"If he was using an artifact to hide his realm, it must be something very rare — not something an outer disciple could easily get their hands on."
"And if it's not that…" she paused. "Then the only explanation left is that he really has no cultivation base at all."
"That's…" Ling Ruxin hesitated, her voice growing quieter. "That doesn't match what I saw."
Elder Yao gave a slight shake of her head. "That's exactly the problem."
She let out a soft breath, her fingers gently tapping the stone table as she thought deeper.
"There is another possibility," she said at last. "One I'd rather not entertain."
Ruxin waited quietly.
"That he's already far above the Qi Refinement realm," Elder Yao said slowly. "Stronger than either of us expected."
"Stronger than you? and elder? but that would mean—"
"—he's a heaven-defying talent," Elder Yao finished. "And one who has reached such a stage in secret. In a short span of time."
She leaned back slightly, eyes drifting up toward the tree canopy above them.
"But I just… can't see that being possible. Even after all I've seen, it's hard to believe someone could grow so fast. Not unless he encountered something truly unimaginable… Like one of those legendary immortal inheritances…."
She fell silent again, the flickering image of Lao Xie dusting his sleeve on the platform flashing briefly in her thoughts.
Ling Ruxin didn't speak either. She simply let the silence settle, her hands cradling the warm teacup.
A few moments passed before she spoke again, her voice softer than before.
"…It still feels strange, sitting here again like this," she said, looking around the garden. "When I was still your disciple, we used to sit under this tree almost every week."
Elder Yao gave a faint chuckle. "Mn. You were diligent… well, most of the time."
Ruxin smiled faintly at that. "Only because you were strict."
"You needed it." Elder Yao replied, glancing at her. "Even back then, I could tell you were someone who'd rise far if kept on the right path."
A pause.
"…I didn't think we'd be sitting together again like this, after so long," Ling Ruxin added quietly.
"Well," Elder Yao murmured, her tone light, "It seems fate has a strange sense of timing."
Ling Ruxin looked at her thoughtfully. "I was actually surprised when I heard you were assigned to the Resource Pavilion. You've always been one of the more active elders. I never imagined you'd be stationed there of all places."
Elder Yao paused, her expression shifting slightly.
She then leaned back slightly. "Things happen in sects, Ruxin. Even talented elders aren't free from politics."
"…Also, It was a sect matter," she said after a beat, her tone casual. "Some internal restructuring. I was assigned there for the time being. Orders are orders."
It wasn't an outright lie — but it wasn't the full truth either. And judging by her tone, Ruxin knew better than to press the matter.
"I see…" she said softly.
Elder Yao took another sip of tea, then quietly set her cup down.
"I'm sure things will shift again before long. Just treat it as a temporary arrangement."
"…And you know, this is the first time we've talked properly in nearly a year," she said softly.
Elder Yao glanced her way, but didn't interrupt.
With that, the conversation gently drifted into silence once more — one not heavy, but thoughtful, filled with unspoken things neither of them felt ready to address.
At the same time, across the sect…
Back at the quiet edge of the outer court, Lao Xie stepped into his humble hut, letting the wooden door close gently behind him.
The familiar scent of herbs, old paper, and the faint earthiness of the nearby forest greeted him.
He unfastened the outer layer of his hanfu, tossing it lightly onto the nearby stand. The silence inside was something he welcomed.
His mind briefly wandered back to the fight earlier.
"…Feng Zhan lasted longer than I expected," he murmured, mostly to himself.
For someone in the seventh stage of Body Tempering, Feng Zhan had decent instincts. Strong pride too — the type that kept him standing longer than most would under pressure. That alone made him slightly more bearable than the other outer court noise.
Still, in the end… he lost.
"One clean movement after another — too predictable. Too heavy on the front leg and no pure control."
Lao Xie sat down slowly, his fingers brushing over the smooth surface of the sword now resting by the side of his bed — the same one he'd summoned during the fight.
"…Not bad," he muttered, half to the sword, half to himself.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
If anything, today's match only confirmed what he'd already suspected — the outer court had very little to offer him in terms of challenge. But it served its purpose.
"Step one is done," he thought lazily.
His mind then drifted — not to Feng Zhan, but to the faint figures he'd seen from the stage.
Ling Ruxin and… Elder Yao.
He hadn't expected both of them to show up. Ruxin, maybe — she'd seemed curious enough after their last meeting. But Elder Yao… that had been a surprise.
"I still don't remember inviting her to watch," he thought.
Still, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything, her presence might even help speed things up — especially with what he had planned in the coming days.
He leaned back slightly, resting one arm behind his head as his gaze turned toward the wooden ceiling.
"…Let's see how far this tournament goes."
The silence of the hut deepened. Outside, the chirping of insects carried through the air as night settled fully over the Silver Crescent Peak. Lao Xie didn't move for a while, but eventually, he straightened his back and exhaled lightly.
Cling~
The glowing screen materialized slowly in front of him.
INFORMATION
Name: Lao Xie
Age: 15
Cultivation Stage: Qi Refinement 5th Stage
Physique: Heaven-Piercing Sword Physique
Race: Human
Luck: ???
Spiritual Root: Primordial Ancient Spirit Root
Traits: Observe Lv1
He scanned the lines slowly.
"Fifth stage already, huh…" he murmured. "Still too early to show the rest."
His eyes lingered on the question marks beside Luck, but the system, as usual, gave no hint of clarification. The sword physique and ancient root were already absurd enough — but even now, it felt like something deeper was buried within.
Lao Xie tilted his head back and let out a soft breath.
"Well. No need to rush."
The screen faded, and with it, he sank further into the quiet of his hut. Soon, only the rhythmic sound of his breathing remained, steady and unhurried beneath the moonlight.
The Next Morning, Library Hall.
Deep within the Silver Crescent Sect's Library Hall, Elder Mu stepped silently through the corridor. The sun had barely risen, casting soft golden rays that slipped through high windows and painted long shadows across the floor.
He walked past lines of wooden shelves, each filled with jade slips, until he reached a sealed archway...
Rows upon rows of jade slips greeted him, each labeled and organized with meticulous precision. Elder Mu walked to the shelves that recorded disciples' information, fingers brushing lightly over names engraved on the slips.
He narrowed his focus.
"Lao Xie… Lao Xie…"