They left Qinghe City at dawn.
The gates were already open, merchants and cultivators moving in lazy streams that neither noticed nor remembered two figures passing through. Shen Yuan did not conceal himself—but neither did he impose his presence. He walked as part of the world, and the world accepted him as such.
Lin Qiu followed quietly, carrying only what he needed. His steps were steady now, his breathing even. The fragility that once defined him had faded, replaced not by strength, but by a kind of internal order.
Shen Yuan noticed.
He always did.
By midday, they reached a low ridge overlooking the plains beyond the city. Trade roads stretched outward like veins, leading toward distant regions and unknown fates. Shen Yuan stopped there, gaze resting on the horizon.
To Lin Qiu, it looked like his master was simply observing the land.
In truth, Shen Yuan's attention had turned inward.
"Second Major Task Issued."(Heavenly Sect Creation System)
The voice existed only within him—silent, absolute.
"Task Designation: Heavenly Inheritance Trial.""Objective: Accept five disciples with outstanding but unrecognized talent."
Shen Yuan listened without expression.
"Time Limit: Five years."
That number settled into place.
Not short.Not generous.
Enough to act—insufficient to hesitate.
"Failure will result in partial reward forfeiture."
No threat followed. No pressure. Only consequence.
Shen Yuan accepted it.
"Reward upon completion: Heavenly Sect Genesis Domain — Partial Unsealing.""Fog-Sealed Regions will remain inaccessible pending future tasks."
His perception brushed against something distant—vast, self-contained, saturated with laws so refined they felt unreal. Mountains suspended in stillness. Rivers of condensed spiritual energy flowing in silence.
And beyond them—
Fog.
Ancient, resistant fog that refused to be seen through.
Good.
Power that arrived without restraint was power that decayed.
The system fell silent.
To the world, nothing had changed.
Shen Yuan turned back to the land before them.
"We head east," he said.
Lin Qiu looked up, startled only for a moment. "East?"
"Trade routes converge there," Shen Yuan replied calmly. "Where people gather, so does wasted potential."
Lin Qiu nodded at once.
"…Understood, Master."
No questions. No doubt.
They descended the ridge and rejoined the road.
By afternoon, traffic had thickened—merchant caravans, wandering cultivators, mercenary groups resting near stone markers. Shen Yuan allowed his presence to remain natural.
People noticed him.
Registered his appearance.
Then forgot details almost immediately.
Exactly as intended.
Near sunset, they passed a roadside rest station.
Shen Yuan's gaze shifted briefly.
Lin Qiu followed it without thinking.
A young woman stood near the well, sleeves rolled up, arguing quietly with a stall owner. Her aura was thin, uneven—nothing that would attract attention from a sect.
Lin Qiu glanced once, then looked away.
Shen Yuan did not.
His Heavenly Discernment Eye stirred—passive, restrained.
What he saw was not weakness.
It was compression.
A bloodline bound by a dormant seal—subtle, adaptive, and cruel. Not forcibly imposed, but tightened over time by repeated failure, fear, and incorrect cultivation methods. The seal reacted not to pressure, but to surrender.
The more she doubted herself, the tighter it became.
To ordinary cultivators, she would appear mediocre forever.
To Shen Yuan, the problem was clear.
And solvable.
He did not stop.
He did not speak.
He remembered.
That night, they camped beneath open sky.
Lin Qiu practiced his circulation method silently, sweat soaking into the earth as he endured the controlled pain of rebuilding what had once been broken.
Shen Yuan sat apart, gaze lifted to the stars.
Five disciples.Five years.A sect that did not yet exist—waiting to be earned.
No one else knew the rules.
And that was precisely why this would work.