Chapter 38: Tribulation Sign
After emerging from his room, Wu Yuan quietly sat beneath the silverleaf tree in the courtyard, its shimmering branches rustling gently in the breeze. The light that filtered through them danced across his expression—still calm, but vaguely troubled.
Wu Xiao, ever attentive, hurried over and gave a small bow. "Young Master, you've been cultivating for five days."
Wu Yuan blinked, startled. "Five days? But I only remember four..." but stopped midway.
Wu Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. Unconscious for two days? If someone had tried to assassinate him during that time, he wouldn't have even known. The thought made his skin crawl. He had been too reckless. That couldn't happen again.
Before he could voice any further thoughts, Wu Xiao hesitantly added, "Also, Young Master… something strange happened again."
Wu Yuan turned to her, alert. "What do you mean?"
Wu Xiao's voice dropped to a whisper. "Two days ago, while you were cultivating, thick black clouds suddenly gathered above our courtyard. It was even more terrifying than the last time—blacker than night, like the sky itself was warning us. I've never seen anything like it."
Wu Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Fifteen days ago... when I broke through to Level 11, the same thing happened. And now again, after reaching Level 12?
His thoughts raced. Could it be... a form of lightning tribulation? Like those protagonists in the cultivation novels he used to read in his past life? But he hadn't even stepped into the Spirit Initiation Realm yet. Was his cultivation method that unique—or was it the system?
"If this really was a tribulation… then what realm was I heading toward?" he thought grimly. "The system never mentioned it. And the manuals I studied—none described clouds forming this early."
If that was the case, then he couldn't afford to break through inside the Wu Clan—or even within Wu City. The next time might not just be clouds. What if lightning truly fell?
That decided it. He had to move.
Now that he could no longer afford to appear in the Wu City duel ring—especially after defeating level 6 Body Tempering Realm cultivator so no room left for tempering himself here.
The city was too small. Too exposed.
"I can't grow if I stay behind these walls," he muttered. "It's better to move sooner rather than later."
After a short rest, he spent some time helping Wu Xiao stabilize her own cultivation. The girl had been progressing well, especially under his quiet guidance.
Finally, Wu Yuan stood up. His expression was serene, but his eyes carried the weight of a storm waiting to break.
"Xiao," he said softly, "don't tell anyone that I've broken through. Not even my parents. If anyone asks, say I'm still in seclusion."
Wu Xiao looked up at him, concern in her eyes. "Young Master… are you leaving?"
Wu Yuan gave her a faint smile. "Only for a few days. Three to five, at most. I need to handle something outside. Just trust me—and don't say a word to anyone."
Her lips parted as if to protest, but Wu Yuan raised a hand.
But Wu Yuan raised a hand, gently cutting her off. "Xiao, just trust your Young Master."
"…Yes, Young Master," she said softly, bowing her head.
With a nod, Wu Yuan turned and stepped back into his room, closing the door behind him without another word.
Wu Xiao stood still for a long time, then turned to the silverleaf tree. "Young Master… I'll guard the secret. And I'll grow stronger too. Just wait."
Meanwhile, in the Lei Clan's courtyard, frustration simmered like a volcano ready to erupt.
It had been five days since Wu Yuan entered seclusion. Not once had he appeared in public, nor had the Wu Clan made any official statements about his condition or whereabouts. The silence was suffocating—and dangerous.
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Worse, the situation in Wu City had shifted dramatically.
Rumors had begun to spread like wildfire:
"Those outsiders aren't Jiang Clan disciples. They're from the Lei Clan of Stormrise Mountain."
Despite the Jiang Clan's repeated denials and attempts to control the narrative, many citizens had already made up their minds. The damage was done.
And everyone knew where the whispers had originated from—the Wu Clan. Though they hadn't released any formal accusations, they had subtly fanned the flames from the shadows, using backchannels to leak just enough for suspicion to bloom.
Both the Lei Clan and Jiang Clan were baffled.
They had anticipated that their identities couldn't remain hidden forever—but for it to unravel this quickly? That, they hadn't foreseen.
The subtle leak from the Wu Clan had acted like a silent blade—precise, untraceable, and devastating.
Their first step—public humiliation of the Wu Clan and subtle manipulation of Wu City's opinion—had already been hindered. Originally, even if this move failed, they had intended to adjust their plans gradually over the coming months.
But with each passing day, those options were slipping through their fingers like sand.
Rumor, that most dangerous weapon, had outpaced their strategy.
Now, the Lei Clan delegation felt as though they were sitting on a bed of thorns. The longer they remained in Wu City, the more the whispers solidified into belief.
Even if it was still "just a rumor," they were bleeding face in front of every major power in the region. Worse, they still hadn't seen Wu Yuan even once since arriving.
Their target had vanished from public view, and in his absence, his legend only grew.
They had come to Wu City brimming with confidence—to observe, probe, and, if the opportunity allowed, influence or neutralize a rising threat.
Instead, they now found themselves trapped in plain sight—losing face, control, and time.
Lei Jinghong clenched the jade token in his palm. "If we act now and we're wrong, we offend the royal family. If we wait… we risk being too late."
And Wu Yuan, the boy they aimed to manipulate?
He had turned invisible—yet every day, his shadow loomed larger.
The very person who had pushed them into this mess—Wu Yuan—was already making quiet preparations to leave the Wu Clan grounds. He knew that remaining behind closed doors, no matter how safe, would only slow his growth. If he wanted to advance further, he needed to step into the world beyond… to seek out danger, opportunity, and the unknown.
As the evening deepened, a silent figure moved like a shadow along the edges of the Wu Clan compound. Draped in the dim light, Wu Yuan was nearly unrecognizable—even to those familiar with him. A subtle change of clothes, a makeshift disguise drawn from the tricks of his past life, and most importantly, his near-masterful use of the Aura Veil technique rendered him almost nonexistent.
After days of continuous refinement, Wu Yuan had pushed the Aura Veil technique to astonishing heights. He wasn't truly invisible, but his presence had thinned to the point of near-erasure—like a man devoid of qi, of life, little more than a drifting husk. Even if someone stood directly before him, they would likely overlook him—unless they possessed a cultivator's instincts honed through years of discipline, or were watching him intently, with a calm, focused mind unclouded by distraction or haste.
Like this, Wu Yuan slipped out of the Wu Clan unnoticed—or so he believed.
But from the shadows of the inner courtyard, one pair of eyes followed his every step. The observer didn't speak, didn't move, didn't call out. They simply watched… and allowed him to pass beyond the clan walls.
No one knew what this person was thinking, or why they chose silence over interference.
Without wasting any time, Wu Yuan made his way toward the north gate of Wu City—the one closest to the Wu Clan's territory.
As he passed by the Peace Water Pavilion, someone else took notice—Lei Hanwu. At first, he didn't recognize Wu Yuan's disguised figure. But Lei Hanwu was unusually sensitive to lightning qi, a rare trait even among Lei Clan cultivators. As fate would have it, he had just exited the pavilion and found himself within thirty feet of the passing figure.
Normally, even he wouldn't have noticed anything, but today Wu Yuan had freshly broken through to Level 12. Despite the Aura Veil technique concealing most of his presence, faint traces of lightning essence still lingered in his body—residual energy that hadn't fully settled.
To an ordinary cultivator, it would be imperceptible. But to Lei Hanwu, whose senses were sharply attuned to lightning, it was like a whisper in the dark. Subtle. But there.
And Lei Hanwu knew—aside from the fifteen Lei Clan members, there were almost no lightning cultivators in Wu City. In fact, only one name came to mind: Wu Yuan.
To confirm his suspicion, he quietly began to follow the figure.
"A Body Tempering brat hiding behind tricks… pathetic," Lei Hanwu scoffed inwardly. "But I'll enjoy peeling away that mask."
The way that person moved—stealthy, deliberate, completely avoiding open paths—only reinforced his hunch. This wasn't like some common cultivator sneaking around. This was someone trained, someone skilled in concealment.
Watching the figure's silent movements, Lei Hanwu's eyes narrowed.
"So… what are you planning, Wu Yuan?" he murmured to himself, now almost certain of the identity.
Although Wu Yuan had clearly done some kind of makeover—his face slightly altered, his robes deliberately plain—Lei Hanwu had watched him too many times from the shadows these past days.
Disguise or not, Lei Hanwu wasn't fooled.
It took Wu Yuan more than three hours of weaving through alleys and shadowed streets before he finally reached the city gates. Without a sound, he slipped beyond them—leaving Wu City behind.
Watching from a distance, Lei Hanwu's lips curled into a grin. The lamb walks straight to the slaughter… how considerate.
Watching from a distance, Lei Hanwu's lips curled into a grin. The lamb walks straight to the slaughter… how considerate.
He didn't inform anyone else. Why should he? Did a Spirit Initiation Realm cultivator like him need help just to deal with a mere Body Tempering junior? Wu Yuan had unknowingly delivered himself right into his hands.
As Wu Yuan stepped beyond the gates, a familiar translucent window flickered into view before his eyes.
[System Notification]New Area Discovered: Outer Wu City Perimeter.Quest Tracking Activated.
Rewards: Dependent on your actions.
Wu Yuan's gaze sharpened. So it begins, he thought, pulling his hood tighter. Without breaking stride, he vanished into the night.