The morning after his breakthrough, the sect felt strangely quiet. It wasn't that disciples weren't training—Jian could hear their distant shouts echoing from the lower courtyards—but something in the air had changed. The spiritual pressure of the mountain seemed lighter around him, almost as if the world itself gave him a sliver more room to breathe.
Jian stood at the edge of the courtyard, his gaze drifting over the mist-covered valley below. His body felt different—lighter, sharper, more attuned to the subtle pulses of the world. A faint shimmer trailed him whenever he moved, a trace of the void he now touched. Even suppressing his aura fully did little to hide it. He clenched his fist gently, watching the air distort around his knuckles before the effect faded.
"So this is Void Fragmentation…" he whispered.
For a long moment he simply breathed, feeling everything. The wind brushing past leaves. The faint ripple of energy coming from the sect's protective formations. Even the heartbeat of a sparrow perched on a roof beam behind him. His senses were impossibly sharp. Too sharp.
[Realm Stabilization Cycle Initiated.]
The system's voice chimed in his mind like an instructor tapping a desk. A faint warmth spread through him as the system enforced the circulation pattern needed to stabilize his newly fragmented realm. Jian followed obediently—it wasn't worth fighting the system's instructions. Each breath aligned with the quiet rhythm that resonated across his meridians.
As he meditated, a thought slowly crept in.
Reaching the 10th Realm… this wasn't normal.
He knew it. The sect would know it. The elders would certainly know it. Even if he suppressed his cultivation perfectly, no one broke through realms at this pace without leaving behind echoes that someone would sense.
Yet… the mountain remained calm.
Too calm.
He opened his eyes. "No one confronted me. Not a single elder came."
Normally, after such a massive disturbance, at least a dozen would rush over—if only out of caution.
But not this time.
It felt deliberate.
The system chimed again.
[New Directive: Maintain Concealment.]
[Shrouded Power Phase I has begun.]
Jian frowned. "Concealment? Why?"
But the system never answered questions. It simply guided—and pushed.
He exhaled and stood. If concealment was necessary, he needed to move carefully.
Yet even as he tried to retract every bit of aura he could, the faint ripple of distorted space followed him like a stubborn shadow.
Hidden… but not fully.
He would need to learn control.
The morning after his breakthrough, the sect felt strangely quiet. It wasn't that disciples weren't training—Jian could hear their distant shouts echoing from the lower courtyards—but something in the air had changed. The spiritual pressure of the mountain seemed lighter around him, almost as if the world itself gave him a sliver more room to breathe.
Jian stood at the edge of the courtyard, his gaze drifting over the mist-covered valley below. His body felt different—lighter, sharper, more attuned to the subtle pulses of the world. A faint shimmer trailed him whenever he moved, a trace of the void he now touched. Even suppressing his aura fully did little to hide it. He clenched his fist gently, watching the air distort around his knuckles before the effect faded.
"So this is Void Fragmentation…" he whispered.
For a long moment he simply breathed, feeling everything. The wind brushing past leaves. The faint ripple of energy coming from the sect's protective formations. Even the heartbeat of a sparrow perched on a roof beam behind him. His senses were impossibly sharp. Too sharp.
[Realm Stabilization Cycle Initiated.]
The system's voice chimed in his mind like an instructor tapping a desk. A faint warmth spread through him as the system enforced the circulation pattern needed to stabilize his newly fragmented realm. Jian followed obediently—it wasn't worth fighting the system's instructions. Each breath aligned with the quiet rhythm that resonated across his meridians.
As he meditated, a thought slowly crept in.
Reaching the 10th Realm… this wasn't normal.
He knew it. The sect would know it. The elders would certainly know it. Even if he suppressed his cultivation perfectly, no one broke through realms at this pace without leaving behind echoes that someone would sense.
Yet… the mountain remained calm.
Too calm.
He opened his eyes. "No one confronted me. Not a single elder came."
Normally, after such a massive disturbance, at least a dozen would rush over—if only out of caution.
But not this time.
It felt deliberate.
The system chimed again.
[New Directive: Maintain Concealment.]
[Shrouded Power Phase I has begun.]
Jian frowned. "Concealment? Why?"
But the system never answered questions. It simply guided—and pushed.
He exhaled and stood. If concealment was necessary, he needed to move carefully.
Yet even as he tried to retract every bit of aura he could, the faint ripple of distorted space followed him like a stubborn shadow.
Hidden… but not fully.
He would need to learn control.