Seven days before the formal duel.
Yan Shu did not sleep much.
He barely trained in cultivation.
Instead, he observed.
Wind direction at dawn.
Sunlight angle at noon.
Moisture density at night.
Chen Wei didn't understand it.
Mu Jian didn't question it.
Xiao Rin simply trusted it.
Lian Zhou watched quietly.
Spirit-Enhanced Mind activation had reached 53%.
No further upgrades needed.
The mind was compounding naturally.
"We need six low-grade spirit stones," Yan Shu said calmly.
"That's all?" Chen Wei asked.
"Yes."
They had eight left in total reserves.
Lian Zhou handed him six without hesitation.
Investment.
Not expense.
Yan Shu placed them at six cardinal anchor points:
North gate.
South wall.
Meditation hall center.
Training ground edge.
Ancestral hall threshold.
Courtyard heart.
He didn't chant.
He didn't draw dramatic symbols.
He aligned.
Subtle shifts.
Stone rotation.
Spirit stone insertion.
Micro-angle correction.
Then he stepped back.
"Activate," he said quietly.
Nothing exploded.
No dome appeared.
But—
The air changed.
Heavenly Ember's courtyard felt… alive.
Qi no longer drifted outward aimlessly.
It circulated.
Softly.
Continuously.
Like breathing.
Chen Wei inhaled slowly.
"It feels heavier."
"Denser," Mu Jian corrected.
Xiao Rin's flame Qi stabilized instantly when circulated.
Less waste.
More retention.
Inside the system panel:
[Defensive Array: Heavenly Ember Base Layer — Complete]
[Effect:
– +20% Cultivation Efficiency Inside Sect
– +15% External Qi Resistance
– +10% Stability During Combat Within Territory]
Lian Zhou exhaled slowly.
This wasn't flashy.
But it changed everything.
Crimson Blade would no longer fight in neutral ground.
They would fight inside someone else's lungs.
Yan Shu spoke quietly.
"This is only first layer."
"There are more?" Chen Wei asked.
"Yes."
"Why not build all?"
"We lack materials."
He wasn't frustrated.
He was simply stating fact.
Three days later—
Crimson Blade sent their probe.
This time—
Foundation Late disciple.
Alone.
Confident.
He stepped into the courtyard.
And paused.
The air felt wrong.
Not hostile.
But structured.
He dismissed the thought.
And attacked.
Chen Wei met him first.
Foundation Mid vs Foundation Late.
Normally uneven.
But inside the formation—
Chen Wei's movements sharpened.
The opponent's Qi felt slightly resisted.
Not enough to cripple.
Enough to delay.
After fifty exchanges—
The Crimson Blade disciple frowned.
His Qi was draining faster than expected.
Chen Wei's was not.
Mu Jian stepped forward.
Foundation Early.
He did not attack first.
He stood.
The Crimson Blade disciple struck him directly.
The impact landed cleanly.
Mu Jian didn't move.
Not because he was stronger.
Because the formation distributed force into the ground.
Stone cracked beneath his feet.
Not his bones.
The opponent stepped back.
Eyes narrowed.
Xiao Rin advanced last.
Foundation Early.
Flame Qi flared.
Inside the formation—
His fire condensed tighter.
Hotter.
More stable.
He released a focused palm strike.
The Crimson Blade disciple blocked—
And staggered backward two steps.
Foundation Late was stronger.
But inside this courtyard—
The gap was shrinking.
The Crimson Blade disciple withdrew.
He did not lose.
But he did not win.
That was enough.
That evening—
The Crimson Blade Elder received the report.
"They've constructed a defensive array."
"With what resources?" he demanded.
"Minimal."
Silence.
"They are being guided."
The elder's eyes darkened.
"The sect master."
Back at Heavenly Ember—
Yan Shu adjusted one final anchor.
"Now," he said calmly, "Core Formation will not dominate easily."
Chen Wei blinked.
"You're confident?"
"No," Yan Shu replied.
"I'm calculating."
Inside the system panel:
[Sect Combat Advantage Inside Territory: Significant vs Equal-Level Opponents]
Host Spiritual Load: 29%
Stable.
Controlled.
Everything aligned.
Lian Zhou gathered the four disciples.
"In four days," he said calmly, "we fight."
No long speeches.
No dramatics.
They already understood.
This was not survival anymore.
This was declaration.
Mu Jian asked quietly, "What if the elder intervenes?"
"He will," Lian Zhou replied.
Silence.
"And?"
"And I will handle him."
No arrogance.
Just statement.
Inside his own panel—
Lian Zhou saw something new.
[Foundation Realm — 92% Stabilized]
He was close.
Very close.
He had not forced his own growth.
But the sect's improvement had fed back into him.
Authority Rank 3 required one more Foundation disciple event or major victory.
Soon.
Very soon.
Heavenly Ember's broken walls no longer looked broken.
They looked intentional.
Structured.
Waiting.
And for the first time—
The sect felt like something that could not be casually erased.