo Tian.

Mo Tian smiled.

Lu sighed.

"Again."

Good.

By afternoon—

Lu had completed seven partial cycles.

Three failed.

Four succeeded.

The longest reached his shoulder and returned.

His First Anchor became slightly clearer each time.

[First Anchor Stability: 3% → 11%.]

[Primordial Chaos Spiritual Root: 19% → 21%.]

[Primordial Chaos Body: 8% → 9%.]

[Internal Circulation: Partial.]

[Disciple Mission Progress: 91%.]

No mission completion.

Not yet.

The First Anchor existed.

Now Lu had to extend the cycle through his entire body.

Then establish a stable cultivation foundation.

Shen Yuan preferred it this way.

Some things should take more than one afternoon.

Even on Cloudveil.

"Peak Master Shen!"

A voice came from the mountain path.

Shen Yuan recognized it.

Qin Feng.

The Heavenly Sword Peak Master arrived carrying a jade slip.

He stepped into the courtyard.

Stopped.

Looked left.

Lin Yue was standing beside the Lunar Pool.

Something about her aura had changed.

Qin Feng's expression shifted.

"Qi Refining?"

Lin bowed.

"Peak Master Qin."

"What stage?"

"Fourth."

Qin Feng stared.

"Fourth?"

"Yes."

"Weren't you Body Tempering the last time I properly checked?"

"Yes."

"When was that?"

Lin thought.

"A few days ago."

Qin Feng slowly turned toward Shen Yuan.

"What did you give her?"

"Nothing today."

"Today?"

Shen Yuan considered.

"That answer sounded worse than intended."

Qin Feng looked back at Lin.

Qi Refining Fourth Stage.

Stable.

No forced breakthrough.

No pill residue.

No unstable spiritual energy.

Her foundation was cleaner than disciples who had spent years in the realm.

Qin Feng took a breath.

Then noticed Jian.

Jian stood before a reinforced training stone.

Clear Wind remained sheathed.

Qin Feng recognized the stone.

Foundation-grade.

"Jian."

"Peak Master Qin."

"How is your cultivation?"

"Middle Sword Foundation."

Qin Feng had no idea what that meant in conventional terms anymore.

"Show me."

Jian looked at Shen Yuan.

Shen nodded.

Jian drew.

One slash.

The reinforced training stone separated diagonally.

The formation inside activated after the cut had already passed through it.

Qin Feng stared.

Jian sheathed Clear Wind.

Qin Feng looked at Shen Yuan.

"What realm is that equivalent to?"

Shen Yuan thought.

"Depends who he's cutting."

That did not help.

Then—

BOOM.

Smoke rolled from the Chaos Body Refinement Chamber.

Qin Feng closed his eyes.

"Lu Chen?"

"Yes."

The door opened.

Lu emerged.

No injuries.

Gray Qi curled around his fingers.

Qin Feng stared.

"What realm is he now?"

Shen Yuan answered:

"No."

Qin Feng looked at him.

"No what?"

"No realm."

Silence.

Lu waved.

"Peak Master Qin."

Qin Feng looked at the gray Qi.

Then at the cracked floor behind him.

Then at Shen Yuan.

"He still hasn't entered Qi Refining?"

"Correct."

Lu raised one finger.

"But I can circulate now."

Qin Feng looked slightly relieved.

"Good."

"To my shoulder."

The relief disappeared.

"Only your shoulder?"

"Then it comes back."

Qin Feng stopped asking questions.

Wise.

Shen Yuan looked at the jade slip in Qin Feng's hand.

"Why are you here?"

Qin Feng remembered.

"Sect Master sent me."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"I haven't told you what he wants."

"Experience suggests that doesn't matter."

Qin Feng tossed him the jade slip.

Shen Yuan caught it.

Azure Origin Sect insignia.

Official summons.

He opened it.

The message was simple.

Seven days.

Five Peaks Younger Generation Assessment.

Shen Yuan looked up.

"No."

Qin Feng sighed.

"You have disciples now."

"Unfortunately."

Lin Yue looked at him.

Shen Yuan corrected:

"Fortunately."

Lu nodded approvingly.

Qin continued:

"Cloudveil hasn't participated properly in six years because Cloudveil had no disciples."

"That was peaceful."

"That was embarrassing."

"Perspective."

"The Sect Master wants all Five Peaks represented."

Shen Yuan looked at the jade slip again.

"Why?"

Qin Feng stared at him.

"Because that's how sects work."

Shen Yuan disliked that answer.

Qin continued:

"And because the younger generation needs an accurate ranking before the Eastern Domain gatherings begin."

That caught Jian's attention.

Lin's too.

Lu looked curious.

"Other sects?"

"Eventually."

Qin nodded.

"But first, Azure Origin."

"Heavenly Sword."

"Jade Lotus."

"Vermilion Flame."

"Black Tortoise."

His eyes moved toward the three Cloudveil disciples.

"And now Cloudveil."

Lu raised his hand.

"Can someone without a realm participate?"

Qin Feng opened his mouth.

Stopped.

Looked at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan looked at Qin.

Qin looked back at Lu.

"...I'll ask."

Lu smiled.

Qin Feng stayed for tea.

This was mostly because Chen An refused to let a Peak Master walk back immediately after climbing Cloudveil.

While they sat—

Lin cultivated beside the Lunar Pool.

Qi Refining Fourth Stage settled rapidly.

Jian returned to the Sword Intent Tempering Hall.

Lu attempted his eighth partial Chaos cycle.

Qin watched all three.

Eventually:

"What are you feeding them?"

Shen Yuan drank his tea.

"Mostly rice."

Chen An passed nearby carrying a tray.

"A great deal of rice."

Qin Feng stared at both of them.

Neither elaborated.

Near sunset—

Shen Yuan stood at the edge of Cloudveil Peak.

Below—

Azure Origin Sect stretched across the mountains.

Five Great Peaks.

Outer mountains.

Training fields.

Disciple residences.

Mission halls.

Ordinary cultivation life.

He had almost forgotten what that looked like.

His disciples had spent their recent days dealing with things far beyond their generation.

Ancient Sword Tombs.

Guardian Keys.

Eight-thousand-year-old cultivators.

The remnants of disasters they barely understood.

That had taught them much.

But it had also distorted the scale around them.

Lin Yue was Qi Refining Fourth Stage.

How strong was that compared to Azure Origin's current younger generation?

Jian Wuchen's Sword Foundation no longer translated cleanly into conventional realms.

How would it perform against experienced Foundation Establishment cultivators?

Lu Chen—

was Lu Chen.

That required testing for entirely different reasons.

Seven days.

Shen Yuan looked back.

Lin stood beneath moonlight beginning to form over the Lunar Pool.

Jian's Sword Qi pulsed from the Tempering Hall.

A muffled explosion came from the Chaos chamber.

Smaller than before.

Progress.

Probably.

For once—

the next challenge waiting for Cloudveil was not ancient.

Not Immortal.

Not hidden beneath reality.

It was a sect assessment.

Young cultivators.

Ordinary competition.

Shen Yuan found that unexpectedly appealing.

The system appeared.

Not a mission.

Only three quiet status updates.

[Lin Yue — Qi Refining Fourth Stage stabilized.]

[Jian Wuchen — Fourth Sword Meridian: 53%. Sword Heart Awakening: 49%.]

[Lu Chen — First Anchor established. Internal circulation partial. Foundation Mission: 91%.]

Shen Yuan dismissed them.

Seven days.

Enough time to improve.

Probably enough time to repair the chamber too.

Another muffled boom sounded.

Shen Yuan reconsidered the second part.

Across the mountain, Chen An shouted:

"Young Master Lu!"

Lu's voice answered from inside the smoke.

"It worked!"

Chen An looked at the new crack.

"That is not what I asked!"

Shen Yuan turned toward the training grounds.

Seven days until the Five Peaks Assessment.

Perhaps it was time to find out exactly how unreasonable Cloudveil had become.