That evening, Lin Zian led Xiao An through foundational postures.
"No cultivation technique is perfect," he explained. "Even high-grade manuals have flaws. You must learn to listen. To your breath. To your pulse. To the resistance in your bones when a movement is wrong."
Xiao An nodded, sweat pouring down his brow as he repeated the corrected stances over and over.
By the time the moon hung high, his Qi had begun to circulate properly for the first time. The Vault shimmered once more.
> [Cultivation Advancement: Qi Tempering Stage 2]
The boy fell to his knees, eyes wide with shock.
"I… advanced?!"
Lin Zian turned his back to the stunned disciple. "In this sect, they cast you aside because you lacked visible promise. But the heavens… often plant jade within stone."
> [Vault Bond Established: Disciple Xiao An – Registered]
The next morning, word had spread.
A once-hopeless disciple had broken through in a single night.
Whispers crept through the outer court.
And with them came… interference.
Lin Zian was seated on the stone steps when a haughty voice interrupted his peace.
"Well, well. Look who crawled out of obscurity."
A robed figure stepped into the courtyard, flanked by two attendants. His clothes were of the inner court: crisp, white, embroidered with silver threads. His face wore the kind of smile that belonged only to those who had never known struggle.
Liu Fen. An inner court instructor and a former rival.
"Teaching gutter disciples now?" Liu Fen sneered. "I suppose a disgrace like you has to find comfort somewhere."
Lin Zian remained seated, his eyes half-lidded. "And you've come to inspect the gutters, have you?"
Liu Fen's face darkened. "Your arrogance hasn't dulled."
"No," Lin Zian said. "It's simply tempered."
The Vault stirred faintly in the air around him, invisible to all but him.
"Let us put your 'new disciple' to the test, shall we?" Liu Fen said coldly. "Tomorrow, he will face my student, Qi Yue — a peak-stage outer disciple."
Xiao An flinched.
Lin Zian stood. "Very well. A fair match."
"You'll regret this," Liu Fen spat, turning to leave. "Trash belongs in the dirt, Lin Zian. Not on the stage."
As his figure vanished, Lin turned to Xiao An.
"Do not fear."
"But he's peak-stage! I barely broke through!"
"I did not correct your form to lose," Lin said simply. "You will not fight using their teachings. You will fight… as one molded by the Vault of Heaven."
Xiao An knelt. "Instructor Lin… I will not let you down."
> [Vault Log: Disciple Battle Trial – Scheduled]
[Technique Optimization: Initiated]
The battle lines were drawn.
And for the first time since his fall, Lin Zian felt the breath of fate shift in his favor.