Midnight wrapped Millstone City in darkness, but it was not a peaceful night.
The sky felt heavier than usual—too heavy, as if something enormous floated above the clouds, holding its breath.
Inside the quiet courtyard, Hao Wuya lay awake.
Not from fear.
From awareness.
The world felt louder lately.
Even the silence carried information.
He could hear the slow creaking of branches, the faint shifting of insects beneath the soil, the tiny vibrations of water in Tianhai's clay jars.
Every sensation was sharper.
Too sharp.
"Why can't I sleep…?" Wuya whispered into the darkness.
Beside him, Hao Xueyi stirred in her bedding.
"Mm… Wuya… are you awake again?"
Her voice was soft, half-asleep, but warm.
"Yes," Wuya murmured. "I can't rest."
Xueyi crawled toward him on her hands and knees, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Is it Heaven again?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Wuya touched his chest lightly.
"…Something inside me is moving."
Xueyi jolted fully awake.
"The Heavenly Messenger left something in you?!"
"No," Wuya shook his head. "It's not foreign. It feels… like it belongs."
Xueyi puffed her cheeks.
"That doesn't make me feel better!"
Wuya blinked.
"…Sorry?"
"You should be! Stop awakening things without warning!"
"I wasn't trying."
"Well—stop breathing then!"
"…That will kill me."
Xueyi froze.
"…Right. Forget that."
She flopped beside him and hugged his arm tightly.
"Fine. If you can't sleep, then neither will I."
Wuya blinked again.
"…Why?"
Xueyi tightened her hold.
"Because if something happens, I want to punch it first!"
"…Understood."
And somehow, despite her strange reasoning, Wuya felt calmer.
---
THE CITY'S UNEASE
Morning came with a strange tension clinging to the air.
Merchants whispered.
Dogs barked at shadows.
Children avoided the eastern street entirely.
At the well, two old women whispered loudly enough for half the city to hear:
"Did you hear? A man collapsed last night—eyes open, no breath, no injuries!"
"Another one? That makes six this week!"
"Monsters must be wandering again…"
"Or something worse."
Wuya and Xueyi carried water past them silently.
Xueyi leaned in and whispered:
"These rumors… they sound bad."
Wuya nodded.
"It's not a monster. Someone is looking for something."
"…For us?"
"Maybe."
Xueyi swallowed hard.
"You're really not comforting."
"I'm not trying."
"Then try!"
Wuya paused.
"…There is no immediate danger."
Xueyi blinked.
"…That actually helped."
Wuya nodded.
"Good."
---
TIANHAI'S CONCERN
When they returned, Hao Tianhai was polishing the counter with unusual focus.
He only polished wood when something was deeply troubling him.
Wuya set down the buckets.
"Uncle Tianhai."
"Hm?"
"Something is disturbing the city."
"I know."
Xueyi stiffened.
"What is it this time? Another Messenger?!"
"No," Tianhai said.
He placed the cloth aside and folded his arms.
"This… is a cultivator."
Xueyi exhaled in relief.
"Oh, just a cultivator—"
Tianhai shook his head slowly.
"This one is searching. And he is skilled. Not strong enough to challenge Heaven, but strong enough to break a city apart if he wishes."
Xueyi froze.
"…Wuya, this is bad."
Wuya simply looked at Tianhai.
"Is he searching for me?"
Tianhai didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Wuya understood.
---
THE HUNTER RETURNS
That night, the moon hung low.
Wuya sat beneath the peach tree again, breathing slowly, feeling the faint stir of energy inside him.
The courtyard was quiet.
Too quiet.
Xueyi leaned against the tree beside him, looking up at the stars.
"Do you think Uncle Tianhai is worried about us?"
"Yes."
"…Do you think Heaven really fears you?"
"I don't know."
"…Do you fear Heaven?"
"No."
Xueyi smiled faintly.
"Figures. You'd probably walk into Heaven and ask it why it's staring at you so much."
Wuya nodded seriously.
"If it wants something, I should ask."
Xueyi laughed—
But froze.
Because the wind stopped.
Completely.
Not a breeze.
Not a whisper.
Not even the rustle of peach leaves.
"…Wuya?" she whispered.
He stood.
His eyes sharpened.
"He's here."
The gate creaked open.
A tall silhouette entered the courtyard without sound.
Not the Heavenly Messenger.
Not Tianhai.
Not a mortal.
A cultivator in black robes, face hidden behind a dark iron mask.
He moved like a shadow that had learned to walk.
Wuya felt a chill.
"This aura…" he murmured.
Xueyi clutched his sleeve tightly.
"It's him, isn't it?"
Wuya nodded.
It was the tall hunter.
The one who fled during Tianhai's confrontation with the Messenger.
Except…
His aura felt different now.
More distorted.
Less human.
As if something had touched him since their last encounter.
He stepped forward slowly.
His voice echoed through the mask:
"…Found you."
Xueyi froze.
Wuya exhaled calmly.
"You came back."
The hunter's body trembled with suppressed excitement.
"Your bloodline… calls to me."
His head tilted unnaturally.
"I should have never left."
He dashed forward—
faster than any mortal could see—
and the air split with a screech.
But Wuya did not flinch.
He sensed the movement—
the pressure—
the trajectory—
just like the falling leaf from before.
He sidestepped—
Barely—
And a deep cut tore through the peach tree where he had just stood.
Xueyi screamed:
"Wuya!!"
Wuya stepped back, grabbing her arm.
The hunter hissed:
"You're sensing Qi already?! At your age?! Absurd!"
Wuya shook his head.
"No. I'm sensing movement."
The hunter lunged again.
Another slash.
Another shift in the wind.
Another trajectory.
Wuya ducked under the swing.
But the third attack was too fast.
Wuya's chest tightened—
And for a split second—
a pulse inside him rang like a bell.
The world slowed.
Just enough.
Not fully.
Not like a system.
Not like power.
Like instinct.
Wuya moved—
And the blade grazed his shoulder instead of carving through him.
Blood spilled.
Xueyi shrieked.
"WUYA!!"
The hunter smiled beneath the mask.
"Bleed for me."
He raised his hand to finish him.
But—
A wooden ladle struck the hunter's hand mid-swing.
The ladle exploded into dust.
And Hao Tianhai stood between Wuya and the attacker.
No aura.
No power.
No expression.
Just him.
Calm.
Silent.
Deadly.
The hunter staggered back.
"You again?!" he snarled. "Why do you keep interfering? Who are you?!"
Tianhai tilted his head.
"That depends on who you ask."
"Enough riddles!" the hunter roared. "Step aside!"
Tianhai blinked.
"No."
The hunter's aura flared, shaking dust from the ground.
"You cannot stop me."
Tianhai smiled faintly.
"That is true."
The hunter stiffened.
"…What?"
Tianhai continued calmly:
"I cannot stop you."
The hunter's eyes glowed with triumph—
Until Tianhai's next words froze him solid.
"But I do not need to stop you."
A ripple broke through the courtyard.
The air vibrated like a plucked string.
The peach blossoms froze mid-air.
The hunter's blade stopped inches from Tianhai's throat.
The hunter's limbs trembled.
"…What… what is this…?"
Tianhai's eyes hardened.
"You stepped into my courtyard.
That means you stepped into my domain."
Another ripple.
The world bent.
The hunter screamed—
not in pain—
but in terror.
"My meridians—! My Qi—! My body—! It's all—!"
Tianhai raised a single finger.
"Leave."
And reality folded.
The hunter was thrown backward—
like a leaf caught in a storm—
and slammed into the courtyard gate.
The iron mask cracked apart.
Revealing a face pale from fear.
He fled without looking back.
Stumbling.
Tripping.
Vanishing into the night.
---
WUYA'S BLOODLINE REACTS
The courtyard fell silent.
Xueyi rushed to Wuya's side, pressing against his wound.
"Are you okay?! Does it hurt?!"
Wuya blinked.
"…Yes."
"Say something comforting!!"
"…It didn't kill me?"
Xueyi slapped his arm lightly.
"That is not comforting!!"
Tianhai knelt beside them.
"Wuya," he said softly, "you must not face him again."
Wuya looked up slowly.
"He is not the real threat, is he?"
Tianhai shook his head.
"No. He is merely the hound. Someone else holds his leash."
Wuya pressed his hand against his chest.
Because…
inside him…
Something pulsed.
Twice.
Then faded.
"…It moved again," he whispered.
Tianhai's expression darkened.
"The thing inside you… it is reacting to danger."
Wuya nodded.
"It's getting stronger."
"No," Tianhai corrected quietly.
"It is getting closer."
Xueyi shivered.
"What does that mean?"
Tianhai looked at the sky.
And the faint golden thread from earlier pulsed again.
"Wuya is approaching a threshold."
Wuya tilted his head.
"A threshold?"
Tianhai turned to him.
"Your body, bloodline, and soul are preparing for an awakening."
Xueyi gasped.
"The system? Is it awakening?"
Tianhai shook his head.
"Not yet. But soon."
Wuya looked at his hand—
still trembling faintly from the fight—
"…Uncle Tianhai. When it awakens… what happens to me?"
Tianhai's eyes softened.
"You change."
"Into what?"
Tianhai placed a hand over his heart.
"Into what you were meant to be."
Wuya looked at the night sky as the faint golden thread disappeared behind clouds.
And inside him—
the Supreme Sign-In Codex pulsed again.
Quiet.
Hidden.
Forming.
Almost ready.
But not yet.
Not yet.