The next morning began quietly.
William had barely finished his meditation when he heard hurried footsteps approaching the inn.
Adrian opened the door before the person outside could knock.
A young man stood there, breathing heavily.
"Are you William?"
"Yes."
The young man looked behind him before entering.
"I was told to find you."
"Who told you?"
"The people from the eastern settlement."
William's expression changed.
"What happened?"
The young man swallowed.
"They've been attacked."
Adrian immediately stood.
"By whom?"
"We don't know. They arrived during the night. They weren't from the Iron Mountain Sect."
William looked at the young man carefully.
"How many?"
"At least twenty."
"How strong?"
The young man hesitated.
"Three of them are at the Galactic level."
Adrian's expression became serious.
William stood.
"Where are the others?"
"Fighting."
"How long ago?"
"Less than an hour."
William walked toward the door.
Adrian followed.
"You're going."
"Yes."
"You know this could be exactly what the people watching you wanted."
"I know."
Adrian stopped.
"Then why are you going?"
William looked at him.
"Because I know those people."
"They aren't my followers."
"They aren't my friends."
"But I was there yesterday."
William's voice remained calm.
"I saw what happened. I know that some of them are injured, and I know they aren't strong enough to deal with three Galactic-level cultivators."
He paused.
"If I ignore them simply because I suspect someone is trying to manipulate me, then I'm letting other people's lives become tools in a game."
Adrian looked at him for a moment.
Then he smiled bitterly.
"You're already dealing with the problem we discussed yesterday."
William nodded.
"Yes."
"And you still don't know the answer."
"No."
William stepped outside.
"That's why I'm going."
The journey was fast.
William did not waste time.
The young messenger could barely keep up with them as they crossed the distance between the settlements.
When they finally arrived, the situation was worse than described.
Several buildings had been destroyed.
People were fighting in the streets.
The three Galactic-level cultivators stood above the battlefield, preventing anyone from escaping.
William stopped.
He immediately recognized something.
They weren't trying to take the territory.
There were no formations being established.
No resources were being collected.
They weren't even attacking the spiritual vein.
They were simply forcing the inhabitants to fight.
William's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't an invasion."
Adrian looked at him.
"What is it?"
"A message."
One of the Galactic-level cultivators suddenly looked toward them.
He smiled.
"You're finally here."
The fighting stopped for a moment.
Mira, covered in dust and blood, turned toward William.
Her eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?"
William looked at her.
"You sent someone to find me."
"I didn't."
William's expression changed.
He looked at the young messenger.
The young man immediately stepped backward.
"I—I was told..."
William's eyes narrowed.
"By whom?"
The young man couldn't answer.
The three Galactic-level cultivators began laughing.
Adrian's hand moved toward his weapon.
"That messenger brought us here."
William nodded.
"I know."
Mira looked confused.
"Then why did you come?"
William looked at the attackers.
"Because I thought you needed help."
One of them laughed.
"And you walked directly into our trap."
William's expression remained calm.
"Perhaps."
The attacker raised his hand.
The surrounding space trembled.
"You understand who we are?"
"No."
"Then you should."
The man's aura expanded.
"We were hired to destroy this settlement."
"By whom?"
The man smiled.
"That's irrelevant."
William looked around.
"Then why did you wait for me?"
The smile disappeared.
The man remained silent.
William understood.
"Because you weren't hired to destroy this place."
The man's eyes narrowed.
"You were hired to make me choose."
Adrian looked at William.
William continued.
"If I don't help, people die and everyone here will believe that I abandoned them."
He looked at the attackers.
"If I help, whoever arranged this learns that attacking people around me is enough to force me into action."
Mira's expression changed.
She finally understood.
"This was about you."
William shook his head.
"No."
He looked at her.
"It was about what I would do."
The strongest attacker raised his hand.
"Enough talking."
The sky darkened.
A massive force descended toward the settlement.
William moved.
His body disappeared from where he stood.
The attack collided with his position.
The earth cracked.
William appeared above the attacker.
He struck him directly.
The man was thrown through several buildings.
The other two immediately attacked.
Adrian rushed forward.
"I'll handle them!"
William looked at him.
"Don't."
Adrian hesitated.
"Why?"
"They're stronger than you."
Adrian clenched his teeth.
"I know."
"Then don't fight them alone."
Mira stepped forward.
"I'll help."
Adrian looked at her.
"You can barely stand."
"So can you."
He smiled.
"Fair."
The two attacked together.
Their cooperation was clumsy at first.
They had never fought together before.
But they adapted quickly.
Adrian blocked one attack while Mira struck from the side.
The attacker retreated.
"You two are annoying."
Adrian laughed.
"We've been told that before."
Meanwhile, William confronted the strongest enemy.
The man's body had recovered.
He looked at William with a serious expression now.
"You are stronger than the reports said."
William attacked again.
The man blocked.
The impact shook the valley.
William continued pressing him.
He noticed something.
The man was deliberately avoiding lethal attacks.
William's eyes narrowed.
"You're holding back."
The man smiled.
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because killing you isn't the objective."
William's fist stopped inches from his face.
The man took the opportunity to retreat.
"We only need you to reveal something."
"What?"
"How far you'll go."
William's expression became cold.
"You already know."
"Not enough."
The man attacked.
William dodged.
The next strike came from above.
William redirected it.
The mountain behind him exploded.
He looked at the destroyed landscape.
Then at the people fighting below.
They were watching him.
Mira.
Adrian.
The wounded cultivators.
The families hiding inside the damaged buildings.
William understood what the attackers wanted.
They wanted him to lose control.
They wanted him to use overwhelming power.
They wanted everyone here to see exactly what he was capable of.
But William refused.
He lowered his aura.
The attacker frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Choosing."
William disappeared.
The next moment, he appeared directly in front of the attacker.
But instead of attacking his body...
He cut the connection between the man's technique and its target.
The enormous energy above the settlement vanished.
The attacker froze.
"What did you—?"
William struck him.
The man crashed into the ground.
Before he could recover, William stood above him.
"You wanted to know how far I would go."
The man's eyes widened.
William's voice remained calm.
"This far."
He knocked him unconscious.
The other two attackers realized what had happened.
They immediately tried to escape.
Adrian and Mira attempted to stop them.
One escaped.
The other was captured.
William landed beside them.
Mira looked at him.
"Why did you let one escape?"
William looked toward the sky.
"Because I want him to report what happened."
Adrian understood.
"You want whoever sent them to know that their plan failed."
"Yes."
"And that you didn't lose control."
"Exactly."
Mira stared at William.
"You came here knowing it was probably a trap."
"Yes."
"And you still came."
"Yes."
She looked down.
"I don't understand you."
William looked at her.
"Neither do I, sometimes."
Mira smiled despite herself.
After the attackers were restrained, William gathered the inhabitants.
He didn't stand above them.
He stood among them.
"The people who attacked you weren't here for your territory."
Everyone listened.
"They were using your settlement to test me."
Whispers spread through the crowd.
Mira stepped forward.
"Then what happens now?"
William looked at her.
"Now you decide."
She frowned.
"Decide what?"
"Whether you want to remain here."
Several people exchanged looks.
William continued.
"This place has already been targeted once. It may happen again."
A man from the crowd shouted:
"Then you're leaving us?"
William looked at him.
"No."
The man looked surprised.
"I won't abandon you because someone used you as bait."
William paused.
"But I also won't tell you that I can guarantee your safety."
His voice was firm.
"If you remain here, you'll have to strengthen this place yourselves. If you want to leave, I'll help you find somewhere safer. If you want protection from another power, I'll help you negotiate."
Mira looked at him.
"And what do you want?"
William answered honestly.
"Nothing."
That surprised everyone.
"I haven't built my force yet. I don't have the right to demand that you follow me."
He looked around.
"But if some of you eventually decide that you want to walk with me, I'll welcome you."
Silence followed.
Then the old man who had sold weapons the previous day stepped forward.
"You really mean that?"
William nodded.
The old man smiled.
"Then perhaps you're worth following."
A few people laughed quietly.
Others remained uncertain.
William didn't pressure them.
That was enough.
Later that evening, William sat outside the settlement.
Adrian joined him.
"You handled that well."
William looked at him.
"Did I?"
"You didn't take control of the settlement."
"No."
"You didn't recruit anyone."
"No."
"You still protected them."
"Yes."
Adrian smiled.
"Then perhaps you're starting to figure it out."
William looked at the stars.
"I don't know."
Adrian sat beside him.
"You're allowed not to know."
William laughed quietly.
"That's becoming everyone's favorite answer."
"Because it's true."
They remained silent for a while.
Then Adrian said:
"Mira is thinking about joining you."
William nodded.
"I know."
"You knew?"
"She looked at me differently after the fight."
Adrian smiled.
"You're getting better at reading people."
"I've had practice."
Adrian leaned back.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"That attacker."
William turned toward him.
"What about him?"
"Before you knocked him unconscious, he said they were testing you."
"Yes."
"And he wasn't surprised when you refused to use your full power."
William's expression became serious.
"You're right."
Adrian looked at him.
"They already knew what you were likely to do."
William nodded.
"Which means someone has been studying more than my movements."
He thought back to the information organization.
Then to the Northern Alliance.
Then to the people watching the Free Territories.
Something didn't fit.
The enemy knew his principles.
They knew his plans.
They knew how he was likely to react.
But the people he had encountered so far had not been close enough to him to understand all of that.
Someone was providing them with information.
Someone who had access to details about him that couldn't simply be guessed.
William's expression hardened.
"I need to find out where the information is coming from."
Adrian nodded.
"And if you find them?"
William looked toward the settlement.
"I'll ask why."
"Only ask?"
"For now."
Adrian smiled.
"That's probably the answer I should expect."
Far away...
The surviving attacker finally returned.
He entered a dark room and knelt.
"The test failed."
A voice answered from the shadows.
"Explain."
"He came."
"And?"
"He protected them."
"Did he lose control?"
"No."
"Did he use excessive force?"
"No."
Silence.
Then the voice asked:
"Did he recruit them?"
The attacker hesitated.
"Not directly."
"Not directly?"
"He told them they were free to choose whether to follow him."
The room became silent.
Finally, the voice laughed.
"Then it worked."
The attacker looked confused.
"But we failed."
"No."
The voice remained calm.
"We wanted to know what he would do when people became the price of his principles."
"And?"
"Now we know."
The attacker lowered his head.
"What do we do next?"
The voice answered:
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Let him continue."
A pause.
"Every person who joins him will give us another weakness."
The attacker nodded.
But before he could leave, the voice added:
"And find out who is giving us the information."
The attacker looked up.
"You don't know?"
"No."
The voice became colder.
"Someone has been feeding us pieces of William's life."
"Could it be the information organization?"
"Possibly."
"And if it isn't?"
The voice was silent.
"Then someone much closer to him has been watching."
That night, William remained awake.
He looked at the settlement below.
For the first time, he could feel something changing.
People were talking about him.
Some were curious.
Some were grateful.
Some were afraid.
And somewhere among them...
Someone might eventually choose to follow him.
But William had learned something far more important.
Building a force was not about gathering people.
It was about protecting their ability to choose.
And if someone tried to take that choice away from them...
William would not remain silent.
He had finally found the first principle he was willing to defend.
Now he only needed to discover how much it would cost him.