Dawn painted the sky in pale pink and gold as Lin Feng, moving with the stealthy agility that the principles of the "Ephemeral Shadow Step" were beginning to instill in his movements, arrived at the Hidden Orchid Valley. The place was an oasis of serenity at the foot of the imposing Misty Dawn Peak, which rose like a silent titan against the morning sky. Cascades of white, lavender, and a blue so deep it almost seemed nocturnal, hung from ancient trees whose branches intertwined like the fingers of wise elders. A crystalline stream meandered through the valley, its murmur a constant, peace-inviting melody.
In the heart of the valley, seated on a moss-covered rock beside the stream, her back perfectly straight and her eyes closed in a state of deep meditation, was Xiao Lan. The dawn light caressed her features, softening the usual coldness of her beauty and lending her an almost divine air. Her aura, that of a Golden Core Realm expert, was completely contained, yet Lin Feng could sense the immense reserve of power lying dormant beneath that serene surface, like a sleeping volcano. Glob, hidden and shrunken in the inner pocket of Lin Feng's tunic, emitted a soft pulse of recognition and respect towards her.
Lin Feng stopped at a prudent distance, not wanting to interrupt her meditation. He observed the way the spiritual energy of the valley seemed to flow harmoniously towards her, a silent dance between the cultivator and nature. Six days had passed since his return to the sect, three days in which he had experienced firsthand the chasm between his public status and his secret reality. Xiao Lan's proclamation ceremony as "Daughter of Heaven" had been a spectacle of power and reverence. He, meanwhile, had returned to the shadows, to his duties, but with a new and steely determination burning within him.
Xiao Lan slowly opened her eyes, her jade pupils focusing on him without surprise, as if she had been aware of his arrival from the moment he set foot in the valley. "You're early, Lin Feng," she said, her voice clear and fresh as the stream water.
"I preferred not to risk being late, Senior Sister," he replied, approaching and giving a respectful nod. "This place is… beautiful."
"The energy here is pure and tranquil," she asserted. "Suitable for our purposes. Did you have any trouble getting here?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment of the arrogant inner disciple who had intercepted him the previous night, but dismissed the incident. It didn't deserve Xiao Lan's attention. "None of importance, Senior Sister. Although," he paused, a strange mixture of confusion and a nascent excitement in his voice, "something unusual happened this morning, before I came."
Xiao Lan's eyes sharpened slightly. "Unusual?"
"Zhang Fu and Li Wei," Lin Feng began, "tried to… well, stir up trouble, as they used to." He decided to be direct. After all they had shared, after the pact sealed with the blessing (and warning) of a Primordial Guardian, hiding this would seem trivial and distrustful. "But this time… it was different. I could… I could defend myself. I knocked them both down, and quite easily."
He watched Xiao Lan's reaction. She showed no surprise, only analytical attention.
"The strange thing, Senior Sister," Lin Feng continued, "is that my Qi cultivation is still the same. I've checked it over and over. First Stage of Qi Condensation, without the slightest hint of advancement. But I felt… different. Faster, my movements more precise, and my strikes… they seemed to have a weight, a force that doesn't correspond to my Qi level. It was as if my body itself was stronger, more resilient." He was genuinely perplexed, and a part of him sought validation or explanation from the only person in the world who knew a fraction of his truth.
Xiao Lan listened attentively, her chin resting elegantly on her palm. When he finished, a gleam of understanding appeared in her eyes. "Your path is different, Lin Feng," she said finally, her voice calm but full of conviction. "What the Guardian conferred upon us, especially the Primordial Library that now resides within you and the way your Chaotic Heart was tempered, is not measured by the standards of conventional Qi cultivation. The Guardian spoke of harmonizing with chaos, not accumulating elemental Qi. It's likely that your body is being tempered directly by that primordial energy, that your mind and spirit are being sharpened through the knowledge you are beginning to absorb. Your effective strength, your speed, your resilience… all of it will far surpass what your apparent cultivation realm suggests."
She paused, her gaze deepening. "It's an immense advantage, Lin Feng—hidden power behind a facade of weakness. But it is also a danger. If others notice such a large discrepancy between your Qi level and your actual strength without understanding its origin, the suspicions you attract will be far worse than mere disdain."
Lin Feng nodded, understanding the warning. "The Library… it's an ocean, Senior Sister," he admitted with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I try to explore it every night, but it's like trying to count all the stars in the firmament. There's so much… battle techniques that defy imagination, theories on the Dao that I can barely glimpse, treatises on alchemy and formations that seem written in a cosmic language… I feel exhausted just trying to find a clear starting point. The Guardian said I could interact with all its content, but assimilating and applying it… that's another story."
"Knowledge isn't mastered in a day, Lin Feng," Xiao Lan replied pragmatically. "Not even in a decade for legacies of such magnitude. Choose a path, a foundation. The Chaotic Harmonization Meditation we deciphered together in the sanctuary is, without a doubt, fundamental for you. From there, as you've already begun, a movement technique for survival and evasion is a wise choice. Then, perhaps a defensive technique or a simple yet effective offensive one, one that resonates with the nature of your chaos." Her advice was logical, direct, that of an experienced cultivator offering sensible guidance. "Patience and focus are crucial virtues, even for a… 'librarian' of chaos like you." An almost imperceptible curve of her lips suggested the small joke wasn't entirely unintentional.
Lin Feng felt a wave of gratitude. Though their relationship was strange and complex, Xiao Lan's guidance was a beacon in the vastness of his new reality.
Xiao Lan observed him thoughtfully for a moment. "I sense a fluctuation of power in you, Lin Feng, a vitality and a… physical 'solidity' that certainly doesn't align with the fragility of the first stage of Qi Condensation. Although your Qi reserve is that, the potency of your physical energy and what you can subtly channel from your Chaotic Heart seems considerably greater. I'm curious to measure it in a more tangible way."
She stood up and extended one of her slender hands, palm up. "Strike my palm, Lin Feng. Not with an elaborate Qi technique, nor with a manifestation of your chaos. Just with the physical strength you feel you can manifest now, the same you used against those two… problems this morning. Don't hold back excessively, but don't try to injure me either; I simply want to feel the resonance of your current strength. I will use my Qi to measure the impact and its true potency."
Lin Feng looked at her, his heart skipping a beat. "Strike her? Her, a Golden Core Realm expert?" The idea was terrifying. "Senior Sister, I… you're at the Golden Core. I'm barely…"
"Don't worry about my well-being, Lin Feng," she interrupted, her voice calm but with a hint of impatience. "I know how to receive a blow without suffering harm. This isn't a spar, it's an assessment. It's to help you, and me, understand your current limits and potential. It's vital information for our cooperation and for your own survival."
Her words were logical. Lin Feng's hesitation lessened. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions inside him. He closed his eyes for an instant, not seeking Qi, but that feeling of inner strength, that solidity he had begun to feel in his body since the ritual with the Lotus and his meditation practices. He remembered the impact against Zhang Fu, the way the bully had doubled over.
He opened his eyes, his gaze now fixed and determined. He nodded. "I'm ready, Senior Sister."
He positioned himself in front of her, feet slightly apart for a solid base. Glob, in his pocket, emitted a faint vibration, as if observing with interest. Lin Feng raised his right fist, tensed it, and then, with an explosive exhale, launched it in a direct, unadorned strike towards Xiao Lan's outstretched palm.
In the instant of impact, Xiao Lan's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Her hand didn't move an inch, her body remained as immutable as an ancient mountain, the aura of her Golden Core absorbing the force of the blow without the slightest visible effort. But Lin Feng saw a fleeting spark of something—astonishment? Intense calculation?—in her jade pupils.
She kept her palm against his fist for a long second, as if analyzing the reverberations, the quality of the kinetic energy. Then, slowly, she lowered her hand.
"Interesting," she murmured, her eyes still fixed on Lin Feng's fist as if it were a rare specimen. "Very interesting."
Lin Feng waited, holding his breath.
"The pure physical force of your strike," Xiao Lan began finally, her tone analytical, "the residual vibration and the density of the impact... it's comparable, without a doubt, to that of a cultivator who has reached the peak of the Qi Condensation stage. Perhaps one could even say the momentary raw impact verges on the beginning of the Meridian Opening stage, although you completely lack the endurance, continuous Qi flow, and energy reserves of that level."
Lin Feng felt a wave of pure euphoria wash over him, so potent it almost made him stagger. The peak of the Qi Condensation stage! Perhaps even a glimpse of the second level of cultivation in sheer impact force! It was… it was much more than he had dared to dream. His face lit up with a smile so wide and genuine it transformed his usually serious and worried features.
"Meridian Opening! Really, Senior Sister?" he exclaimed, unable to contain the emotion in his voice. Glob seemed to celebrate with him, emitting a series of joyful, warm pulses against his chest.
Xiao Lan nodded, a tiny, almost imperceptible smile curving her own lips at Lin Feng's uncontainable joy. It was the first time she had seen him so openly happy. "In physical impact and momentary destructive potential, yes, Lin Feng. You have far surpassed the limits of your apparent cultivation realm. Your Chaotic Heart and the Primordial Library are, without a doubt, reinforcing your body and spirit in ways we don't yet fully understand."
But then, her expression turned serious. "However, don't get complacent. This is borrowed strength, or at least, one that doesn't yet fully belong to you in terms of traditional cultivation. Your physical stamina and energy reserves are still those of a first-stage cultivator. A blow like that exhausts you considerably. You couldn't maintain a prolonged fight at that level of intensity. Your path is one of surprises and unlimited potential, Lin Feng, but also of fundamental fragility if you overexert yourself or if your enemies discover the true nature of your power before you're ready."
Xiao Lan's words, though realistic, didn't diminish Lin Feng's joy. It was a validation. It was tangible proof that his path, however strange and dangerous, was bearing fruit. He had a long, long way to go, but he was no longer the same useless waste.
With this new understanding of his own strength, a sense of renewed purpose filled Lin Feng. He was eager to begin his true "cooperation" with Xiao Lan, to delve into the secrets of his library, and to master the chaos that he now felt as a more harmonious part of his being.
"So, Senior Sister," he said, his voice now firm and filled with a new confidence, "what's our first step? How do we begin to unravel the mysteries the Guardian has entrusted to us and prepare for whatever the future may hold?"
Xiao Lan looked at him, and in her eyes, Lin Feng saw not only the cold, calculating genius of the sect, but also a companion on an extraordinary journey, an ally in a pact forged in the heart of chaos.
"Our first step, Lin Feng," she replied, "is to master the fundamentals. You, with your Chaotic Harmonization Meditation and the first techniques from your library. I, by consolidating my Golden Core and beginning to explore how your chaotic essence can truly refine my Umbral Phoenix Flame beyond simple amplifications."
She gestured to a more secluded area of the valley, where flat rocks offered natural seats under the shade of an ancient weeping willow. "We'll start there. You will describe to me in detail the principles of the 'Ephemeral Shadow Step' you've been studying. And then, Lin Feng, you will show me what a Chaotic Heart can truly do when guided by a clear intention and a mind in harmony."
The morning sun rose lazily over the valley, its golden rays filtering through the orchids and bathing the two figures in a soft, promising light. The real work, the true adventure of unraveling their intertwined potential, was about to begin in the silent, secret heart of the Hidden Orchid Valley. And the world, oblivious to them, continued to turn, unaware that two of its strangest and most potent stars had just aligned their destinies.