The next morning, William left the inn before sunrise.
The streets were still quiet, and the faint light of dawn had barely begun to appear beyond the distant mountains.
Adrian followed him while adjusting the bandage around his side.
"You still haven't told me where we're going."
William continued walking.
"There is a settlement several days from here. Independent cultivators gather there."
"Independent cultivators?"
"People who refused to join sects, academies, or major families. Some left those places after conflicts, while others simply never wanted to belong to them."
Adrian thought for a moment.
"And you think you'll find people willing to join you there?"
"Not necessarily."
William glanced at him.
"I'm not going there to recruit anyone."
"Then why?"
"Because I want to understand them first."
Adrian smiled.
"You're taking your time."
"I have to."
William's expression became serious.
"If I start gathering people without understanding what they want, I'll eventually create the same kind of force I'm trying to avoid."
Adrian nodded.
That answer satisfied him.
They continued their journey.
Neither noticed the small figure watching them from the roof of a building behind them.
The observer waited until they had disappeared from sight before turning around.
"They're heading toward the Free Territories."
A second figure stood behind him.
"Are you certain?"
"I heard them speaking before they left."
The second man frowned.
"Then inform the others."
"Should we interfere?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"Not yet."
The man looked toward the road.
"If William wants to gather independent cultivators, let him."
"Why?"
"Because every person who approaches him will give us another piece of information."
The journey took four days.
During that time, William and Adrian passed through several towns.
They did not encounter any major conflict.
But William noticed something.
People were watching them.
Not openly.
A merchant would look at them for a little too long.
A cultivator would suddenly stop speaking when they passed.
Someone would leave a restaurant shortly after they entered.
None of it was enough to justify an attack.
But together...
It was becoming difficult to ignore.
On the fourth evening, Adrian finally spoke about it.
"You're not imagining it, are you?"
"No."
"I noticed it too."
William looked toward him.
"How?"
Adrian smiled.
"Because I'm not the only one being watched anymore."
William remained silent.
Adrian continued.
"Before, I thought they were interested in you because of your strength. Now I'm starting to think they're interested in anyone who stays near you."
"That's probably true."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"It does."
William looked toward the distant mountains.
"But being bothered won't change it."
Adrian sighed.
"You really are becoming a leader."
William gave him a strange look.
"I haven't even started."
"That's the problem."
Adrian laughed.
The Free Territories appeared the next day.
It was not a city.
It was an enormous region formed from dozens of settlements scattered around several mountains and valleys.
There was no central ruler.
No single sect controlled the area.
No ancient family owned it.
Its people had created their own rules because they had grown tired of living under the rules of others.
William entered through the main road.
The moment he crossed the boundary, he noticed the difference.
The cultivators here looked more cautious.
Weapons were carried openly.
Some people wore old sect clothing with the symbols deliberately removed.
Others carried family emblems that had been scratched away.
There were scars everywhere.
Not only on bodies.
But also on people.
William walked slowly.
He saw an old man repairing weapons beside the road.
A woman teaching several children how to control spiritual energy.
A group of young cultivators arguing over the price of a healing pill.
Nothing seemed extraordinary.
And yet...
William felt more comfortable here than he had expected.
Nobody looked impressed by his aura.
Nobody rushed to greet him.
Nobody tried to determine which ancient force stood behind him.
Most people simply ignored him.
Adrian noticed his expression.
"You like this place."
William shook his head.
"I don't know yet."
"You do."
William glanced at him.
Adrian smiled.
"You've been looking around like someone who finally found something he didn't know he was searching for."
William didn't answer.
Perhaps Adrian was right.
They stopped at a crowded inn.
William chose a table near the corner.
Adrian sat across from him.
A waitress approached.
"What would you like?"
"Two meals."
Adrian looked at William.
"You don't eat."
"I know."
"Then why order?"
"Because you do."
Adrian laughed.
"I've never met someone who treats eating as a tactical decision."
William ignored him.
While they waited, a loud argument erupted near the entrance.
Two men were shouting at each other.
"You promised me the position!"
"I promised you nothing."
"You said your group needed someone like me."
"And we changed our minds."
The first man slammed his hand against the table.
"You used me."
The other man looked at him calmly.
"No. You used yourself."
The argument grew louder.
Several people began watching.
William did not.
He continued looking at his table.
Adrian leaned forward.
"You're not going to watch?"
"I've seen enough arguments."
"Then why are you listening?"
"Because their argument is about trust."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
William continued quietly.
"The first man believed that joining someone meant receiving something in return. The second man believed that an agreement could be abandoned whenever circumstances changed."
He looked toward them.
"Both of them think the other betrayed them."
Adrian smiled.
"And you're already analyzing how to prevent that from happening in your own force."
"Yes."
The answer was honest.
William finally understood something.
If he wanted people to stay together...
Trust alone would not be enough.
There had to be rules.
Not rules that controlled people.
Rules that protected them from one another.
He needed to think about that.
But not now.
The argument suddenly turned violent.
The first man attacked.
William watched.
The second man avoided the attack and countered.
Within moments, the first man was thrown across the room.
The inn erupted into chaos.
William sighed.
Adrian stood.
"Should we leave?"
William looked at the two men.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because something else is happening."
Adrian followed his gaze.
A group of three people had entered during the fight.
They weren't watching the two men.
They were watching William.
One of them noticed that William had seen them.
He smiled.
Then he turned around and left.
William stood.
Adrian followed.
"Another test?"
"Maybe."
They walked out of the inn.
The three people were already gone.
William looked down the street.
"They're not trying to fight us."
"Then what?"
"To see if we'd follow."
Adrian groaned.
"Everyone here seems to enjoy playing games."
William started walking.
"Then let's stop playing theirs."
They eventually reached a small house at the edge of the settlement.
An elderly woman opened the door.
Her hair was completely white.
Her clothes were simple.
Her eyes, however, were sharp.
She looked at William.
Then Adrian.
Then back at William.
"You came."
William frowned.
"You know me?"
"No."
She stepped aside.
"But I know why you're here."
William entered.
Adrian followed.
The interior was surprisingly simple.
There were no treasures.
There were no weapons.
Only books, old maps, and several wooden chairs.
The woman sat down.
"You want to build a force."
William did not answer immediately.
"Who told you?"
"Nobody."
She smiled.
"People come here because they don't want to belong to anyone. When someone like you arrives and begins asking questions about them, it isn't difficult to understand what you're considering."
William sat across from her.
"What do you think of that?"
"I think you are going to fail."
Adrian looked at William.
William, however, remained calm.
"Why?"
"Because you are approaching the problem as a strong person."
The woman leaned back.
"You think that giving people freedom will make them loyal to you. It won't."
William listened.
"Freedom doesn't create loyalty. Sometimes it creates distance. People may respect you and still leave you. They may love what you built and still disagree with you. They may even believe in your ideals and choose another path."
She looked directly at him.
"Can you accept that?"
William thought about it.
"I believe I can."
"Believing isn't enough."
"Then I'll learn."
The woman smiled.
"That's a better answer."
Adrian finally spoke.
"What does she mean?"
The woman looked at him.
"You understand your friend better than he thinks."
Adrian laughed.
"We've only known each other for a few days."
"Sometimes that's enough."
She turned back to William.
"If you want people who can stand beside you, don't promise them that you will always protect them. Promise them something more realistic."
"What?"
"That if they choose to stand with you, their choices will still belong to them."
William's eyes narrowed slightly.
That was exactly what he wanted.
But hearing someone else say it made him realize how difficult it would be to maintain.
The woman continued.
"And when they make a decision you hate?"
"I'll argue with them."
"And if they refuse?"
"I'll accept it."
"And if their decision puts everyone else in danger?"
William paused.
This time, the answer did not come immediately.
The woman noticed.
"That's the part you haven't solved yet."
William lowered his gaze.
She was right.
He had been thinking about freedom.
About trust.
About independence.
But leadership required something else.
Responsibility.
If one person's freedom endangered everyone else...
Was he still obligated to respect that choice?
William finally answered.
"I don't know."
The woman smiled.
"Good."
Adrian looked surprised.
"Why is admitting that good?"
"Because the people who think they already know the answer are usually the ones who become tyrants."
She stood.
"Come back when you have an answer."
William looked at her.
"Will you help me?"
"No."
Adrian laughed.
The woman smiled.
"I didn't say I would follow you. I said you could come back."
William stood.
"That's enough."
They left the house.
Adrian walked silently for several minutes.
Then he laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're clearly thinking about something."
"I was just imagining your face when she told you that you might become a tyrant."
William looked at him.
"I didn't like it."
"I noticed."
Adrian became serious.
"But she's right about one thing."
"What?"
"If you build something large enough, people will eventually get hurt because of decisions you make."
William stopped.
Adrian turned toward him.
"You need to decide now what kind of person you'll be when that happens."
William looked at him.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because if I'm going to stay around you, I'd rather know the answer before I become one of those people."
William stared at him.
Then nodded.
"Fair enough."
That night, William sat alone outside the settlement.
He looked at the stars.
He thought about Angela.
Victoria.
His son.
The people he had lost.
The people he had gained.
Then he thought about the people he had not yet met.
He finally understood that building a force was not about finding the strongest cultivators.
It was about finding people whose lives could become connected without being owned.
That would be much harder.
But perhaps...
That was the point.
A faint sound came from behind him.
William opened his eyes.
Adrian was standing there.
"Someone came looking for you."
William turned.
"Who?"
Adrian's expression was unusual.
"Woman."
"Did she say why?"
"She said she knows something about the people watching you."
William stood immediately.
"Where is she?"
"Waiting at the edge of the settlement."
William began walking.
Adrian followed.
Neither of them noticed the small symbol carved into the tree beside them.
A symbol that had been placed there earlier that day.
A symbol belonging to the same people who had been tracking William.
And this time...
They had not come to test him.
They had come to offer him something.
Something that would force William to make his first real choice.
Not between victory and defeat.
But between what he wanted...
And what he was willing to sacrifice to obtain it.