The sun hovered low over the Clear Sky Sect, casting long shadows across the mountain paths. Plum blossoms drifted on the morning breeze, swirling gently around the courtyard where Wuya sat cross-legged.
His breathing was slow.
Rhythmic.
Deep.
The Mortal Foundation Realm strengthened him—but it also demanded discipline.
Elder Yun Feixue stood beside him, hands clasped behind her back. The faintest wind stirred her long robe, carrying the scent of plum blossoms through the air.
"Wuya," she began softly. "Today marks the beginning of your body-tempering path."
Wuya opened his eyes.
"I am ready."
Xueyi, dragging a pillow and sitting beside him with puffed cheeks, added:
"And I'm ready to watch Wuya suffer. I mean—support him. Support. Yes."
"…Thank you," Wuya said without emotion.
"Stop sounding grateful!"
---
THE ANCIENT BODY-TEMPERING METHOD
Elder Yun drew a circle in the air with one finger.
The wind thickened.
The ground trembled faintly.
And the plum tree behind them shivered, its blossoms glowing faintly.
Xueyi's jaw dropped.
"Master! That's a formation! A real formation!"
Wuya tilted his head.
"…Formation?"
Elder Yun smiled faintly.
"This courtyard contains a hidden ancient array. Created by the sect's first ancestor—before Clear Sky Sect even existed."
Wuya examined the air.
He felt something subtle.
A density.
A pressure.
A presence.
"This formation," Elder Yun continued, "uses natural spiritual energy to harden the body. Plum blossoms become weights. Wind becomes resistance. Air becomes pressure."
Xueyi coughed violently.
"That sounds… painful."
"It is," Elder Yun said calmly.
Wuya nodded.
"…I understand."
"No you don't!" Xueyi shouted. "Pain is PAIN!"
Wuya blinked.
"…Yes."
"You're not scared?!"
"No."
"You should be!!"
"…Why?"
"Because you're about to get smashed by FLOWERS!!"
Elder Yun coughed lightly.
"Xueyi… let us begin."
Xueyi pouted and hugged her pillow.
---
PLUM BLOSSOMS TURN TO STONE
Elder Yun raised her hand.
A hundred plum blossoms floated from the tree—
glowing with pale gold light.
"Wuya. Stand."
Wuya stood calmly.
Xueyi backed away dramatically.
"Goodbye, Wuya. It was nice knowing you."
Wuya blinked.
"…I am not dying."
"I don't trust this formation! It looks pretty but FEELS deadly!"
Elder Yun smiled.
"Begin."
She snapped her fingers.
The blossoms—soft, delicate, harmless things—
hardened instantly.
The air vibrated.
The blossoms fell—
Straight toward Wuya.
Their weight multiplied a hundredfold.
Their speed sharp.
Their pressure crushing.
Xueyi screamed:
"WUYA!! DODGE—!!"
But Wuya didn't move.
He didn't need to.
The moment the blossoms touched his skin—
his veins pulsed.
His body tightened.
His breath deepened.
The blossoms—
instead of cutting him—
pressed into his skin like weights made of layered force.
His knees trembled slightly.
That was all.
Elder Yun's eyes softened in approval.
"You resisted the first layer. Impressive."
Wuya exhaled deeply.
"I can handle more."
Xueyi grabbed his arm.
"STOP BEING CALM WHEN FLOWERS ARE ATTACKING YOU!"
Elder Yun raised two fingers.
The pressure doubled.
Wuya's shoulders lowered a fraction—
the first sign of strain.
Veins along his arms pulsed.
Sweat formed on his forehead.
The blossoms pressed harder.
Like small mountains resting on his skin.
Xueyi's face turned pale.
"Master! Isn't that too much?!"
Elder Yun's voice was gentle but firm.
"No. He can endure more."
Wuya nodded.
"…I can."
"You're insane!" Xueyi yelled.
"…Maybe," Wuya admitted.
---
AND THEN, THE WIND ROSE
Elder Yun drew another mark in the air.
A gust of wind spiraled around Wuya.
A harsh one.
Invisible blades.
The kind that could tear leaves from trees and flesh from bone.
The wind hit Wuya's skin like needles.
He exhaled sharply.
His muscles tightened.
His bones resonated.
But he didn't take a step back.
Elder Yun whispered:
"You must accept the pain.
Let it flow through you.
Pain is the teacher.
It sculpts the flesh."
Wuya nodded, breathing through the pressure.
Xueyi yelled:
"Wuya! Don't let the wind carve your face!"
"…It won't."
"It will! Your face is for ME to admire!"
"…I see."
"And only me!"
"…Understood."
Elder Yun pretended not to hear.
---
THE FIRST MOONVEIL FLARE
Xueyi's chest suddenly burned.
She gasped.
"W-Wuya… my seal—!"
Her Moonveil Seal burst with silver light.
Elder Yun immediately looked back.
"Xueyi?!"
The seal on Xueyi's chest glowed through her clothes.
Silver aura expanded from her body—
forming a thin barrier of protection around Wuya.
The blossoms slowed.
The wind softened.
Wuya blinked.
"…Xueyi?"
Xueyi trembled.
"I-I didn't do anything! It just activated by itself!"
Elder Yun's expression turned serious.
"That is the Moonveil's first awakening. It senses danger."
Wuya touched her hand.
"Are you okay?"
Xueyi nodded weakly.
"My heart feels… hot. But not painful."
Elder Yun moved closer, inspecting the glow.
"This is a rare ability. A protective aura. Few in the sect possess anything like it."
Wuya looked concerned.
"Xueyi… don't force it."
She stuck her tongue out.
"I'm not forcing anything! It just does what it wants when YOU are in danger."
"Even when I am not in danger."
"Yes! Because the world is dangerous!"
"…Fair."
---
SABOTAGE
Unbeknownst to them—
Above, on a higher cliff—
Three outer disciples watched.
"Look at them! Elder Yun is giving them personal attention!"
"The girl has a Moonveil Seal… rare."
"And that boy—he entered Foundation on the FIRST DAY."
"He'll overshadow us!"
"This isn't fair!"
The tallest one whispered:
"…Let's weaken the formation."
The two others hesitated.
"That's dangerous—"
"Elder Yun will notice—"
"Do you want that boy to become the next inner genius?!"
Fear turned into envy.
Envy into hatred.
They gritted their teeth.
"Fine."
They whispered an incantation.
A hidden formation stone beneath the earth cracked.
Energy surged.
The wind sharpened.
The blossoms hardened.
Pressure multiplied.
Wuya's eyes snapped open.
Xueyi screamed.
"WUYA—!!"
Elder Yun's face darkened.
"Someone tampered with the formation!"
---
WUYA'S RESPONSE
The weight hit Wuya like a hammer.
Blossoms struck his skin with terrifying force.
Wind became slicing blades.
Wuya raised his arms to defend Xueyi—
The force slammed into his back.
Blood trickled down his shoulder.
Xueyi cried out.
"NO—STOP—WUYA—!!"
But Wuya stood firm.
Elder Yun leapt forward, her hand slicing through the wind, breaking the formation's distortion.
The weight dissolved.
The blossoms returned to normal.
The wind calmed.
Xueyi ran to Wuya.
"ARE YOU OKAY?! YOU'RE BLEEDING—!!"
Wuya touched the blood.
"…Only a scratch."
Elder Yun pressed her hand against the ground.
A wave of Qi surged through the earth.
Her eyes turned razor-sharp.
"I found them."
---
THE SABOTEURS REVEALED
The ground cracked open.
Three disciples fell out of the shadows, crashing into the courtyard.
Elder Yun's expression was calm—but deadly.
"You three… dare to tamper with my training formation?"
They trembled violently.
"N-No, Elder, we—!"
Wuya looked at them quietly.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just… silent.
That silence terrified the disciples even more than Elder Yun.
Xueyi pointed at them dramatically.
"You tried to KILL Wuya!"
"No—no, we didn't want that—!"
"Yes you did!" Xueyi yelled. "I WILL EAT YOU!"
"Please don't!!"
Wuya stepped forward.
The disciples froze.
His eyes—
calm, dark, unblinking—
held no mercy.
But no rage.
Just clarity.
"Why?"
The tallest disciple swallowed.
"B-Because… because Elder Yun never took disciples… we thought you w-would take our place…"
Wuya tilted his head.
"Does hurting me help your cultivation?"
"N-No…"
"Does harming Xueyi help your path?"
"N-No…"
"Then why attempt it?"
The disciple trembled.
"Because… we were jealous."
Wuya looked at him for a long, silent moment.
"…Jealousy does not make you stronger."
The disciple collapsed to his knees.
"I-I'm sorry…"
Elder Yun stepped forward.
"I will handle this."
Wuya nodded.
"I trust you, Master."
Her expression softened.
---
A QUIET NIGHT — BUT NOT SILENT
That evening, Wuya sat under the plum tree again.
Xueyi leaned into his side.
"…You scared me."
"How?"
"You bled."
"…It was small."
"It was BLOOD!"
"…Yes."
She slapped his chest lightly.
"Don't bleed again."
"…Okay."
She rested her head on his shoulder.
Elder Yun watched from the porch.
She exhaled softly.
"He grows fast… too fast."
Wuya whispered:
"Master."
"Yes?"
"…Someone else is watching."
Elder Yun frowned.
"From where?"
Wuya closed his eyes.
He reached with the faintest thread of his Minor Dao Sense.
A feeling.
A tremble.
A gaze.
He pointed to the sky.
"Up there."
Elder Yun looked.
Xueyi looked.
A shadow floated in the sky—
too far to see clearly—
but present.
A figure.
Wrapped in celestial mist.
Holding a staff.
Watching.
Waiting.
Elder Yun whispered:
"…Heaven's observer."
Xueyi trembled.
"Why is Heaven so obsessed with Wuya?!"
Wuya closed his eyes.
"…Because it fears me."
Elder Yun placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That is why you must grow slowly.
Quietly.
In secret."
Wuya nodded.
"I understand."
The observer vanished.
---
THE FIFTH SIGN-IN HINT
Quiet returned.
Wind rustled the branches.
Xueyi began dozing off against Wuya.
And then—
The Codex moved.
Wuya inhaled sharply.
Xueyi woke instantly.
"Wuya?! What now?!"
"…The Codex…"
Elder Yun turned sharply.
"What does it say?"
Wuya answered softly:
[Fifth Sign-In Requirement:
Danger at Nightfall.]
Xueyi trembled.
"…Danger?"
Wuya's voice was calm.
"Yes."
Elder Yun stood up.
"Prepare yourself, Wuya."
Wuya looked at the moon.
"…I am ready."