Chapter 40 — The Five Peaks Assessment

Gu Tianhe looked at the piece of black-silver metal in Shen Yuan's hand.

Then at Clear Wind.

Then back at the metal.

"What are you doing now?"

Shen Yuan considered the question.

"Preventing Jian Wuchen's sword from breaking."

"By putting that into it?"

"Eventually."

Tang Rui raised a hand.

"To be fair, Sect Master, that's also the part I'm concerned about."

Gu Tianhe turned toward him.

"What is it?"

Tang Rui looked personally offended that anyone needed to ask.

"Void Meridian Star-Iron."

Silence.

Gu Tianhe looked at Shen Yuan again.

Shen Yuan had become familiar with that expression.

It usually meant Gu Tianhe had discovered something else in Cloudveil's storage that he wished he hadn't.

"Grade?"

"Heaven-Transcendent," Tang Rui answered.

Gu Tianhe closed his eyes.

Shen Yuan waited.

Eventually, the Sect Master opened them again.

"And you're putting a Heaven-Transcendent material into..."

His gaze moved toward Clear Wind.

The old broken blade rested inside its sheath.

Gu Tianhe stopped.

"...Clear Wind."

Jian Wuchen looked at him.

Gu Tianhe's correction had been small.

Shen Yuan noticed anyway.

"Not today," Shen Yuan said.

Tang Rui blinked.

"We aren't?"

"No."

"Why did you show me?"

"To see whether you recognized it."

Tang Rui stared.

"You tested me with Heaven-Transcendent Star-Iron?"

"You passed."

"I don't know whether to feel honored."

"Probably not."

Jian Wuchen looked at Shen Yuan.

"Master?"

"The assessment ends first."

Shen Yuan put the Star-Iron away.

"Then we reinforce Clear Wind properly."

Not quickly.

Not between tournament matches.

And definitely not with Tang Rui experimenting alone on a weapon that had survived Jian Wuchen's entire ruined cultivation path.

Tang Rui seemed to reach the same conclusion.

"My master should inspect it."

"Good."

"I can assist."

"We'll see."

Tang Rui looked wounded.

Jian Wuchen sheathed Clear Wind.

The broken sword gave a faint hum.

Shen Yuan glanced at it.

A little longer.

It had survived this much.

It could survive until tomorrow.

The Five Peaks Assessment did not continue the way most disciples expected.

When the morning's remaining matches concluded, Gu Tianhe stepped onto the central platform.

The formation screen behind him faded.

Names disappeared.

The next elimination bracket never appeared.

Murmurs spread through the arena.

Lu Chen leaned toward Lin Yue.

"Did they break it?"

"No."

"How do you know?"

"The Sect Master doesn't look angry."

Lu Chen considered Gu Tianhe's expression.

"He often looks angry near Master."

Lin Yue paused.

"That's different."

Shen Yuan heard them.

So did Gu Tianhe.

The Sect Master's eye twitched.

He continued anyway.

"The Five Peaks Assessment is not a championship tournament."

The arena quieted.

"The combat stage exists to evaluate how disciples apply what they have learned under pressure. Cultivation, judgment, control, adaptability and foundation all matter."

His gaze moved across the remaining competitors.

"At this point, enough information has been gathered from standard elimination matches."

Several disciples visibly relaxed.

Several others looked disappointed.

Tang Rui belonged to the second group.

"So," Gu Tianhe continued, "there will be no further elimination bracket."

The formation behind him changed.

FINAL EVALUATION STAGE

"Remaining disciples will receive selected matchups based on their previous performance. These matches will complete the assessment."

Lu Chen raised a hand from the audience.

Gu Tianhe stared at him.

Lu Chen slowly lowered it.

Shen Yuan looked over.

"What were you going to ask?"

"Whether winning still matters."

"Of course."

"Oh."

"Just not by itself."

Lu Chen nodded.

That seemed reasonable.

Then the first selected match appeared.

Not Cloudveil.

Two disciples from Black Tortoise and Vermilion Flame entered.

Their fight lasted twelve exchanges.

The second paired a Heavenly Sword disciple against Jade Lotus.

The third involved Han Bo.

He won after allowing his opponent to exhaust far too much spiritual Qi against his defense.

Shen Yuan watched all of them.

The difference between the first day and now was obvious.

Not only among Cloudveil.

Everyone had learned.

Disciples who had watched Lin Yue manipulate rhythm were more cautious about overcommitting.

Several had started changing attack patterns after seeing Jian Wuchen redirect force.

Nobody voluntarily entered grappling distance with Lu Chen anymore.

Good.

An assessment should produce more than rankings.

Lu Chen received one final match.

His opponent specialized in movement and ranged Qi techniques.

A sensible matchup.

Two days ago, that would have been a genuine problem.

Lu Chen's body had been monstrous, but closing distance against a cultivator who refused to approach him required patience, timing and a willingness to be hit repeatedly.

Today, Chaos circulated without asking him.

The first technique came from the left.

Lu Chen moved.

His foundation reinforced his leg naturally.

He crossed twice the distance he expected.

His opponent's eyes widened.

So did Lu Chen's.

He nearly ran past him.

Lu Chen twisted awkwardly, caught himself, and turned.

Several people laughed.

Lu Chen laughed too.

"Still adjusting."

His opponent did not appear reassured.

The next exchange lasted longer.

The opponent created distance.

Lu Chen pursued.

Chaos supported his body automatically.

A spiritual barrier appeared.

Lu Chen punched it.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The barrier held for half a breath.

Then broke.

His opponent retreated across the boundary.

The examiner raised his hand.

"Enough."

Lu Chen stopped immediately.

"Winner—Lu Chen."

The match had taken less than a minute.

But it had shown everything the elders needed.

Yesterday, Lu Chen had possessed an extraordinary body.

Today, that body had cultivation behind it.

Shen Yuan checked the system.

[Primordial Chaos Foundation stabilization: 3% → 5%]

No dramatic breakthrough.

Good.

Lu Chen needed time now.

He had spent long enough building the foundation.

He could learn how to live inside it.

More evaluations followed.

Zhao Tianming fought again.

He won.

Cleanly.

His Foundation Establishment cultivation remained among the strongest conventional foundations of his generation.

Shen Yuan noticed several disciples looking surprised after Zhao Tianming's victory.

Apparently losing to Lin Yue had distorted their judgment.

That was foolish.

Losing to something abnormal did not make Zhao Tianming ordinary.

Qin Feng apparently agreed.

When Zhao Tianming returned, Qin Feng only said:

"Your third transition was slow."

Zhao Tianming nodded.

"I felt it."

"Fix it."

"Yes, Master."

That was all.

Shen Yuan approved.

Nearby, Liu Meiying completed another formation-control evaluation and received one of the highest technical scores of the assessment.

Tang Rui demonstrated artifact-assisted flame control without setting himself, his opponent, or the arena on fire.

He seemed disappointed by the lack of incident.

Han Bo remained Han Bo.

Someone hit him repeatedly.

Eventually he hit back.

It worked.

Azure Origin had talented disciples.

Cloudveil hadn't changed that.

It had merely changed what the upper limit currently looked like.

Then the arena formation shifted.

Two names appeared.

The noise vanished almost instantly.

Lin Yue — Cloudveil Peak

Jian Wuchen — Cloudveil Peak

Lu Chen looked at the screen.

Then Lin Yue.

Then Jian Wuchen.

Then Shen Yuan.

"Master."

"Hm?"

"Who wins?"

Shen Yuan didn't answer immediately.

Lin Yue had reached Qi Refining Fifth Stage.

Her Nine-Yin Lunar Circulation had reached nineteen percent comprehension.

Three Lunar Channels were still incomplete, but two were stable and the third continued developing.

Her Nine-Yin Immortal Body had entered Initial Awakening.

Moonfrost's spirit was beginning to accept a path different from Yue Hanshuang's.

More importantly, Lin Yue was no longer simply practicing an inheritance.

She was changing how she understood it.

Advance.

Recede.

Return.

Jian Wuchen was different.

Middle Sword Foundation.

Four stabilized Sword Meridians.

Sword Heart at fifty-four percent.

The Ninefold Heaven-Severing Sword Scripture.

Heart Gate.

Bone Gate.

A developing Blood Gate.

And a Fourth Sword Meridian whose purpose Jian Wuchen had only begun to understand.

Clear Wind was damaged.

That mattered.

Shen Yuan would not allow Jian Wuchen to push the sword recklessly.

But even damaged, it remained part of his cultivation.

Lu Chen was still waiting.

"That's what we're here to find out."

His eyes brightened.

"Good answer."

"I wasn't answering you."

"Oh."

Lin Yue stood.

Jian Wuchen stood.

Neither looked particularly surprised.

They had sparred before.

This wasn't the same.

The examiner met them at the arena.

He looked specifically at Clear Wind.

"Weapon condition?"

"Usable," Jian Wuchen answered.

Shen Yuan spoke from the viewing platform.

"No sustained maximum-output Sword Qi."

Jian Wuchen looked toward him.

"Understood."

Lin Yue touched Moonfrost.

Shen Yuan added:

"And no destroying your junior brother's sword."

Lin Yue's hand stopped.

"I wasn't planning to."

Jian Wuchen glanced at her.

Lin Yue glanced back.

Lu Chen whispered:

"She thought about it."

"I heard that," Lin Yue said.

Lu Chen became quiet.

The examiner sighed.

"Enter."

Lin Yue and Jian Wuchen stood opposite each other.

No hostility.

No posturing.

That somehow made the arena quieter.

Everyone had seen what they could do against other disciples.

Now Cloudveil was being measured against itself.

"Begin."

Neither moved.

Frost appeared first.

A thin white layer spread beneath Lin Yue's feet.

Jian Wuchen drew Clear Wind.

The broken blade emerged.

Sword Intent gathered.

Lin Yue stepped forward.

Jian Wuchen cut.

Moonfrost met Clear Wind.

Clang!

Cold erupted.

Sword Qi split through it.

They separated.

Then moved again.

Three exchanges passed quickly.

Lin Yue's advantage became obvious first.

Movement.

Not speed.

Rhythm.

She advanced.

Jian Wuchen responded.

She receded before his sword completed its route.

Then returned during the transition.

Moonfrost approached his shoulder.

Clear Wind changed direction.

The Fourth Sword Meridian circulated.

The broken blade should have continued outward.

Instead, Jian Wuchen's internal route changed.

Clear Wind arrived somewhere else.

Clang!

Moonfrost stopped.

Lin Yue's eyes sharpened.

Jian Wuchen's did too.

Again.

Lin Yue attacked.

Jian Wuchen intercepted.

Frost moved along Clear Wind.

Sword Qi erupted.

The frost split.

Lin Yue withdrew.

Jian Wuchen followed.

That was what she wanted.

Lunar Qi remained behind.

It returned.

Jian Wuchen felt the attack before he saw it.

Clear Wind turned.

The Fourth Meridian redirected force through his internal network.

He cut backward.

The returning Lunar Qi separated.

Not destroyed.

Separated.

It flowed around the sword.

Lin Yue was already there.

Moonfrost touched Clear Wind's surviving edge.

The old blade trembled.

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

Enough pressure.

Not dangerous yet.

But he watched the existing fracture.

Lin Yue noticed too.

She immediately reduced force.

Jian Wuchen noticed her reducing force.

His expression changed.

"Don't."

Lin Yue met his eyes.

"Your sword."

"Still works."

"Master said not to break it."

"He said no sustained maximum output."

Shen Yuan leaned back.

Technically correct.

Annoying disciple.

Lin Yue thought for half a breath.

Then nodded.

"Fine."

The next exchange was faster.

Moonfrost awakened.

Cold spread across the arena.

Not the dead stillness of Yue Hanshuang's old imprint.

This cold moved.

Waxed.

Faded.

Returned.

Jian Wuchen's Sword Heart beat.

Clear Wind hummed.

Four Sword Meridians activated.

Sword Qi entered the blade.

The damaged metal vibrated.

Shen Yuan watched.

One exchange.

Two.

Three.

Lin Yue's Lunar Qi began controlling the available space.

Jian Wuchen's sword began refusing predictable routes.

She created rhythm.

He cut through expectation.

He created direction.

She withdrew from it.

Neither had mastered what they were attempting.

That made the fight more interesting.

A finished technique could be memorized.

A developing path couldn't.

Lin Yue stepped backward.

Moonfrost lowered.

Jian Wuchen advanced.

Too directly.

Lin Yue's eyes changed.

Trap.

Lunar Qi vanished from the space before him.

Jian Wuchen's sword entered the emptiness.

Then everything returned.

Frost appeared behind him.

Above.

Along his right.

Moonfrost came from the left.

Jian Wuchen couldn't block all of it conventionally.

So he didn't.

Fourth Sword Meridian.

The route changed.

Clear Wind moved.

Not toward Moonfrost.

Toward the place Lin Yue's attack had been intended to force him.

Shen Yuan's eyes sharpened.

There.

Jian Wuchen had understood a little more.

Don't decide where the sword returns.

Decide where it was going.

The broken blade entered the structure of Lin Yue's attack before that structure completed.

The returning Lunar Qi split around him.

Moonfrost changed angle.

Clear Wind changed too.

Both blades stopped.

Moonfrost rested less than an inch from Jian Wuchen's collar.

Clear Wind's jagged broken end hovered beside Lin Yue's ribs.

Neither had landed.

Neither could continue safely without escalating.

The examiner looked toward Gu Tianhe.

Gu Tianhe looked toward Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan shook his head once.

Enough.

The examiner raised both hands.

"Stop!"

Lin Yue immediately withdrew Moonfrost.

Jian Wuchen lowered Clear Wind.

The arena remained silent.

Then noise erupted.

The examiner waited for it to settle.

"Final evaluation complete."

Lu Chen raised his hand.

The examiner ignored him.

Lu Chen lowered it again.

He leaned toward Shen Yuan.

"So who won?"

"No one."

Lu Chen frowned.

"Then who lost?"

"No one."

"That's inconvenient."

Shen Yuan looked at him.

"Only if you're keeping score."

Lu Chen pointed toward the enormous ranking formation.

"We are literally keeping score."

Shen Yuan considered that.

"Fair."

Lin Yue and Jian Wuchen left the arena together.

Lin Yue glanced at Clear Wind.

"How bad?"

Jian Wuchen examined the blade.

The fracture had deepened slightly.

"Manageable."

"You should stop using it today."

"Yes."

Lin Yue looked mildly surprised.

Jian Wuchen noticed.

"What?"

"I expected you to argue."

"Master already found material."

"Oh."

They continued walking.

After several steps, Jian Wuchen spoke.

"Your return is harder to read."

Lin Yue looked at him.

"Your sword changes direction too much."

"Good."

"That wasn't praise."

"I know."

Lin Yue's mouth curved.

Their assessment was over.

That mattered more than a winner.

By late afternoon, the final scores were complete.

Gu Tianhe returned to the central platform.

The Five Peaks stood beneath him.

"Individual evaluations will be delivered privately."

A collective sigh of relief passed through several disciples.

Nobody wanted every weakness announced before the sect.

"The highest assessment tier this year has been awarded to seven disciples."

Names appeared.

Lin Yue.

Jian Wuchen.

Lu Chen.

Zhao Tianming.

Liu Meiying.

Tang Rui.

Han Bo.

Shen Yuan looked at the list.

Good.

Cloudveil had three.

But the rest of Azure Origin remained visible.

That mattered.

"These disciples will receive priority consideration for advanced sect missions, restricted training opportunities, and future younger-generation representation outside Azure Origin."

The audience stirred.

Eastern Domain opportunities weren't mentioned directly.

They didn't need to be.

Everyone understood what "outside Azure Origin" could eventually mean.

Then the peak rankings appeared.

Fifth.

Fourth.

Third.

Second.

Finally—

FIRST — CLOUDVEIL PEAK

For several breaths, nobody reacted.

Cloudveil had entered three disciples.

Three.

Lu Chen looked around.

"Do we cheer?"

Lin Yue considered it.

"If you want."

Lu Chen cheered.

Alone.

Several people laughed.

Tang Rui joined him for reasons nobody understood.

Han Bo followed.

Within seconds, half the younger disciples were making enough noise that Cloudveil's victory no longer sounded particularly lonely.

Shen Yuan watched.

This was better.

The rewards followed.

Contribution points.

Pills.

Training privileges.

Artifact materials.

Technique Pavilion access.

Each disciple received what they had earned.

Shen Yuan didn't interfere.

Lin Yue accepted her rewards.

Jian Wuchen accepted his.

Lu Chen looked delighted by everything, including the contribution-point token.

"Master, what should I buy?"

"Something you need."

"What do I need?"

"That's why you should think before buying."

Lu Chen looked disappointed by the amount of responsibility involved.

Then came the peak reward.

An expanded annual allocation.

Additional cultivation resources.

Priority access to several sect facilities.

A considerable number of contribution points assigned directly to Cloudveil's treasury.

Gu Tianhe looked toward Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan nodded.

Chen An stepped forward and quietly handed over the prepared transfer jade slip.

No speech.

No announcement.

No dramatic declaration.

Gu Tianhe accepted it.

Cloudveil's additional annual allocation returned to the sect.

Not Lin Yue's reward.

Not Jian Wuchen's.

Not Lu Chen's.

Those belonged to them.

Only the resources Cloudveil itself didn't need.

Gu Tianhe looked at the transfer amount.

Then at Shen Yuan.

"You can still change your mind."

"No."

"Cloudveil earned it."

"So did the sect."

Gu Tianhe was silent.

Shen Yuan glanced toward the younger disciples.

"Use it where it matters."

Gu Tianhe put the jade slip away.

"I will."

No notification appeared.

Shen Yuan waited anyway.

Nothing.

Apparently the system continued refusing to reward basic generosity.

Unfortunate.

He'd survive.

The Five Peaks Assessment officially ended before sunset.

No invasion occurred.

No ancient remnant awakened.

No mysterious authority descended from the heavens.

Nobody discovered a forgotten cosmic secret beneath the arena.

They simply went home.

Shen Yuan considered that an excellent conclusion.

Half a month passed.

Cloudveil became quiet again.

Or as quiet as Cloudveil could currently manage.

Lin Yue spent long periods between the Nine-Yin Lunar Pool and the Lunar Dao Spring Eye.

Her Third Lunar Channel continued developing.

She no longer treated advance, recede and return as merely a circulation trick.

It had begun appearing everywhere.

Breathing.

Movement.

Sword rhythm.

Cultivation.

Even the way she allowed Yin Qi to gather and fade around Moonfrost.

The Third Lunar Channel reached sixty-one percent.

Her cultivation remained at Qi Refining Fifth Stage.

Shen Yuan didn't push her higher.

Neither did she.

There was too much changing underneath the realm.

Jian Wuchen reduced his heavy Sword Qi practice.

He hated it.

He complied anyway.

Instead, he spent the half-month studying the Fourth Sword Meridian and the Ten Thousand Sword Circulation principle Shen Yuan had given him.

His Sword Heart reached fifty-six percent.

The Fourth Meridian no longer felt merely like a returning route.

Something else was forming.

Not complete.

Good.

Lu Chen stabilized.

That word sounded peaceful.

It wasn't.

His Primordial Chaos Foundation stabilization rose steadily.

Five percent.

Nine.

Fourteen.

Twenty-two.

His Root Awakening reached thirty-three percent.

His body reached eighteen.

And for the first time since arriving on Cloudveil, Lu Chen could cultivate without spending most of the session preventing his own cultivation from becoming something else.

He found this extremely enjoyable.

The Chaos Body Refinement Chamber did not.

Two reinforcement plates had already been replaced.

Chen An added them to the monthly expense records.

Shen Yuan chose not to ask.

Outside Cloudveil, Azure Origin changed too.

Slowly.

Mu Qinglan completed the first full redesign of the Five Peaks Spirit Gathering network.

Vermilion Flame Peak began refining replacement node housings.

Black Tortoise inspected stabilization arrays across the mountain foundations.

Qin Feng complained when part of Heavenly Sword Peak's eastern cultivation field closed for repairs.

Then stopped complaining when the first repaired transfer node reduced Qi loss by nearly half.

Gu Tianhe began redirecting Cloudveil's surrendered assessment allocation toward younger disciples and neglected training facilities.

Nothing transformed overnight.

That was the point.

Azure Origin was improving.

Not because Shen Yuan had replaced it.

Because everyone inside it had started moving.

On the fifteenth morning, Jian Wuchen stood outside Cloudveil with Clear Wind at his waist.

Shen Yuan arrived a moment later.

Lu Chen appeared behind him.

"Can I come?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Training."

Lu Chen looked toward Lin Yue.

"Senior Sister?"

"Training."

Lu Chen sighed.

Apparently seniority offered no protection.

Lin Yue was carrying Moonfrost.

She looked toward Jian Wuchen.

"Don't let them fix the missing part."

"They won't."

Shen Yuan nodded.

"They definitely won't."

Jian Wuchen's hand rested briefly on the worn hilt.

Then the two descended Cloudveil.

Their destination was Vermilion Flame Peak.

The artifact hall was already open.

Heat rolled through its enormous doors.

Furnaces lined the inner chamber.

Formation channels glowed beneath the floor.

Tang Rui stood beside the central refining platform.

Next to him waited an older man with broad shoulders, burned sleeves and hands marked by decades of artifact work.

Tang Rui's master.

Elder Huo Ming.

Chief artifact refiner of Vermilion Flame Peak.

Huo Ming looked at Shen Yuan.

Then Jian Wuchen.

Then the broken sword.

Finally, his gaze settled on the small black-silver fragment resting inside a sealed jade container.

Void Meridian Star-Iron.

His expression became complicated.

"So."

Huo Ming folded his arms.

"You're the lunatic putting Heaven-Transcendent material into a broken sword."

Shen Yuan looked at Tang Rui.

Tang Rui immediately raised both hands.

"I described the situation accurately."

Jian Wuchen drew Clear Wind.

The broken blade caught the furnace light.

Old scars.

Old chips.

The same uneven fracture.

Huo Ming's expression changed as he looked at it properly.

He reached toward the blade.

Stopped before touching it.

His spiritual sense passed over the metal.

One breath.

Two.

Then his eyebrows rose.

"Interesting."

Shen Yuan stepped closer.

"What?"

Huo Ming studied the internal structure.

"This sword remembers being whole."

Jian Wuchen's eyes sharpened.

Huo Ming looked at him.

"And if we reinforce it incorrectly..."

His finger traced the air beside the old break.

"...it will keep trying to carry your Sword Qi through a blade that isn't there."

The hall became quiet.

Tang Rui's excitement disappeared.

Shen Yuan looked at Clear Wind.

Then at Jian Wuchen.

Broken meridians.

Broken sword.

Neither restored.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Perhaps the solution had never been reinforcement alone.

Huo Ming looked toward the Star-Iron.

"Before we start, I need one answer."

Jian Wuchen waited.

"Do you want me to make this sword whole again?"

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Huo Ming stared at him.

Then smiled.

"Good."

He rolled up his sleeves.

"That makes this much harder."

The furnace ignited.