They left Yunhe Village before sunrise.
No ceremony. No lingering goodbyes.
The villagers stood at the edge of the road, bowing deeply as the disciples passed. Gratitude was heavy in their eyes, mixed with fear that the calm would not last forever.
Li Chen walked near the middle of the group.
The road back to Qingyun Sect felt longer than the descent. Not because of distance, but because everyone was thinking now. Quietly. Carefully.
Sun Hao said little.
He walked at the front, gaze steady, posture straight, but the easy confidence he once carried had thinned. The anchor they found had changed the nature of this mission. What should have been a routine task had turned into proof of interference.
And interference meant interest.
From someone.
By midday, the fields gave way to rocky paths. Trees grew denser. Spirit qi slowly thickened as they approached the mountain's domain.
Li Chen felt the change clearly.
[System Notice]
[Environmental Qi Density: Increasing]
[Passive Absorption: Stable]
His breathing adjusted on its own.
He did not cultivate.
Not yet.
Sun Hao slowed the group near a narrow ravine.
"We'll rest here," he said. "Eat. Drink."
No one argued.
They sat scattered among rocks and roots. Some spoke quietly. Others stared into space.
Chen Yu sat beside Li Chen again.
"You think the sect already knows?" he asked.
Li Chen took a sip from his water gourd. "They'll know soon."
Chen Yu frowned. "Then why send only outer disciples?"
Li Chen looked at him.
Chen Yu realized the question answered itself and fell silent.
After the break, they continued.
By late afternoon, the outer gates of Qingyun Sect came into view, rising through the mist like something half remembered.
The moment they crossed the boundary, Li Chen felt it.
A subtle sweep.
Not an attack.
An inspection.
[System Alert]
[High-Level Scan Detected]
[Source: Sect Formation]
[Recommendation: Maintain Suppression]
Li Chen obeyed instantly.
His qi settled, dull and quiet, blending into his body like ordinary warmth.
The scan passed.
No alarms.
No reaction.
They were waved through without delay.
Sun Hao reported directly to the task hall, taking two disciples with him. The rest were dismissed.
Li Chen returned to the outer disciple quarters.
The familiar stone corridors felt narrower than before.
Zhang Wei was waiting.
He stood up the moment he saw Li Chen, relief plain on his face.
"You're back."
Li Chen nodded. "I said I would be."
Zhang Wei exhaled. "People were saying strange things. That the mission wasn't simple."
Li Chen smiled faintly. "They were right."
They walked together toward the dining area.
"What happened?" Zhang Wei asked.
Li Chen considered his words. "Someone tampered with a spirit vein."
Zhang Wei's eyes widened. "Inside Qingyun's territory?"
"Yes."
Zhang Wei fell silent.
That night, Li Chen did not sleep immediately.
He sat cross-legged, cultivating lightly, just enough to smooth his qi.
[Host :- Li Chen]
[Qi Stability: 31%]
[Status: Normal]
Normal.
That word felt different now.
He stopped after a short while and lay back, staring at the stone ceiling.
Not long after, footsteps approached.
A knock.
Soft.
Li Chen opened the door.
Senior Liu Shan stood outside, expression unreadable.
"Walk with me," Liu Shan said.
It was not a request.
They moved along a side path, away from the main buildings. Lantern light barely reached here.
"You did well on the mission," Liu Shan said casually. "No injuries. No losses."
Li Chen kept his gaze forward. "We followed instructions."
Liu Shan hummed. "You sensed the beast first."
Li Chen did not answer.
Liu Shan stopped.
"So did Sun Hao," he continued. "And so did the sect."
Li Chen's heart slowed, not sped up.
"I'm not accusing you," Liu Shan said. "I'm informing you."
He turned to face Li Chen.
"There are people within Qingyun who dislike variables. Outer disciples who act beyond expectation draw attention. Sometimes good. Sometimes not."
Li Chen bowed slightly. "I understand."
Liu Shan studied him for a moment longer.
"Keep your head down," he said finally. "And don't let your stability grow too fast."
Then he left.
Li Chen remained where he was for a long time.
[System Notice]
[External Warning Logged]
[Priority: High]
So the ripples had reached the shore.
Back in his room, Li Chen lay down again.
This time, sleep came slowly.
Images passed through his mind.
The anchor. The corrupted beast. The scan at the sect gate. Liu Shan's words.
Qingyun Sect was not a single will.
It was layers.
And something had moved beneath those layers without permission.
The next morning, a new notice appeared.
Outer disciples involved in the Yunhe mission were exempt from duties for three days.
Rest.
Observation.
Or containment.
Li Chen read the notice once and turned away.
Three days was not long.
But it was enough.
He returned to the Lingxi Field instead of resting.
The soil greeted him quietly.
He knelt and placed his palm against the earth.
The faint, disordered qi here felt almost familiar now.
[System Analysis]
[Field Condition: Suboptimal]
[Potential: Moderate if Adjusted]
Li Chen smiled faintly.
Perhaps this forgotten place was exactly where he needed to be.
As clouds drifted lazily overhead, Li Chen worked the soil with steady hands, careful movements, and no witnesses.
Above him, Qingyun Sect continued as it always had.
Below him, the land listened.
And far away, someone who had planted an anchor began to realize that their test had not gone unnoticed.
The game had started.
Quietly.