Dawn crept into Millstone City gently, but the warmth it carried never reached the hearts of its people. The sun rose, the birds called, the streets stirred to life…but an invisible heaviness wrapped itself around everything, making even the most careless merchant speak in hushed tones.
Hao Wuya noticed it the moment he opened his eyes.
The world felt heavier.
Not his body—
not the air—
but the sky itself.
It pressed down on the rooftops like an unseen giant hand.
Wuya sat on the edge of his wooden bed and exhaled slowly.
The breath felt…different.
Not longer, not deeper—
but more aware.
He could sense tiny currents in the air, like faint threads drifting around him.
Across the room, Hao Xueyi slept curled beneath her thin blanket.
Her eyelashes trembled; even in sleep she felt danger.
Since the Heavenly Messenger appeared last night, she refused to leave Wuya's side.
She'd fallen asleep only after clutching his sleeve until exhaustion claimed her.
Wuya stood quietly and tucked her blanket closer around her shoulders.
She stirred.
"…Wuya?"
Her voice was soft, like morning dew falling from a leaf.
"Go back to sleep," he whispered. "It's early."
"No," she mumbled, grabbing his sleeve again. "If you wake up, I wake up."
He blinked.
"…Why?"
"Because if something happens, I want to be beside you."
She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
When she saw Wuya's face—
calm, but heavier than usual—
her expression turned serious.
"You felt it again, didn't you?"
Wuya nodded.
Xueyi let out a tiny, trembling breath.
"…Heaven is still watching?"
"Not watching," Wuya murmured. "Waiting."
Xueyi shivered.
---
THE COURTYARD UNDER SILENT SKY
When they stepped into the courtyard, morning light filtered through the peach blossoms.
The petals drifted gently, but the space felt muted—like sound itself struggled to vibrate.
Hao Tianhai was already awake, sweeping fallen petals with slow, deliberate motions.
"Morning," he said without turning.
Wuya bowed.
Xueyi did the same.
"You both slept poorly," Tianhai added.
Xueyi huffed.
"How do you…always know?"
Tianhai lifted a petal with the broom's tip.
"The peach blossoms fell strangely last night. They always react to Heaven's presence."
Xueyi swallowed.
"So what do we do now? Hide? Run? Move cities?"
Tianhai shook his head.
"No. That will only attract more attention."
Xueyi frowned.
"Then what?"
Tianhai finally turned to Wuya.
"We prepare."
Wuya felt something inside him tighten.
"For what?" he asked.
Tianhai met his eyes.
"For a world that now knows your existence."
---
TIANHAI'S WARNING
The three of them sat beneath the peach tree.
Tianhai rarely lectured—but when he did, even the wind seemed to listen.
"Wuya," he began, "last night you stood before a Heavenly Messenger. Those beings do not descend into mortal realms casually."
"I know."
"No, you do not."
Tianhai placed a firm hand on Wuya's shoulder.
"A Heavenly Messenger is not a cultivator. It is a fragment of the Heavenly Will itself. If it wanted you dead, you would have vanished before blinking."
Xueyi trembled.
Wuya remained silent.
Tianhai continued:
"You must not draw Heaven's attention again. Not until you are ready. Not until your strength can support the weight of your identity."
Wuya nodded slowly.
"…Uncle Tianhai. What is my identity?"
Xueyi froze.
Tianhai's expression did not change.
But a shadow crossed his eyes.
"One day," he said quietly, "your father will tell you."
Wuya lowered his gaze.
"…I see."
"For now," Tianhai said gently, "you must learn to live as a mortal. Breathe as a mortal. Cultivate as a mortal. Grow as a mortal."
Xueyi nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Be normal!"
Wuya blinked.
"…What is normal?"
Xueyi froze.
"…That is an excellent question. Forget I said anything."
---
THE MORTAL CULTIVATION PATH
Tianhai cleared his throat.
"Wuya. Today, I will teach you the foundation of the Mortal Realm."
Wuya straightened.
Xueyi scooted closer.
Tianhai raised a finger.
"The Mortal Path begins not with Qi…but with awareness."
He tapped Wuya's forehead lightly.
"Breath awareness creates inner rhythm.
Inner rhythm becomes circulation.
Circulation becomes spirit.
Spirit becomes Qi."
Wuya listened intently.
Tianhai continued:
"You must sense the breath of the world before you can sense your own.
Every step follows the Dao.
Dao is nature.
Nature is law.
Law is foundation."
Wuya's eyes sharpened.
Xueyi puffed her cheeks.
"Why is cultivation so…complicated?"
Tianhai chuckled softly.
"If it were easy, every mortal would become immortal."
Xueyi crossed her arms.
"Then make it easy."
Tianhai sighed.
"…If I could, I would."
Wuya hid a small smile.
---
A STRANGE VISITOR
Later that day, Tianhai sent Wuya and Xueyi into town to buy rice and herbs.
Millstone City was as lively as ever—children ran through alleys, women washed vegetables in wooden buckets, and merchants shouted prices at every corner.
Yet beneath all that noise…
Wuya felt it again.
Pressure.
Soft.
Hidden.
Like a curtain brushing his mind.
Xueyi tugged his sleeve.
"You felt it too, right?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"…Everywhere."
They reached Tianhai's shop with their baskets full of goods.
When they pushed the door open, Wuya froze instantly.
A man in a plain grey cloak stood before the counter.
His posture was relaxed, hands folded, head lowered.
But something about him felt…wrong.
Not threatening.
Not sharp.
Not evil.
Just…
Watching.
Tianhai stood behind the counter, expression still, mask-like.
The cloaked man didn't turn, but spoke softly:
"Ah… so the young one has arrived."
Wuya didn't step forward.
"Do I know you?" he asked slowly.
The cloaked man smiled beneath his hood.
"No. And yet… your existence is familiar."
Xueyi moved beside Wuya, her face cold.
"State your business."
The man turned slightly, enough for his voice to drift toward them like smoke.
"I came to buy herbs."
Tianhai's voice was neutral.
"We have what you need."
"Yes," the man murmured, "and far more."
Wuya's pupils tightened.
That voice…
It rang faintly like the Messenger's.
But weaker.
Duller.
More human.
A Celestial Recorder.
A being who walks realms to observe forbidden fates.
The man placed several silver coins on the counter.
"Thank you," he said softly.
But as he passed Wuya, he paused.
Close.
Too close.
Wuya tensed.
The man leaned ever so slightly toward him.
"…Do not fear the sky, young one," he whispered.
"It fears you more."
Wuya's breath caught.
Before he could answer, the man stepped out of the shop and vanished into the crowd.
Xueyi grabbed his arm.
"Heaven sent another one?!"
Tianhai exhaled slowly.
"No. Not a Messenger. A Recorder. They do not interfere. They only… report."
"To Heaven?" Xueyi asked.
Tianhai nodded.
Wuya clenched his fists.
"…Then Heaven is watching even more closely."
"Yes," Tianhai whispered.
"And it will not stop."
---
WUYA'S DREAM
That night, Wuya fell into a deep sleep.
And he dreamed.
Not of fields or stars—
but of a vast ocean of darkness.
In that darkness flowed a river.
A river made of starlight, swirling endlessly backward.
The River of Time and Space.
Fragments floated above it:
Ruined temples
Broken worlds
Collapsed mountains
Shattered Dao symbols
A half-crumbled throne drifting through the void
Then—
Something large moved behind the river.
A silhouette.
Ancient.
Seated cross-legged.
Surrounded by swirling constellations.
Its presence pushed Wuya's soul into trembling stillness.
A voice echoed—not aloud, but through every fiber of his being.
"Not awakened…"
"Not yet complete…"
"Aotian's son…"
"Forbidden pulse detected…"
"Codex… forming…"
Wuya tried to speak—
But the river surged.
And he snapped awake.
Sweat clung to his forehead.
His breath came shallow.
His hands trembled.
Xueyi jolted upright beside him.
"Wuya?! What happened?!"
He pressed a hand to his chest.
Something inside him pulsed.
Faint.
Steady.
Alive.
"…I saw something," he whispered.
"What?"
Wuya stared at the wall.
"I don't know."
But he felt it.
The Supreme Sign-In Codex was not awakened…
But it was stirring.
---
FIRST TASTE OF DAO
At dawn, Tianhai took Wuya to the courtyard again.
"Sit," he said softly.
Wuya obeyed.
"Close your eyes.
Breathe with the wind.
Follow its rhythm."
Wuya inhaled.
Exhaled.
The world slowed.
A peach blossom drifted down from the branch above.
He felt it.
Not saw—
felt.
The path it took through air.
The tiny shift in pressure.
The swirl of wind around it.
For the briefest instant—
A single, thin line glowed through the air.
A trajectory.
A natural pattern.
A whisper from the Dao of Wind.
Wuya's heart skipped.
The world sharpened.
He reached out—
And the leaf touched his palm.
His breath trembled.
"…I saw it," he whispered.
Tianhai turned sharply.
"You comprehended something?"
Wuya shook his head.
"No.
But I… sensed the path."
Xueyi clapped her hand over her mouth.
"That's… that's impossible! Wuya, you're only—"
Tianhai silenced her.
Then he looked at Wuya.
Long.
Quiet.
Deep.
"…Your awakening comes sooner than expected."
Wuya blinked.
"What awakening?"
Tianhai didn't answer.
Not yet.
---
THE SKY TREMBLES
As the sun reached midday, a faint golden thread appeared in the sky—
Invisible to mortals.
But Wuya saw it.
Tianhai saw it.
A thin line that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Wuya tightened his grip on his sleeve.
"…Uncle Tianhai… Heaven is still watching, isn't it?"
Tianhai looked into the sky, his face expressionless.
"Yes."
Wuya's voice dropped.
"Will it ever stop?"
Tianhai placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No," he said softly.
"It watches because it fears you."
He lowered his voice.
"And one day… it will tremble."
Wuya looked at the golden thread again.
Inside his chest—
The Codex pulsed once.
Just once.
A whisper of fate.
A sign of what was coming.
The beginning of something vast.
Something forbidden.
Something eternal.